Welding Tips and Tricks

That's just a figure of speech, I am glad I stumbled upon this site as there are all kinds of tips and tricks to learn in this trade. I will do my best to upload some pictures as soon as my company lets me get back to welding (what I was hired for). I had the luxury of working with some pretty sharp NDT guys over the years in the space program and experimented with a lot of aluminum finding that DC is the way to go for thick to thin transitions

Aerospace background explains a lot. I've known a couple of people who worked at the Micoud facility in New Orleans East, at the fuel tank assembly plant.

I absorbed anything I could from them.

Steve S.

I currently work in the hydrogen chain, diagnosing, repairing, rehabbing and retesting LHY tanker trailers for APCI.

Steve S.

[attachment=0]20121008_082206.jpg

Ain't nothin' wrong with that!

I see in the second pic, it seemed you didn't have enough heat-soak yet to get as consistent a bead in that first inch as in the rest of the weld. Is that effect from advancing slower at the start? I have similar on welds I don't preheat (or don't preheat enough), even with He added. When I advance and feed at a very slow rate at the start of a weld, it just doesn't look as smooth as when the heat spreads out, and I can back off the pedal a bit and move with a rythym.

Steve S.

BTW, Bryce,

Are you a southpaw? Or is that camera perspective?

Yes, I am left handed. I picked the plate up and tried to turn it to show the best lighting scenario. Sometimes I will "pedal" the bead in by short bursts of increased amperage while adding the filler material to make the weld perfectly even from start to finish. I know it is unconventional to some people that solely believe in AC aluminum but then again, most welders are unconventional to begin with. The only time I perfer AC is when the material is ultra thin such as .040 and smaller because of the heat intensity welding with helium.

Oh, yes that was the initial one inch or so because I did not preheat the plate before I welded it. Good catch man, its nice when people know what they are looking at!

Impressive Bryce !!!

Thanks for the extra information Bryce! I had posted this a while back and just noticed that there were more comments, ha ha! Not sure if Bryce has answered your questions yet Steve but ask away!

Thanks, RedIron,

I haven't any questions yet, because I've not had the opportunity to try it yet. 99% of the time I spend welding (which is maybe 10% of my work hours, these days), is on 304 SS, sch.10 down to .049 wall tubing. Because of an odd set of circumstances, and my odd combination of skills and experience, I've become the de-facto first-line supervisor, lead vacuum tech, lead ASME vessel retest mechanic, and the list goes on. I'm only called on to weld for critical repairs, and complicated valve change-outs. This actually means I'm usually "out of practice" when I'm called on to weld.

I WILL find some free time or a good excuse to try my hand at this, though. The logic is sound, the results are clearly sound, and I love adding another skill to my resume'.

Steve S.

this is very interesting! do any of you think the same results could be had by running AC 99% electrode negative?? many of the new inverters can go 90% or higher like the dynasty 700 i use at my work place.

Hi Bryce,

It's refreshing to hear open minds thinking outside the box.
Would you tell us what your machine settings are?
Especially polarity, gas etc..

Thanks,
Don

Sure, this setup for 1/4 aluminum plate was run with DCEN with a gas lense, 3/32 2% thorated tungsten sharpened to a point.
I like the gas lense for the even flow characteristics of the gas, minimal turbulence.
Straight Helium was used at about 15-20psi
Machine was set at about 180 amps as I like to have the option for more heat control in the pedal but actually 150 will do just fine
The machine was a miller 300 and gave you the option for clean, penetration or balance----------set it too balanced
Clean the material including your rod with acetone, brush material throughly with a stainless steel brush and then wipe again with a clean low lint wipe
Preheating the material is recommended, but I did not do that in the joint in the picture

The thing is when you clean aluminum this good, you dont need any AC for cleaning ability. Whatever you weld in life no matter what it is, it will always, always be a better weld with proper preparation including cleaning. I cannot stress this enough, the cleaner the better.

This old man I worked with years ago used to tell me that if you start with a turd you will end with a turd. Polish it all that you want but the end result is going to still be a turd, lol
Welding was created for people by people that think outside the box!

I had assumed the "very clean, and right now" part.

You specify 100% helium (available to me, no issue), but at a PSI, rather than a CFH. Are you using a dry rig with a gas valve?

I've used helium as a percentage of my gas with excellent results.

BTW,

The phrase, "You can't polish a turd" has been a part of my life for years.

Sorry CFH, the torch is water (coolant) cooled.

I used DC to build an aluminum T-handle for one of my offshore fishing reels. I used DC because I only had 2% and pure tungsten on hand and wanted to use a sharpened electrode for tiny welds. It was more like tacks on tacks than a full on weld being as I pulsed it but it came out quite nice and held up fine. I still have the reel. Never did bother to buy a replacement handle.

Hello guys i just registered here so i am new and i am a total beginner. in fact ive only used MIG once, and no experience with TIG at all. now i know what some of you may say... that its too dangerous or not worth trying, but i am currently in the middle of a project and i need to weld some 3mm aluminium sheets. i was planning on buying this 3 in 1 system because i also need a plasma cutter and this comes with it.

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/50A-Plas ... 19410.html

will this be okay to do small amounts of welds on alu sheets? the length of each weld will be something like 4cm long at most. hope you guys can help me out cheers.

my uncle is a professional welder but he doesnt have his welders with him, hes taken them to his work abroad, so i cannot get him to help me.

no help from anyone?

Hey,

Hang in there mate. Someone will have something for you. I have about zero experience on Al so i shouldn't give any advice, but because its the festive season, other regular contributers may be off line. keep checking in and someone will help out.
Mick

Hi, xivlia,

If the machine meets it's claims, It'll be more than adequate for your plans.

I can't speak for this particular brand, but I can make two general observations:

While many Chinese-made welders are not ready to compete with their established counterparts, they have been steadily improving.

The price for the fuctions offered seems a little low to me. In your place, I'd try to locate a few folk who already own it, preferably experienced weldors, and ask for their reviews.

Steve S

hmm i understand, i will try and see if anyone has got one of these. i have one more question.

those chinese welders are DCEP, it shows the torch as + and workplace as - on the machine, will it be possible to reverse the polarity? will it damage the machine? or does it not matter

It must be possible to reverse the polarity, as DC TIG is always DCEN. It might be automatic with the machine settings.

Polarity is a non-issue for Aluminum, as it's AC.

It might just be the way they've chosen to mark ground (workpiece) vs. electrode.

Steve S

ah okay, i was just wondering and i didnt know if TIG machines are made to be specifically one way ie, DCEN or DCEP. i didnt know you can alternate between them even though it has + and - marks on the machine.