Aluminum weld repair

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I honestly tried to tig this to no avail. Dialarc set on AC 40-165 with a footpedal, HF on continuous, 1/16" pure and 2% lanthanated; both electrodes kept melting.So, threaded some .035 5356 in the Caddy 160 and it did OK.....nothing to write home about, just OK.  Took about 15 - 20 minutes to fine tune the settings ( yea, BOTH knobs  ), pull trigger and don't wait around. But easier than stick welding aluminum.Aluminum is 1/8" treadplate and 1/8" unknown.  The tool is a muck rake on the West coast, or a come-along on the East coast; for spreading concrete.Keep in mind I weld aluminum once a year, so seeya next year Lincoln SA 200Esab Caddy 160Thermal Arc 201TSMiller Dialarc HFI don't like making plans for the day because then the word "premeditated" gets thrown around the courtroom....
Reply:40-165 is cold you need to have a really good blast of heat to start a nice bead with tig on alu
Reply:1/16" is a little small of a tungsten!
Reply:Dude clean your material preweld and a bigger tungsten as posted already Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkMiller Xmt 350Lincoln Ln-25Ahp 200xSmith Gas Mixer AR/HTig is my Kung FuThrowing down dimes and weaving aboutInstagram http://instagram.com/[email protected]
Reply:Originally Posted by WeldorWesDude clean your material preweld and a bigger tungsten as posted already Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Reply:Looks kinda crappy but if it holds up for what it's intended for then who cares.  I don't see anyone's life being at stake if those welds fail.
Reply:Originally Posted by puty72Looks kinda crappy but if it holds up for what it's intended for then who cares.  I don't see anyone's life being at stake if those welds fail.
Reply:K, take two.3/32" E3 electrode, 140-310 w/pedal, same pre-cleaning.This is the three tungstens:Lincoln SA 200Esab Caddy 160Thermal Arc 201TSMiller Dialarc HFI don't like making plans for the day because then the word "premeditated" gets thrown around the courtroom....
Reply:Originally Posted by WeldorWesDude clean your material preweld and a bigger tungsten as posted already Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Reply:That alum has prolly absorbed all the concrete chems also I would acid prep n weld Or weld grind it out weld grind till it clean upMiller Xmt 350Lincoln Ln-25Ahp 200xSmith Gas Mixer AR/HTig is my Kung FuThrowing down dimes and weaving aboutInstagram http://instagram.com/[email protected]
Reply:Originally Posted by 12V71Yep. Not clean by my standards, .....Not being critical just sharing. I may be totally off.
Reply:Originally Posted by WeldorWesThat alum has prolly absorbed all the concrete chems also I would acid prep n weld Or weld grind it out weld grind till it clean up
Reply:Problem number one is that the aluminum is still too dirty, You are going to have to do a lot more cleaning to get all the crud and oxidation off before you can weld. You need the 3/32 tungsten which will give you more heat. Good luck!
Reply:I know from my experience with alum mig weld repairs on dump trailers it can be a pain in the *** no matter how much you clean it to get a nice bead.
Reply:Originally Posted by dubl_tConstructive criticism is appreciated.  I didn't think it was acceptable to use a wire wheel due to burnishing the aluminum, but I'll change that. Sure would speed the process.I don't have a setup for 1/8" tungsten, but I'll change that too.I don't do drop dead gorgeous tig welds on mild or stainless, but I understand what's going on.  Aluminum just baffles me.  Sometimes I get a real nice puddle, other times I might as well be welding with crochet needles or outside playing with a football bat.....
Reply:Even though you said you cleaned it, It is pulling contaminants in.  You may have a leak in your gas hose as well. Are you using 100% argon? One other possibility (that I doubt) is some concrete tools are Magnesium, but I don't think the rakes are. Last recommendation is preheat, soot area with acetylene then heat it until the black disappears.
Reply:Originally Posted by blackbartEven though you said you cleaned it, It is pulling contaminants in.  You may have a leak in your gas hose as well. Are you using 100% argon? One other possibility (that I doubt) is some concrete tools are Magnesium, but I don't think the rakes are. Last recommendation is preheat, soot area with acetylene then heat it until the black disappears.
Reply:Originally Posted by blackbartEven though you said you cleaned it, It is pulling contaminants in.  You may have a leak in your gas hose as well. Are you using 100% argon? One other possibility (that I doubt) is some concrete tools are Magnesium, but I don't think the rakes are. Last recommendation is preheat, soot area with acetylene then heat it until the black disappears.
