Super wide etching on Aluminum!

[trackmaster]

As always Mark I take your word as a welding authority, and don't doubt what you say. But just so I am clear, you are saying that your (past or present) 250 does or did not have consistantly wide etching such that if you combined both sides, they would be wider than the weld bead itself?

[performance]

Trackmaster...

Take a look here....

http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/...-settings.html

This is a current series unit. Of course watch the whole series and you'll see a lot more.

[trackmaster]

Here's a few pics, .... i hope! Of what i am getting in spite of trying, checking, six ways from sunday. Excuse the welds, just throwing some beads down, and actually got stung by a bee on one boating marine part in the next post! Ouch!

[trackmaster]

Mark, I have watched his vids numerous times, in fact they were one of the reasons i chose to purchase the Everlast. I'm not quite sure what your trying to insinuate, ...... I too have been doing this a long long time. Surely better weldors out there than I, But I can assure you there is nothing wrong with my set up or settings. I have taken to the 250 like a toad to water, .... er, um, wait, I mean Frog, yes a frog to water

[trackmaster]

If i may, here's another example or two. Small file size so I may have to do them in 2 separate posts. Middle o this one is when a bee stung me! Kept goin tho! lol

Not trying to be picky here , but try to polish that etching out! This is a piece of 6061 show polished, and i took every precaution in cleaning the weld zone properly. I could not with any degree of practicality take the time neccessary to completely buff and polish out the etching on this kind of part. The etching is Deep!

Oh BTW, this was obviously in a post weld pre polish state. I didn't photo the finished product, but it came out lookin pretty good. Could still see a little roughness along each side of the weld from the etching, even after some serious compound buffing.

[Slick]

Here's a few pics, .... i hope! Of what i am getting in spite of trying, checking, six ways from sunday. Excuse the welds, just throwing some beads down, and actually got stung by a bee on one boating marine part in the next post! Ouch!

Holy Cow, how did you do that weave pattern?

[trackmaster]

First to Mark, I apologize for having chosen the word insinuate, Please understand that i am not trying to be difficult or contentious, I am a straight shooter and by most accounts a heck of a nice guy, .... modest too, lol.
But I am a bit frustrated, we've spoken at length, and exchanged numerous posts here, and emails. And you have suggested a number of times that in essence, the ( what I consider to be ) excess etching is due to something I am doing, or not doing, whether it be from lack of settings knowledge, welding knowledge, machine/torch/gas set-up etc. And now it sounds like you are saying that there IS NO problem whatsoever with the etching in my pics? If that is the case i will tell you the machines i have or have had in my stable, including Lincoln Squarewave tig, Miller Syncro 250, Dial Arc 250, and a fleet of Linde UCC305's and probably some others, were ALL capable of throwing down casual welds with far less etching. In fact most were able to bring it right down almost to the foot of the weld bead, and these are ALL transformer machines with far less control than an inverter TIG.

I have HEAPED praise upon this machine in other posts, but i am frustrated by what seems to be a denial that the etching is REALLY wide on this unit with the BALANCE SET TO MINIMUM! I do understand that it may be in actuality only 30% EP, as opposed to 10% EP, due to a board mix up at the factory. But no welder i've ever used past or present has been able to go below 30 EP, and yet produces far narrower cleaning. If ya just don't know why this machine is doing it, thats Fine! Or if ya tell me that " yeah, I know, but it is what it is," that's ok too! Kind of anyway .....

As for directing me to Jody's videos, I'm not sure what "answer" they were to provide to my questioning of ( MY UNITS ) wide etching on aluminum, other than being excellent intro's to Inverter general settings and starting points. It has the direct benefit of being the same MODEL of welding unit. They also demonstrate Jody's awesome bare bones approach to gettin the job done with a minimum of fuss, as well his diverse welding skills. He discusses the cleaning cycle of ac current, and briefly suggests some good starting point settings. As for weld by weld analysis regarding cleaning width, he does not go into it. On any given weld, many times we don't see where he has his controls set, as any well produced video has editing involved for brevity. Beyond that, it tells me nothing about MY unit! All i can do is submit pictures to illustrate what my ( 2nd & 3rd ) 250ex was/is producing. Again, #1 died 20 minutes or so into the first try out, so I can't speak for that one. In addition i have probably looked at every video on his site! His "welding aluminum" shows him demonstrating builiding up of practice beads, and you will see cleaning, or etching of varying size. But he is welding on a scrap of metal, not brushing, putting bead on top of bead. Never is it disclosed where his balance is set, etc. So I am again not sure what i am to " have gotten an answer " too, or from for that matter.

Perhaps you could be a little more direct as to whether you are saying there is no problem with the etching path, or that you believe it to be due to a lack of skill, technique, or faulty set up on my part. Trust me, I can take it with a stiff upper lip! Ha, Lol. AS far as the Polishing of the anodized aluminum, I appreciate the suggestion and info! But that was really never a question. BTW, i removed a couple a microns of anodize prior to welding along the seam, and the customer dictated the finished look he wanted to achieve, and would not accept any painted parts. Wanted the 6061 polished back to mirror finish. I use a high quality art metal sealant finely applied to the weld area only after polishing. - Thanx, Lou

[trackmaster]

Brother Slick! Hey I'll tell ya what, while the weaving kinda looks pretty impressive, It's really pretty easy to do, .... especially on aluminum ( if you've got your basic aluminum skills pretty down pat ). It's kind of like what a pipe welder does when he walks the cup, except that in this case you don't actually rest the cup anywhere. But the movement is quite similar. Think of making your stack of dimes bead, but instead of stacking in a straight line, add each rod fill at about the same distance, but in a kind of zig zag pattern. The hardest part is to be consistant with how wide you keep the weave over a length of weld. And it is not a substitute for a first pass in most cases, but serves well to do a final coverage, or for additional build up. Practice makes perferct!

[Slick]

Oh brother, with the practice I'll need, I'll be making Alcoa's stock prices jump!

[trackmaster]

Ha! .... Naw, you'll get it man! Once it clicks, you'll be off and runnin!

[performance]

As always Mark I take your word as a welding authority, and don't doubt what you say. But just so I am clear, you are saying that your (past or present) 250 does or did not have consistantly wide etching such that if you combined both sides, they would be wider than the weld bead itself?

I answered your question on this trackmaster by referring you to this video. You wanted to be clear...that's about as clear as I can make it. It gives you visual proof. Not trying to insinuate anything. As far as polishing on anodized aluminum, it is common to paint over the welds with silver rustoleum instead of polishing because the oxidation will return otherwise, and it will match fairly well.