Welding Tips and Tricks

Hi from Ireland, just bought my first AC/DC. Can anybody tell me whats the best way to find out different grades of Aluminum and what filler rods to use.
There is no welder apprenticeship here and very few good courses.
any help would be very much appreciated

Anestor1 wrote:Hi from Ireland, just bought my first AC/DC. Can anybody tell me whats the best way to find out different grades of Aluminum and what filler rods to use.
There is no welder apprenticeship here and very few good courses.
any help would be very much appreciated

Firstly, welcome to the forum

Secondly, the absolute best place to start is with Jody's excellent videos

There are plenty of online videos, and you can purchase DVD's and more from the Weldmonger Store (I've bought them all).

Jody goes through all the detail, welding procedures, tungsten and filler rod selection, amps, methods and more.

Thirdly, feel free to ask questions here. There is a wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm.

Best
Trev

Further to your question on material selection, 5000 and 6000 series grades are most suitable for Aluminum Welding

Here's some clues:

5005 General purpose alloy for sheet-metal work. Can be welded.

5083 High strength alloy used in transport, marine and structural applications.

5251 and 5052 Medium strength alloy with good ductility and suitable for welding with high corrosion resistance particular for marine applications.

6005 Good strength for structural applications.

6060 and 6063 The most commonly used extrusion alloy and used for all architectural applications, light duty structural framework. Can also be chemically brightened for moulds and trims.

6061 and 6351 Structural application where strength and corrosion resistance is needed. Transport applications.

6106 Medium strength alloy. Used for architectural applications where additional strength is required and for structural
applications not involving welding.

6262 Machining alloy with good anodising characteristics.

Steer very clear of 2000 grade alloys

Hope this helps

You tube is great, Miller, and Lincoln have lots of information. You'll find the three forums real heavy on TIG. I doubt that everyone is doing aluminum, but it is so challenging that seems to be where the conversation often goes.

As for identifying aluminum, I don't know. My metal dealer is a genius, with degrees in metallurgy, and engineering. He favors 6061 for most extruded stock, and sheet goods. I have good access to electrical conduit, (schedule 40) which is 6063. I use 4043, Wets nice, and 5356, Stronger, and can be anodized well, but since the development of 4943 I don't use much else. There are numerous other types for special purposes such as aviation, bicycles, etc. but much of your fabrication will be 6000 series.

Jody and some of the aluminum manufacturers publish info on metallurgy, and properties.

Get your self some a couple of .120-.125 inch thick plates about 8 inches by 10 inches long 6061or 3003. Then get 4043 filler and practice techniques in this video. If you can get 4943 filler get that instead. 4943 is a new filler material that can take place of 4043 far better from what I read and my limited time using it so far.

Jody s Aluminum welding drill video
https://youtu.be/vWNZioJ_FOc

Here is couple of aluminum filler charts

Hobart/Miller (makers of new 4943)
http://www.hobartbrothers.com/downloads ... _eNttQ.pdf

Alcotec
http://www.alcotec.com/us/en/support/al ... -chart.cfm

Cheers for all the info guys,

I was practicing the drill today and the tungsten kept splitting, I'm using a 2.4mm ceriated tungsten. Do i need a 3.2 tungsten??
Jodi's videos are awesome, the best there is

Anestor1 wrote:Cheers for all the info guys,

I was practicing the drill today and the tungsten kept splitting, I'm using a 2.4mm ceriated tungsten. Do i need a 3.2 tungsten??
Jodi's videos are awesome, the best there is

It really depends on how many amps you are using. If your at threshold of maximum Amps then yes go up a size.

Anestor1 wrote:Cheers for all the info guys,

I was practicing the drill today and the tungsten kept splitting, I'm using a 2.4mm ceriated tungsten. Do i need a 3.2 tungsten??
Jodi's videos are awesome, the best there is

Others here will tell you an inverter works best with needle pointed tungsten. I've had no success with that. Aluminum behaves very different from steel. Half the time electrons travel to the tungsten. With electrons come lots of heat. Balance settings can sometimes be helpful. The more EN in the mix, the less heat on the tungsten. I believe a very blunt grind serves well to focus the arc. Don't ball it, round the tip a bit.

Anestor1 wrote:Cheers for all the info guys,

I was practicing the drill today and the tungsten kept splitting, I'm using a 2.4mm ceriated tungsten. Do i need a 3.2 tungsten??
Jodi's videos are awesome, the best there is

Tell us a lot more about your settings
How many Amps?
What size material?
AC Balance settings?
Foot control available?
Welder make and model?
Exactly what gas and flow rate?

