Good thread here. http://forum.weldingtipsandtricks.com/v ... =5&t=12150

Smooth is the answer, and don't snap.

This is a diamond wheel, well actually CBN. The diamonds are on the back for a few mm as well. The wheel is so smooth that you can touch it with no skin lost. The alignment turned out to be perfect, no shims or eccentric washers. I use the 45 deg face against the rest to get the basic shape (yes I k...

I'm not sure if posting links to another Forum is allowed.

I've kinda had the same journey recently, got there in the end.

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/thre ... -al.72563/

Don't laugh, but Drain Cleaner works well.

Just Sodium Hydroxide. Don't breath the vapour.

Some progress. Back to basics - here is a butt joint welded the same as above, .1 in thick 6061, 100 amps (actually 70 was enough), 120 Hz. I assume that is OK, certainly strong enough. The fillet joints are still eluding me, will post back when I've got one etched. It might be the 6261 aluminium th...

Thanks Otto,

Fillet joints have always been my nightmare. All other joints, and "open" fillet welds are fine. Once I get to 90 deg it just doesn't work so well. This thread has given me some good ideas.

Ok, got that. I'll be at work in an hour and can try it then. I didn't think of that, on the surface it appears to make the problem worse.

A photo of a bar coaster would be fine. Ms paint is just not the tool - for anything.

Could one of make a simple drawing of how a beveled fillet joint might look - I must be thicker than usual this morning.

Thanks, All that makes sense. If I join the faces first and extend the weld a little around the corner I get better results on the fillets. I'll try starting in the middle on this. I've only got 230 Amps, so that will have to do. In the past I've ended up with concave welds once I got things hot eno...

I realise I'm not getting root penetration, but the comment about the weld dropping out wasn't mine. A work in progress.

They aren't hot short cracks, it looked fine before I beat it to death. If you look at the vice marks you can see how hard it was to break.

Try 4943, its known to be stronger than 4043, especially in fillet welds. I think you might be bridging the weld so instead of welding into the joint, you are creating a blob that hits the top piece and then bottom piece but not penetrating the root. You need to wait for the puddle to generate and ...

6261 and 6061 are quite close.

http://www.makeitfrom.com/compare/6261- ... 1-Aluminum

Thanks. I see it that way too, while the AL is shiny and liquid when I start adding filler, it's not deep. I'll try a 3.2 electrode shortly.

Hi, For some time I have noticed I'm not getting full penetration on aluminum tube. The settings; 200+Amps AC, 25% Cleaning (or 75, Kempii is backward here), 120Hz rounded squarewave. 12 LPM Argon, electrode 2% lanthanated 2.4mm. Filler Rod 4043, cleaned of course. Aluminum is 6261 - slightly strong...

I thought the E3 electrodes were good until I got 2% lanthanated. I still use thoriated for DC though. https://youtu.be/DzEuV83UGMY

I've made a few sharpeners, dremel based, little grinder. All were kind of OK, kind of not. Eventually I found a drill sharpening stone. This is a diamond wheel, well actually CBN. The diamonds are on the back for a few mm as well. The wheel is so smooth that you can touch it with no skin lost. The ...

The miller digital infinity might solve this - the head gear seems to put the front in a different place. You can buy just the new headband, which I am using with the elite mask. https://www.amazon.com/Miller-271325-Generation-Headgear-Infinity/dp/B00ZE23XQM/ref=sr_1_42?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1467...

It's silicon, when the weld gets too hot (or you move too slow) it solidifies out of the molten metal. 4043 has 5% silicon. 5356 is 5% magnesium and looks better.

It can get worse, if you can picture this. Earth lead to welding table. Work is insulated from table. Rest forearms on Table. Place filler rod close to tungsten. The other end of the longish filler rod is touching my ear. Depress foot pedal, HF ignition on. That little tingle we've all got through o...

Perhaps my having only used two machines will show my ignorance, but on both of those machines (T&R, Kemppi) the HF stops as soon as the arc strikes.

Regardless I agree with the others - it's an earthing problem.

One more thing to try though - is the machine itself earthed on the power cord ?

DC-.

DC+ would do bad things.

The narrow focused arc melts the metal faster, the area is smaller. It's like welding Aluminum with the arc width and shape you get on Stainless. In my case I can use the penetration on the heavier metal, and run the AC on the thinner metal.

Running DC on aluminium part of the time, AC the rest, about 1/2 a second of each. The DC gives a tight arc with good heating, the AC does the cleaning. In my case welding 6061 aluminium where the thickness of the thick to thin metal is approx 10 to 1. It's noisy, looks good (auto dime maker), but b...