aluminum welding?? need advise

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Hi all, I got a lincoln precison tig 185 about two years. I have not used it much because I can't get it to work for me, therefore i don't like it! I don't have any real experience tig welding just in high school for a few hours about 17 years ago. i have read alot and talked to some guys in the feild. I think that I doing it about 75% right just looking for the other 25%> is it me, the machine , my prep or setup ?     I'm trying to bluild an aluminum cart out of 1x2x1/8 tube. the amps set at 185. on a/c , pulse frequency I've tried all over, ac balance mostly set on auto ,dosen't seem to make much difference cleaning or penetraion, post flow at 10  argon at 20 psi cup size #6  and #7 3/32 (green )tungsten.I've tried grinding the tungsten and after welding it truns into a ball ?   The problem .I don't think i'm getting good penetraion or any (the story of my life) And my welds don't look that great . Is this to big of a project for this welder? I have the foot pedal smashed to whole time I'm welding then the machine overheats and the orange light comes on and i have to wait about 5 mins. to cool down.  I don't think it's all me, tonight I change tungsten to red and flip to dc- and welded some steel and it worked great my welds where great with good penetraion. i don't know if this was the right settings, I just looks at the cheat sheet and it didn't have anything for steel so I used the stainless setup and it work awsome.  Is aluminum that hard to weld?  The other problem is when I welding with this machine. The lights in the house fliker and the old lady said that the treadmill truns into a mechal bull and the dryer stops working.  the house is 160 feet away  the shop has 100 amp panel from the house. sounds like feed back or a high freq leak.How do you fix this?   prep. I've been cleaning my work with 3m scotch wheels on a die grinder and then wiping the work and welding rods down with acidtone, is this good?heres some pix     Thanks, Daye  I can't catch a tigermusky or tig weld. tigmusky Attached Images
Reply:I don't think its going anyplace fast..Clean the material better..Expecially the tubing..Do the inside where the weld is going on the ends also..Learn to tie off the ends better..No craters..Like anything practice is your friend..I don't know anything about the machine but it will hold just fine.....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:more pix Attached Images
Reply:Looks like you did it!In the last pic, see the white around the weld?  That is too much cleaning or to much + electrode on the balance adjustment.  186 amps is a LOT, once the puddle gets going, back off and weld.  Perhaps you could turn the cleaning knob so it points straight up and forget the pulse.  Try a red, orange, grey, or gold tungsten with a point and see how that works.DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:david, can you use  red,orange, gold or grey tungsten on aluminum?????zap, whats a good way to clean aluminum ??  acidtone stainless wire wheel??thanks, dayeLast edited by tigmusky; 03-17-2008 at 09:48 PM.
Reply:I don't think you need to worry about your tungsten, as in the pic it looks to have a good clean ball. Pure green?I would say that your welds look real good for the amount of practice you explained.I always try to use a clean wire brush with stainless bristles. Alot of the small toothbrush size gets used up.
Reply:yep SS brush then wipe down with acetone weld and dont dab the tung.but other than that they look goodpractice practice .......ect
Reply:Looks pretty good. I think you are maybe expecting too much of yourself right now. Only thing I see that is easily fixed is to cool down the last bead and get the last dip in a little cooler, so the last puddle doesn't fall out so much. Other than that, proceed as you were.And then, after so much work...... you have it in your hand, and you look over to your side...... and the runner has run off. Leaving you holding the prize, wondering when the runner will return.
Reply:In the third picture you lost the edge in the weld that connects that small round piece to the tube. To help eliminate this start your arc about 1/4" away from edge on the material and then dip your filler and let it backfill to the edge. --Gol'
Reply:Originally Posted by tigmuskydavid, can you use  red,orange, gold or grey tungsten on aluminum?????zap, whats a good way to clean aluminum ??  acidtone stainless wire wheel??thanks, daye
Reply:not to argue but we have a machin similar to that at work just a higher model cause they can afford it hahah and you must use pure tung. red end at high amps will almost break. ive seen longitudinal cracks up the tungsten...but thats my 2cents
Reply:Help!!  what do you mean by  " pointed works well with an inverter"I guess I don't know what an interverter is does anyone have an  lincoln 185 prescison tig??  If so what do you think of it???  thanks , daye
Reply:I have a PT225, which is just a step up from the 185. I use orange and red tungstens almost exclusively and do not have any problems unless I dip or otherwise contaminate them.I think your welds are decent and will only get better with practice. 185a is a bit hot for 1/8", so you must be running pretty fast, again good practice.For aluminum, I set the cleaning knob with the line vertical, and turn the pulse off. (I'm old school, and this is the first welder that I had with pulse.)Richard TerryMarine engineer.............  C'mon retirement!
Reply:Yamahammer, do you use red and orange tungsten on aluminum???    ball or point      daye
Reply:I also have a PT 225, which is basically the same machine as the 185. I think they have a similair duty cycle - but the 225 just has more top end to use in short spurts.I use red tungsten for most everything I do - although I also have green (pure) tungsten that I use sometimes. I sometimes have trouble with the red splitting and cracking up the tip, and if I get tired of that I switch to pure for a while. For 99% of what I do the red works fine.I have only put about 100 hours of welding on this machine, but I like it and it works very well. It is also a really good stick welder, although the 100% duty cycle is down at 90 amps, so if you are going to be burning pounds of larger rods steady, then you will need a bigger machine.I am more of a repair/handyman/jack of all trades type welder than a fabrication welder, I like the convenience of having a freshly sharpened red tungsten sitting in the torch, and a good selection of filler rods and stick electrodes sitting in the cabinet. Then I am good for whatever comes up that day - Stainless, Aluminum, Steel, etc.Like others have mentioned, in the photos it looks like you are welding very hot and fast for the size of your media. With aluminum you really have to consider the total size of the stock, not just the thickness, because once the small piece of 1/8 angle you might be welding on has heated up, it stops acting as a heat sink and your weld bead is going to grow VERY FAST. If you can handle the heat and the speed, then all power to you, although I would probably back off the heat and slow down considerably so I could enjoy myself more in the process.Good luck with your machine!
Reply:Originally Posted by tigmuskydavid, can you use  red,orange, gold or grey tungsten on aluminum?????zap, whats a good way to clean aluminum ??  acidtone stainless wire wheel??thanks, daye
Reply:On aluminum, with red and orange tungstens, I sharpen them to a medium point. The end will ball eventually, during the course of the bead.Richard TerryMarine engineer.............  C'mon retirement!
Reply:I have been welding aluminum jet boats for years. I would say that tungsten is not your problem. No need to sharpen it, green is ok. Amperage is high but if you are using a pedal you control that anyway. I would keep it around 165 amps or you will wind up with a bigger ball on the end than you want. Your welder may not be getting enough power, since you said the light flicker and such. It may say 185 on the front of the machine, but if input power is lacking, then you aren't getting all the power you need. Because if you are cranked to 185 and weld for more than a 20 or 30 second period, your torch will be very hot. Probably too hot to stand it for very long.  Good luckBill