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If I am remembering correctly, my buddy
Clark's new Miller TIG machine (it is probably very similar to yours
Rusty) can use thoriated tungstens on aluminum. You also use a pencil
point, which used to be only for steel. These new square wave machines with all
the variables on them are much different than the old Linde TIG unit I have at
the museum.
I have played around with Clark's TIG
machine a little, just fiddling around with the frequency, balance, and
such. I don't know what I am doing with it yet, but it is a pretty amazing
machine. His has the touch-start arc starter. Man that's HANDY! No more
trying to get the hood down, trying to hold your position, and then trying to
get it struck without either getting out of position or touching the electrode
and ruining the work.
If you do have to use pure tungsten on
aluminum (I'll check with Clark tomorrow about that), you can still use the
thoriated for practice work. Thoriated is much cheaper than pure, and it
welds just as well. The reason you don't want to use it is that it will
blow off little blisters of tunsten into the weld. No problem for
non-critical stuff and practice. Mike C.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, October 05, 2003 8:32
PM
Subject: [FlyRotary] Re: I
welded!!!
SPF sunblock 45 lotion will save your skin on
those hot days when a long sleeved shirt is out of the
question.
That's good
to know. I've joked about welding being a winter sport here in
Florida :-)
For aluminum, use a pure tungsten electrode
(green stripe) that is sized for the increased amperage needed. Use a larger
diameter ceramic cup and increase argon flow. What machine and torch are you
using?
So far,
I've only used the red stripe, thoriated tungstens. I've got a
good "calculator" that came from Miller, that shows the size of the
tungsten, and cup, and also the flow rate for different thicknesses,
and types of joints.
The machine
is a Miller Dynasty 200DX, which is an AC/DC inverter type machine. The
torch is an air cooled "17", which will be my amperage
limitation.
A 400 degree preheat will help on large pieces or
if you're down on amperage.
Thanks for
the tip.
Rusty
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