TIG practice: Al

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3/32" thick aluminum rectangular tube stock. It was once part of a ladder on a pontoon boat.      Eastwood TIG 200 on AC     pure tungsten 3/32"     100% argon about 15cfh     Dedicated stainless scratch brush     Wiped down with acetone after scratching     4043 filler     I cranked the post flow to 7 sec. If i could have I would've went to 11.     Clearance effect: -3. Chart said -3 to zero so I went with -3     For amperage the chart on the macine suggests 70-100 amps for 3/32" AL     I went with 70 for these beads...          ...but I dropped the amps down to about 50 for these     heres a close up of the previous picI got some cracking going on. What could I do to prevent that? Thank you!Eastwood TIG 200NAPA 83-315 MIG
Reply:It could be a specific Marine grade of Aluminum that has some unique properties... I set the amps high and use the pedal to control the current..Tiger Sales:  AHP Distributor    www.tigersalesco.comAHP200x; AHP 160ST; MM350P,  Spoolmatic 30A; Everlast PowerTig 185; Thermal Dynamics 60i plasma.  For Sale:  Cobra Mig 250 w/ Push-pull gun.  Lincoln Wirematic 250
Reply:Hey thanks Southpaw you might be right about the material. I'll give that a shot tonight.Eastwood TIG 200NAPA 83-315 MIG
Reply:Was the ladder welded before?Eather it is cooling way to fast or it may be 2024 or 7075 aluminum that is used a lot for latter's, boats, airplanes, bleachers, etc. very strong but can not be welded, it is bolted, riveted or crimped together.www.georgesplasmacuttershop.comPlasma Cutter and Welder Sales and Repairs--Ebay storeTec.Mo. Dealer Consumables for the PT and IPT torch's
Reply:Get rid of the crater at the end of your welds on the 70 amp examples by, at the end of the weld bead, tapering the amps off drastically, and waiting for the puddle to substantially solidify before terminating the arc.  One last drop of filler metal may also be necessary through this, to keep the puddle from getting concave.I see the 50 amp welds were performed after your 70 amps ones.  If you did these when the material was still hot, since it was pre-heated it probably helped avoid the cratering and cracking issues as well.  It's all about heat control.  The one other crack besides those resulting from ending craters is where you attempted autogenous welding, which is not a good idea on many aluminum alloys, including 6061 which is very common.  Use an appropriate alloy filler rod to avoid hot-cracking where required.Last edited by jakeru; 01-19-2013 at 12:32 PM.
Reply:Personally I'd ditch the pure tungsten and go with one of the more popular choices for general work (ceriated, lanthanated, etc).
Reply:When you clean the material you MUST keep the brush wet with ACETONE to get any results..Brushing aluminum without the acetone really don't do much..Dip brush..Clean area..Dip and clean again..Wipe with CLEAN wet acetone rag..And just for laffs do it again..You WILL see a huge difference..As far as the weld ends go you want a tit not a hole.At the end go around in small circles as you let off the pedal gradually and dip dip dip as you go to make said tit....zap!Last edited by zapster; 01-19-2013 at 12:35 PM.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:I thought pure tungsten wasn't supposed to be used on inverter machines. Get some blue or red or orange and use those. Red makes the bead look nice and shiny after you weld and blue works really well.Problem when welding on aluminum as you probably noticed is that the piece gets really hot and after your first bead on a small piece. Best bet is to have a few pieces, run a bead, put it on the side to let it cool and weld on another piece of aluminum. Have like 3 or 4 pieces at least or give it plenty of time to cool and it will help with the learning curve.Torchmate 2x2 CNC with Flashcut CNC controlsHypertherm Powermax45 Esab ET220i Razorweld 195 MigRazorweld 200ac/dc TigTormach 770, Tormach xstechRazorweld, Vipercut/Vipermig, SSC Foot Pedal Dealer
Reply:Now that you mention it there were pre drilled holes in the material so it is probably non weldable Aluminum. Gamble : Nah you can use pure tungsten with inverters. I mean I did.Zap: Thanks. I've done that before I honestly don't know why I didn't this time. I will next time though.Zmechanic: I do have some 1.5% Lanthanated I'll give it a shot tonight.As far as cooling: I would do like two beads in a row and then let it cool while I welded another piece. And so on. I should just do one at a time maybe? Oh yeah and maybe get some actual weldable aluminum. lolThanks for the input everyone. Exactly what I was looking for. How do my beads look though?Eastwood TIG 200NAPA 83-315 MIG
Reply:Originally Posted by emeraldbisonNow that you mention it there were pre drilled holes in the material so it is probably non weldable Aluminum. Gamble : Nah you can use pure tungsten with inverters. I mean I did.Zap: Thanks. I've done that before I honestly don't know why I didn't this time. I will next time though.Zmechanic: I do have some 1.5% Lanthanated I'll give it a shot tonight.As far as cooling: I would do like two beads in a row and then let it cool while I welded another piece. And so on. I should just do one at a time maybe? Oh yeah and maybe get some actual weldable aluminum. lolThanks for the input everyone. Exactly what I was looking for. How do my beads look though?
