- Thread starter Gizmo.Y
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Richard.
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These are getting there giz you should be happy with them. It it obvious your gonna struggle with a fillet as its a difficult joint when starting out. I would say the beads on the plate need to be a lot more consistent before throwing other difficulties to deal with. Try a lap joint if your looking to challenge your self. Similar to a fillet but with more access for visibility. Watch the undercut on the top plate.
Ive tried a couple of lap joints, same results. the top plate just ends up like so...
Im using an Eastwood Tig200. so i dont have any fancy options to select mhz or wave form. I know its a Square wave form...
Im doing most of these welds at 50amps on the trigger, not had much practice with the pedal...also on 3mm chequer plate. I do have some fresh 2mm box (from some sort of ducting)
Im wondering if its my tungsten prep which is the problem...
Im using an Eastwood Tig200. so i dont have any fancy options to select mhz or wave form. I know its a Square wave form...
Im doing most of these welds at 50amps on the trigger, not had much practice with the pedal...also on 3mm chequer plate. I do have some fresh 2mm box (from some sort of ducting)
Im wondering if its my tungsten prep which is the problem...
Screwdriver
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Is the bottom plate flat on the workbench? If it is, it will suck all the heat out of the piece. Raise it up on a bit of steel filler rod.
Richard.
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Unless my unit is struggling to generate a puddle I find it's more often a good thing to have heat taken out of Alu while welding. It's because of its very conductive nature that is one of the reasons new comers struggle to weld it. I have a 1inch thick lump of cast iron flat top that I use a lot for welding smaller aluminium things on that become heat soaked quickly. This thing sucks a lot of it out and helps with puddle control.
With a fillet or lap weld you've got one cut edge and one 'solid' piece, the cut edge is gonna melt more easily even if the bottom piece is blocked up to stop the table from acting like a heatsink. 50A / 3mm ally is probably a large part of the problem, especially for initially tacking the pieces together. Turn the amps up (double them), nice short arc length that everso slightly favours the solid/bottom piece and be ready to add a dab of wire. What you want/are looking for is enough heat to get one weldpool where the two pieces are touching and then add a little wire to the pool
Because you're offcuts are reeeeaaaaallllly small they're gonna get heat soaked really quickly which makes for largish changes to travel speed or the amperage needed. That's just the nature of aluminium but some decent sized weld coupons would help LOTS. To avoid wasting loads of material can tack a bunch of smaller strips together to make 2 larger coupons with several joints on each so you can swap between 'em as they become heat soaked.
Because you're offcuts are reeeeaaaaallllly small they're gonna get heat soaked really quickly which makes for largish changes to travel speed or the amperage needed. That's just the nature of aluminium but some decent sized weld coupons would help LOTS. To avoid wasting loads of material can tack a bunch of smaller strips together to make 2 larger coupons with several joints on each so you can swap between 'em as they become heat soaked.
Screwdriver
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I agree but in this circumstance the upright is not being cooled and the differential is going to be an issue. Another way to balance things out would be to place a large square block behind the upright...
Screwdriver
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Neatly folded box. Do you have an armrest set up on your bench? A sort of arm that you can slide along when welding, really helps to keep your TIG torch steady. Otherwise with your hand up in mid air, things can go a bit wobbly.
S.
S.
Richard.
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Those ultima golds will be the best £7 you've spent. I've had miller blues and esab tig professionals, I've even got an old pair of Tilmans. The cheap ultimas are waaaay better and more comfortable. I come across the brand by accident as I borrowed a pair and I thought they would be expensive when I put them on but they are really cheap.
This is my setup currently...
an old shelf i ground the paint off, 1mm sheet with box section frame - Its an old shelf!
Will be replacing it in the new year when places are open, hopefully with a thick sheet of steel (Any recommendations? worried about rust...)
Another thing to note as well. I first started on the box with a Blue tungsten and number 7 cup. I changed to a white tungsten with number 5 cup, and i found it easier to started the outside joint. On top of that the gloves made the most difference
an old shelf i ground the paint off, 1mm sheet with box section frame - Its an old shelf!
Will be replacing it in the new year when places are open, hopefully with a thick sheet of steel (Any recommendations? worried about rust...)
Another thing to note as well. I first started on the box with a Blue tungsten and number 7 cup. I changed to a white tungsten with number 5 cup, and i found it easier to started the outside joint. On top of that the gloves made the most difference
Screwdriver
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I only ever use 1.6, I find it gives me a lot more control and a much finer arc but I rarely if ever weld massive chunks of ally, just thin sheets like yours. I would have thought 2.4 would be over the top for thin sheet but I don't know how different the effect would be. I am still a noob.
S.
S.
