TIG Complications

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The other day at work I had to TIG up some roller drums, the drum skin, the end plates and the baffle were 16 ga. and the axle tube was 2.375 OD and a 1.875 ID. I cleaned and preped all the materials welded it up. I'd like to add that the job sucked and I'm glad it is done.  Any way...... my question is this... after I was done I used a new flap disc ground and radiused the edges, I found a few spots I wanted to touch up and when I went to weld them the area seemed to bubble up like a casting and as I brought the wire in to the arc zone the end of the wire would ball up. I couldn't get the puddle to wet up. It was very strange, I've never experienced this before. So EXPERTS..... what was I experiencing? _________________Chris
Reply:Sounds like something from the flap disk contaminated your metal.. Sorta like those problems I was having on that thick aluminum a while back..  But of course, Im no expert..Various GrindersVictor Journeyman torch200cf Acet. 250cf oxygenLincoln 175 plus/alpha2 gunLincoln v205t tigLincoln 350mpEsab 650 plasmaWhen you can get up in the morning, Its a good day.Live each day like its your last.
Reply:Originally Posted by lorenzoThe other day at work I had to TIG up some roller drums, the drum skin, the end plates and the baffle were 16 ga. and the axle tube was 2.375 OD and a 1.875 ID. I cleaned and preped all the materials welded it up. I'd like to add that the job sucked and I'm glad it is done.  Any way...... my question is this... after I was done I used a new flap disc ground and radiused the edges, I found a few spots I wanted to touch up and when I went to weld them the area seemed to bubble up like a casting and as I brought the wire in to the arc zone the end of the wire would ball up. I couldn't get the puddle to wet up. It was very strange, I've never experienced this before. So EXPERTS..... what was I experiencing?
Reply:Originally Posted by zapsterWas it acting like someone was turning off your gas here and there..?Starts percolating..sparking...making a mess out on the tungestion that you just painstakenly ground?? I get that all the time when i'm building up shafts that the bearing was spinning on and tearing it up..I put it down as "funk in the junk" your trying to build up..It did it to me this morning in one place.. see "More precision with a tig" thread..But I never thought to take a pic of it when it happens..So next time i will.....zap!
Reply:Sometimes even that the steel is "new"..Ground up pieces of Toyotas find their way into the "mix"..And thats enough to screw up anything.. In all reality..I've turned brand "new" tubing in my lathe and every once in a while..ping!There goes my toolbit..  Find the break spot and get out the pointy chisel and hammer to get under "something" in the metal thats very hard..Imported steel is notorious for having trash in it.. But not the stuff from Canada.. ...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:I forgot to mention that it was aluminum........._________________Chris
Reply:Originally Posted by lorenzoI forgot to mention that it was aluminum.........
Reply:I even switched back to pure tungsten...... This also didn't happen it only one spot. You know how a magnet reacts if you try to put them together at the wrong ends... one wobbles all over the plcae right? The arc was just like that .... all over the place. I actually blew the ball right off the tungsten at one point. I just smoothed it all out and called it good. This job was a mess!!!_________________Chris
Reply:Hmmmph..Beats me.. And I thought I'd seen it all.. the only time something happend like that was the stainless with the ooops! aluminum filler I as telling you about last week.....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:Originally Posted by zapsterHmmmph..Beats me.. And I thought I'd seen it all.. the only time something happend like that was the stainless with the ooops! aluminum filler I as telling you about last week.....zap!
Reply:Originally Posted by weldingman24done that but the other way around
Reply:Originally Posted by zapsterthe only time something happend like that was the stainless with the ooops! aluminum filler I as telling you about last week.....zap!
Reply:Originally Posted by lorenzoDon't worry...........  I tried that too
Reply:Double check your high freq.  We had this problem on a drag chute stand and couldn't isolate it because we were using a loud mo-gas miller portable (on a trailer) and couldn't hear the sound of the points, and there was just enough high freq to fool us at the torch.  Pitted, and improperly gapped points.  New points fixed the problem for us.KalroyKalroy"It's all about the OODA Loop."
Reply:I've almost done that, grabbed the 5356, instead of the 309L. Now I have them seperated in a duadrant container. John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:Lorenzo, was your flap disk aluminum oxide?  Since you had a new one, maybe you grabbed the wrong one.  I have done that.DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:Without really being able to get a good mental pic of what the weldment is, I would ask if there was a hollow area under the weld (Like welding the ends of a tube or something) where pressure could build up and try to escape through your molten puddle?  I used to have to cap off holes that machinists would drill by mistake and that would happen all the time....I used to get so mad