On Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:19:23 -0500, Randy wrote:

On Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:36:10 GMT, (dan) wrote:

What's that Lassie? You say that tnik fell down the old
rec.crafts.metalworking mine and will die if we don't mount a rescue
by Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:08:28 -0400:

On 8/30/2010 4:53 PM, Ignoramus24925 wrote:
I have two long aluminum bars 1/4 by 1 1/4, connected together in a
parallel configuration:

[==============]
[==============]

(they form a knife handle that holds the tang of a knife, sandwiched
between them).

I need to weld them together with TIG and my question is how. Again,
6061, they are 1/4" thick. What filler is best to use and what
amperage. Should I use lanthanated?

i

If the material is butted together, you should just be able to fuse them
together. A bit of polishing when done and probably wont even be able to
tell they were welded.. If you need filler, then I would suggest the
same type of material.

You can't get 6061 filler rods. Use 4043 or 5356.

http://www.millerwelds.com/resources...calculator.php

that says to use 190-220 amps

Shouldn't need that much, just to hold 'em together.

6061 CANNOT be welded without adding filler rod. I have the magizine
article at home. That's why there is no such thing as 6061 filler
rod.

Thank You,
Randy

Generally true because of its susceptability to cracking. The filler
mitigates that to some extent. However, in this case use of
considerably less heat than usual would suffice, since all the weld
has to do is keep the sides together and hide the joint. It's more
cosmetic than structural. Less heat -- less susceptability to
cracking.

I've done autogenous cosmetic welds with TIG in 6061 with no problems.
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc...=rep1&type=pdf