[ONDGAS]

i get a nice clean puddle happening but as soon as i put my filler in its turns to crap., through the mask it looks like the filler rod is melting "outside" of the puddle and then my arc gets a greenish type of colour to it almost like it does when i touch the electrode into a puddle by mistake, but the weird thing is i can go over to another part of the work piece immedietly and get a nice puddle going again, sometimes the rod will dip ok for a bit but then bam! it turns to crap. I've tried new tungsten and changed to different filler a couple times but it has me beat.

BTW im a beginer and have been doing Aarons course on 6061.com and he recommends balling your tungsten by turning the AC balance way down, thing is, I've been doing this and i can't get a really great ball on the end of my tungsten as seen in the pic,

16cfh
blue electrode
ck gas lens #7 cup

[ONDGAS]

Here are the pics

[cj737]

Blue electrodes don't ball up nearly as much as Green do. You didn't list the balance you're running, but it has been my experience that the angle and direction of introducing the filler on ally welding matters. And jam it in there, no lolly-gagging by trying to sneak it in. The heat from the shielding gas will melt the rod before you get to the puddle.

Looking at your base metal pieces, I'd suggest getting them a bit cleaner and running your AC balance closer to 70% to help reduce the schmegma (technical term for the soot). Even a decent scuffing with a stainless brush helps prior to welding. And lastly, welding an outside corner effects the argon being trapped against the material. The edge "splits" the gas and reduces the actual coverage so you are apt to get more soot as a new ally welder.

[ONDGAS]

Thanks
Yeah I'm running 75-80% balance, the part is a bit of weird shape and prob not prime for a beginner but I just have to get it done, what do you do to counter a outside corner then? More gas flow? Also would you trade having more electrode stick out on this outside corner rather than more torch angle

[cj737]

I try whenever possible to keep my torch angle as close to 90* regardless. Not always possible... 80% is a bit high in my opinion, I'd suggest trying to run at 68% and see what change occurs. Often I use 65% but the weld is not shiny as a result. You can also bump the CFH up to 20 and see if that helps.

I find it difficult to say "this is what works..." because so many different variables effect the outcome. Sometimes, you gotta just experiment.

[exnailpounder]

If your filler is melting before you get it in the puddle, you either have a bad torch angle or your filler is too small or both. The green flame is probably from not keeping the filler in the argon shield and it is getting oxidised. I will agree that your gas is getting split on the outside corner and might be drawing in air. Clamp a couple pieces of angle on either side of the weld to trap gas if you can. Find out what your machine recommends for an optimum balance setting and set it there. I usually go a few numbers into the penetration side and the welds always come out nice and shiny. If you see pepper in your puddle, go more for penetration and it will clear up.That's a huge ball for lanthanated tungsten. I use lanthanted too and I never ball it before welding, I just let it ball by itself. The bigger the ball, the more your arc wants to wander, especially if your newer and your arc length is a little off. Also, if you are practicing in the point of an outside corner, you are gonna have trouble as you don't really have anywhere for the arc to concentrate on and that's the thickest part of the material. To start out learning to tig on AL is always a hard road uphill. You have a lot to learn to be able to tig weld so you would do yourself a huge favor and get some mild steel or even stainless to practice on. They are much more forgiving than Al. You have to be doing everything right to weld AL so you can see where it might be a problem starting out on AL.

[motox]

what is your pre-flow set at?
craig

[cj737]

In addition to Nail's advice, you might adjust the frequency too up to a higher setting (if your machine allows). A higher frequency helps pinpoint the arc on small edges (helps prevent wandering when the tungsten balls up).

[ONDGAS]

Thanks for the advice
From memory I'm at 1.5 sec pre flow
I'm surprised you think that the ball I have is huge? I thought I should aim for more than that... i wonder what others think maybe others use a larger ball?

[Poland308]

Schmegma. Haven't heard that one in a while!

[LtBadd]

I'm surprised you think that the ball I have is huge? I thought I should aim for more than that... i wonder what others think maybe others use a larger ball?

You haven't said what machine you're using but it sounds like it's an inverter, if so you don't need to ball the tungsten, it will ball some as you weld, which is okay.

If you were using a transformer machine then you might want to pre-ball the tungsten, you can do this by setting the machine to reverse polarity (DC+) and with a low amperage gently start the arc and watch as the ball forms, it won't take a lot of amps to do this, when you're done be sure to set the machine back to AC.

Do you have a flat plate or flat bar to run practice beads instead of that angle?

