Getting shocked and not sure what to do?

[DaveO]

Before they had welders, or maybe just out of habit: didn't the Grumman canoe people build aircraft in WW II?

The canoe in question has holes and I may TIG repair them eventually... but reading these forums has told me that TIG will not be the "pick it up and go" I had in mind. Whenever I start thinking How tough could it be I usually find out EXACTLY how tough it can be.

[sportbike]

Usually if an aluminum object is not initially assembled by welding (it is joined by riveting or some other method) then the aluminum alloy used is NOT weldable. Paraphrase from Jody of WeldingTipsandTricks.com

Thurmond

Or they actually need to have some strength in the part, or couldn't weld for corrosion reasons. The reduction in strength of non post weld heat treated aluminum for most common weldable alloys is quite high, especially with heat treatable alloys. Most 5000 series alloys don't lose a great deal of ultimate strength (yield still suffers) from welding, but then again, most 5000 series alloys aren't as strong as say heat treated 6061 to start with. Weldable 7000 series alloy (usually 7005) is pretty much only available in tube form, and is easier to get in Europe. It is used on bicycle frames.

I have welded "unweldable" 7000 and 2000 series alloys, including Aluminum Lithium alloys....but that was with Friction Stir Welding, not conventional fusion welding.

Either way, keep an eye on the welded areas as they may crack again, or could corrode quite fast as compared to the base metal.

[parkour]

Is the possibly accelerated corrosion of/in the weld area purely due to the changed temper from the heating?
Supposing one is using 6061-T6; to restore its original temper, would one simply repeat the T6 process?

[yotarover]

used to happen when i first started using tig. never could figure out why till i checked the ground and my gloves after that hasn't happened since.

[geezer]

Sean , look on the bright side, with all that self inflicted shock therapy, you are probably the most sane member of this group. The fact you may be a bit jumpy around riveted boats will pass with time.

[SeanMurphy265]

I'm glad I learned that it was me, at first I thought something was wrong with my torch. It seems that I did everything possible to shock myself. I picked up a new pair of tig gloves to start with.

[Paul Moir]

It seemed to me I got a lot more shocks before I closed the spark gap down to .030" as recommended. In fact I don't think I've got a single zap since then except for when I forgot the ground clamp and got myself into the ground path.

I'm bad though and often don't wear gloves.

[everlastsupport]

The gap will not stop the zap. Like StarvingArtist said and I am in Florida as well. Always humid here and hot here.

Dry gloves, clamp close to weld, dry boots if they have thread going through the bottom. Let the power go to the best ground path and make sure that's not you.

[dwdw]

When I got my PM256, I also got shocks while tig welding. I opened the torch handle and found the rubber insulation was cut when the two haves were assembled. A little Scotch electrical tape and that solved 95% of my problem, Ya I'm a quick weld and many times don't use gloves! but use a couple shop towels/rags under my arm for stability(after 55+ years of welding steady hands are at a premium) and insulation.
Shocks are not appreciated but keep you on your toes!!
Most shoe soles are black, there is carbon added to the rubber. This makes a good resistor just enough to complete your sweaty socks to ground. Many import shoes are seldom rubber they're a poly bled of anything at hand! Good for static electric shocks after scuffing you feet on the carpet then touching a persons neck!!
dwdw

[Paul Moir]

You know, I'll bet that's my problem too. When I fixed the gap I also got a new torch which I'm using about 90% of the time. Could also account for my 90% reduction in shocks I suppose! I'll take the old one apart and have a look.