struggling with alluminium

[jonnyBMX]

hey agen guys, been practising with mild steel and stainless and am getting on quite well!

i just tried to weld some ally and well... i cant even run a bead, could this be due to poor alluminium? if i try a fillet no matter what angle i try it wont go well. it just melts the upright bit away and if i try angle it down more to get the parent metal more it just doesnt melt anything really...

any ideas?

 

[langy]

hey agen guys, been practising with mild steel and stainless and am getting on quite well!

i just tried to weld some ally and well... i cant even run a bead, could this be due to poor alluminium? if i try a fillet no matter what angle i try it wont go well. it just melts the upright bit away and if i try angle it down more to get the parent metal more it just doesnt melt anything really...

any ideas?

I would practice doing a bead run first, have you got a pedal ?

 

[jonnyBMX]

yea ive got a foot pedal, when i try the beads it seems to just melt into a line long crater (not hole) basically the metal just sinks down

 

[justmental]

have you watched these videos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWNZioJ_FOc&feature=player_embedded

i was having the same problem if its thin aluminium you are using it will got hot quick and just melt away from you.
get a weld pool started and then back up on the pedal enough to keep the puddle and ad rod this video explains all
helped me loads.

 

[jonnyBMX]

very good video! thanks for that! gunna get a ton of scrap ally from work tmoz and spend the weekend doing exactly what this vid suggests

 

[langy]

very good video! thanks for that! gunna get a ton of scrap ally from work tmoz and spend the weekend doing exactly what this vid suggests

Ah your trying it on thin ally, mistake in my opinion, start with 6mm and then work down to thinner.

 

[justmental]

i first started with 1.5mm Langy must admit should have started with thicker but its all i had at the time.

 

[julieanncharters]

i first started with 1.5mm Langy must admit should have started with thicker but its all i had at the time.

yep 1.5 Ali would require a steep learning curve thats for sure .
can just see you now ,like an extract from "Happy feet" on the Pedal

 

[justmental]

yep 1.5 Ali would require a steep learning curve thats for sure .
can just see you now ,like an extract from "Happy feet" on the Pedal

yep you not far wrong there. lol

i have got the hang of it now have used 3 9ltr bottles all ready.
jodys vids are great worked out where i was going wrong through watching them.
just need some paying jobs now to pay for the gas.

 

[julieanncharters]

yep you not far wrong there. lol

i have got the hang of it now have used 3 9ltr bottles all ready.
jodys vids are great worked out where i was going wrong through watching them.
just need some paying jobs now to pay for the gas.

i tell anyone who's got the tig bug bad to just bite the bullet and start off with the 47litre argon cylinder as you do tend to go thru it fairly quick when getting up to speed.
you can always drop back on the gas only cylinders later.

think i'm paying £46 quid plus vat and the usual rental and pick up charge at the moment on 47l of Argon 200bar from air liquide

 

[mantakev]

I did my first practice on ss using TIG at the week end. I thought I'd practice using disposable bottles, I welded 12 " of SS using 6
2 no filler and 6" inc filler
£30 of gas and reg later I'd run 12" of practice weld
Tigging is expensive do dar

 

[langy]

i tell anyone who's got the tig bug bad to just bite the bullet and start off with the 47litre argon cylinder as you do tend to go thru it fairly quick when getting up to speed.
you can always drop back on the gas only cylinders later.

think i'm paying £46 quid plus vat and the usual rental and pick up charge at the moment on 47l of Argon 200bar from air liquide

Agreed the small bottles will work out very very expensive, I use the BOC W bottle and that is without a doubt the cheapest way with gas if you are rigging a lot.

 

[langy]

I did my first practice on ss using TIG at the week end. I thought I'd practice using disposable bottles, I welded 12 " of SS using 6
2 no filler and 6" inc filler
£30 of gas and reg later I'd run 12" of practice weld
Tigging is expensive do dar

Blimey that's a huge amount of gas
Do you have a flow meter and what long are you set at ???

 

[jonnyBMX]

last night i was probably using atleast 6mm ally just have loads of scrap all around the garage lol, said to my old man about it and he was like im sure weve got better metal to practise on... there was me thinking that if i used any of his steel or ally plate he would blow a gasket lol! not to worry seems hes quite keen on the fact im buying so much equiptment for the garage.

anyways gunna give it another go when i get home from work later and see how it goes!

i have a BOC Y size cylinder but think i might get a W just for the time being while im still learning atleast :P

 

[tigdean]

hey. like the guys said. try some bead welds on say 3mm
then move on to a few butt welds (remember to leave the gauge your welding gap in the centre)
then try some step welds (lap joint) to get you used to moving on to fillets.
a step weld is where you overlap to sheets and weld. it is a form of fillet but a little bit easier to get a tidy paralell weld.
hope this helps.

Dean...

 

[jonnyBMX]

What amps would you say is good for ally 3mm thick ice tried between 90 and 110 seems okay

 

[Bobbyspit]

Just reading this thread with interest as I have had the same issues, I have signed onto a college course with some great results. My tutor says he will have me welding alloy in 6 weeks, and its their gas and filler rods that I am using.
However gas is an issue, but do not trust the regulator reading, use a pea shooter measure it cost me a tenner and has saved me bottles of gas.
I am using 20 ltr 200 bar pure argon, the deposit on the bottle is a ton and its 66 quid per refil inc vat, thats loads of gas.

I have been welding at between 5 and 9 ltrs per min. If its any more than that your using too much!

 

[langy]

What amps would you say is good for ally 3mm thick ice tried between 90 and 110 seems okay

It doesn't matter if you have a pedal, just whack it down till you have a pool and back off slightly and go from there

 

[jonnyBMX]

right, ignore the top bit just the last 4 lines really, had a go on some 3mm with the foot pedal. what you guys think? i know its not great so be critical

 

[langy]

right, ignore the top bit just the last 4 lines really, had a go on some 3mm with the foot pedal. what you guys think? i know its not great so be critical

You are picking up , keep prectising though