pic of lap joints from this week:

 

Frankly, I've onlly tried the pulse setting on aluminum, if I think I know what you are talking about. I didn't like it, but that could be from not understanding how it works and moving the torch in time with it.

With that description about the filler material, I'd suspect that you are not hitting the puddle dead on. It sounds like you are hitting the edge of it where the parent metal is not quite melted.

This whole thread makes me want to go tig something. The last piece I did was a gear selector pin for my dad's kubota.

 

Those lap joints look strong. Its pretty cool how you can 'feel' the torch cutting the steel when you are getting penetration. Some of the pulse settings I have used are 3 or 4 per second for steel, and 1 per second for aluminum. The peak and off peak amperage usually need some adjusting for thickness and type of joint. I have just recently started using the pulse for everything I do, I prefer it now that I got used to it.

Here is a picture of an aluminum cap I welded on my muffler on my dirtbike. This was with no pulse.

 

Moregrip, nice welding. You are getting better. I weld stainless tubing, 1/4", 1/2", 3/4" all the way up to 6", all day long... orbitally though. I can't wait to see your tubing action.

 

thanks bro, learn a little more each time. I asked about tubing and the instructor wasn't sure if we'd get to it

 

cool, glad my lap joints look like they have some integrity
that aluminum weld looks sweet!
does pulsing help control heat at all, that you have noticed?

 

Thanks man! Pulsing definetly helps control the heat. If you have too much heat going into the piece, you can turn down the off-peak pulse amperage and notice that the penetration is still good and the overall heat is less. If you are doing your own pulse, you can adjust however you need to while welding, takes tons of coordination though. It is ideal when you need to weld thin stuff or something like aluminum that will melt if overheated. Once I started messing with the pulse on my machine (only a couple months ago) I don't know how I ever welded aluminum without it. A friend of mine used to build bicycle frames, cut and notch the tubing and weld the frames. I was asking him about his technique and if he had any tips for me in general, he started laughing when I told him that I had never used the pulse on my machine! He said that he uses the pulse for everything that he welds. Once you get comfortable welding without it is the best time to try it out, when you are learning it may complicate things if the settings on the pulse are throwing you off. Not all machines have a pulse, if you were looking to buy a welder I would look for a pulse feature with a lot of control.

 

sounds very interesting. we were told that we are not allowed to use any pulse. I guess he wants us to learn the basics first. I have been using a Lincoln 255 square wave lately, seems to be a very good machine.

also, we are not allowed to quench our metal so as the material heats up the welding becomes progessively harder as the molecules in the metal are all jumbled. That's why my early welds always look better than my later welds. I guess that allowing us to learn how to weld in different circumstances

 

Looking good Grippy! I have been learning off and on for a few years when the boss isnt looking. I usually like to walk the cup on everything i do. It just looks cleaner and more precise.


Parish, I saw your intercooler on your thread and you are probably gonna need a high freq. machine to make your welds look decent on Al. If you dont have access to a High Freq machine, are you preheating with an oxyfuel rig before you weld. It will help the metal flow better and also help you with your penetration. Are you using the AC or DC setting?

 

Oh Hell Yeah!

we started aluminum this week, TOTALLY different than steel! and I totally love it! I think I phsyched myself out a little bit thinking it would be beyond me but I'm happy to say I like welding aluminum better than steel, at least 6061-T6 anyway, we are using 5356 filler rods, AC, 100amps +/-.

my very first attempt was actually pretty decent, except waaaay to big(read hot).

Oh yeah, how is touching your 100% tungsten tip with an aluminum filler rod doin?