the amp setting when welding aluminum tig? and what color should the electrode feeder be bronze or chrome grey? u know the one u use with your hands
Best electrodes to use for Aluminum welding is 1.5% lanthanum oxide (gold color code.). 2% zirconia (brown) or 2% thorium oxide (red) can also be used. Note that zirconia-doped electrodes should never be used for DC welding. A lot of welders like to quote offhand the rule 1 amp for every 0.001 inch of thickness. This applies to steel, stainless, and nickel alloys only. Due to the lower melting point, lower specific heat capacity, and higher thermal conductivity of of Al, this rule should NOT be used for Al! I recommend welding a test piece first with the same joint configuration and thickness of the part you intend to weld. Note that fillet welds require more current than butt welds or edge welds. Start out by using 2/3 amp per 0.001 of thickness, in other words, reduce the current of the above rule by about 30-40% . Make 3 test weld, then check to see if there's any visible penetration on the other side. If you don't see any through-pentration at all, increase the current by about 10-20 amps and test again.
