Welding Tips and Tricks

nelson wrote: If I do 2 passes with lots of filler the crack should go away?

The cracks probably won't show up but that doesn't mean you'll have sufficient penetration.

People can argue theory all they want, but the only way you'll know is to make a test weld with similarly sized materials, then cut and etch to see if you got enough penetration. If it's an important project it might be worth the 20 minutes to know for sure.

G-ManBart wrote:

nelson wrote: If I do 2 passes with lots of filler the crack should go away?

The cracks probably won't show up but that doesn't mean you'll have sufficient penetration.

People can argue theory all they want, but the only way you'll know is to make a test weld with similarly sized materials, then cut and etch to see if you got enough penetration. If it's an important project it might be worth the 20 minutes to know for sure.

I know aluminum is a different beast than most of my experience. But when you get into high chrome it’s the same thing.

I weld loads of aluminum, and the only place I ever do a fusion weld is on sharp outside corners of parts, where I"m not so much welding for strength as I am to deburr the part and remove the sharp edge. In cases where the part won't fit in the square hole it's supposed to go in if I add filler to the corners, I will fusion weld the corner so nobody cuts themselves with the part.

In any other case, I never, ever, fusion weld aluminum.

Buggy, are you slamming square pegs into round holes ? AGAIN !!