This can help us to get a more accurate idea of what might be needed. More information is always better (especially with TIG and Aluminum when there are more variables involved).

Trev

I disagree with the blunt tip and the needle point I use a pointed tungsten but is not needle sharp. Needle sharp is just gonna suck back to a blunter point. You have to find find what I call that sweet spot angle depending on how much cleaning action you have you use a more shallow angle, cause it is gonna round some. The trick is finding an angle where it doesn't suck back on tungsten. As for as type I prefer 2% lanthainaited works better on AC. Think sometimes people think aluminum is harder than it really is, and therefore make it harder for themselves.

Don't baby amps on start get that puddle going quick.

I'm using 100 amps, pure argon and ac balance is about 40%.
I'm using a SIP 214 ac/dc.

Anestor1 wrote:I'm using 100 amps, pure argon and ac balance is about 40%.
I'm using a SIP 214 ac/dc.

100 amps won't weld much aluminum - what thickness are you welding on?

40% positive or negative?

Anestor1 wrote:I'm using 100 amps, pure argon and ac balance is about 40%.
I'm using a SIP 214 ac/dc.

These were the questions:

Tell us a lot more about your settings
How many Amps?
What size material?
AC Balance settings?
Foot control available?
Welder make and model?
Exactly what gas and flow rate?

AC balance EP or EN? That's critical too!

dirtmidget33 wrote:I disagree with the blunt tip and the needle point I use a pointed tungsten but is not needle sharp. Needle sharp is just gonna suck back to a blunter point. You have to find find what I call that sweet spot angle depending on how much cleaning action you have you use a more shallow angle, cause it is gonna round some. The trick is finding an angle where it doesn't suck back on tungsten. As for as type I prefer 2% lanthainaited works better on AC. Think sometimes people think aluminum is harder than it really is, and therefore make it harder for themselves.

Don't baby amps on start get that puddle going quick.

I'll agree with that! If I am starting with a new tungsten, then I grind it to a taper and let it round on the end. If it is a used tungsten, I will grind a flat on the end, and then taper it. That way any burr from grinding will be toward the point, instead of to the side. I learned this from some Aerospace welders who were guest speakers at my local AWS meeting.

Also, the grind on a tungsten should never be more than 2 1/2 time the diameter of the tungsten! Otherwise, it is likely to split off!

100 Amps will not weld anything much thicker than 1/16" Aluminum.
I weld 1/16" with 1/16" Tnugsten Red. Set at 80 amps with 10-12 psi Argon.
I weld 1/8" Aluminum with a Red 3/32 Tungsten Set at 150 amps with 15-18 psi argon.
The higher the amps the more its going to split the tungsten a bit. Red Which is thoriated, seems to work best.
I use full penatration with a Lincoln Precision 225
Sharpen your tungsten like a pencil. The fine sharpened tip will quickly shrink up to a little ball when it gets hot. When it does let it cool and then start again. It should get a very small rounded ball tip and weld fine. Also keeping the tip 1/8" from your work is also important. Seems to help with everything from weld appearance to keeping the tungsten tip in better condition. If you are splitting your tungsten, try the next size up.
When you grind the tungsten you want a very steep short angle rather than a small long angle. Try leave a very small flat spot at the tip rather than a fine point. Should look just like a pencil with a small flat tip.

welder is a sip 214 ac/dc, i dont have a foot peddle that will be my next purchase i think.
Gas cfh was about and 100 amps
The ac balance was set at about half way, i'm still playing around with that still dont fully understand it.

I changed to a 3.2 tungsten and upped the gas flow to 15 cfh it seems to have made a big difference.

Anestor1 wrote:welder is a sip 214 ac/dc, i dont have a foot peddle that will be my next purchase i think.
Gas cfh was about and 100 amps
The ac balance was set at about half way, i'm still playing around with that still dont fully understand it.

I changed to a 3.2 tungsten and upped the gas flow to 15 cfh it seems to have made a big difference.

Half way is a bit of a red flag. If I set my welder at half way the tungsten would melt like stick rod. A sine wave 60 HZ welder would be good at 50/50. Other welders are using a percentage of EP instead of EN. You want, if square wave, 60% Electrode Negative through 75% depending on how clean everything is. That might be 40% thru 25% on your welder.

TRACKRANGER wrote:Steer very clear of 2000 grade alloys

TRACKRANGER is correct. 2000 series are expensive and touchy if you are just practicing. Those are generally aircraft and aerospace grade alloys.

All others he mentioned are worth the effort to buy some coupons and practice on them at home or shop.