I are a luminum welder!

[shaky_jake]

Good weekend. My electrician didn't show up, so I wired up my Dynasty 200 DX to use 110V until he does, then started playing around a bit. I know it's been said before, but what an amazing machine! I have never tried to weld aluminum in my life, and was able to use the 'ballpark' settings in the manual and lay down what I think are some decent beads. Got some pictures, wanna see? They're here on my web page. I have to take some more pictures - I got some nerve in me and decided to try a couple of joints - the butt weld held up vs. the BFH/vise test but the tee joint didn't work out so well. I did learn how to blow holes in aluminum parts on the tee joint, though. I'm 'sick' today to recieve a new clothes dryer, so I'll take more pics and post a link to them.

If anyone's sitting on the fence about buying one of these machines, I'd say drop everything and go for it.

Here's the list of my setup, for anyone who cares:
Miller Dynasty 200DX
Miller RFCS-14 HD Foot Control
WNI 17-25-R 150 amp air-cooled torch with flex head
Victor HRF1425-580 flowmeter regulator w/10' hose
Tweco A532 200A stick electrode holder
Ground cable - dealer made
1/8" and 3/32" collets and 2% thoriated tungstens
#6 and the next size up (sorry, not labeled) gas cups
One pound of 1/8" 5356 aluminum filler rod
One pound of .062" ER70S-2 filler rod
One pound of 1/8" ER70S-2 filler rod
A handful of 4043 aluminum filler rod

All told, I'm into this thing for ~$2900 and happier with the purchase than any other tool I can remember. I'll be fighting with my cats for their food until payday, but long-term, I'll probably never need another welder.

There really is a point to this post - other than just gushing about how great the Dynasty is. I'll be looking to improve on those welds, so I wanted to let the 'real welders' here know what my setup is. I haven't even really looked at the pulsing or .001% of what the other features are yet, so for a beginner this machine is pretty much ideal - maybe someday I'll get past the cover of the manual and start making some better welds.

[ASKANDY]

Nice job shaky!

Looks like you have a nice rhythm. Looks like a bit too much heat from the backside shots. What thickness alum were you doing? If it was real thin I can see why they came out that way. Anyway, you are on your way to becoming a great TIG welder!

Have fun!

Andy

[HAWK]

shaky_jake ,

The D200DX is my favorite machine in the shop. The more you play the more you will figure out it can do. I am with A- that your rythym looks good. You might want to dab some filler as you ramp down at the weld end to avoid the pin craters. These can cause problems such as cracking. You are definitely off to a good start!

[Blondie_486]

Shaky_jake,

For aluminum TIG welding I use the "pure" tungstens as opposed to the 2% thoriated. As far as doing your T joints try sticking your tungsten out just a snitch more than normal. The T joints were the hardest for me to get the hang of, once you get those down the rest seems easy, or at least it did for me anyway.

The beads do look pretty good though but as Andy said just a little too hot. It'll take practice to get it right.

Blondie

[nbyjim]

I keep reading how great the Dynasty 200 is.Wish I had known about this site before I bought the Dynasty 300.One of the reasons I bought the machine is because I have three phase in my shop and figured the electicity would be cheaper.In hindsight I think I would of been better of with the 200.Oh,well! I do LOVE that machine!

[HAWK]

nbyjim,

Don't sweat it. The 200 is nicer for portability, but the 300 has the extra amps on 1 or 3 phase. I have a D200DX and have placed an order for the D300DX TIG RUNNER PACKAGE. They both have their place.

[shaky_jake]

Thanks for the compliments, guys. I'm flattered, yet confused... LOL. Andy, when you say the heat is too high, should I simply reduce the amperage? I'd like to think I was good enough with the foot control to do that, but reality, and my preference, is to have the pedal set more so I can pretty much stomp it to the floor and back off a tiny bit. Until I get much more practice controlling the weld with the pedal, that works the best for me. Also, Hawk, you mention ramping down - should I ease off the pedal rather than just letting off? I think I did try that on a few of the later attempts and it helped reduce the huge crater at the end of the welds. BTW, the butt weld did crack right through the crater when I bent it over. Got some real fuzzy pictures... here
For a 'dummy', how much difference am I going to see in the different tungsten types? I'm using the thoriated because that's what the guy at the Miller dealer set me up with. If I switch to ceriated (my preference) this early in my learning curve on aluminum, I think any difference would become 'normal' to me if that's all I use.

[shaky_jake]

Just a quick update - the scraps I was practicing on are actually .0625" (1/16). Duh, no wonder I was too hot using the settings for 1/8". Anybody got a ballpark setting recommendation? Are amperage settings linear, i.e. should I cut it down to ~60A from the 120A I'm at now?

