Wanna see my very first ever weld?

[JohnT]

Dont laugh..
New PP 164

[Rambozo]

Dont laugh..
New PP 164

Looks like by the end you were getting the hang of it. Just keep practicing.

[Tensas]

A lot better than my first time welding aluminum. Nice job .... Keep practicing.

[JohnT]

Thanks.
In the lower part of the pic is where I just tried to keep an arc. That resulted in digging trenches in the plate.
I assume from too many amps. ???
Then i tried running a bead with filler, then did that lap joint on the left. Just melted 2 pieces together. This is pretty heavy plate too.. 1/4 inch...
More practice in the coming days.

[everlastsupport]

Aluminum takes a little practice. Keep it up. You are not welding on wood I hope Looks like you have the balance dialed quite well. Make sure there are no breezes around you as well.

[Tensas]

Stay on the "Board" and post when you have problems and read about others having similar problems. The suggestions here are great and can get you going very quickly. Take a look at the Projects also. Now that your geared-up, there are plenty of fun projects. I had a weld I struggled with and after 1 day, the comments returned from the Members here solved the problem for me. Good Luck.

[JohnT]

Wood?????? What wood? Hey,who put that there?

[Rambozo]

Wood?????? What wood? Hey,who put that there?

With steel it's not such a big deal, but when welding aluminum on a wood surface, apart from the fire hazard, as the wood heats up it starts out-gassing all kinds of stuff that will get sucked into your argon stream and contaminate your weld. So you could end up chasing your tail trying to get good welds. The watch word for TIG is clean clean clean and with aluminum even more so.

[JohnT]

Maybe my first project needs to be a welding table instead of a cart

[everlastsupport]

Maybe my first project needs to be a welding table instead of a cart

Long as a metal table

Nah, go for the cart. It is fun, plus no two seem to be the same.

[Elantramax1]

Don't feel too bad. you should see my first welding project. Not the prettiest welds. But they seem to hold.

[johnnymg]

Looks good, keep practicing on different materials/joints. LOTS to learn for all of us.

cheers