[Stephenw35]

hi so these a my first time aluminium welds. What am I doing wrong? they are dull and grainy and there are no obvious sign of where I dabbed filler metal if that makes sense. I'm using 4043 filler, no. 5 cup, 16 cfh, around 70 amps and I have been playing around when the ac freq and balance but cant seem to find the sweet spot.

[cj737]

What material thickness are you welding? It appears to be pretty thin. And what size filler wire are you using?

Welding aluminum is difficult to make look perfect. Your samples show a LOT of heat in the material, hence no defined "ridges". Those ridges are freeze lines and indicate the movement of the torch and the puddle immediately behind the torch "cools" and establishes that ridge. This is hard to get with thin wire and thin material.

If you are just starting out on ally welding, bump up the thickness to an 1/8". You'll need a lot more amps, but you'll have better control of the puddle. Get the puddle established quickly with a lot of heat, then use your foot pedal to "taper" the heat back to keep the puddle wet, but not heat soaked. Use 3/32" tungsten, and 3/32" wire. Or 1/16th wire if thats all you have.

With a #5 and a collet body, you barely need 10CFH. Increase your cup size to a #8 and use a gas lens, then your gas flow will be higher (~15CFH). The tungsten distance to work piece still needs to be tight but not so close that the tungsten makes contact with the material. Rule of thumb is distance=filler diameter. Keep the tungsten exposure (stick out) down to a minimum for best gas coverage while welding.

In summary: You're on the right track, now melt 50# of wire and you'll be a Beginner instead of a Newbie ally welder. That's what it takes to become very good with ally. Those welds you see on instagram are by seasoned professionals who weld all day, every day. A DIY guy at home might get 1/2 way there in 5 years with good practice.

[Stephenw35]

its 5/64 and the filler and tungsten is 3/32. yes I don't expect to be like the Instagram welders but I wanted to make sure I was on the right track, didn't want to be practicing doing it the wrong way. I will get myself some thicker plate. thanks

[cj737]

You’re on the right track. Also, if you intend to run successive beads, you may want to water quench the piece regularly to cool it. You’ll see a massive difference after the part is dunked and the next bead, versus running three beads back-to-back. Welding is all about managing heat. Thinner material warps, distorts and soaks up the heat much worse/faster than thicker material. Thick material requires lots more amps, can take successive welds, but it too will heat soak. Part of the learning process. This is also why welding something take a long time. Gotta wait for the base material to cool down some.

[WeldingJunkie]

Thin aluminum set your balance at the higher end so you don't get much penetration and you are running way to hot or like CJ said you are running too many too much. Slow down dip more rod to cool the puddle. Try 80% balance