# TIG welding first attempt..



## cathead (Feb 21, 2020)

Someone(previous owner) beat on the fuel cap on my D4 Cat dozer and broke off one of the tangs.  It was my first attempt at
AC welding using the TIG.  I can see there is a learning curve for this type of operation but one has to start somewhere.
I just dialed in the upslope, downslope and welding amps along with the pre and post flow gas times and proceeded to burn
off the tungsten!  The welding looked pretty cruddy so really don't know what I was doing wrong.  The second attempt went a
lot better with less welding amperes.   Anyhow, after grinding off the excess and using up a couple 2 inch roll lock discs to clean
the weld up, I was surprised that it looks as good as it does.

At any rate, that's what I did in the shop today.  It actually got above freezing with some sunshine so was able to be outside
some and enjoy the day too.  
	

		
			
		

		
	



The tang on the left is the one I added weld to.  The base metal didn't want to melt much but the rod (1/16 inch diameter) melted anywhere
close to the plasma arc.  I can see larger rod would have been better but that is all I had in the shop today.  For a first attempt, I was happy
that I didn't have to get out the oxy-acetylene welder to  finish the job.  I was using 2T with the finger tip control as it looked easier for a first
attempt.  I would have to say that part of the problem was the thin rod and the rest was improper setup likely.  The weld looked to have a lot of
oxidation on the surface so need to use more cleaning action on the welder and maybe surface prep as well.  I did grind it clean with a stainless
brush as well.  Any advice on settings for this weld job would be appreciated.   Thanks all for watching.

One other thing, the garage door opened all by itself while welding attesting to the fact that TIG generates a lot of radio frequency hash.


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## Mini Cooper S (Feb 21, 2020)

I'm not a welding expert but I can say this, Your metal needs to be CLEAN!  Most likely there is diesel fuel leached into the casting of the cap, that will make it very difficult to weld.


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## Technical Ted (Feb 21, 2020)

Just curious... what material is that cap made from? Use AC for aluminum and DC for other metals. I've found from my limited experience that aluminum welding is more difficult than steel. And yes, any kind of material must be very clean for TIG welding, especially AL. I clean it with a SS wire brush (only used on AL) and wipe the base metal and the filler rod with acetone. Rough rule of thumb, set your machine for 1 amp per 0.001 of base metal thickness. Set it a little higher and control it where needed with your foot pedal. 

There are a lot of YouTube videos you can watch that will get you started on the right foot...

Ted


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## Al 1 (Feb 21, 2020)

As Ted said why AC. unless the cap is aluminum.   Al


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## cathead (Feb 21, 2020)

Technical Ted said:


> Just curious... what material is that cap made from?



It is aluminum or aluminum alloy of some sort.  I'm using an Everlast 210 EXT on 220 volt supply145 amperes and 3/32 2% lanthanated tungsten.


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## brino (Feb 21, 2020)

I am always surprised when I switch to aluminum how much extra current it takes than steel.
I believe it is just more thermally conductive and the heat runs away quickly....

Therefore, I like to use the pedal with Al so that I can "floor it" to get the puddle started, then mostly "coast" when the work piece is up to temp.



cathead said:


> the garage door opened all by itself while welding attesting to the fact that TIG generates a lot of radio frequency hash.



Good for ventilation, not so good for the temperature and breeze!

-brino


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## AGCB97 (Feb 21, 2020)

You're awfully brave trying to do a repair on 1st experience. I practiced for hours (read that 'burnt up both metal scrap and consumables) before ever touching a real part.
Go for it and have fun!
Aaron


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## Liljoebrshooter (Feb 21, 2020)

Welding on a piece of aluminum like this would be a pain in the butt.  It will have soaked up fuel and make it very difficult to get it to stop boiling out impurities.
Like was said earlier,  it takes a lot of heat also.
Joe


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## Liljoebrshooter (Feb 21, 2020)

Also,   I didn't see you mention having a foot pedal to control your heat.  On aluminum you need a huge amount of heat at first to get everything hot.   Then when you start to get some puddle going have to back down to keep from melting through. It can be kinda fickle until you get the hang of it.  
Also some alloys just don't weld very good.
Joe


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## RYAN S (Feb 21, 2020)

Looks good!


