Aluminum SCH 40 pipe.

[nitris223]

Well I finally got my cart built and started using the Itig 200 DX. Played around with some 1/8" thick aluminum plate and was getting pretty good and running descent beads. After a couple of hours of that I moved onto steel. My steel beads suck big time. They look more like mig beads then stack of dimes. More practice I guess. Back to the aluminum I tried to tig some sch 40 3/4" pipe. It was horrible. I could not get a tack going for the life of me. It would puddle one side or the other. Add filler rod and it just turned gray. The more I tried the worse it got to the point it would melt a hole. I am using 2% lanthanated 3/32 tungsten and 3/32 4035 filler rod. I have just about used up the one lanthanated rod that came with the tig and I have to wait for more to be shipped to me. All I can get here is thoraited or maybe ceraited . Some times it would hold a nice small tip and the next time it would eat the electrode.

Still experimenting with the AC freq and Balance. I have to get this SCH 40 pipe figured out because I have a project that I need to do in about a months time. I have a tube notcher to make nice tight fit up. I wiped with acetone , scuffed with a wire stainless brush and then wiped again with acetone.


Also my welder came with a stubby kit and for the life of me I could not get it to work worth a dame. It would ball the electrode really quick. Do I need to run more gas with the stubby kit. I have it set so the top of the ball is floating just pass the 20 SCFH. No trouble with the standard size cups.

How do you determine which cup to use. For electrodes I only have 3/32 and 1/16. Cups go from 4 to 8.

I found that I only needed 85 to 90 amps to weld 1/8" and get nice beads. Maybe this is cold but if I go to 120 it seems to melt fast and I have to travel fast with a very flat weld bead after. It seems like I never put any filler rod in.

Another problem I seem to have is I can not weld a lap joint. I just melt away the edge of the top plate like crazy. Less amperage didn't\t help.

Well back to the shop to keep trying.

[Rambozo]

Getting two pieces to join can be a little tricky. The good news is once you get that first tack, it's a lot easier to keep things going. The trick is to have both pieces super clean and fitted closely. Then start with a low amperage and let the cleaning action work, moving the arc from one part to the other. This will also build some heat into both parts. Then crank up the amperage to start a puddle, and add some filler. Work the arc to wash that puddle over to the other part. Remember molten metal will flow towards the heat source, and arc force can also push it around. Sometimes a quick blast at higher amperage will do the trick for you.

You can use thoriated or ceriated as well. Be sure to keep your AC balance below 40% to keep your tungsten in good shape.

Not sure what is going on with your stubby kit. Is everything sealed up good? 20 cfh is about all you want to run, you can usually get by with less depending on cup size. 10-15 cfh is a good place to start.

Cup size depends on amperage and the material you are welding. Aluminum needs a larger cup than steel, stainless larger yet, and titanium requires a giant one.

For thin sheet metal work a 1/16" tungsten and a #4 cup is a good combo for steel. Moving to your 1/8" aluminum, bump that to 3/32" tungsten and a #6 - #8 cup.

The amount of amperage required depends on a number of factors. With small parts of aluminum, you will find you need less and less as the part heats up.
With a lap joint, the thing to do is build the weld from the lower part, first. Edges melt much easier, and corners easier still, so don't start there if possible.

[nitris223]

Thanks Rambozo. I am going to give it another try tonight. I thought thorinated was only for DC. My LWS only has pure and thorinated.

As for the stubby kit I am going to give that another go. I am thinking I had the balance to high. I think the 200DX starts at 30% so I will start there. Also bought some short pieces of sch 40 to give that another try. I am going to chuck them in the lathe and give them a good cleaning with some emery paper and then clean with acetone. I will also try longer pieces. Last night I was being a tight arse and trying to use the small cut off pieces about 2 inches long. Wouldn't take much to heat them up and cause some problems.

I am thinking about getting a flex head torch. I can already see it will be needed for my project. I would like to get as small as possible and get something that is easier to manipulate. I find the stock one cumbersome to manage . I see ones that just have a single red hose, I take it those are for peddle use only. . Is there a certain connector that I need to fit the everlast machines.

[performance]

If you're using pure then that's 90% of the problem right there.

[zoama]

Thanks Rambozo. I am going to give it another try tonight. I thought thorinated was only for DC. My LWS only has pure and thorinated.

As for the stubby kit I am going to give that another go. I am thinking I had the balance to high. I think the 200DX starts at 30% so I will start there. Also bought some short pieces of sch 40 to give that another try. I am going to chuck them in the lathe and give them a good cleaning with some emery paper and then clean with acetone. I will also try longer pieces. Last night I was being a tight arse and trying to use the small cut off pieces about 2 inches long. Wouldn't take much to heat them up and cause some problems.

I am thinking about getting a flex head torch. I can already see it will be needed for my project. I would like to get as small as possible and get something that is easier to manipulate. I find the stock one cumbersome to manage . I see ones that just have a single red hose, I take it those are for peddle use only. . Is there a certain connector that I need to fit the everlast machines.

2% lanthanated works well for everything. The old transformer machines used pure (green).
Everlast sells really nice CK torches with superflex leads that will be plug and play for your machine. Just call sales.

[nitris223]

Not using Pure. Just the lanthanated and ceriated that came with the kit. one of each and with my noobie mistakes they won't last me that long. My LWS only carries pure and thoraited. Nobody around here seems to care about lanthanated. Looking at there stock and the amount of dust I don't think they move much product. I was hoping to find some local to get me by until my order gets here. Probably 2 weeks away. I have some 1/16th electrodes that I will have to try.

[nitris223]

2% lanthanated works well for everything. The old transformer machines used pure (green).
Everlast sells really nice CK torches with superflex leads that will be plug and play for your machine. Just call sales.

You say everlast sells CK torches. Wonder why Duncan never mentioned them when I was asking about a smaller flex head torch. Need to get a price on that.

[zoama]

You say everlast sells CK torches. Wonder why Duncan never mentioned them when I was asking about a smaller flex head torch. Need to get a price on that.

Everlast USA sells them. Sorry I didn't notice you're in Canada.

[nils]

With any kind of tubing, either round or square, steel or aluminum, make sure the inside is thoroughly cleaned where you intend to weld it.

[nitris223]

Sch 40 aluminum pipe .133 wall. 6061 T6. Never heard of cleaning the inside of the pipe, but I guess it can come out that way also.

[nils]

Sch 40 aluminum pipe .133 wall. 6061 T6. Never heard of cleaning the inside of the pipe, but I guess it can come out that way also.

On several occasions I have encountered tubing with grease or oil or cutting lubricants inside the tube. When there, they tend to bleed into the outside surface when welding and contaminate the puddle. It is especially prevalent with mild steel types where a need for a corrosion resistant film is required.