Aluminium - Absolute HEADACHE

[frank horton]

I visited an old guy (80's) who still builds n repairs racing antique cars......I asked where's ur TIG welder.........?
the look I got was great......he said he's ALWAY's used gas to weld ally.......thats all his life.....
muttered stuff about modern "carp"and laughed his socks off.......
wish I could spend 6 months learning from him.....!!!!!!!!

 

[stuvy]

The tig set is being sent back to rtech for them to check over

I welded the top of the wing that had been DA’d and it was a sod to weld

The inside wasn’t sanded at all on the spot light bezels

 

[500e]

We had a oil guy (well a bit younger than I am know ) who came in when we were lost he worked at aircraft makers all his life, brought his own gas torch to weld with was magic with alloy, he said there were some that would not weld, never saw one that he failed on though.
Another X Westland welder was beaten by a crack in a door stiffener that was like the problems you were having

 

[Brad93]

You need to test welder on new sheet of known composition.

Gas welding is far superior to TIG for car body panels.

Wouldn’t surprise me if it’s an older car, if there is a portion of zinc in the aluminium.

 

[mtt.tr]

You need to test welder on new sheet of known composition.

Gas welding is far superior to TIG for car body panels.

.

Most older car body guys i know hated gas on panels to much heat distortion.

 

[Brad93]

Most older car body guys i know hated gas on panels to much heat distortion.

********

Just as much distortion with TIG if not more as it is localised.

A neighbour of mine, passed away now sadly, made entire panels for his Lagonda, gas welding them.

 

[mtt.tr]

**Language**

Just as much distortion with TIG if not more as it is localised.

A neighbour of mine, passed away now sadly, made entire panels for his Lagonda, gas welding them.

thier opinion not mine.

 

[Dcal]

Whot Brad says,

I was on MPH's wheeling course during the summer and Geoff used gas to weld the 9 or 10 sections that make up his lightweight e type bonnets that are his bread and butter. (They cost thousands and he has a waiting list for them)
Once set up and tacked he could fly down the joints with no filler rod required, far quicker than Tig.

Gas welding alloy is a very different process to welding steel.
Once you establish the pool you really need to keep motoring to keep in front.
He could weld a seam the full length of a bonnet in one or two mins, then just give it a few taps, a rub with a body file and the results are amazing.

 

[stuvy]

You need to test welder on new sheet of known composition.

Gas welding is far superior to TIG for car body panels.

Wouldn’t surprise me if it’s an older car, if there is a portion of zinc in the aluminium.

Brand new sheet and still awful

Gas is good but I haven’t got enough time to learn and practice before trying it out on a £4K panel the old Ali is 1955 the new panel is new and wa hand made a month ago

 

[mtt.tr]

Brand new sheet and still awful

Gas is good but I haven’t got enough time to learn and practice before trying it out on a £4K panel the old Ali is 1955 the new panel is new and wa hand made a month ago

Im with zinc potentially being in the mix

 

[stuvy]

Im with zinc potentially being in the mix

It had a large amount of dark grey next to the weld isn’t that iron?

 

[mtt.tr]

It had a large amount of dark grey next to the weld isn’t that iron?

I only say it as it looks like the horrible mess i i created on a high rich zinc casting. Looks like the crators i had which i put down to the zinc boiling out.

This is just canteen chat from me.

 

[Brad93]

That can only be a gas issue or anodised aluminium.

Zinc doesn’t go like that zinc creates a grey soot with black specks.

 

[Paul.]

Tha'ts a gas or other welder issue in my opinion, anodised aluminium has a completely different surface appearance to that

 

[stuvy]

@Brad93 @Paul. the bottle was replaced as it was 1/4 on the gauge(yes I know it’s pressure related so not physical content) with a brand new bottle and still the same result

Do you think oxygen is getting in the system?

 

[Richard.]

The machine isn’t causing contamination stuvy.
Send it back to rtech but if it’s working it will only come back as it is. You’ve got another problem there mate.
You’ve got no excuses mind. You only live in Bedford. You could of popped up for half a days crash course with your entire set up any time you wanted. If there was a problem with your technique or set up trust me I would of found it.

 

[Richard.]

Most older car body guys i know hated gas on panels to much heat distortion.

Gas welding aluminium is a gorgeous process and one id love to get more opportunity to do. Most aluminium work on the older cars and bikes was gas welded. Birmabright was gas welded. The official procedure written by landrover to repair birmabright was a gas welded process. You can heat soak a part very quickly and evenly with gas where as tig is very localised which is what causes your shrinkage/distortion

 

[Paul.]

I've never understood all the hype and mystery about Birmabright, for all practical purposes its just a 5 series aluminium / magnesium alloy, uk designation is NS4, nothing special, it can be easily welded using 5356 filler rods or mig wire, when I worked for a restoration company back in the 80s we used loads of it on Land rover and Austin Healey etc, body panels, using O/A, TIG, and Mig, depending on the job, and it welds very nicely too.
My guess with this problem is with the torch / lens set up, or a faulty gas line inside the welder,

 

[Richard.]

I've never understood all the hype and mystery about Birmabright, for all practical purposes its just a 5 series aluminium / magnesium alloy, uk designation is NS4, nothing special, it can be easily welded using 5356 filler rods or mig wire, when I worked for a restoration company back in the 80s we used loads of it on Land rover and Austin Healey etc, body panels, using O/A, TIG, and Mig, depending on the job, and it welds very nicely too.
My guess with this problem is with the torch / lens set up, or a faulty gas line inside the welder,

Yep it welds perfectly fine with any 5*** grade consumable

 

[stuvy]

The machine isn’t causing contamination stuvy.
Send it back to rtech but if it’s working it will only come back as it is. You’ve got another problem there mate.
You’ve got no excuses mind. You only live in Bedford. You could of popped up for half a days crash course with your entire set up any time you wanted. If there was a problem with your technique or set up trust me I would of found it.

It’s not my machine, it’s my bosses

I haven’t had that many weekends off due to being at race circuits every weekend. I worked 17 weekends on the trot at one point and my social life and own projects needed tending to first!

I will take you up on the offer but it won’t be until th end of January as I’m booked up solidly