Reply:You can have pretty much any postflow you want.  Set it to 8s.  Once you're 3s into the postflow, ever so slightly tap the foot pedal just barely enough for the contacts inside to touch.  The arc won't re-initiaite because of the pre-flow setting  since you're just barely tapping the pedal, but the postflow will continue for a full 8 seconds after the tap.  Voila, there are your 11s of post flow.  I highly suggest 2%La.  It will hold a point better than even 1.5%La, and million times better than pure tungsten.  After a few dozen times of having trouble starting the arc with pure tungsten that has completely balled up, you'll switch over and won't look back.Last edited by Oscar; 01-19-2013 at 03:12 PM.
Reply:Originally Posted by OscarYou can have pretty much any postflow you want.  Set it to 8s.  Once you're 3s into the postflow, ever so slightly tap the foot pedal just barely enough for the contacts inside to touch.  The arc won't re-initiaite because of the pre-flow setting  since you're just barely tapping the pedal, but the postflow will continue for a full 8 seconds after the tap.  Voila, there are your 11s of post flow.  I highly suggest 2%La.  It will hold a point better than even 1.5%La, and million times better than pure tungsten.  After a few dozen times of having trouble starting the arc with pure tungsten that has completely balled up, you'll switch over and won't look back.
Reply:So here's a pic of some beads I laid down tonight on the same material as before. I saturated the scratch brush in acetone this time and I used the 1.5% lanth. 60 amps, neg 3 clearance effect.4043 filler (also wiped with acetone)All the other specifics were the same as before.Eastwood TIG 200NAPA 83-315 MIG
Reply:How do you like the Eastwood so far? I've been considering it since I'm just a hobbyist and won't ever be making a living with the machine.
Reply:Originally Posted by DefHow do you like the Eastwood so far? I've been considering it since I'm just a hobbyist and won't ever be making a living with the machine.
Reply:Eastwood also sells a mini torch, it's a 9 series. Rated for 125amps on steel and 100 on aluminum and it's cheap, like $55. That's a great deal if it comes with a hose too, but not sure.My longevity 160sx is the same as the eastwood just less amps and with a stick option. I love it. Welds just as nice as my miller diversion 180 did and a higher duty cycle than the miller as well.Eastwood also has the tig and plasma cutter combo for like $1299. Saves you like $300. Seems like a really good deal!Torchmate 2x2 CNC with Flashcut CNC controlsHypertherm Powermax45 Esab ET220i Razorweld 195 MigRazorweld 200ac/dc TigTormach 770, Tormach xstechRazorweld, Vipercut/Vipermig, SSC Foot Pedal Dealer
Reply:Originally Posted by GambleEastwood also sells a mini torch, it's a 9 series. Rated for 125amps on steel and 100 on aluminum and it's cheap, like $55. That's a great deal if it comes with a hose too, but not sure.My longevity 160sx is the same as the eastwood just less amps and with a stick option. I love it. Welds just as nice as my miller diversion 180 did and a higher duty cycle than the miller as well.Eastwood also has the tig and plasma cutter combo for like $1299. Saves you like $300. Seems like a really good deal!
Reply:It's 2 machines not just 1.http://www.eastwood.com/ew-tig200-versa-cut-kit.htmlTorchmate 2x2 CNC with Flashcut CNC controlsHypertherm Powermax45 Esab ET220i Razorweld 195 MigRazorweld 200ac/dc TigTormach 770, Tormach xstechRazorweld, Vipercut/Vipermig, SSC Foot Pedal Dealer
Reply:Originally Posted by soutthpawUgh.  Don't ever encourage someone to buy a plasma/welder combo.  Please...