It’s true Spoolguns can do the work, but you’d better be darn sure you have it setup right. With TIG, you do get a better opportunity to insure penetration and fill. You wouldn’t need 250 & 50% Helium to do that job, but it sure wouldn’t hurt to have both. The biggest concern from my perspectiv...

ljdm1956 wrote:Guess it really doesn't really matter now, you had to turn down the job, but in the future, do you have a MIG/spool gun available? I'd prefer that over TIG for that size material, and that type job.

Ive never used a spool gun. I have a esab 215ic which I can attach one to.

I would bevel the 3/8" material against the welding edge. I would use TIG happily, but I'd want up to 250 amps available to me. With multiple passes (3/32" filler until flush, then a 1/8" cover pass) I'd be confident in the weld. This would be beveled on both edges and welded on both...

Man, if you're unsure about the work, walk! I would want more than 200 amps to weld that, even with a preheat. A 50% He mix will help, but I'd also be concerned about the condition of the aluminum bracket. Sitting in a carwash, I'd anticipate a fair bit of contamination having seeped into that piec...

Good afternoon, Today I turned down a job that I was unsure I was able to do. I have welded aluminum and fabricated some nice projects for customers, but nothing over 1/8" wall thickness. Well today I was called to go to a carwash and weld 3/8 thick aluminum bracket to 1/2" wall tubing. Th...

Anyone know what wpuld cause this ugly stuff in my weld. Tig on AC .....15cfh #8 cup. 3/32 tungten.

Looks worse on camera. Lol. Still it has some soot in it . My aluminum welds usually look good. These are ugly! Could it be pulling crap from the inside of the tubing?

@Ant428 - up your Tungsten to 1/8” for starters. 135A for 1/2” Ally, irrespective of welding position amd joint preparation, is cold/cold. You’ll need a baseline amperage of 280+A to fuse this joint, IMPO. Use 1/8” 4043/5356/4943 filler. A 280A rig with H25 (75Ar/25He) may have the boost to inject ...

Hello all, I have a questions that I am unsure of. I decided to test my TIG weld with a bend test. I butt welded two pieces of 1/8" bar stock together and then put it in the press and bent it to a 90 degree. Then I used my vice and kept bending it. When I got close to a 180 bend, I noticed some...

Oscar wrote:You might have crappy SS or a little bit of contamination in your Argon. Where'd you get that SS piece?

Metal supply. I'll grab a fresh one and try again.

Demented wrote:How long are you applying heat when doing the small spot?

2 seconds?

I see the discoloration immediately. Even as the post flow is running. The discoloration is more lie,lay a result of too high amperage. Postflow won’t remove the heat discoloration if you exceed the needed heat to weld it. If the “spot weld” is clean and not discolored, then your gas is fine. Eithe...

stainless discolors when its hot and meets air. its not so much cup size or flow but rather time to let the stainless cool down. if you have a backer thats sucking heat out, you want it quick and hot and let the backer suck the heat out while you keep it covered until its cooled down enough. its ju...

Poland308 wrote:How thick is the SS and how long is your post purge?
Also are you using a backer?

I think it was 1/8. No back purge, but I want all te way through . Just a surface test

Good afternoon everyone. I wanted to ask if this is normal. I would make a spot weld on stainless and wait until the post flow has stopped. No matter what there is discoloration around the spot. Even using a #12 cup and gone up to 25cfh. Is this normal?

My guess would be that your long arcing in the beginning and then holding tight after a few seconds. Looks like the porosity is only in the beginning of your weld. When you strike your arc, try not to long arc too much. Once you start the weld, hold tight. If your having trouble, then try holing tig...

I am building a bench rest out of aluminum tubing (3x3x1/8). Sometimes I can get the puddle going and sometimes I can't. IF I move to a center area of the tubing, I can weld like a pro...I get to 2 tubes together and it looks like the pro left dodge and took a crash course in demolition. I grab a p...

cj737 wrote:You can preheat the 1/8 first, or, strike your arc on the 1/8 then wick over to the seam and add filler promptly. Arc focus is pretty critical with this.

So striking the arc and wicking the puddle over worked great! thanks! I added filler right away and everything went smooth

LtBadd wrote:Even with backing which the angle provides, this is a more challenging weld as you've discovered, get in quick and move, looks like you've done good so far...

Thank you, I have one more weld to do so I will try a backer with it.

Any tips on welding 16ga to 1/8 aluminum. It was really tricky because the edge of the 16ga wanted to melt away before I could get the 1/8 square wall to puddle.

Warren couldn't agree more. turn it up and learn to read the puddle, thats why you have a foot pedal. craig I agree, but I was concerned that I was doing something wrong because I feel like 150 amps should be enough for a fillet weld on 1/8. HOWEVER....it was square tuning mitered, so the wall at t...

Warren couldn't agree more. turn it up and learn to read the puddle, thats why you have a foot pedal. craig I agree, but I was concerned that I was doing something wrong because I feel like 150 amps should be enough for a fillet weld on 1/8. HOWEVER....it was square tuning mitered, so the wall at t...

You may well be getting a different gas coverage when you are doing the other joint types. Can you organise some “dams” from aluminum foil to help contsin the argon? What are you “aiming” the arc at? Regards Ralph I aim the arch right into the joint , where the two pieces meet. Maybe a little bit m...

cj737 wrote:How high are your amps? For what you’re describing, I’d be above 170 to get my puddle, and filling it with 1/8” rod.

Edit: Sorry, didn’t see your settings. So, crank up your amps.

But the charts call for 130-150 for 1/8 wall. Why so high?
What would be your cleaning process for tubing?

More amps, don't be timid - aluminum loves amps. Make sure stickout is far enough to get a good tight arc to get puddle started. Get on the power quickly, timid will cause you problems. I'm full throttle right away, and a tight arc. I'm right in there. I'm wondering if I didn't clean it properly.

Good Afternoon, (or morning) I am making an awning frame out of 1 1/2" aluminum square tubing 1/8" wall. When I make the butt joints, the metal flows fine and shiny , but when I do the tee joint, or fillet weld, I cannot get the metal to flow. In fact, I can't get a proper puddle going!. A...