going crazy with aluminum

[FusionKing]

Was this the guy who bought the boat and started fixing it up without a title??

[storts]

Wow

Christmas,Wow,Better check my calander:,Boy needs a check up from the neck up,,To bad we didnt ask how he liked the new format??????????????????:

[Laiky]

well then, hope he is true to his word.

[ridesideways]

wow i was going to try to offer some advice but it doesn't seem worth it after being inspired by the OP's great attitude.

[Dustyhaze75]

who said this thread was supposed to only be about my welds? Read the first sentence of the thread. I think I'll live without all the precious expert advise from the pro's. lol. ive gotten more crappy advise and sarcasm than good advise on here. since ive been a member Ive used two pieces of useful information. elementry information that anyone can get if they go to thier local welding shops or schools. I have given more information and help than I have recieved times ten. however ................I feel I do owe you an apology. I know your a good guy and you ment well. sorry fun4now. I was having a really bad day and once I started typing the fingers just let loose. don't be offended. I was just flappin my lips. this is my last time on this forum so I wont see your reply, so peace, merry x-mass and best wishes. for everyone els with smart *** replys ...............................EAT **** AND DIE
lol lol lol hows that for attitude.

[fun4now]

......................fun4now your telling me that everyone is doing their best to make their pictures look like crap? ..........come on !!!
no i'm trying to tell you to show the bead before you clean it up so we can see if its black or too white or any of the other tells of a problem weld. cleaning it (it being the weld bead) up will take out the tells and make it harder to analyze.
I came on here looking for insperation and help, not smart *** remarks.
and you did not get any.
I never twisted anyones arm to read this post. you read it on your own and replyed on your own. and you do sound like an *** ..................lmao. for someone that doesn't want to waste their time, you sure typed a long reply.
i have plenty of time to waist on here, but i'm a hobby welder. the pro's that do this 8-16Hrs a day and come one here to help you don't.
there are plenty of threads to show off your shop in. we are all proud of our shops, even those of us with lil over crowded crappy shops like mine. but this was supposed to be about your welds.

i was trying to keep you from losing valuable help due to loss of interest.

since I've been a member Ive seen people give more sarcasm than actual help
kind of like what you are doing. you wont make friends like that. you set the tone for how you will be treated. i always do my best to help, you dont want it thats fine.

[Craig in Denver]

wow.....you sure hurt my feelings ...........get bent fdcmiami !!!

But what you said to fun4now is OK??

[Dustyhaze75]

wow.....you sure hurt my feelings ...........get bent fdcmiami !!!

[Dustyhaze75]

thanks. I'm using a large 3/32" gas lens with a large #10 gas lens nozzel. I have large and small gas lenses for 3/32", and 1/16" with different gas lens nozzel sizes to match. should I switch to a small 3/32" gas lens? I'm welding 1/8" aluminum. I clean my rod with 3m pads(scotchbrite) and clean my material with a stainless steel hand brush or with my grinder that also has a s/s brush. I then wipe rod and material down with acetone. I also always use clean gloves. I feel like I'm preping for surgery or something lol. see the thing is ............................I'm trying to learn how to use the pulse feature on my machine. I can turn it off and run a good bead but I dont get a nice stacked dime look. I could learn to pump the pedal but why when I have the pulse feature. I figure I spent $300 plus dollars on it so I should learn how to use it. ya? my machine is set to 130 although I'll up it to 140 next time. my gas flow is 20 psi. pre flow is default factory setting. postflow is set at 13 sec. balance/dig is at 7. bkgnd A 25%. pps 1. peak time 75% - 80%. I was using 3/32" rod but jetmekdc-10 clued me in and I switched to smaller rod which seems to work alot better when using the pulse. I'm almost scared to mess with the pulse .................I just got to go for it.....practice practice practice.

[fdcmiami]

christ kid where did the attitude come from; i read FFN's post and he seemed sincere enough to me. i look over the posts on this board regularly but have never felt the need to actually join and respond until reading your response to him. welding is a trade that is peopled by all kinds; you are definitely one of the types i have hired and let go several times over the years. being a good guy will get you as far as being a good welder. good luck out there; you'll need it.

fdc

[Craig in Denver]

Truce

Dustyhaze75:
Re-read fun4now's post; without the chip on your shoulder. All of his points are valid and useful information.

[kcstott]

You got to remember steel is a lot more forgiving then aluminum that's why people will turn their head sideways when you tell them you can weld it.

