You’ve probably read how aluminum needs to be really cleaned thoroughly before welding.
A lot of aluminum can be tig welded without doing a whole lot of cleaning it really depends on the application.
For general fabrication, often times a wipe with acetone or alcohol will do the trick if the metal is already pretty clean like a brand new sheet with a peel coat.
But not for a welding test. Or for other critical applications.
In this video, I welded 2 butt joints…
One cleaned…and one not cleaned.
Then I tested them using a simple down n dirty test that reveals porosity in around 30 seconds.
Doesnt do much good to have 280 amps if your tig torch is only rated at 150 amps.
So I hooked up a water cooler and water cooled tig torch and brought you along in case you need to do the same
This video shows the butt joint portion of this aluminum hurricane project and how a #5 alumina cup can be the best choice for certain aluminum welds
This project was sent to me by a laser cutting company that sells them as weldable kits. It was a good practice project that required a lot of different torch angles. Rotating the torch head as you weld is shown along with plenty of instructive arc shots
