I’m taking a little break from aluminum. Got my hands on some 20 gauge stainless. My first attempt. 30 amps, no pulse .030 308L 1/16 2% Ceriated BBW cup @ 30 CFH I got uncomfortable with the position and got stuck at the purple spot. This is also where I started. How should I tack the ends of this w...

It’s important (when possible) to get a look at the backside. The amount of penetration will tell you volumes about heat, filler and travel speed. Those welds do look over-filled. Using a bit less of the filler per dab might be all you need to do. Hi Cj737. Thank you for your feedback. I went back ...

Welcome!

Hello gentlemen. I am back with more carnage. I finally took a shot at going around a 2.5” 16 ga aluminum tube. No curves this time :D I think I’m adding too much filler and too cold. Material . 3/32 lanthanated . 1/16 5053 filler . 70 amps on the pedal . 15 CFH post flow . #5 Furick cup with a gas ...

cj737 wrote: ↑Thu Apr 18, 2024 11:17 pm I knew what you meant, but the opportunity to tease I couldn’t let pass by…

I really look forward to trying pulse now. I’ve been on YouTube since your reply and saw how it helps with the heat control and rhythm.

Aluminum looks really good. I chopped up the rest of the stainless tube to practice going around a tube with a curve to hone my stops and re-starts. I’m struggling to remember a time I encountered a round tube that didnt have a curve? 🤣 Looking at the stainless welds, your bead profile indicates to...

I’m back with more entertainment for you guys. I chopped up the rest of the stainless tube to practice going around a tube with a curve to hone my stops and re-starts. Definitely a humbling experience. IMG_0139.jpeg Then I went back to the 1/16 aluminum. I’m going to attempt 1/16 tubing as soon as I...

cj737 wrote: ↑Wed Mar 27, 2024 8:57 am The only glaring thing is the restart. You need to back up to the prior last bead, start there and get it wet, then add filler there and move forward.

Yeah, I agree. It’s ugly as heck. I for sure will be focusing on that piece in the next few days.

Cheers!

IMG_9839.jpeg 33 amps might be a little low for 16ga. When the amps are too low, you have to wait in the stainless to melt, that causes a lot of heat input. As odd as it sounds, a touch more heat gets your puddle faster so you can weld without introducing as much heat overall. Of course, the higher...

@cj737 I was bored and without better knowledge decided to weave 16ga stainless. This was done with a #10 cup, 1/16 lanthanated, .035 308L @ 33 amps and 20 CFH. Definitely a little slow there on the first half but once I got comfortable I sped it up a bit. Ran a few beads and did a weaved butt joint...

With 1/16 filler on 1/8 material, I’d be closer to 95 amps to avoid the base material absorbing so much heat. That’s why your beads are turning blue/purple after a bit. Also, with only a #10 cup, make sure you’re using about 20cfh or gas. Your practice looks really good. Nice and even stepping. Bum...

I was watching The Fabrication Series on YouTube and wanted to try weaving.

Forced myself to feed filler since the knuckles are getting a bit toasty with the aluminum. This is probably the longest bead I’ve ran thus far while continuously feeding filler material. Not the greatest looking, but I’m pretty happy because I can roll with it without getting distracted. Almost lik...

Well don’t those look nice! To help with your restarts, focus your arc on the last bead of the weld, once it gets fluid, dip, then take off with your sequence. Add more filler at the end of the weld and taper off your heat to avoid the burn back. Looking really good! Really appreciate your guidance...

@Cj737 I couldn’t edit the earlier post from today but here’s the result. Padded a few beads at 80 amps, ~35-45% balance and ~120 Hz then tried another butt joint. Feels much more fluid and controllable @ 80 amps but I definitely need to practice running beads to nail down my puddle width and tie-in...

Thin aluminum is very tricky. You need to start backing off the amps as you approach the end to avoid the heat soaked material from burning back on you. Another trick is to add a larger tack at the end, weld to it, then back step to bring some of the tack into the weld. 68 amps is also tricky. It’s...

The only critique I'd make about the 18ga stainless is to use thinnner filler wire. It will help reduce how much heat, how much weld profile you generate. Since your fit-up appears to be good, you shouldnt need much wire; just enough to prevent undercut on the outside surface. Another trick you cou...

Played around a bit with the aluminum and decided to take a stab at 16 ga @ 40 amps.

good job. certainly getting there. the outside is better than some of mine and i've seen pro's do it worse. thats really good fit up which makes things a lot easier. with those tacks i would increase the pre flow a bit so your not getting that black oxidized ring on the tacks. also i like to do a l...

My first attempt at welding 3 pieces of 18 ga stainless tubing together. Wicked ugly but now I know what I will need to work on. Purged at 5 CFH.

Welcome and cool user name!

Welcome!

I'm a super newbie to TIG so I can't offer you any advice but post pics of your work.

I took a shot at 2.5” 18 ga stainless tubing. I was just running a bunch of beads to get used to the torch angle, dabbing, heat control and travel while going around a tube. A humbling process but still fun.

Arno wrote: ↑Mon Mar 04, 2024 2:52 am Nice dog!

Side-note.. Make sure the dog is not in the room when/where you are welding. They tend to look/stare at the arc and they get the same eye problems as we do without a helmet..

Or get him a set of auto-darken goggles

Bye, Arno.

Will do!

If you are hitting the joint directly, even with a good fit, lower your amps to 45. Be prepared to move away quickly. You can also use a dab of filler resting on the joint, and hit that with your arc. This can provide just enough extra material to avoid blowing through. One thing that is critical: ...