[HAWK]

shaky_jake,

A couple of things will help you. Figure what amperage you think you will need for the weldment at 1 amp per 0.001" of metal thickness. 1/16" aluminum plate needs around 65 amps. Now add a few amps to the machine. Your machine setting is now 90 amps. Push the pedal down steadily until you get a puddle. At this point start traveling and adding filler as needed. If it starts getting too hot, let off the pedal some.

The T joint seems hot with unsteady travel and a lot of torch movement. Slow down. There is not need to swirl on this light gauge aluminum. Simply get your puddle, add filler, and continue travel.

When you end your weld ramp down slow and steady. Add a dab of filler within this ramp down range to fill your crater. If you want to leave the the crater to start you next weld in just rampdown slow and steady without adding a dab of filler. This should give you the crater without the pin holes.

Tungsten use is somewhat a preference. There are some metallurgical properties that make one alloy preferable to another, but in most cases I use 1.5% lanthanated with the Dynasty. It takes the heat well and keeps its point. Ceriated is the next best with thoriated tungsten coming in last place. The lanthanated and ceriated do not release radioactive dust when ground. The thoriated does!

[Blondie_486]

HAWK,

Around here we can only get 2 types of tungsten electrodes that are in stock at any of the welding suppliers I've checked with and that is pure tungsten and 2% thoriated. We can only get lanthinated, ceriated or zirconated tungsten by special order and the dealers don't seem too interested in ordering any of them.

At our shop and several others the general practice has been to use pure tungsten for aluminum and thoriated on everything else. Another thing no one seems to have heard that the thoriated tungstens release radioactive dust around here. The employers seem unaware of it or they don't want to spend the money to take precautions and the welding suppliers seem to be unaware of that fact as well.

What is the cost of ceriated tungsten vs. pure tungsten? Maybe I can find where to order it online? I'll see.

Blondie

[Bob Sigmon]

Blondie,

I've had good luck ordering from Aglevtech. He ships fast and his prices are reasonable.

Bob Sigmon

[HAWK]

Blondie,

If you are using a standard squarewave machine such as the Syncrowave or a similar engine drive arc, then pure tungsten with the balled end is the accepted practice for aluminum. Zirconiated is also used like pure with the balled end, but handles the heat better and is less likely to melt off causing tungsten contamination. It gives a very pure weld.

Thoriated tungsten has been used for "everything else" because the thorium addition helps it to withstand the heat better than pure and will hold a point longer.

However, with the new inverters lanthanated sharpened to a point with a small flat at the tip seems to work best for AC aluminum and also for DCSP on carbon steel and stainless steel. Ceriated is also a good choice for the inverter arc, but is not as good as the lanthanated.

In summary: for the Syncrowave and standard squarewave machines I would use zirconiated for aluminum and lanthanated/ceriated for mild steel, stainless steel, etc. Lanthanated is an all around good choice for AC/DC welding with the advanced inverter arc.

National Welders and Holox out of Charlotte, NC are good sources. I pay about $4.00/7" stick for 1.5% lanthanated and $4.50/7" stick for the zirconiated alloy.

[Blondie_486]

HAWK,

I don't have the pleasure of an inverter machine. The TIG machine I have at work in my corner is an old grey Licnoln 300 amp TIG/SMAW machine. It works OK on aluminum and well on stainless and carbon steel but I do believe the newer machines are probably better suited to the aluminum than this machine. I don't think it has high frequency AC capabilities. My thought is it's the 60Hz that the line will deliver. I don't see an inverter in this company's future either as the owner is in his 70's and is wanting to spend less time working and more time enjoying life.

He still hasn't fixed the shear yet either. We have an older Cincinatti drop shear that is 3/8" capacity it cuts well but the hold down feet leak hydraulic fluid severely. Every time you hit the pedal you get spayed in the face with hydraulic fluid and the parts you shear come out all oily and messy.

Hopefully someday I'll be able to afford to start my own fabricating shop and buy better equipment than we're working with now.

Blondie

[HAWK]

Blondie,

I hate to hear that. Good equipment always makes the job more enjoyable! The Miller Dynasty series is the way to go. I am probably doing things with my D200DX and 75%he/25%ar that you are doing with your Lincoln 300. Is it an Ideal-Arc? Those are good machines. Maybe one day you'll have your shop with the "good stuff" by "SHEAR" luck.

[Blondie_486]

HAWK,

I'll look and see which model it is today. It's not a bad welder I just think there are better machines than this one for aluminum.

Blondie