tig cracks

[fuzz8]

Hi, I can use all the help I can get. What am I doing or not doing when I tig weld somtimes the weld looks good but will have a hair line crack up the middle. Sometimes the legth of weld and other times just where I end. In aluminun and steele
Any help will be greatly appreciated
Thank You
Gary

[B2n3 welder]

Fuzz8 What material are you welding? could be the gap could be the prep or wire selection amount of filler added,gas flow need more info

[Nunzio1]

tig cracks

A couple of things to try to eliminate cracks down the center of the weld: 1) Are you using filler rod - if not, this will sometimes result in cracks as the filler rod contains the correct elements to fuse the metal together better. 2) When you weld, do you go in a straight line with the tungsten? If so, try weaveing back and forth along the weld path so that the motion of the tungsten looks like a captital "C" or a backwards "C" if you are welding with the tungsten in your right hand and working in a right to left direction. Also try using either 70S-D2 or 80S-D2 filler rod for steel. Hope this helps.

[fuzz8]

Re: tig cracks

Originally posted by Nunzio1
A couple of things to try to eliminate cracks down the center of the weld: 1) Are you using filler rod - if not, this will sometimes result in cracks as the filler rod contains the correct elements to fuse the metal together better. 2) When you weld, do you go in a straight line with the tungsten? If so, try weaveing back and forth along the weld path so that the motion of the tungsten looks like a captital "C" or a backwards "C" if you are welding with the tungsten in your right hand and working in a right to left direction. Also try using either 70S-D2 or 80S-D2 filler rod for steel. Hope this helps.

Thank you for this info. I'll try it sounds good
Thank You
Gary

[jjense15]

I have had similar experience, small crack where I end the bead. I was told to drag the arc towards the edge of the bead. Sometimes you will notice a "cat eye" at the end of the bead. I was told this is a stress riser and can cause cracking. I have found that draging to the edge of the bead eliminated the cracks. I'd be interested to hear what some of the more experienced guys on this board think (to see if I'm also doing the right thing).

[H80N]

fuzz8
backfilling the crater at the end of the weld at reduced heat should help... the heat builds up in the weld as you travel .. so at the end ..your HAZ is the largest and thus will shrink the most..and can be prone to cracking.... this is especially true of aluminum which expands more and can be a bit hot short..
do not know your specific circumstances but hope this helps
take care
Heiti

[H80N]

here is a link to a page devoted to weld cracking and causes... the opening photo is about cast iron... which may be misleading... but the info is pretty broad based
hope this is helpful
Heiti

http://www.twi.co.uk/j32k/protected/band_3/jk44.html

[fuzz8]

Thanks for all the tips and this link on cracks. As usual a lot of good information. It sure helps.
Thanks
fuzz8