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## Nutfarmer (Feb 22, 2020)

On heavier aluminum it helps to preheat the part. Be careful of over heating the part of you may have a molten pile of metal . Repair looks good.


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## cathead (Feb 22, 2020)

In retrospect, I did preheat the part in a weird sort of way.  The puddle wasn't forming so I let the plasma torch heat up the work for a while.  I really
didn't think about it much but by the time I got to welding, I had to handle the cover with gloves.  Next time I try some thick aluminum, I will set 
the amperes to 180 or more and use the foot pedal instead of the 2T trigger.  The Everlast manual is pretty basic so having to learn the hard way...
I can see where welding on thinner new and clean material would be easier to do so looking forward to that.


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## Technical Ted (Feb 22, 2020)

This guy has some great videos on all types of welding, including how to TIG weld aluminum.









						weldingtipsandtricks
					

Clear Arc Shots and Plain Talk to help you Pass a Test, Fix Stuff, Build Stuff, Get a Raise, Build a Better Life. Disclaimer: These videos are intended for e...




					www.youtube.com
				




Ted


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## markba633csi (Feb 22, 2020)

I think you did great, considering
Your dozer must be primo by now


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## Weldo (Feb 22, 2020)

As others have said cleanliness is super important in aluminum welding.  Aluminum is kind of porous compared to other metals so it will tend to have deep contamination when a part has had contact with oil or similar chemicals.  Small parts may benefit from soaking in acetone in addition to grinding/brushing off surface contaminants.

Also as @Liljoebrshooter said some alloys are just not very good for welding, and some can't be successfully welded at all.

As far as tungsten choice, they say you can use lanthanated for AC welding but I never have good luck with it.  I always get the best and most consistent performance from pure tungsten for AC.  Again like was said before, aluminum takes a lot of amperage so you may consider going up to 1/8" tungsten.


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## Technical Ted (Feb 22, 2020)

I also don't remember you saying what you had your balance control set at??? Maybe you did and I missed it. 30% positive and 70% negative is a good place to start. You want good cleaning action without burning your tungsten up. You said in your first post that the tungsten burned away, which might indicate the setting was way off and you were actually just "balling" you tungsten and it burned way back too far. If you don't know what I mean, check YouTube for "balling your tungsten". It's a practice where you intentionally burn the end of your tungsten back to form a sphere (ball) on the end of it. This is an old practice and most say not necessary with modern TIG welders. But, you need to have your balance set correctly to get good welds in aluminum (not used for other metals). 

Ted


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## Chips O'Toole (Feb 22, 2020)

It looks like it worked very well, so I would be happy with it.


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## cathead (Feb 22, 2020)

Technical Ted said:


> I also don't remember you saying what you had your balance control set at??? Maybe you did and I missed it. 30% positive and 70% negative is a good place to start. You want good cleaning action without burning your tungsten up. You said in your first post that the tungsten burned away, which might indicate the setting was way off and you were actually just "balling" you tungsten and it burned way back too far. If you don't know what I mean, check YouTube for "balling your tungsten". It's a practice where you intentionally burn the end of your tungsten back to form a sphere (ball) on the end of it. This is an old practice and most say not necessary with modern TIG welders. But, you need to have your balance set correctly to get good welds in aluminum (not used for other metals).
> 
> Ted


Yes, Ted I know about balance but it was not clear as far as how to set the welder up properly for 30/70.  The main difficulty I have is 
with the instructions and how to apply them.  I need to learn how to set the balance with this machine.


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## Weldo (Feb 22, 2020)

Some of the new machines have soooo many adjustments.  They give you so much control that it's kind of overwhelming.


