Newbie learning to Tig T joints

[Salty]

Hello all,when I tig weld this T joint the weld looks grainy, I am pretty sure its not cracker crumbs When I weld flat on the same material it looks shiny . Does anyone else have this same problem or is it just me.

Attachment 1432

[geezer]

Grainy ,,,,as in the puddle is too large and you are losing heat because of it causing the grainy bits to appear unmelted ??

[Salty]

QUOTE=geezer;8313]Grainy ,,,,as in the puddle is too large and you are losing heat because of it causing the grainy bits to appear unmelted ??[/QUOTE]

Yes, grainy as in it looks like sand in the finish. How do you keep the puddle small and still have good penetration? I don't understand what you mean by loosing heat can you explain that ? I will be grateful for any suggestions. Thanks

[geezer]

QUOTE=geezer;8313]Grainy ,,,,as in the puddle is too large and you are losing heat because of it causing the grainy bits to appear unmelted ??

Yes, grainy as in it looks like sand in the finish. How do you keep the puddle small and still have good penetration? I don't understand what you mean by loosing heat can you explain that ? I will be grateful for any suggestions. Thanks[/QUOTE]

Too much wiggle of the torch just enlarges the puddle size and does not add to penetration, eventually the puddle is so big you cannot maintain the heat accross it.
If you want a puddle of that size you need to crank up the amps and or reduce the wire size you are dipping into the puddle to prevent cooling. If you look at the start of the weld it was cold and grainy, the grain dissapeared somewhat and the only shiny bit was when you ended, by that time the heat was built up in the plates. At least that's my take on it by looking at the picture but with out being there I can only guess at the problem.

[Salty]

You are right I know I was moving the torch around a lot to form a key hole,I will work on my angle and try to move around less to achieve a better bead. Do you think the gritty appearance has anything to do with contamination?

[geezer]

Contamination, could be,,, aluminum is tricky when it comes to that. Also could be that the puddle has become over agitated and the cleaning oxides are being swirled back in to the puddle.
The oxides are almost impossible to melt aluminum melts at say 1000 degrees, the oxides melt at over 3200 degrees hotter than steel at say 2400 degrees. Something to think about.

[Salty]

I got some more practice this morning I focused on my torch angle and worked on holding the torch steady . I think I am making progress. More heat less wiggle = better joint

[presure2]

that one certainly looks to show some improvment salty!
can you give us some details on what your doing? (material thickness, tungsten type and size, filler type and size, amps ect?) i got lots of practice ahead of me, (i have yet to pick up a tig torch) so these kinda posts can really help the mental prep!
keep it up salty, looks like your getting the hang of it!

[geezer]

Excellent progress, we can now disspell all the theroies and get down to practice, moral of that story: less wiggle and more heat.
you are on your way to better things.

[Salty]

that one certainly looks to show some improvment salty!
can you give us some details on what your doing? (material thickness, tungsten type and size, filler type and size, amps ect?) i got lots of practice ahead of me, (i have yet to pick up a tig torch) so these kinda posts can really help the mental prep!
keep it up salty, looks like your getting the hang of it!

The material is 1/8" 3003 sheet aluminum (I am not real sure about this #3003) I am using the 1/16" 2% lanthanated tungsten, 3/32" 4043 filler rod with the amps set at about 120. I am learning to use the foot pedal without any thing like pulse or slope just a bit of pre flow and about 5 seconds of post flow on the argon. I have the frequency set to about 2/3 and the AC balance set to about 1/3 this is very close to what Jodie suggest in his video.

[AussieChris]

That’s very interesting Salty. I generally use 5356 filler rod. But after reading that 4043 is supposed to be easier to use, I bought some to try. But I found that all my welds with 4043 had a grainy appearance (almost like a sand cast look). I never found an explanation for it so I just went back to 5356 which is supposed to be stronger and more corrosion resistant anyway.

Maybe you could get a couple of sticks of 5356 to test.

Chris
Brisbane Australia.

[presure2]

The material is 1/8" 3003 sheet aluminum (I am not real sure about this #3003) I am using the 1/16" 2% lanthanated tungsten, 3/32" 4043 filler rod with the amps set at about 120. I am learning to use the foot pedal without any thing like pulse or slope just a bit of pre flow and about 5 seconds of post flow on the argon. I have the frequency set to about 2/3 and the AC balance set to about 1/3 this is very close to what Jodie suggest in his video.

Thanks for the detailed info, salty, I appreciate it!!

[Salty]

That’s very interesting Salty. I generally use 5356 filler rod. But after reading that 4043 is supposed to be easier to use, I bought some to try. But I found that all my welds with 4043 had a grainy appearance (almost like a sand cast look). I never found an explanation for it so I just went back to 5356 which is supposed to be stronger and more corrosion resistant anyway.

Maybe you could get a couple of sticks of 5356 to test.

Chris
Brisbane Australia.

Thanks Chris, I will pick up some 5356 this week and post my results when I get some time to practice.

[Salty]

I picked up some 5356 rod yesterday and did some practice welds today. Right away the welds are shinny not grainy. The 5356 rod will take some getting used to. The rod is a little harder for me to use but I like the shinny beads. I will keep on practicing and post my progress for comments.
Attachment 1507