Tig welding Al tubing

[Swift]

Well I guess the lurking has to end sooner or later. You guys really have a great forum with some really talented members!

I'm a self taught TIG welder who learned on a Syncrowave 180. I recently bought a Dynasty 200 DX. Man do I like my new machine!

I've come a long way since I first started but I would like some advice on technique. Let's say 1" x 1" x .125" Al tubing. As you guys know, the difficult part is the start and the end of a run (at least for a novice like myself). I guess specifically what I'm looking for is this. How fast do you try to form your puddle, add filler, move along, and end the weld (butt and fillets)? Any advice on this topic will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

Chris

[Hobart Expert Rock]

SWIFT...........WERE NOT IGNOREING YOU........DAVE FISHER HAS BEEN OUT OF THE OFFICE AND JUST GOT BACK TODAY......... HE SAID HE WOULD ANSWER THIS AND SEVERAL OTHERS......... HE IS REALLY UP TO SPEED ON THE DYNASTY'S............. CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR PURCHASE ARE YOU PLANNING TO KEEP THE SD180 THEN FOR BACK UP....?....AND WELCOME ABOARD.............................ROCK..........
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[Guest]

Welcome to the forum, Chris. As you probably already know aluminum dissipates heat fast and the first weld you make will be slower than the last weld. Preheating will help to get you up to welding temp. but most folks don't bother on 1 x 1 tubing. you should be up to temp in a about 2 or 3 seconds with a 3/32 2% thoriated tungsten. At the end I always make a circular motion as I back off the pedal. Hope this helps.

[lranch]

"Tackin up" will warm things up enough so you can turn and burn. Just watch your temp, as this thin will localy saturate fast so be ready to pedal back as soon as puddle starts to grow. Also, I assume this will be several beads as you manuver around each tubing end or joint so your start and finish throttle will be close to same. I try and buldge at end rather than dimple so I pedal back on last dab. Good luck.

[Swift]

Thanks for the replies so far!

Rocky D, I'm going to try that circle motion at the end. I have learned to ease off the pedal very slowly but still end up with a suck hole from time to time. Thanks for the tip!

H E Rock, Long story about the 180 SD. Basically a friend got it for next to nothing and did not know how to use it. I got it from him and used it for about a year. He wouldn't sell it to me so I bought the Dynasty. I'm not going to knock the Syncrowave but having the oportunity to compare the 2, man I'm glan he didn't sell me the 180 SD!

[Service]

Hello Swift
Sorry for the delay (combination of being out of the office and trouble getting into the welding talk)

I personally like to start out a little slow at the start of the weld. I allow the puddle to from and to get to the size I want for the weld. At that point I begin to at filler. I watch the leading edge and the right side of the puddle. If the two edges are the same each time I add filler the weld will be the same from start to finish.
The end is a little tricky because the aluminum is now at a much higher temp and the puddle is becoming very fluid, thus it is natural to try to throw that last dip of filler in and get out. But if you do this to quickly the puddle will dimple. Thus what I to isadd filler then slowly start to decrease the amperage. As I'm decreaseing the amperage I'm watching the puddle for the dimple. If I see the dimple beginning to form I increase the amperage slightly and add a small amount of filler. I repeat this process until there is no dimple.
Good luck let me know how it turns out.
Thanks
Dave