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GrimsterGMC

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Is that aluminized pipe? You have to remove that coating before you weld it. There are a ton of videos on YouTube on welding. Watch some. Welding tips and tricks videos are very good.
Got myself an AC/DC Tig welder a few years ago with the intention of welding Ali. I thought how hard could it be, then I plugged it in and tried to run a weld, damn that brought me back to reality real quick. I went on YouTube and found "Welding tips and tricks" and I have to say they explained it all in a way that I could understand and seeing it happening in real time made all of the difference. I now weld Ali most days in my fabrication business.
 

kennythewelder

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Got myself an AC/DC Tig welder a few years ago with the intention of welding Ali. I thought how hard could it be, then I plugged it in and tried to run a weld, damn that brought me back to reality real quick. I went on YouTube and found "Welding tips and tricks" and I have to say they explained it all in a way that I could understand and seeing it happening in real time made all of the difference. I now weld Ali most days in my fabrication business.
We had a customer come in the other day. He said, " I know you can fuse aluminum, but my torch just won't get it hot enough" the other welder and I still laugh about that. Most people don't understand just how hard it is to learn how to weld aluminum. It is by far the hardest metal to learn how to weld, and even more so, the hardest to master, welding. Yes, I do it all of the time, but, I have been welding for over 40 years. Welding tips and tricks,,,,, yeah, Jody is a master welder, no doubt. I have even picked up a few tricks from his videos.
 

Erik the Awful

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I'm no pro at welding, but my welds are getting pretty decent. Learning to weld on thicker metal is easier, but welding on tubing will teach you heat control and how to fix blow-through. Here's what I can see:

The pic doesn't show any blow-through, and not much penetration, so I think you moved around too much. You need a steady hand making deliberate movements. That weld looks like you were moving wildly, and probably had the wire speed up too high.

Get your fit-up tighter. That gap on the right side tells me part of your problem is that you're trying to weld air. If the metal fits closer together it's easier to weld. Gaps like that require you to do a lot of "stitching" and sometimes you even need to build up the metal on either side of that gap just so you can weld it closed.
 

DeCaff2007

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I'm no pro at welding, but my welds are getting pretty decent. Learning to weld on thicker metal is easier, but welding on tubing will teach you heat control and how to fix blow-through. Here's what I can see:

The pic doesn't show any blow-through, and not much penetration, so I think you moved around too much. You need a steady hand making deliberate movements. That weld looks like you were moving wildly, and probably had the wire speed up too high.

Get your fit-up tighter. That gap on the right side tells me part of your problem is that you're trying to weld air. If the metal fits closer together it's easier to weld. Gaps like that require you to do a lot of "stitching" and sometimes you even need to build up the metal on either side of that gap just so you can weld it closed.

+1. Couldn't tell ya how many times I've punched right through ultra-thin metal and had to fix it.
 

Tommy1234

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I'm no pro at welding, but my welds are getting pretty decent. Learning to weld on thicker metal is easier, but welding on tubing will teach you heat control and how to fix blow-through. Here's what I can see:

The pic doesn't show any blow-through, and not much penetration, so I think you moved around too much. You need a steady hand making deliberate movements. That weld looks like you were moving wildly, and probably had the wire speed up too high.

Get your fit-up tighter. That gap on the right side tells me part of your problem is that you're trying to weld air. If the metal fits closer together it's easier to weld. Gaps like that require you to do a lot of "stitching" and sometimes you even need to build up the metal on either side of that gap just so you can weld it closed.
Thanks
 
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