Welding Tips and Tricks

Oscar wrote:I agree. The whole tempo thing is the icing on the cake when you've already nailed down every other parameter, and now the only thing to move onto is stacking evenly spaced dimes. Tempo will not hold the torch for you at the correct angle, it will not set-up the torch parts, it won't set the machine up for you, it won't steady your hand with respect to arc length, it will not move your filler rod hand to feed in the same exact amount of filler each time, it will not activate your forearm/wrist/hand muscles to rotate the torch on round tubing, it won't tilt your head that teensy weensy amount that you need to to have that just-right view of the puddle as you scoot along, and so on, and so on.

My goal as a hobbyist is to make structurally sound welds that are uniform enough on short distances (up to 6-8") to not be butt ugly. Given a narrow range of materials (1/16" to 1/8" aluminum now, then hopefully later stainless and mild steel), even the setup of the machine and the torch should not be that hard. There are optimal ranges and part of the joy and challenge of a new hobby is to discover them. Anyone uses published resources for that? I found the CK Worldwide technical specification brochure linked earlier, but was wondering if there is anything else out there you found

I have a hunch that TIG welding 1/8" aluminum is not a 5 years or 10,000 hours practice skill set and certainly feel I improved a lot from the feedback in this thread.

koenbro wrote:After reading the excellent feedback above, I think excessive torch angle was one of my MANY problems, so tried to pay attention to it this morning. Lowered the balance to 65% and raised the frequency to 100Hz. Went back to the 1/16" filler, as I can't seem to melt the 3/32" filler fast enough.

going back a bit here...
i think your amps are to low and going a bit slow.
you want to be able to have a puddle going in a few seconds. dab and get moving, then back off when required.
1/16 filler is to small. 3/32 filler is ok. make sure your adding it to the puddle in the right place.
the other thing is i find aluminum welds are always bigger than steel, so be careful your not trying to do small steel size welds and end up with cold welds.

with gas lens you can have more stick out which makes it easier to see.

don't worry to much about frequency, it doesn't matter that much. i would leave it at 100hz or 60hz.

just practice keeping a good torch angle as you move.
i find moving can be tricky. so pays to have something slippery to slide on so you can glide along the work.

koenbro wrote: I have a hunch that TIG welding 1/8" aluminum is not a 5 years or 10,000 hours practice skill set and certainly feel I improved a lot from the feedback in this thread.

TIG welding ally can be years worth of practice to achieve consistent results that are both structurally strong, and pretty. I wold suggest you switch to carbon steel now, develop your skills on that, then return to ally. You'll have a better chance of developing the necessary skill and experience feeding filler, torch manipulation, and puddle control without the tendency of the base material getting away from you. You also have fewer settings to tinker with.

Having welded a lot of aluminum a lot of the skill comes from watching the puddle grow with the introduction of filler once to size of previous bead shape I back up my cup lift slightly and move ahead dab and push until I again see same bead size lift a bit off and back with cup and repeat. Look more at the cooling puddle as you ad filler that cools and creates the bead shape for the stack of dimes look your seeking with timing. The timing or rhythm comes in due time.

cj737 wrote:I wold suggest you switch to carbon steel now, develop your skills on that, then return to ally. You'll have a better chance of developing the necessary skill and experience feeding filler, torch manipulation, and puddle control without the tendency of the base material getting away from you. You also have fewer settings to tinker with.

I tried some mild steel and strangely enough the welds look narrow and ugly, although the penetration is good. It almost seems like aluminum is easier, at least when it comes to laying learning beads on a flat plate. I also did a butt weld which seems sound, yet butt ugly. The puddle seems narrower, and I have to walk the cup in a circular motion to widen it before the filler. Am I setting the tungsten up wrong: poor angle? Too blunt tip? Using an ArcZone Sharpie DX.

Don’t blunt the tip. Lower your heat (125amps), get and use a gas lens for cups larger than #5, and try a larger cup (#8 is my go to).

I welded some 1/8” mild steel brackets to 1/16” tube last night, as I am building a cart for my offcuts. 80 amps, #7 cup, 2% lanth tungsten.



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Looks like you need to bump amps up and tighten up your dabs. Possibly move faster also. Just my opinion.


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I think your amps are fine, but on the second picture, you dipped kind of heavily. The first picture looks rather tidy in my opinion.

What size filler. On stuff that thin I’d be using 1/16 or 3/32.

Poland308 wrote:What size filler. On stuff that thin I’d be using 1/16 or 3/32.

1/16”


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How do you choose the Amps when welding material of different thicknesses?


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I use just enough for the thinner of the two.

Poland308 wrote:I use just enough for the thinner of the two.

...and focus the arc on the thicker piece.

koenbro wrote:How do you choose the Amps when welding material of different thicknesses?


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depends a bit on the difference between the two.

often set to the thickest of the two, focus on the thick side and wash over onto the thin side.

you need to be hot enough to ensure good penetration to the thick piece. if your to cold you run the risk of cold join or overheating the part because your going to slow. the heat soak can over heat your thin side and cause blow through.
however with tig and especially with foot pedal, you can see whats going on and adjust to suit.

Favor the tungsten to the thick piece and add filler to the thin side (of the puddle)