First goes on aluminium

[Freddy0309]

so tried ac for the first time today, went OK a hell of a lot different I found from Dc, tried on 3mm plate (not sure of the flavour it was from an off cut bin at local metal place) it was on 30% (r-tech machine) cleaning no pulse and can't remember the frequency or amps. 2.4 white tungsten and 2.4 4043 rods

 

[Tinbasherdan]

so tried ac for the first time today, went OK a hell of a lot different I found from Dc, tried on 3mm plate (not sure of the flavour it was from an off cut bin at local metal place) it was on 30% (r-tech machine) cleaning no pulse and can't remember the frequency or amps. 2.4 white tungsten and 2.4 4043 rodsView attachment 76179

Looking good for a first go, you've clearly got the idea, you just need to work on steadying your hands and being consistent with the filler

 

[Richard.]

Well done. They look great. Can't remember what my first go looked like but it sure wasn't as good as that.

 

[Richard.]

A little point to consider is the crator on the end of your runs. Beads on a plate are not so important but in a joint Alu is pretty prone to cracking and a crator is a likely point to which one will start. With a pedal or down slope it's best to phase the current down slowly to lengthen the time it takes to solidify, add a final dab of filler while doing this then manipulate the arc slightly away from the point where the potential crator may occur. It takes practice and looking at your results you'll get it pretty quickly.
Your runs start off pretty cold looking and only really take shape once the plate has become heat soaked. Start off with a current level that's sufficient to get things flowing straight away. If your on a torch switch which I would guess you were then as the plate becomes heat soaked and the pool gets more fluent control this with picking up the travel speed and positive filling as you do it. Things are looking great so these would be next steps to address.

 

[Freddy0309]

Cheers for all the comments, I was a bit shaky as I just finished building the bench and putting the bench top on.

I always like to learn with just the torch first no foot pedal just in case I'm doing something where I physically can't use a foot pedal, next time I'll up the amps slightly I was using down slope but I think I'll bump that up next time too. I need to run lots more bead on plate before I start on joints, I'm happy with my first attempts but I don't think they are good enough to progress to joints just yet.need more lid time as I have a list of projects out of aluminium

Although I plan to use a foot pedal with all my tig welding on the bench you never know what will arise

 

[Richard.]

Although I plan to use a foot pedal with all my tig welding on the bench you never know what will arise

Well said mate. It's always better to have the ability to weld Alu under one current setting because as you say it's rare things come up that you can sit down in front of. I think your off to a blinding start and looking forward to seeing the next results.