Hi,
Bron kindly bought me a TIG welder as an anniversary/birthday prezzie. I've been arc welding for the last 55 years but never had a go with either MIG or TIG; having fully restored the Suffolk Colt mower I found the petrol tank was leaking and given the age of these mowers if I bought another tank it too could possibly leak hence the TIG welder. I wanted to make a new aluminium tank from scratch.
Within ten minutes of switching on the welder it exploded filling the workshop with smoke; it was out of action for three weeks whilst it was repaired under warranty; it had virtually destroyed itself needing three new circuit boards and a large number of transistors but it's now working perfectly.
I hadn't realized what I'd taken on because I'm finding TIG welding aluminium to be very difficult indeed especially the 1.6mm thick aluminium I'm welding; the welder doesn't have a foot pedal so I'm learning the hard way and it's a major problem controlling the heat; not enough heat won't allow a puddle to form but too much heat quickly creates holes; I've spent many hours watching YouTube videos covering all aspects of TIG welding aluminium and the experts make it look so easy.
I first practiced on thicker aluminium but then spent time learning to weld the five joint types on flat 1.6mm aluminium; I've just done my first welds on curved aluminium and am struggling but improving; I've now welded the tank ends on and they don't leak although the welds don't look pretty; I'd love to weld a nice bead of "dimes" but I still need lots more practice; I'm unaided by our dire climate but hopefully it will improve as we head into springtime.
TIG welding isn't a cheap hobby; it's easy to run up to £1,600 even without buying the aluminium which in itself is also expensive but it's well worth the cost because I'm learning something new and enjoying it; each welding session I still make mistakes but making steady progress too. I joined a welding forum and my full story can be seen here;
https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/blown-my-welder-up.94007/
Kind regards, Colin.
Practice TIG welds on 1.5mm thick aluminium. I produced lots of scrap before getting this result.
This tank end was welded and as the weld was so poor I fettled it using a file but then I wasn't at all happy because it looked like it had been soldered and not welded.
Here's the weld after rough filing; I didn't like how it looked.
What price eyes; I bought this high end auto welding helmet.
TIG welding a curve first attempts left a lot to be desired but at least I didn't blow any holes where not wanted so it wasn't a failure.
A practice end weld.
Workshop crammed to bursting with kit; I'm using my arc welding trolley top as a TIG welding table; space is tight but I'm not at all complaining.
This is the joint rewelded and although not pretty it's watertight and actually looks like a weld; I think I'll regard this first tank as a practice tank; I've got plenty of aluminium to play with.
Corner joint looking decent after many attempts.
Bron kindly bought me a TIG welder as an anniversary/birthday prezzie. I've been arc welding for the last 55 years but never had a go with either MIG or TIG; having fully restored the Suffolk Colt mower I found the petrol tank was leaking and given the age of these mowers if I bought another tank it too could possibly leak hence the TIG welder. I wanted to make a new aluminium tank from scratch.
Within ten minutes of switching on the welder it exploded filling the workshop with smoke; it was out of action for three weeks whilst it was repaired under warranty; it had virtually destroyed itself needing three new circuit boards and a large number of transistors but it's now working perfectly.
I hadn't realized what I'd taken on because I'm finding TIG welding aluminium to be very difficult indeed especially the 1.6mm thick aluminium I'm welding; the welder doesn't have a foot pedal so I'm learning the hard way and it's a major problem controlling the heat; not enough heat won't allow a puddle to form but too much heat quickly creates holes; I've spent many hours watching YouTube videos covering all aspects of TIG welding aluminium and the experts make it look so easy.
I first practiced on thicker aluminium but then spent time learning to weld the five joint types on flat 1.6mm aluminium; I've just done my first welds on curved aluminium and am struggling but improving; I've now welded the tank ends on and they don't leak although the welds don't look pretty; I'd love to weld a nice bead of "dimes" but I still need lots more practice; I'm unaided by our dire climate but hopefully it will improve as we head into springtime.
TIG welding isn't a cheap hobby; it's easy to run up to £1,600 even without buying the aluminium which in itself is also expensive but it's well worth the cost because I'm learning something new and enjoying it; each welding session I still make mistakes but making steady progress too. I joined a welding forum and my full story can be seen here;
https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/blown-my-welder-up.94007/
Kind regards, Colin.
Practice TIG welds on 1.5mm thick aluminium. I produced lots of scrap before getting this result.
This tank end was welded and as the weld was so poor I fettled it using a file but then I wasn't at all happy because it looked like it had been soldered and not welded.
Here's the weld after rough filing; I didn't like how it looked.
What price eyes; I bought this high end auto welding helmet.
TIG welding a curve first attempts left a lot to be desired but at least I didn't blow any holes where not wanted so it wasn't a failure.
A practice end weld.
Workshop crammed to bursting with kit; I'm using my arc welding trolley top as a TIG welding table; space is tight but I'm not at all complaining.
This is the joint rewelded and although not pretty it's watertight and actually looks like a weld; I think I'll regard this first tank as a practice tank; I've got plenty of aluminium to play with.
Corner joint looking decent after many attempts.
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