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## eugene13 (Feb 22, 2020)

We have a piece of bus-bar copper for "balling the tungsten" and always use pure for aluminum.


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## Technical Ted (Feb 24, 2020)

This just came out and is a great beginning aluminum TIG welding "how to".






Have fun!
Ted


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## brino (Feb 24, 2020)

Technical Ted said:


> I also don't remember you saying what you had your balance control set at??? Maybe you did and I missed it. 30% positive and 70% negative is a good place to start. You want good cleaning action without burning your tungsten up.





cathead said:


> Yes, Ted I know about balance but it was not clear as far as how to set the welder up properly for 30/70. The main difficulty I have is
> with the instructions and how to apply them. I need to learn how to set the balance with this machine.



AC Balance is one of the "funny" settings........different TIG vendors mark the knobs differently....

It's kinda like how some lathe vendors mark the compound slide angle with the zero degree mark meaning that the tool is perpendicular to the axis of the lathe, while other lathe vendors mark ninety degrees as being perpendicular to the lathe axis. That sure causes some confusion for threading using the compound!

Jody Collier at http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/ did a great series of videos talking about the Everlast 250EX, but I think even the folks that use the blue or red machines could learn a bunch from those videos. Here's a link to part 2 where he dicusses AC Balance:
http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/tig-welder-inverter-part2.html

Basically:
1) the electrode negative part gives better penetration (electron flow into workpiece),
2) the electrode positive part gives better cleaning of the aluminum workpiece (electron flow into the tungsten electrode),
3) BUT, you gotta know which way the scale on your welder goes......is higher more EN or more EP?

The manual for the Everlast 250EX (that I have) states:


> AC Balance Control
> 10-90% of EP
> Selects the percent of Electrode Positive (EP) used during AC welding to provide cleaning.
> This divides the amount of time that the AC cycle is in Electrode Positive or Electrode
> ...



However, the Miller Dynasty 280 Quick Reference shows:




and the Lincoln Square Wave TIG 200 Quick Reference says:



So here Everlast seems like "the odd man out" because they declare the inverse of the other guys......however, so far that's the biggest difference I have seen......

-brino


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## cathead (Feb 25, 2020)

So....................  setting the balance on the Everlast 200 EXT at 70% is actually 30% cleaning apparently.   I'm armed
with some new aluminum TIG rod from the welder supply house so will be doing my homework  torch in hand.




It's tough enough to read a skewed manual( a grammatically correct version of Chinglish) especially to a left handed person
in a right handed world and to top it off it all being a Norwegian, 




Then carefully blend in a measure of EN, EP, straight and reverse polarity and whip on high until smooth and top it off with a cherry. 



Y'all have a good day!








EDIT:  I think I spoke too soon.  Before heading out to practice weld, I decided to read in the manual again about the AC balance part.  
           The manual is clear enough had I read it carefully in the first place so I have to take back my rant above.   Oh well, I did have fun 
           with the smileys......


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## coherent (Feb 25, 2020)

For a first attempt you did outstanding. Learning to TIG is definately an art and some practice. I couldn't imagine trying to learn without an instructor before the internet existed.


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## Weldo (Feb 25, 2020)

I would dare to say that once you get used to welding aluminum and get your settings ironed out, you may find it easier than welding steel.

Once you know how the metal and the weld pool reacts you can make quick and clean welds in aluminum.  And since it conducts heat away from the weld area so quickly it can be more forgiving to over heating than steel or stainless.  You know when you let too much heat build up in steel the weld turns a nasty flat gray color.  The effect is even worse in stainless.

This problem is somewhat present in aluminum, if you weld too hot, the weld will take on a grainy appearance but for the most part if you run an aluminum weld too hot for too long you'll probably experience problems where the base metal totally melts out and falls to the floor.

Also the high surface tension of molten aluminum makes out of position welding fairly easy.  The puddle tends to stay put in a vertical or horizontal weld.


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