aluminium T-joint not so pretty

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so here is my 1st attempt @ aluminium joints. didnt seems 2b able 2 feed the rod fast enough to obtain proper filling of joint? also contamination was def present, I think maybe my filler rod was under sized for this thickness? Any1 have any good tips on feeding that filler rod?(tig pen dont work!) Or any other tips some1 might want to add. Thanks for looking!1/4 on metal145amps1/16 tung/rod. Attached Images
Reply:also seems as if I get to hot towards the end?
Reply:dude, this isnt a cell phone text. use full words so folks can read about what you are posting, not having to decipher the words, more or less.Weldanpower 225 G7Ironworkers Local #24
Reply:145 amps on 1/4" is too low to get a decent weld. Thats a setting for 1/8". I think I've mentioned this before... You will not get good results running alum with the amps set too low... It's easy to see this in the righ hand pict. The bead is way too cold at the start. Also a 1/16" tungsten is way to small to do this. You need to be using a 3/32" or 1/8" tungsten for the amps you need to be running to do 1/4" alum running at 200-250 amps. Alum isn't steel. You can't get away with using an undersized machine to do thicker sections because tha alum will suck the heat away too fast. Originally Posted by bitchiNweldsalso seems as if I get to hot towards the end?
Reply:Dsw thanks. I know I'm moving way to fast, just trying to learn. I'm using a diversion165 so I'm limited to amps on thicker alum.(unless I pre-heat) I'm just practicing more so 4 seat time to get some understanding & take it 1 step @ a time, I read practicing w/alum will help get a better understanding of the heat factors?  I also do believe my torch angle is a big problem along w/everything else I'm struggling with. Thanks
Reply:Even with preheat you won't turn that little machine into a Sync 250 capable of doing alum 1/4" thick. At least not to acceptable standards. Practice with alum will help in some ways, but it won't solve basic issues. You can't ride a 200 MPH bike down a windy twisty road, if you can't even stay up on a bicycle with training wheels.  All you'll do is crash and burn repeatedly. Everything happens much faster with alum. You don't have time to think about what to do, you have to already be making the changes as soon as you 1st notice an issue. In almost all cases, if you can't do basic welds on steel, you are wasting your time on alum.No one seems to want to put the time into learning any more. You want it all, and you want it now... Reality seldom works that way, especially if you are trying to do this without one on one guideance and instruction. There are no shortcuts to this beyond a good instructor who can stand behind you as you weld and make suggestions. Even then it still comes down to lots and lots of mindless practice.Do yourself a favor if you insist on trying to learn alum before you have steel down. Go get  a length of alum as suggested above to practice with. 1/4" won't teach you squat with that machine. Expect to spend a fair amount of money on material to learn with. Alum tig isn't cheap in any way..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Start by layering and stacking rows of beads on a scrap of 1/8" or 3/16", if dabbing the rod and making consistent looking beads isn't muscle memory then you're skipping waaay too far ahead. All this boring learning stuff doesn't actually make the process slower, it makes much faster.Welding/Fab Pics: www.UtahWeld.com
Reply:Practice is boring as hell so if you are going to learn how to do the job,,, build something. Build a small space ship or an antique car or what ever but keep pore the heat to that aluminum and even the rode handling will smoothout till pretty soon you will just be seemingly auto feeding the rod. with out even thinking about it.  That little puddle must be fed for it to move along where you want it to go. If you are welding a straight seam on 1/8 inch plate you could easily use 1/8 rod and you almost would not have to feed the rod.  Mac
Reply:k, as you see im trying to learn. I dont know who you are teaching but this is the student that wants to learn! Im sorry I cant quit my day job to go to school (I dont learn from the books) or find a expert to stand over me @ this time. which its starting to seem as if some are upset or mad @ newBs on here  b/c of our posts? This is a forum header of "welding questions", right? Thats why I bought the BASIC version is to pratice & see if I even had some sort of talent to this tig welding. Those that want to help its MUCH APPRECIATED! Those that want to tell me this or that about life HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH BURNING RODS! THANKS
Reply:nothing boring about this @ all! except the fact I have to wait on my unit to cool every few.... feeding the filler practice time
Reply:This seriously is the best thing a noob can possibly do to learn aluminum, try it and you will thank me. There's just no reason to complicate things by trying T joints if you still need work controling the puddle and heat and fusing the edges in.Last edited by MikeGyver; 07-23-2011 at 09:48 PM.Welding/Fab Pics: www.UtahWeld.com
Reply:I did mistake Drf255's thread on alum with yours since his settings and material were similar to yours and you had responded there. Doesn't change a thing though, since the coments made to him about his settings by others are basically the same ones I just told you.Understand we hear the same questions over and over from guys who want to jump in the deep end and learn alum tig right at the start. It seems like no one wants to do a basic search and read whats already been told to everyone else. It can be annoying at times. If I understand your comments correctly from the other threads, You have less than 20-30 hrs under your belt. That's no where near enough time to have the heat control down well enough to succeed with alum. Your posts on steel show you have heat issues, and your picts on alum just back this up.You seem to be in a hurry for some reason. I suggested to you the fastest easiest way for you to get there. If you want to learn, here's what I suggested not long ago to someone else who was trying to learn tig from scratch by themselves. Originally Posted by DSWAs said posting up as much info as possible will help get you the feedback you are looking for. That and picts of your welds so we can critique them.As far as starting out from zero. Set up your machine the way the manual tells you for DC tig. Get yourself some 1/8" thick 3" or so wide steel flat bar, say 6" long, and grind/sand off all the mill scale. You'll probably want a dozen or so minimum. Set the machine at 150 amps or so and get comfortable. 1st few runs should be done with no filler. All you are doing is practicing getting the arc started and learning to control the arc with the pedal. Extend the tungsten out from the cup about 3/8" to 1/2" so you can see the arc well. You want to keep the tip of the tungsten about 1/8"-3/16" from the plate. If you are right handed you start on the right and move left. Reverse if you are a lefty. You want to run some puddles and watch what happens as you push down on the pedal and let up. See how much heat it takes to melt holes. Speed up and slow down your travel. See just how small you can maintain a puddle... If you touch the tungsten to the puddle, stop and regrind. Also after you run 2 or 3 beads, set that plate asside to cool and get another, or cool the plate in water. If you don't the heat will build up and act like you upped the amps.Once you have the hang of this, grab some filler and try running plain beads on pate. Remember you melt the filler with the puddle, NOT the arc. Thats a common beginner error. When you can run good beads time after time, try laying one 1/2 way over the 1st between the plate and the bead. You are learning the basics for a filet bead now.After this, go on to lap joints, T joints, outside corners and then but joints in that order flat on the table. Then same sequence starting with beads on flat plate and progressing thru the joints again for horizontal, vertical and eventually overhead.Expect this will take quite some time. Most students at the tech school can get thru flat and part of horizontal in the 48 hr term with guidence. Without direct feedback from someone watching you, expect to take longer.If you haven't already, go to Millers site and order their student packet. It's got a ton of info to get you startered on tig and is like $25 IIRC. It's also got good info on stick and mig as well. That should get you started.
Reply:understood. will take it back to learn the arc/heat portion and go from there. thanks
Reply:More heat and travel faster.I have nothing else to add....zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Doesn't know how to weld but has a username "bitchinwelds" Fire!, Fire! Oh wait, that's my torch...Lincoln PT-225 TIGLincoln 175 MIG