[ONDGAS]

I have a kemppi 2300
Do t get me wrong I didn't just jump in to practicing on this corner piece I have done a fair bit of stee and stainless and even alloy but I wouldn't say I'm a pro at anything. I don't have a pic of the other side of that work piece but it's basically identical outside corner and it was a nice weld, considering I was the one welding it!! What I mean is no schmegma!!! I think the torch angle may be my drama cause the first side went along fine because I didn't have anything in my way, now it's turning to crap cause I have the inlet runners on this manifold in my way and it's just stuffing me up. I dunno how I'm going to keep a good angle on this piece I may take some more pics when I get home

[MosquitoMoto]

Agree with what others have said regarding bad torch angle.

Also, no need to ball the electrode if you are using an inverter.

Finally, your welds look cold to me...hope this is some help.



K

[exnailpounder]

Thanks for the advice
From memory I'm at 1.5 sec pre flow
I'm surprised you think that the ball I have is huge? I thought I should aim for more than that... i wonder what others think maybe others use a larger ball?

I did some AL yesterday and the ball ended up about the size of the roller ball in a pen. Pure develops a huge ball but most other blends don't. I used to have a transformer machine and I used pure and it did ok. When I got my inverter and started using 2% lanthanated , it was like an epiphany. Nice little ball that doesn't want to drop off into the weld, very controllable arc, smaller bead profile...etc. You can grind a land onto the end of your tungsten if you want a bigger ball but there is no need for it.

[exnailpounder]

Here is a pic of my tungsten after I just welded a couple filets over in the "penetration on aluminum" thread. The pic makes the ball look bigger but it's very tiny. This was at 140 amps..your ball will be bigger at higher amps. Nice focused arc that doesn't wander. I know I need to turn up my post flow a little but I am a gas miser

20170426_084543.jpg (34.76 KiB) Viewed 1163 times

[ONDGAS]

So what is everyone's thoughts on this picture for welding 1/8 thick alloy... this is why I'm a bit confused on what size ball to have

[Poland308]

Don't focus on your balls!

Take some pictures of the resulting welds that go with the tungsten. From looking at you cup and tungsten that looks totally normal. Every stick of tungsten is made up of a mixture of metals. As you use it and regrind it you constantly exposing new surfaces that may not be quite the same metal mixture. So it will ball up differently every time. Unless there's something wrong with the resulting weld don't sweat it.

[cj737]

Also understand that the more acute the angle ground into your tip, the smaller the "ball" will be. The 1/8" tungsten you posted shows a fairly blunt angle, hence a broader ball. The size of the ball doesn't matter as Poland said, but it will ultimately effect the wandering of the arc.

[exnailpounder]

So what is everyone's thoughts on this picture for welding 1/8 thick alloy... this is why I'm a bit confused on what size ball to have

The ball on my tungsten is smaller probably because of my balance setting. 75% is considered optimum for my machine but I run it about 77-78%. Keeps the tungsten sharp longer and the welds are nice and shiny with no sand. Running more into the cleaning side of balance creates a bigger ball and challenges your tungsten more.

[MinnesotaDave]

i get a nice clean puddle happening but as soon as i put my filler in its turns to crap., through the mask it looks like the filler rod is melting "outside" of the puddle and then my arc gets a greenish type of colour to it almost like it does when i touch the electrode into a puddle by mistake, but the weird thing is i can go over to another part of the work piece immedietly and get a nice puddle going again, sometimes the rod will dip ok for a bit but then bam! it turns to crap. I've tried new tungsten and changed to different filler a couple times but it has me beat.

BTW im a beginer and have been doing Aarons course on 6061.com and he recommends balling your tungsten by turning the AC balance way down, thing is, I've been doing this and i can't get a really great ball on the end of my tungsten as seen in the pic,

16cfh
blue electrode
ck gas lens #7 cup

What amps and what material thickness (I may have missed it)

If the filler won't make it to the puddle, the puddle might not be formed enough yet due to low amperage.
If your puddle is ready in 3 seconds or less, you've likely got enough amps and have added them fast enough.

If amps are not a problem, then bad torch angle will do the same thing.
If your filler rod and tungsten are facing each other at approx the same angle, the filler will try to melt before it gets to the puddle.
Heat "bounces" off at the same angle it's put in, keep your filler rod under this bounce.

On outside corners, I shorten my stickout to help with shielding gas issues.

Of course, everything I've written is "in general" so there are always specific cases where I do something else.

My Airco has no adjustment so it's 50/50, my Dialarc I run 60% penetration, 40% cleaning.
I do not pre-ball the tungsten, they ball on their own as I weld.
Sometimes I use thoriated, sometimes pure.

Keep at it - it always gets better