[mister bobo]

Cleaned for solid hour on a mini bike skidplate, 'bout 3/16" think. got it to where I needed it. Miller Dynasty 200SD w/ coolmate3/wet torch, 4043 rod, cleaned with acetone, 3/32 2%th tung, # 7 cup ,bal at 99%, freq at 100, amps at 115, pure argon at 30cfh, bottle under 400. some of the worst welds I put out in a while. once again. grinder, me and a flap disc wheel and a dream somehow make this salvageable. I'm sure I'm looking right at it, but what would anyone suggest?
Thanks in advance-
bo

[gurew]

depends on who fills your bottles...but most carriers ive used anything under 500psi is crap, also your gas flow is way too high, should be around 15 with that size cup, give that a try and report back

[mister bobo]

ding ho! appreciate the quick reply! give 'er a try monday am with a fresh bottle of argon!
Thanks!
Bo

[Trackmaster welder]

Hey mister, good advice from gurew there, its a little counter intuitive, but too much argon flow can mess ya up as much a too little. Hard to say for sure without seeing what you were getting. Also remember that the bottom of that plate has been pelted with all kinds of Crap. Crap blasted if you will, ha. Anyway it is not uncommon on an old worn piece like that for impurities to have imbedded themselves deeper than you would grind sand etc. It becomes almost like welding dirty cast aluminum. The inverter your using goes clockwise on the balance control towards EN yes? So at 99% you are at minimum cleaning, max penetration. And yes I agree that " most of the time " the ac balance is a set it and forget it control, ( no pun intended Ron Popeal ) ..... but for 3/16 penetration is not an issue and you may need to spread your bead out wider and shallower by taking advantage of a bit more EP balance. It can be a weld saver on sometimes. Also personally I think I would choose a nice buttery sine wave at good ole 60 hertz. Again, can't really say without seeing the problem, but if you were seeing lots of black flecks, and porosity, this could help too.

[mister bobo]

I think you fellers may have nailed me. The argon flow, but I think the bal. at 99 may have been too high come to think. Bead way too narrow, I'll bet 60 will help. fill my argon, lower my bal, and you were right-it boiled up like dirty cast. I figured that one being a skidplate, but it is hard to say when I'm screwing everything else up so bad.
Thanks again for the help folks!
take care-
Bo

[Trackmaster welder]

Don't be so hard on your self, it's always much easier to weld nice clean virgin metal. Sometimes depending on the service life of the material in question, it can really deal suprises, and problems. But it sounds like your on the right track! Like castings, that plate can be so dirty that you may never get a "pretty" looking weld, but you can get a decent performing weld that'll do the job. Crank your cleaning up a bit, lower your freq, and sometimes you also just need to work the torch a bit to get some of the crud up to the surface and then be a little aggressive with your rod dabs, and just push em right in, under the oxide skin, and that clean liquid aluminum kind of displaces some of the crap to the top.