Tig ali bumps in bead.

[ukmxer]

I am welding Ali 1.6mm with 1.6 rod and 2.4 tungsten on a 160 miller econotig acdc. The weld is going on OK but after I have finished and check my weld, there are tiny lumps in my weld pools giving it a bumpy feel and texture. I am used to using inverters and syncrowaves and have not seen this before. Is this because it is a cheapo welder without square wave technology or am I causing the problem.

thanks

[zapster]

could be a number of things...
is there any way to post pics of the problem??

...zap!

[ukmxer]

See attachment.

[zapster]

well from what i can tell..the last pic tells the story..

first off.... juuuust a little more heat...
and when you end the weld it looks to me that you need more "post purge" time...

set it at around 3 seconds and when you stop the weld don't move the torch untill the purge is over..sometimes i kik the pedal real quick if its a real hot one..just for the extra 3 sec...

...zap!

[ukmxer]

Thx Zapster

I got it wrong then, I thought I was putting too much heat in. I had tried different flow rates on the argon but had no joy. I will try a little more heat tommorrow.
thank you for your help.

[zapster]

please let us know what you find out...

...zap!

[zapster]

and by the way

you don't need a square wave machine to get fantastic welds..
check out the intake pics that i made

done with a Airco circa 1958..

square wave? whats that? lol

...zap!

[zapster]

after reading and re-reading and reading the posts...

you mention only argon...
is that all you use?

you really should have a 75-25 tank of gas...
unless you're using a mixer...

straight argon is rather "cold" for aluminum...
thats why more heat is needed ..but you beat on the machine more than needed..

and clean the crap out of it 3 times beforehand with acetone..just for 's

...zap!

[BBchevy396]

75-25....... Ar/He ?

[gnm109]

Originally Posted by zapster

and by the way

you don't need a square wave machine to get fantastic welds..
check out the intake pics that i made

done with a Airco circa 1958..

square wave? whats that? lol

...zap!

Zap, you got a new friend for life! I too have a nasty old transformer welder (No Square Wave, Idealarc 250/250 TIG Stick Lincoln, ca. 1985). It's so nice to hear that someone else has a non-square wave machine and does well with it!

I saw your nice manifold job and it's as good as anything I ever saw at Rocketdyne and North American Aviation when I was working there.

In the old days of TIG, nobody knew a square wave from a donut and they still managed to build beautirful stuff that would pass X-ray and visual inspections.

Now I don't have to hang my head anymore! Thanks for that! Whoopee!

[zapster]

Originally Posted by BBchevy396

75-25....... Ar/He ?

yes 75% helium 25% argon..

but in my guesstimation..i dont care for pre mixed gas..
still a little to "dirty" to me because of the helium..
thats why i like gas mixers..i like to run around 38% (ar) on aluminum....

...zap!

[zapster]

Now I don't have to hang my head anymore! Thanks for that! Whoopee!




always happy to help...

...zap!

[TubularFab]

I find I like mid '80s era Lincoln TIG 300/300 way better than the synchrowaves (250, 350, 351) they have where I work. The old non-squarewave seems to hold an arc at much lower amperages, and seems to get more heat out of the same tungsten diameter than the millers no matter how you adjust them. So, I would have to agree with you Zap!

[orphan68]

I have a mid 80's Cyber-Tig if you're interested.

[zapster]

Originally Posted by Panozeng

I find I like mid '80s era Lincoln TIG 300/300 way better than the synchrowaves (250, 350, 351) they have where I work. The old non-squarewave seems to hold an arc at much lower amperages, and seems to get more heat out of the same tungsten diameter than the millers no matter how you adjust them. So, I would have to agree with you Zap!

well guys ...

the older machines are so simple to operate..
and they will give you great results with the right set up

the hobart i have now is a whole diffrent but the same animal...

but i'll get it figured out as soon as the gas mixer shows up

...zap!

[Roy Hodges]

[quote=zapster]after reading and re-reading and reading the posts...

you mention only argon...
is that all you use?

you really should have a 75-25 tank of gas...
unless you're using a mixer...

straight argon is rather "cold" for aluminum...
thats why more heat is needed ..but you beat on the machine more than needed..

and clean the crap out of it 3 times beforehand with acetone..just for 's

You know why argon is "Cold" on aluminum ? Because
Argon is 10 (ten) times as dense as Helium. Look it up
in a hand book the the big gas companies give out . I did .And you're right about the cleaning. it needs to be sterile.

[chopper5]

Originally Posted by zapster

well guys ...

the older machines are so simple to operate..
and they will give you great results with the right set up

the hobart i have now is a whole diffrent but the same animal...

but i'll get it figured out as soon as the gas mixer shows up

...zap!

ZAP that is so true i think these new machines take some of the skill out of welding ,there real nice but i think the old machines run good you just got to up your game some

[guy-finnigan]

don't use acetone.. it can give you very porous welds on aluminum.. use methyl hydrate if possible

[zapster]

Originally Posted by guy-finnigan

don't use acetone.. it can give you very porous welds on aluminum.. use methyl hydrate if possible

wtf?

listen partner..acetone will not give you porous welds in aluminum..

i oughtta know by now

geesh

i think your set up is responsible for porosity...

acetone does nothing more than clean the surface..and it evaporates and leaves NOTHING BEHIND!!

get with the program...and learn to weld then...


and i said so

...zap!

[guy-finnigan]

oh really?.. so how much welding education do you have?

[zapster]

Originally Posted by guy-finnigan

oh really?.. so how much welding education do you have?

30 yrs..certified in mig (even though i have not touched one in 12 yrs..)
and TIG

go find the intake close-up thread and you tell me if i know what i'm doing..

dont **** me off..it was 108 in the shop today

and when you can weld like that let me know

...zap!

[guy-finnigan]

ya i'm pretty sure i'm a certified aluminum mig welder and that's what i do every day all day and i've found out from experience that acetone gives porous welds.. maybe you're not trained to notice what a porous weld looks like.. i'm sorry that you never learned that.. oh ya.. all 4 of my welding teachers in college say not to use acetone

[zapster]

whatever..

i've never had a weld fail and i'm not about too

you just carry on with your method...

and so will i

have a nice day


..zap!

[smithboy]

Both are common solvents however, acetone is the only one of the two specifically listed by lincoln and miller for cleaning aluminum. I have used acetone for years and never had any problems with it. Lincoln's website suggests cleaning aluminum with acetone or other hydrocarbon solvents.

Guy, do you have any more information about what your instructors say causes the porosity when using acetone?

http://www.lincolnelectric.com/knowl...nt/tigalum.asp
http://www.millerwelds.com/education...s/story59.html

[zapster]

sorry to all i got

i suppose there are diffrent methods...

but...

i dont think its available at the local hardware store...

...zap!