Welding Tips and Tricks

Never used ceriated, but my 2% lanthanateds were struggling a bit recently when using 1/8" electrodes for welding thick aluminum at 280-300 amps with a helium argon mix (probably 15%/85% or so), and cleaning actions between 34-40% EP (dirty AL), 60-80 Hz. Ended up having to fully ball the electrodes prior to welding in order to get any longevity out of them. Not a big deal...it got the job done.

So, anyone have experience with ceriated at higher amperages giving better performance? Worth the investment for me to pick up a pack?

I have 5/32" tungstens, but would like to keep things at 1/8" if I can for jobs 300A and less.

Thanks for any help.

I use 5/32" 2%Ce in my Invertig 400's CK TL18. For 300A+ AC welding they are the ticket. They hold their tip very well once you round them over just a smidge. I highly recommend them.

Oscar wrote:I use 5/32" 2%Ce in my Invertig 400's CK TL18. For 300A+ AC welding they are the ticket. They hold their tip very well once you round them over just a smidge. I highly recommend them.

Welp, guessing I have some 1/8" and 5/32" ceriateds in my future, then. What brand are you using, just out of curiosity?

I have some Weldcrafts.

try some CK LaYZr tungsten.
they are meant to be quite tough. afaik made for robotic applications.

tweake wrote:try some CK LaYZr tungsten.
they are meant to be quite tough. afaik made for robotic applications.

I thought about trying those, but I didn't buy into how much $$$ they wanted for them.

Oscar wrote:

tweake wrote:try some CK LaYZr tungsten.
they are meant to be quite tough. afaik made for robotic applications.

I thought about trying those, but I didn't buy into how much $$$ they wanted for them.

Interestingly (at least to me), I use LaYZr exclusively for my low amp sheet-metal work. Love it. Guess I may have to see if it is also beneficial on the high ends.

It sure is pricey, though, as Oscar mentioned. Those 1/8" and above sticks are probably painful. Scared to look.

I looked. $95 for the 5/32"s. 1/8" not nearly as bad at $35-40.

We'll see. Wish I could buy just one to try it!

I paid $40 for a ten-pack of Weldcraft 5/32" 2%Ce on Amazon. Ain't no way I'm paying more than double for layzr's!

Oscar wrote:I paid $40 for a ten-pack of Weldcraft 5/32" 2%Ce on Amazon. Ain't no way I'm paying more than double for layzr's!

Interesting comment coming from someone who paid $7000 for a welding machine.

In no way criticizing you, just pointing out we all have different logic, for machines, electricity, maximizing amps, and buying consumables. It's a great world that we can all make our own choice.

TraditionalToolworks wrote:

Oscar wrote:I paid $40 for a ten-pack of Weldcraft 5/32" 2%Ce on Amazon. Ain't no way I'm paying more than double for layzr's!

Interesting comment coming from someone who paid $7000 for a welding machine.

In no way criticizing you, just pointing out we all have different logic, for machines, electricity, maximizing amps, and buying consumables. It's a great world that we can all make our own choice.

Lol, well when you consider that an equivalent Miller Dynasty 400 TIG Runner package sells for ≈$10,500 give or take, I stole my HTP Invertig 400 for crazy cheap!

Oscar wrote:Lol, well when you consider that an equivalent Miller Dynasty 400 TIG Runner package sells for ≈$10,500 give or take, I stole my HTP Invertig 400 for crazy cheap!

No question, I think it's a very good value. I was more thinking how wasteful I am in many regards, I spent a fraction of what the HTP 221 would have cost me, but I wouldn't think twice about buying a pack of tungsten for $80 if I thought it would benefit me. I have quite a bit invested in tools I use to assist my welding, and would really like a nicer welder, but I'm on a path to reach my goals just as it could be said you are as well...

I really did mean it's great that we live in a world where we can all decide on so many things and have so many options.

This goes for the other thread talking about thoriated. I've watched videos where Jody Collier mentions using it for AC welding aluminum. So does Wyatt Swaim. And if you think about it, thoriated tungsten was one of the most common tungstens used for a number of years on both transformer and inverter machines. People used thoriated tungsten on aluminum and still do to this day.

Maybe the same is true in this thread, that 2% lanthanated just needs specially tuned settings in order to work better? Or maybe LaYZr is a better solution, or ceriated. Many welders use 4 or 5 types of tungsten and others use only 1. At the end of the day it's all good.

Also good to remember that we all read these messages differently, how I intend it when I type may or may not be how you interpret it and vice versa. It's a lot different than sitting around tossing some cold ones with each other talking about this stuff. I like online forums or I wouldn't use them.

I just picked up some 5/32" rare-earth's on EBay for $25. Probably similar to E3's. Lets see how well those work.