Reply:A carbide burr is your friend when dealing with nasty welds. Grind them out and re-weld. Most of the junk likely is near the surface as it tends to float to the top of the puddle. The key is clean oxide free metal. A stainless brush won't do anything to heavy oxide like a plasma kerf or oxidized weld, a burr or a file is required.+1 for 1/8" tungsten.
Reply:Originally Posted by blackbartEven though you said you cleaned it, It is pulling contaminants in.  You may have a leak in your gas hose as well. Are you using 100% argon? One other possibility (that I doubt) is some concrete tools are Magnesium, but I don't think the rakes are. Last recommendation is preheat, soot area with acetylene then heat it until the black disappears.
Reply:dubl_t,I would have used a 60 to 100 grit flapper disk to get surface dirt in the area where I was going to weld cleaned off.   Then I would use a little light brushing with one of those hand held ss tooth brushes to get the residue from the flapper disc off right  where the weld was going.   I wouldn't have bothered with wiping it with acetone.   For those kind of repairs I only wipe stuff off with solvents if they're greasy or oily.  And I do that before any grinding with the flapper disc so I don't smear it around and into the surface of the aluminum.   Also, I find those knotted wire wheels like are usually run on a 4.5 inch grinder to be way to coarse for cleaning up aluminum prior to welding.  They fold some of the dirt down into the surface of the aluminum and then it floats back to the surface when you weld over it and that not only interfers with your floating the puddle where you want it to go but also leaves an excessive amount of that black residue stuck on your welds.   It sounds like you have enough machine and that the biggest thing working against you was that you tried to use way to small a tungsten.   A 1/16 pure tungsten has so little current carrying capacity that it's just about worthless for any thing I can think of when it comes to making these kind of aluminum repairs (an 1/8" pure tungsten might have worked).   At a minimum I would have used a least a 3/32, 2% Thoriated or Lanthanated Tungsten (1/8" diameter of those would have worked well also).   I would have used a piece of 1/16 or 3/32 diameter 4043 for filler rod.  Another suggestion...ditch that standard collet body set up and get yourself a gas lens.  Trust me, the few extra dollars that will cost you will be well worth when it comes to avoiding shielding gas coverage problems.  I think all you really need is one for 1/8" tungstens because that will be the most versatile and cover the widest range of things your liable to encounter at the minimum of expense.  In general it's way better (and far less problematic) to have a bigger tungsten than you really need than to have one that's undersized (or borderline) for the task at hand. Also...in that picture of your tungstens...they look really grey and oxidized.   Most likely that's because you don't have a long enough "post flow" set to keep the atmosphere a way from the tungsten until it gets a chance to cool down after you terminate the arc.  The bigger the tungsten and the higher the amperage your running the longer this post flow needs to be so that the tungsten doesn't get oxidized.   An oxidized tungsten doesn't have as smooth of arc characteristics as a non-oxidized one.  The ball on the end of your tungsten should remain nice, bright and shinny between welds.Last edited by HT2-4956; 07-06-2014 at 09:23 AM.
Reply:Originally Posted by puty72I know from my experience with alum mig weld repairs on dump trailers it can be a pain in the *** no matter how much you clean it to get a nice bead.
Reply:Reminds me of Zapster's work on the pizza shop (or was it a deli?) slicer aluminum casting.  Weld prep & vee-out cracks, weld-out, grind out dirty weld, re-weld, grind out less dirty weld, etc etc, re-weld, final weld comes out clean.  All impurities had been "boiled out" during first couple of cycles.
Reply:Originally Posted by forhireA carbide burr is your friend when dealing with nasty welds. Grind them out and re-weld. Most of the junk likely is near the surface as it tends to float to the top of the puddle. The key is clean oxide free metal. A stainless brush won't do anything to heavy oxide like a plasma kerf or oxidized weld, a burr or a file is required.+1 for 1/8" tungsten.
