Vertical TIG Aluminium - Advice needed!

[heinz57]

I Have started doing vertical t-section tig welds on aluminium and the welds are not looking that great. On horizontal sections the welds look really good, but with vertical, well, see the photo iv'e attached. I think i may be dipping the rod for too long a period but im not sure.

I should note that on mild/stainless steel my vertical welds look good (so the instructor says).

Any advice will be appreciated with regards to setup, travel speed, etc,many thanks.

 

[Tigman]

No answers to this then ? Ive never tried a vertical weld on Alli ! vertical up or down?

Anyone ?

 

[Drains]

Patience Tigman, patience

 

[Tigman]

Sorry

 

[gavuk]

Now go and sit on the naughty step........

 

[Tigman]

can i take my welder ?

 

[gavuk]

NO......and no tea...straight to bed ...and you wait till your father gets home .....

 

[Tigman]

im wearing my mask in bed !

 

[gavuk]

What you do in the privacy of your bedroom is your concern....

 

[Tigman]

Ha Ha ha lol

 

[hotrodder]

Freeze lines in the pic suggest vertical down. I assume that's just pic orientation and weld was vertical up?

Not the clearest pic but looks to me like there's an issue with filler 'angles of attack'... weld looks a bit cold and blobby as though the wire is melting before it reaches the weldpool. Ally is less forgiving for this due to lower melting point, especially vertical welds.

Filler additions need to be tightened up i.e. freeze lines/ripples spaced a bit too far apart. Can't really tell from the pic what the weld size is like... could be that you're adding too much wire (maybe due to it being melted/partially melted by the arc), could be that you need to add smaller amounts more frequently and/or smooth out the torch movement. Instructor would be in a better position to advise as they can watch while you're welding

 

[heinz57]

Thanks hotrodder.

The picture is poor as i took it with my age old cell phone, it was done vertical up though. I see what you mean about adding filler rod, the sags in the weld might well suggest that im adding to much rod and leaving to much of a gap between dipping the rod. I'll try again tomorrow night and take some more pics if its bad again, thanks for the info mate!