It just takes a little rhythm a lot of cleaning and a lot of practice.
Just remember that everything steel does aluminum does X10
it requires more heat, more control, more shielding gas or at least better coverage Hence the gas lens. it's more sensitive to contamination, alloy's can make or brake you, filler rod is near critical, Lets see did I leave anything out.
We get so use to steel that we just can't wrap our head around something different.
Kerry

[Dustyhaze75]

thanks jetmekdc-10 for the great advise. I have switched to 1/16" rod and have increased the heat. it's going alot better now. jetmek-10 do you have any up to date photos? the bead in the picture has a shadow because it's a 20 degree piece, it's not flat, and the crappy picture was taken at an angle. my camera is so crappy that I must of taken around 30 - 40 pictures at every angle and only a handful turned out barely clear enough to make out. I wasn't trying to make my welds look good, I was just trying to get a picture posted period. besides ......................fun4now your telling me that everyone is doing thier best to make thier pictures look like crap? ..........come on !!! If I was trying to impress I wouldn't have added a contaminated weld and I would have posted my best welds done months ago instead of up to date pictures. I came on here looking for insperation and help, not smart *** remarks. I never twisted anyones arm to read this post. you read it on your own and replyed on your own. and you do sound like an *** ..................lmao. for someone that doesn't want to waste thier time, you sure typed a long reply. like I didn't know the pictures were crap, and If I was a pro I wouldn't be posting crappy pictures asking for help. I do appreciate the help and replys but jesus .................do you have to jump down my throat because of a couple pictures in 1 post. don't read it if you don't like it. its that simple. we're getting a new camera in a month or so (tax money) so Ill try to get some quality pictures then........untill then I'll stop posting. I should of just went down to my local college for answers. the thing is .........I like talking to people about welding. my wife doesn't seem to get excited about the subject. thats why I come on here. since I've been a member Ive seen people give more sarcasm than actual help. what is this? I made it this far on my own and I'll make it all the way. I just thought I could make a few friends along the way, thats all. Ive said it once and I'll say it again............................................. .................................................. . opinions are like a__holes, everyones got one, some are just stinkyer than outhers.
using smaller rod was key.......................thanks again for the replys. believe it or not, I do appreciate the help.

[fun4now]

excellent advice about not starting on the corner. that was my first thought. the last pic's do look cold.
also i would take the wire brush off that grinder. you are using new aluminum so all you need to do is break off the oxide layer just before starting a bead, i use the same brush by hand with great results.
try to get us some pic's before you go back and clean it up with the wire brush. this will help us know if you are too high in cleaning or not enough. its all about learning and trying to make it look better before showing us only hurts you in the long run.
jamscal also made a good point about running some nice long beads to get rhythm down. this is where the guys with years of experience make it look so easy. this is going to take some time. but if you get good penetration and enough filler added your weld will be solid. that step one. looking great takes time, no short cuts there. and i know sitting there running long strait lines and welding lil pieces gets old fast. so it might be a good idea to think of a neat little project you can do with the aluminum you have. maybe a little serving tray/rack for the pick nic table or a plant holder. some thing to get you motivated again when you hit the bored stage. i built a cart for my welder when i got there. it helped my welds a lot to get out of position. just made seeing the bead a little easier, or maybe just more important, either way it got me back at it and really helped me see some of the issues you will face later with standing/ bending threw/ how to get to the foot control.LOL it just gets better and better. just don't get bored and force it. have some fun and take your time to learn it right.

as for the pic's. try to find a distance that gets a good clear pic and stick to it. getting up close wont help if its all fuzzy. look for a close up option ( the flower) if you don't have one stick to a little farther back.
also the pic's of the bikes on the wall, wile nice and all are not going to help us see how your welding is coming along. some of the guys here have things to do and are taking there time to help you out. waiting for 10 pic's to download that are not even of your welds may well make them lose interest and move on. this is lost information that could have helped you learn some thing. be respectful of there time. keep the welding pic's up first then offer notice of pic's of the wall so those with time to browse can do so and the ones that are busy can stick to the pic's that count.
not trying to be an azz , but if you over load things people will lose interest. find a few pic's that are clearest and best represent your problem and offer them up when looking for help. i know you are proud of your shop and well you should be. just trying to help you stay on every ones good side.

[Jetmekdc-10]

I'll tell you a few things that have worked good for me on the same type of thin alum. The first thing was to use the smallest filler wire you can. The bigger wire seems to cause the puddle to cool down briefly when I dipped my wire. I also have recently switched to gas lens'. They do a better job of flowing your shield gas. I also don't try to start a bead at the edge, I will start about 1/4 or 1/2" and back up to the edge and stop then go back to where I started and pick the bead up and then run it. Make sense? anyways, good luck and clean it, clean it and then clean it. Good luck, I'm still learning too, Its a challenge, I think thats why I like it.