Welding Tips and Tricks

I am going thru the steps of trying to better my TIG welding. One problem is introducing the filler wire on aluminum. Once I have a good welding pool started I try to add filler rod and it seems to want to turn black and ball up. Should the filler rod be started in the shielding gas when the weld is started???

You are probably moving the rod towards the puddle so slow, that the heat melts is before it reaches the puddle. You may also be holding the rod too close while waiting for the metal to puddle. That's what happened to me when I was welding alu the first time. When the rod balls up, cut the balled end off before continuing. Hope this helps!

Torch angle also has a lot to do with it. If you feed the rod from the front and the torch angle is close to 45 degrees your heat is out front. Check you torch angle.

Also, what filler size and what amperage?

One thing that is important is to keep the filler rod within the shielding gas envelop as your weld progresses. It took me a while to get this correct. If the rod is moved too far out in between each dip, it can cause contamination. Jody has a number of videos on the website where proper use of filler rod is shown.