Welding Tips and Tricks

.125 aluminum, 3/32 lanthinated tungsten, 125-140 amps, 240 v alphatig. 3/32 5356 filler wire. 35 percent cleaning action. ss brushed, acetone , I ran straight beads first no filler worked like a charm. after about 10 of those I started to add filler whooa ! green ! porosity !! ugly , turds. Pool cooled off instantly upon adding filler to front of pool. black specks everywhere in the pool. I turned up the heat . nope . grn and dirty. Cleaned everything including filler wire, increased cleaning to 40 percent . it was a little better but so hot it would sag and forget about a butt weld. blown out. I increased my gas flow from 15 to 20 ..Better !! but i had to turn down the heat and slow down to get good cleaning and a decent bead. Do you guys think I would have better consistent beads with a gas lens ? steel is a lot more forgiving ! lol Any tips will be appreciated. Oh Harbor freight filler rods ..ok ?

Yes to a gas lens for any cup size larger than 5, and No to Harbor Freight filler rods.

what grade is the aluminum your welding?

does the end of the rod have the grade stamped on it? i wonder if it got swapped with something.

5052 aluminum. I will go get some better wire filler tomorrow at the LWS, just seems like its better to take as many possible problems out of the mix. Weird cause sometimes it will lay a great bead . it seems as if you sticking straight porosity into it when feeding rod. it builds a cold dirty bead as soon as it hits the pool.then bam green !!

If your LWS is open on weekends, I am super jealous!

Mine is too because they are a steel yard/trailer repair/ranch hardware store. Very lucky here too.

bap_ wrote:If your LWS is open on weekends, I am super jealous!

Doooh ! forgot it was the weekend !

I put on my cheaters and ran some lines no filler, I saw a small point right in the arc that was green. Im wondering if I am contaminating my tungsten on my grinding wheel (regular stone) Im going to get a diamond wheel today. Also I was cleaning my aluminum with fingernail polish remover . it says acetone , but maybe other stuff too ? I went and bought some real acetone today. Im gonna try some other aluminum stock as well . I tried using the pulse today , sweet ! it worked well.


on another note trying to weld a butt joint is crazy hard. lol. I found out if I turn my frequency down to 60 from 120 my arc cone is wider !! my cleaning action is wider. it seems like it wasnt as hot either . do you guys find it easier to weld on 60 hz ?

DLCeveryday wrote:I put on my cheaters and ran some lines no filler, I saw a small point right in the arc that was green. Im wondering if I am contaminating my tungsten on my grinding wheel (regular stone) Im going to get a diamond wheel today. Also I was cleaning my aluminum with fingernail polish remover . it says acetone , but maybe other stuff too ? I went and bought some real acetone today. Im gonna try some other aluminum stock as well . I tried using the pulse today , sweet ! it worked well.


on another note trying to weld a butt joint is crazy hard. lol. I found out if I turn my frequency down to 60 from 120 my arc cone is wider !! my cleaning action is wider. it seems like it wasnt as hot either . do you guys find it easier to weld on 60 hz ?

You don't need a grinding wheel. Use only real acetone, not ladies products. Butt joint is easy so long as you don't do the same thing that has plagued so many newbs -- USE A LOT OF AMPERAGE and hit it FAST. No one has time for you to take 2 weeks to ramp up the current . 1 amp per 1 thousandths of material thickness, then add 60% more amperage. It's like there is this magic transition threshold with regards to ramp-up time. Once you cross it (meaning when you finally ramp up the current fast enough), it puddles right away, instead of crumbling away. You just have to say F it and hold a nice tight and consistent arc and let the amperage do it's thing. Higher Frequency pin-points the arc, but it also lowers the heat just a little bit more, which is why you need even more amperage to make up for that fact. I personally don't like 60Hz. I prefer 100Hz+.

Oscar wrote:

DLCeveryday wrote:I

You don't need a grinding wheel. Use only real acetone, not ladies products. Butt joint is easy so long as you don't do the same thing that has plagued so many newbs -- USE A LOT OF AMPERAGE and hit it FAST. No one has time for you to take 2 weeks to ramp up the current . 1 amp per 1 thousandths of material thickness, then add 60% more amperage. It's like there is this magic transition threshold with regards to ramp-up time. Once you cross it (meaning when you finally ramp up the current fast enough), it puddles right away, instead of crumbling away. You just have to say F it and hold a nice tight and consistent arc and let the amperage do it's thing. Higher Frequency pin-points the arc, but it also lowers the heat just a little bit more, which is why you need even more amperage to make up for that fact. I personally don't like 60Hz. I prefer 100Hz+.

dont need grinding wheel to sharpen tungsten ? or do you mean just use diamond wheel ? I will turn up the heat , just seems Im moving fast to keep up , lol