Reply:Originally Posted by el bobReminds me of Zapster's work on the pizza shop (or was it a deli?) slicer aluminum casting.  Weld prep & vee-out cracks, weld-out, grind out dirty weld, re-weld, grind out less dirty weld, etc etc, re-weld, final weld comes out clean.  All impurities had been "boiled out" during first couple of cycles.Originally Posted by HT2-4956dubl_t,I would have used a 60 to 100 grit flapper disk to get surface dirt in the area where I was going to weld cleaned off.   Then I would use a little light brushing with one of those hand held ss tooth brushes to get the residue from the flapper disc off right  where the weld was going.   I wouldn't have bothered with wiping it with acetone.   For those kind of repairs I only wipe stuff off with solvents if they're greasy or oily.  And I do that before any grinding with the flapper disc so I don't smear it around and into the surface of the aluminum.   Also, I find those knotted wire wheels like are usually run on a 4.5 inch grinder to be way to coarse for cleaning up aluminum prior to welding.  They fold some of the dirt down into the surface of the aluminum and then it floats back to the surface when you weld over it and that not only interfers with your floating the puddle where you want it to go but also leaves an excessive amount of that black residue stuck on your welds.   It sounds like you have enough machine and that the biggest thing working against you was that you tried to use way to small a tungsten.   A 1/16 pure tungsten has so little current carrying capacity that it's just about worthless for any thing I can think of when it comes to making these kind of aluminum repairs (an 1/8" pure tungsten might have worked).   At a minimum I would have used a least a 3/32, 2% Thoriated or Lanthanated Tungsten (1/8" diameter of those would have worked well also).   I would have used a piece of 1/16 or 3/32 diameter 4043 for filler rod.  Another suggestion...ditch that standard collet body set up and get yourself a gas lens.  Trust me, the few extra dollars that will cost you will be well worth when it comes to avoiding shielding gas coverage problems.  I think all you really need is one for 1/8" tungstens because that will be the most versatile and cover the widest range of things your liable to encounter at the minimum of expense.  In general it's way better (and far less problematic) to have a bigger tungsten than you really need than to have one that's undersized (or borderline) for the task at hand. Also...in that picture of your tungstens...they look really grey and oxidized.   Most likely that's because you don't have a long enough "post flow" set to keep the atmosphere a way from the tungsten until it gets a chance to cool down after you terminate the arc.  The bigger the tungsten and the higher the amperage your running the longer this post flow needs to be so that the tungsten doesn't get oxidized.   An oxidized tungsten doesn't have as smooth of arc characteristics as a non-oxidized one.  The ball on the end of your tungsten should remain nice, bright and shinny between welds.
Reply:I've made repairs to quite a few oil soaked aluminum castings.  I've soaked them in solvent tanks, baked them in ovens and still have had to do the weld, grind out, re-weld thing multiple times before I could get good weld metal to lay in there.   It's not that the oil has soaked in to the casting it's self but rather that it's wicked down into the crack your trying fix.   I've also had to use that weld, grind out, re-weld procedure on non oily / greasy castings because it was a low grade poor quality casting with a lot of impurities in it.   And on the subject of customers that are so dumb all they are is a waste time to try and help......Once had a guy call me wanting to know if I could fix a crack in an aluminum water pump housing off a Jaguar.  I said it most likely wouldn't be a problem he just needed to have his mechanic take it off the car and bring it to me.  Well, twenty minutes later he drives up to my shop in his Jaguar wanting me to fix it while it's still on the car.  No amount of explanation on my part as to why that had absolutely zero chance of ever working out would satisfy this guy.  He just kept telling me I needed to "think positive".   Ended up telling him to just "go a way".
Reply:hey I just want to thank everybody for the insight.The only thing I remember from tig welding in school was that it was a great big Linde and the cooler was on top.  And there was more dials than in a watch shop......I went back to the arc welding booths to hide from it, it was that intimidating....Lincoln SA 200Esab Caddy 160Thermal Arc 201TSMiller Dialarc HFI don't like making plans for the day because then the word "premeditated" gets thrown around the courtroom....
Reply:Just because your machine isn't leaking down, doesn't mean you don't have a leak in the torch or hose, past the solenoid. If there's another torch, try it just to rule that out. Badly contaminated tungsten. Vinegar will give off bubbles on magnesium, good test for that tool. Post flow is mostly about the tungsten on ac, turn it up 'till the ball stays silver, not blue. Black is a good sign of a leak, or welding through a swamp of contaminates.Last edited by Brazin; 07-06-2014 at 01:18 PM.SqWave 200Millermatic 190Airco 200 ACHypertherm PM45Boice-Crane Band SawVictor O/A
Reply:Originally Posted by dubl_tHT', I really appreciate the help.On my shoping list is a 1/8" gas lense kit.I'm not too sure about my post-flow, something I'll check into.  The Dialarc is scale-graduated so a weldor can set p-f according to electrode size, but I'll double check that its working.