butt welds

Making some progress with my new unit on Aluminum. The two angle pieces welded together seem to be much easier to weld than two pieces of flat stock or tubing butted up to each other. The problem I am having with the butt welds is as soon as the aluminum starts to melt it does not pour over and melt into the aluminum edge next to it but both pieces melt and seperate before I can get in there with the rod to join them up. I am making some progress but could use some advise please. I realize that the welds shown in the tubing picture show contamination issues etc but thought I would show the two pieces I was working on this evening to show what is working and what is not. Any tips on these butt welds....my butt welds look like fido's butt!

The other picture is a mouse trap I made out of the aluminum tubing tests. Seems to keep me entertained thinking up ways to catch the mice in my life.

Thanks in advance....wayne

Wayne,

You must push your tungsten closer to the metal, about as close as you can get without touching, about the thickness of a credit card. Then you need to work the torch back and forth across the seam, not just directly in the center, pulling the weld toward each other. If you need more agitation, increase the AC freq. As the parent metal melts, add a drop of filler into the puddle.

That is thick tubing you have, you'll need to put more amps into it or bevel your tubing into a V at the joint.

You need to turn down your cleaning action. The cleaning area is too wide, and it is reducing your effective penetration.

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Originally Posted by www

Making some progress with my new unit on Aluminum. The two angle pieces welded together seem to be much easier to weld than two pieces of flat stock or tubing butted up to each other. The problem I am having with the butt welds is as soon as the aluminum starts to melt it does not pour over and melt into the aluminum edge next to it but both pieces melt and seperate before I can get in there with the rod to join them up. I am making some progress but could use some advise please. I realize that the welds shown in the tubing picture show contamination issues etc but thought I would show the two pieces I was working on this evening to show what is working and what is not. Any tips on these butt welds....my butt welds look like fido's butt!

The other picture is a mouse trap I made out of the aluminum tubing tests. Seems to keep me entertained thinking up ways to catch the mice in my life.

Thanks in advance....wayne

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The greatest mouse trap ever invented is a 5 gal pail 1/2 full of water with a stick shoved through a tin can covered in peanut butter laid accross it and a couple of boards leading up to the stick. They run up the boards across the stick to the tin can , it rotates and they fall off into the water.

Thanks, I have built one of those and caught several but I don't like to think of them drowning a slow death. I certainly don't mind killing them when they come in my house but if I can I would rather not drown the little guys. So far the old fashon mouse trap by victor and peanut butter is my favourite. Its a recent hobby of mine trying to come up with some kind of mechanical unit to capture mice. It does keep me entertained......wayne

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Originally Posted by www

Thanks, I have built one of those and caught several but I don't like to think of them drowning a slow death. I certainly don't mind killing them when they come in my house but if I can I would rather not drown the little guys. So far the old fashon mouse trap by victor and peanut butter is my favourite. Its a recent hobby of mine trying to come up with some kind of mechanical unit to capture mice. It does keep me entertained......wayne

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Then don't put any water in the bucket. You could always oil down the sides (maybe baby oil?) so there would be no chance of them crawling out.

I am not sure but I think they jump out not crawl out if there is no water in the bucket. I even tried a 30 inch bucket with no water and guess what.....no mice. I am pretty sure they jumped out....wayne