Tig Aluminum question

[LeanMachine]

I borrowed a small Miller 110v tig welder from a friend to learn on and eventually make some repairs to a jon boat. What size filler rod do I want? Any particular alloy?

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[pawpaw454]

i use er4043 3/32

[RifleBowPistol]

Make sure you thoroughly clean every spot you weld, and all around where you are welding, both sides of the metal where you are welding, if you can. That was my biggest problem, I fought when I first started TIG welding, both aluminum and stainless. The metal would look clean, often brand new metal, but would form a crust on the surface of the metal, as I was heating up the metal with the TIG. Then I would wind up, getting the metal too hot and make a mess. Use sand paper and a clean stainless steel wire brush, to clean the metal.

Then you can not weld if there is any breeze, such as outside or in a shop, with a fan blowing towards you. It will blow the gas away. That gas is very important. You should always TIG or MIG inside, preferably with the doors closed, or at least closed on the side the wind would be coming from.

Then hopefully he taught you about how to sharpen the TIG rod, on a bench grinder. If not look that up on youtube.

[LeanMachine]

Make sure you thoroughly clean every spot you weld, and all around where you are welding, both sides of the metal where you are welding, if you can. That was my biggest problem, I fought when I first started TIG welding, both aluminum and stainless. The metal would look clean, often brand new metal, but would form a crust on the surface of the metal, as I was heating up the metal with the TIG. Then I would wind up, getting the metal too hot and make a mess. Use sand paper and a clean stainless steel wire brush, to clean the metal.

Then you can not weld if there is any breeze, such as outside or in a shop, with a fan blowing towards you. It will blow the gas away. That gas is very important. You should always TIG or MIG inside, preferably with the doors closed, or at least closed on the side the wind would be coming from.

Then hopefully he taught you about how to sharpen the TIG rod, on a bench grinder. If not look that up on youtube.

Thanks for the tips. I did actually read the manual about sharpening tips! Otherwise I would have had no clue.

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[Mr. Whiskers]

AC machine?

[LeanMachine]

AC machine?

It is a Miller maxstar 150 stl. I think it is ac but not positive. I did watch a video that talked about the benefit of ac. Another related question, I also have an older snap on mig machine. It has tig ability but I don't have a torch for it. Does that tend to be DC since it is a stick/mig machine also? No fancy electronics to switch modes. It is a snap on ya212a

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[Lburleigh]

It is a Miller maxstar 150 stl. I think it is ac but not positive. I did watch a video that talked about the benefit of ac. Another related question, I also have an older snap on mig machine. It has tig ability but I don't have a torch for it. Does that tend to be DC since it is a stick/mig machine also? No fancy electronics to switch modes. It is a snap on ya212a

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Sounds like a DC machine if there is no switch option.

As others mentioned AC, 4043 wire, no wind, clean weld material with a tiger disc- weld area and at least an 1” away from it. old school way I learned is arc your tungsten on a penny for aluminum instead of a sharp point.

Also don’t get mad if the first weld looks bad. Especially when repairing a boat. It will pull the electrolises/ impurities out of the base material. Grind it down and run another pass.


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[LeanMachine]

Sounds like a DC machine if there is no switch option.

As others mentioned AC, 4043 wire, no wind, clean weld material with a tiger disc- weld area and at least an 1” away from it. old school way I learned is arc your tungsten on a penny for aluminum instead of a sharp point.

Also don’t get mad if the first weld looks bad. Especially when repairing a boat. It will pull the electrolises/ impurities out of the base material. Grind it down and run another pass.


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Can you explain arc your tungsten on a penny?

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[Lburleigh]

Can you explain arc your tungsten on a penny?

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Put a penny on a grounded surface. If you have foot control- keep your tungsten about 1/2” or so away. Arc across til tungsten gets a rounded tip almost like a drip then break arc.
If you scratch start- scratch then pull tungsten away to the 1/2” or so distance.
I haven’t seen this method done is sometime but that’s how I learned and did it. Learned from older experienced welders. It’s been a few years since I heliarced aluminum and sure they have better ways by now.


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[LeanMachine]

Gotcha it did show a rounded beaded tip as an option in the manual but did not explain how to achieve it.

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[hogslayer78]

You need green tungsten (pure) or lanthinated. Do not use 2% thoriated. And yes you will need an a/c machine.

[LeanMachine]

You need green tungsten (pure) or lanthinated. Do not use 2% thoriated. And yes you will need an a/c machine.

Can you elaborate? Does the green refer to the color on the end of the rod?

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[Matador]

I think the Miller Maxstar 150 is a DC Machine.

[hogslayer78]

Can you elaborate? Does the green refer to the color on the end of the rod?

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Yes. Green is pure and red is 2% thoriated which you use for carbon, stainless, ect just not aluminum. You can use lanthinated which is blue. Also after you sand the area using a tiger disk or flapper wheel, you need to wipe the area you sanded with acetone, denatured alcohol or something similar to clean it.

[LeanMachine]

Ok got it

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