weld pictures, how am I doing so far?

I got out the digital camera today and took pictures of some of my recent welds. These are all done on 6061 aluminum, 1/8 x 1. 5 tubing and/or 1/8 x 2 flat bar. Filler rod was 3/32 5356. Tungsten was 3/32 pure. Machine is a Miller Syncrowave180SD. Amperage 120-150, AC, balance control set to about 6. Used a gas lens with a #7 cup. Argon flow about 17cfh.



Please let me know what you think of the welds as well as any advice you may have. TIA



Cheers,

Sean



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This joint was done vertically, just as it appears in the pic. Shouldn't have had so much coffee before this one

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Nice work. You can weld on my toys anytime.

 

I 2nd that !

 

Nice work Sean!! Should I send you the plans for my new bumper? That will help with giving you more practice.





Rob

 

You've got the talent to weld aluminum that not many have. I'd let you weld on my stuff... heck, if you were to see the welds on my exhaust downpipe you'd probably be disgusted!

 

Looks good Sean

 

Just when I thought I was doing better, I see something like that and it makes me realize I'm not much beyond "bird poop" welder status.



Very nice work.

 

I can tell you don't have to have a side-grinder at hand like I do... ..... great welds

 

Thanks guys !! Oo. It's great to hear that I'm on the right track with this stuff.



Kimber, can you tell me more about this side grinder?



Cheers,

Sean

 

Sean, we gotta talk.



We both have the same TIG box, but I am doing something REALLY wrong, cuz my aluminum welds NEVER looked like that. :-laf



SWEET work, BTW... . I'm jealous twofold.



1) Because you're more new to TIGging than I am... . but have had a lot more practice than me...

2) You get to use your TIG machine whenever you want... . mine's collecting dust back in MA!!



Awsome work... . !!



How 'bout some pics of some copper work?



Matt

 

Like a roll of nickels laying on their sides!



Keep up the good work.

 

I'll say it again.



BTW, I need some suspension work done... . Have some free time to mock and weld up some 4-links ? LOL



Merrick

 

dude, that looks great. i can get steel to look like that with some 6011 rod and with the oxy/acyltine and 1/16" filler but i have never played with aluminum. oh i want a tig box now...

 

Those welds look so good I feel like eatin em

 

Beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Wish I could do that

 

Looks real good except for the suckback (crater crack) when you came out. Get off the pedal when you come out and you'll be great or just grind the thing a little. If you really want to see if you in the corner, cut the coupon in half, clean it up with fine stuff and see if you can see the penetration in both plates at the cut.



You may be able to use a little acid and water 10% acid, and brush it on the area. It will show the weld on both sides.





Dave

 

nice clean weld sean.



have you tried the 2% thoriated tungsten electrodes. i have better life with them than with pure tungsten.



a trick to try, when you get done with the weld,while you still have the arc going, reduce the power a little and go back in the reverse direction with no filler, to flow out the bumps. it should end up almost looking like a robot weld. that is assuming you dont have too much heat in the part already.



if you aren't making a living doing this - you definately have a talent that can make you money!



jim



lincoln tig 250 with water cooled torch

 

hmm... . just did some searching and these tig machines are pretty expensive. anyone know where to get a gently used one for a good price [maybe a canadian supplier, even if it is a great price in USD, exchange & duty will kill me]

 

Nick:



Good luck finding a used TIG box. I looked for about 2 months... and gave up. All the good ones go really quick. I settled on my box (Miller Syncrowave 180SD) and have never looked back.



Don't waste your time with an old dinosaur... . the newer boxes with HF (high frequency) allow you to start an arc really easy... and the power supplies these days are like buttah!



Matt

 

Great replies once again



On that weld with the crater it was starting to get a little hot at the end, so I jumped off the pedal. So, to make a better stop I should back off the amperage more slowly to prevent the crater, correct? Should I hold the torch in one place at the end or should I swirl it around a bit?



How deep should the penetration be? I should have taken a pic of the backside of that joint. You can see the heat on the backside, just a slight deformation along the seam. No burnthrough though. How's that sound?



I've tried the 2% Th tungstens on AC. They're easier to start the arc, but the arc is a bit jumpy and doesn't appear to clean as well. Also, after a bit of welding the end of the tungsten doesn't have a nice ball on it. It looks kinda gnarly like coarse grit sandpaper. Not sure how much this really matters though.....



Cheers,

Sean