I'm trying to make fishing rod holders and I've MIG and TIG welded some out of stainless steel. I'd like to make one out of aluminum. However I'm still fairly new to TIG and some aluminum gives me fits! My issue is butt welding the round bar. What would you guys recommend for settings? I have a Lincoln Square Wave 200, I've tried amps from 60-110, same results each time, I've tried different cups and same results. Here's what I'm trying to do
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BillE.Dee
- BillE.Dee
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Weldmonger
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Joined:Mon Nov 27, 2017 8:53 pm
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Location:Pennsylvania (Northeast corner)
I might be wrong,,,,personally not familiar with your machine. Perhaps cleaning the material so you dont have to contend with cutting thru the oxidation and pre heating will help you a lot.
Tonixtricks
- Tonixtricks
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New Member
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Joined:Thu Feb 23, 2023 11:12 pm
Im not familiar with your machine, BUT settings should transfer over fairly close. I'd use 100% argon. Clamp your pieces to the table. I would NOT use green tungsten. I personally use grey. Gold will also work. With that diameter rod, I'd use 1/8 tungsten and 1/8 filler metal. Dont go above #6 cup. Gas lens. Now for the machine, set amps to 280(you wont necessarily use it all but its good to have extra amps in your foot pedal), 75% balance(on miller that controls the balance between cleaning and en), and 130hz(arc focus). What you dont want is a REALLY wide arc(what youd get with a green pure tungsten or low frequency. The higher the freq/hz the more your arc will stay in the middle of the 2 rods and not want to wander around. I say this because it looks like the start of your weld (the 1st 2 dabs were on 1 bar then it looks like there was a whole lot of struggling going on). The 1st 2 dabs looked good. Sharpen your tungsten to a point and give it a shot. Hope this helps.
The Lincoln SquareWave is a 200 amp machine, so not getting to 280. The higher the frequency, the higher the amps required to get the same penetration. A #6 cup doesn’t benefit from a gas lens in actuality, the lens causes too much turbulence. A #5 would work well as a collet body, 1/8 tungsten (color of your choice) 120Hz, 65%/35% balance. 200 amps with a preheat, and get it done.Tonixtricks wrote: ↑Fri Feb 24, 2023 11:23 am Im not familiar with your machine, BUT settings should transfer over fairly close. I'd use 100% argon. Clamp your pieces to the table. I would NOT use green tungsten. I personally use grey. Gold will also work. With that diameter rod, I'd use 1/8 tungsten and 1/8 filler metal. Dont go above #6 cup. Gas lens. Now for the machine, set amps to 280(you wont necessarily use it all but its good to have extra amps in your foot pedal), 75% balance(on miller that controls the balance between cleaning and en), and 130hz(arc focus). What you dont want is a REALLY wide arc(what youd get with a green pure tungsten or low frequency. The higher the freq/hz the more your arc will stay in the middle of the 2 rods and not want to wander around. I say this because it looks like the start of your weld (the 1st 2 dabs were on 1 bar then it looks like there was a whole lot of struggling going on). The 1st 2 dabs looked good. Sharpen your tungsten to a point and give it a shot. Hope this helps.