zirconated tungstens for AC TIG welding aluminum
 

A big thanks to him or those that mentioned this.
I ordered some that arrived today. I tried them out.

Wow! Thick to thin (1/2" to .078), no problem.

Don Foreman wrote:
A big thanks to him or those that mentioned this.
I ordered some that arrived today. I tried them out.

Wow! Thick to thin (1/2" to .078), no problem.


Great! Ernie Leimkuhler recommended them, and his advice seems
to be REALLY fine! Also, the Lincoln book I got says the same.
They do work a LOT better than the EWP pure tungstens. I was even
able to make a passable weld in 2024, which is not supposed to be
weldable. Using EWP or thoriated tungstens (which I had) I mostly got
balls and melted-back edges with no metal fusion. With the Zirconiated
electrodes I got much better fusion, and some truly good-looking welds.
I guess they were as strong as one could expect from a non-weldable
base material. I'm in kind of short supply of suitable scraps, but
I may have some better scraps to practice on from a current job.

Aluminum is a lot more tricky than steel due to the fast oxidation and
refractory nature of the oxide. A welder with a balance control is a
big help.

Jon