Tig welding tips, questions, equipment, applications, instructions, techniques, tig welding machines, troubleshooting tig welding process
Mystery metal
Post Reply
User avatar
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Tue Aug 19, 2014 2:34 am
  • Location:
    Short Creek, Arizona

I broke the bracket that holds the arm rest on my wheelchair. I thought it was aluminum but it produced faint orange sparks when I ground it out. I used 4043 filler but once a puddle formed, it became so incredibly bright I had to set my helmet shade on maximum. Seemed to weld ok and hasn't broken yet. Any of y'all know what material I'm dealing with?
Thanks.
Eldon
image.jpg
image.jpg (58.04 KiB) Viewed 1129 times
We are not lawyers nor physicians, but welders do it in all positions!

Miller Dynasty 280DX
Lincoln 210 MP
Miller 625 X-Treme
Hobart Handler 150
Victor Oxygen-acetylene torch
Miller/Lincoln Big 40-SA200 hybrid
Top
nickn372
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Sat Jan 28, 2012 11:35 am
  • Location:
    Sugarcreek, Ohio

Magnesium maybe? Don't know that it would take 4043 at all. I wouldn't think so though. I have had aluminum throw the occasional orange spark but it was more from the grinding wheel than the metal.
Be the monkey....
Top
User avatar
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Wed Aug 06, 2014 12:48 am
  • Location:
    Melbourne, Australia

If it produced any spark it's likely only to be ferrous of some type. Certainly not magnesium in my view.

Dull orange sparks can sometimes indicate HS steel, but that is unlikely to be the case in this construction.

But they can also indicate some Stainless Steel types. Could it be Stainless?

Is it attracted to a magnet - bearing in mind there are Austenitic (non-magnetic) and Martensitic SS types - amongst others.

Austenitic is most common, and will probably weld (not well though) with 4043.
EWM Phonenix 355 Pulse MIG set mainly for Aluminum, CIGWeld 300Amp AC/DC TIG, TRANSMIG S3C 300 Amp MIG, etc, etc
Top
dirtmidget33
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Tue May 13, 2014 5:22 pm

Don't have a simple answer without seeing it personally are feeling it. I never had aluminum give off sparks on grinder or magnesium either. They just produced shavings.well except once when I didn't clean all mag particles out of grinder housing. Next time I ground piece of steel it ignited all the mag shavings :lol:

Maybe these links will help you

http://www.scrapmetaljunkie.com/241/the ... g-metals-2

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7PWCh6fdXdw
why use standard nozzles after gas lens where invented. Kinda of like starting fires by rubbing sticks together.
Top
User avatar
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Tue Aug 19, 2014 2:34 am
  • Location:
    Short Creek, Arizona

Thanks for all the replies. The part feels really light like aluminum. The thing that confuses me is the sparks. I thought it might have been contamination on my stone so I put a new one on and it still threw the orange sparks. It did flow nicely with the 4043 filler and seems so be holding well but I'm going to order a new bracket anyway.

Cheers.
-Eldon
We are not lawyers nor physicians, but welders do it in all positions!

Miller Dynasty 280DX
Lincoln 210 MP
Miller 625 X-Treme
Hobart Handler 150
Victor Oxygen-acetylene torch
Miller/Lincoln Big 40-SA200 hybrid
Top
682bear
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Fri Oct 03, 2014 4:59 pm
  • Location:
    Georgia

Just a guess...

Titanium, maybe?

-Bear
Top
User avatar
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Fri Apr 01, 2011 10:59 pm
  • Location:
    Australia; Victoria

Take note, he got it welded with alum filler. If were anything too exotic, it would not have welded. Plus Ti would have yielded bright white sparks.
Top
User avatar
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Wed Aug 06, 2014 12:48 am
  • Location:
    Melbourne, Australia

weldin mike 27 wrote:Take note, he got it welded with alum filler. If were anything too exotic, it would not have welded. Plus Ti would have yielded bright white sparks.
Any guesses Mike? Could the sparks have come from other contamination in the grinding wheel? I was presuming it might have just welded by fusing the parent metal.
EWM Phonenix 355 Pulse MIG set mainly for Aluminum, CIGWeld 300Amp AC/DC TIG, TRANSMIG S3C 300 Amp MIG, etc, etc
Top
User avatar
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Tue Aug 19, 2014 2:34 am
  • Location:
    Short Creek, Arizona

I suspected contamination on the stone was responsible for the sparks so i tried a new flap disk as well as a scotch-brite wheel and got the same sparks. It was just a curiosity to me but even though i got it welded and it's holding, I'm ordering a new bracket. I guess I should go on a diet so I don't break it again. :lol:
Cheers.
-Eldon
We are not lawyers nor physicians, but welders do it in all positions!

Miller Dynasty 280DX
Lincoln 210 MP
Miller 625 X-Treme
Hobart Handler 150
Victor Oxygen-acetylene torch
Miller/Lincoln Big 40-SA200 hybrid
Top
User avatar
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Fri Apr 01, 2011 10:59 pm
  • Location:
    Australia; Victoria

I'm only guessing, but according to what Jody has said, it might be an al magnesium alloy. If it was more magnesium, it would have cracked straight away from the AL filler wire.
Top
User avatar
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Thu Jan 24, 2013 6:44 am

My guess would be a 7000 series aluminum.
Top
User avatar
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Sat Jul 06, 2013 11:16 am
  • Location:
    Near Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania. Steel Buckle of the Rust Belt

Eldon,
I'm no metallurgist for sure but seeing that the name on the wheelchair in the picture says Top End Crossfire T6 Titanium, I would guess Titanium. Now I know everything on your chair isn't Titanium, but I would think that the structural parts would be judging by the name.

Len
Now go melt something.
Instagram @lenny_gforce

Len
Top
User avatar
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Tue Aug 19, 2014 2:34 am
  • Location:
    Short Creek, Arizona

The frame is titanium. Not sure about the bolt on pieces.
We are not lawyers nor physicians, but welders do it in all positions!

Miller Dynasty 280DX
Lincoln 210 MP
Miller 625 X-Treme
Hobart Handler 150
Victor Oxygen-acetylene torch
Miller/Lincoln Big 40-SA200 hybrid
Top
User avatar
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Fri Apr 01, 2011 10:59 pm
  • Location:
    Australia; Victoria

Ti has bright white sparks, and would have had a hissy fit if you tried to weld it with 4043.
Top
682bear
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Fri Oct 03, 2014 4:59 pm
  • Location:
    Georgia

weldin mike 27 wrote:Ti has bright white sparks, and would have had a hissy fit if you tried to weld it with 4043.
I'm not trying to be argumentative... and no offense intended...

I know very little about welding titanium, with 4043 or anything else, so you are probably correct about that, but I have done a LOT of hand blending on titanium jet engine cases and many of them do throw orange or yellow sparks. Others throw bright white sparks...

-Bear
Top
User avatar
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Fri Apr 01, 2011 10:59 pm
  • Location:
    Australia; Victoria

No problem. I thought it was a a general rule of bright white. Thanks for the info
Top
Post Reply

Return to “Tig Welding - Tig Welding Aluminum - Tig Welding Techniques - Aluminum Tig Welding”