aluminum tig welding help please

I am having a problem with tig welding aluminum it seems when I get the filler rod into the work area of the puddel I have started it seems to throw out the filler rod or it just seems like the rod does not want to go toward the torch or does that make sense. Or maybe I don't have the torch at the right angle. Please help I am in desperate need.

 

not sure exactly what you are saying but i'll take a stab in the dark. if your tungsten is dirty or your arc length is too long it can be hard to get the fill rod into the puddle without it getting melted.

 

Is your welder switched to Direct Current? D/C?

 

That could be it I am new to tig welding aluminum with a torch all the tig welding I have ever done was with a tig gun that was automatic feed that was used for production welding but I will give that a try. Thanks Sorry for not being real clear but I have no idea what is going on.

 

No I am on A/C

 

The angle wont make that much of a difference. If you have the heat right, and it is puddling, it should take the filler rod. What rod are you using, what are you welding to, hows your gas flow, can you TIG steel with no problems?

 

Are you getting things hot enough to " flow" the rod and base metals together?
Have seen guys have lots of problems because they were worried that every thing would "melt out" and did not use enough heat or went to

 

Like the other guys said... if the heat is not enough it'll melt the rod first and it won't stick to anything except the tip of your tungsten! and your rod...

 

I am tigging mild steel and stainless just fine still new but getting alot of practice. I don't know if this makes a hole lot of difference but I am using the tugnston with a red mark on the end I heard you should use green but would this make that much of a difference. I am just welding drop off 1/8 sheets of aluminum. The gas is straight argon probably about 30 psi. and the amps would be 180 I believe.

 

A/C, High frequency on, Arc balance set to neutral (if you have it), Pure Argon gas for light stuff (Helium is best suited for thicker materials), PURE TUNGSTEN! It really makes a difference. You can weld with 2% Thoriated but the arc is less stable and harder to form a proper puddle. I think the new stuff, Orange tipped, will work but pure is by far the easiest I know.

Technique side, hold the ball end of your tungsten about a 1/4" away from the surface you are welding. No filler until you see a shiny puddle start to form, back the tungsten up to 3/8" and push a bit of filler into the puddle.

Practice a lot!

 

miller welding has some good video on their website
lower your gas to around 15-20
is the tungsten tip flat, or balled?
I like 90 degree lead angle to pump the heat directly in to the puddle, and let the heat drawl in the filler rod, rather than feed the rod in.

 

You posted just as I was writing.

drop our PSI down to 15-20

 

The tip is more flat than any thing but using the tig gun it was always had a ball end and that seems to work the best. But ya I will try to drop the pure argon to 15-20. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Thank you for me as well, I just started TIG welding again on Aluminum and I was having the same problem.

Tim

 

Thanks for great advise I will give it a try.

 

i had that same problem, making my torch angle closer to 90 degrees helped alot. busch is right too, it seemed like i would give it too little pedal and hang around and try to get a puddle. that in turn just builds up lots of unnecessary heat and makes your little rod melt whenever you get close. jam that pedal on hard, get a puddle, then adjust your heat.

 

One more thing if you have 5 lbs of filler rod go get 5 more and Practice Practice Practice

 

I have no problem with that I love to practice on the **** at work to get better on the things to weld for myself.

 

-You might want to try using a gas lens with a short #7 cup.
-Adjust your gas to 20 psi at the gauge. It will flow around 15 psi at the torch.
-Use 3/32 2% ceriated tungsten (orange stripe) It costs a little more, but the point
will hold up better.
-Depending on what machine your using, the new Miller Dynasty welders can weld
aluminum with a point on the tungsten, not a ball. You have more control of the
puddle.

 

(1) What machine are you using (Brand & Model) Most of the bigger models have different settings for Aluminum.
(2) What kind of Aluminum are you welding? 7075 is harder to weld than 5052.
(3) What welding rod did you buy?

Use the green striped tungsten for Aluminum unless you have inverter tig welder like a Miller Dynasty series which uses a orange striped tungsten.

 

Great thread!! I'm starting out too, so this is very good to hear from the guys getting it done out there! Thanks

 

Tig = tunsten inert gas. Mig = wire feed no tunsten. Don't remember what the M stands for any more. On Tig welding alum we just used tunsten as is flat, ball whatever untill it's to short to use. On thinner plate like that or smaller castings we used 1/8" thick tunsten. If you touch the puddle with the tunsten it will **** the alum up on the tunsten. Let it cool a bit, remove the tunsten & grind off any contamanation. Heavy stuff (car heads) we also used 1/8 but preheated the piece with a rosebud torch before welding. Preheating can help when arc welding heavy steel also. Stainless we used about 1/16" ? dia. with a fine point ground to it. It's been about 10 years since I did it but I welded alum for a living for 10 years & still weld steel. Have fun alum is alot o fun

 

Took me a while to figure out aluminum, but now it is one of my favorite things to weld on.

It is infinitely more important to have the tungsten clean than the base metal. The tungsten gets to a temperature of about the surface of the sun, 5-6,000°C, and that turns everything that isn't tungsten into a dirty gas that will mess up your welds. Wipe off the tip after you install it to remove oils from your skin.

Clean filler rod is important. There is a lot of surface area on the rod to hold dirt, wipe it off with a scotch-bright pad before use. If the end gets boogered, cut it off. When you are learning, it might be prudent to cut the tip off every you stop welding, to ensure you aren't unknowing tracking in dirty filler.

Get the filler rod in and out as quick as possible. A quick stab works well. What you don't want is to heat up the rod and then pull it out of the gas cloud where it will oxidize.

Everyone I have taught to weld aluminium is afraid of using too much current. Get on the pedal really hard until you see that nice shiney puddle. Once you have that then you can start in with the filler rod.

You'll figure it out, and as others have said it is a lot of fun.

 

It's not psi......It's a flow meter and it's measured in cfh

 

PSI with a regulator, CFM with a flow meter. Given that most home hobbyists are not going to pop the extra $ for the flow meter, we ***ume PSI. But with most rigs, 15-20 PSI is akin to 15-20 CFM.