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Well, I'm sure that each type of welding work needs its own type of electrode.
Hi there, I’m not here very much at all, however I still have a desire to finish these projects. Just waylaid with life.
Regarding the welding, I was tig welding this block and used a zirconiated tungsten with the 4047 rod which has the highest level of silicon that you can buy in an off the shelf rod. I’m sure this job would have been easier if I used a argon helium mix as the aluminum is quite contaminated and the helium helps to burn it off.
Hi there, I’m not here very much at all, however I still have a desire to finish these projects. Just waylaid with life.
Regarding the welding, I was tig welding this block and used a zirconiated tungsten with the 4047 rod which has the highest level of silicon that you can buy in an off the shelf rod. I’m sure this job would have been easier if I used a argon helium mix as the aluminum is quite contaminated and the helium helps to burn it off.
Greg, good to see you back. My supplier of welding rods also recommends 4047 and 4043 rods for high silicon aluminum alloy.
Welding of aluminum is not the easiest thing to do. I myself do not have enough experience, so when I managed to grind holes in two of the exhaust ports for my BMW 3.6L race engine I am working on right now, I let a more experienced guy to do the welding repair work.
Even though we did everything according to the book, cleaning, preheating, the right welding stick, slow cooling, we had to weld eight times before it became completely waterproof.
Åke
I've tried just about every filler rod possible, every gas mixture that I can find, and just about every setting I can dream up on my Dynasty machine, in order to weld on these Alusil blocks.
I've tried preheating, super slow cooling, etc.
It's just not "user friendly" material to weld on, for me.
However, there's one guy at the machine shop I use who can weld up a 3" long crack in a cylinder beautifully. (And then they install a sleeve.)
....Different people have different skills.
Semi-retired, as of Feb 1, 2023.
The days of free technical advice are over.
Free consultations will no longer be available.
Will still be in the shop, isolated and exclusively working on project cars, developmental work and products, engines and transmissions.
Have fun with your 928's people!
I teach welding at college level for the trades and have extensive back ground in aviation welding. I do a bunch of magnesium and aluminum. 4043 would be just fine for this but really it's all about the prep and then the settings of the machine. The Dynasty is a very nice machine but you do have to go into the background settings to get it set correctly.
Preheat, cleaning, and using helium would be the answer. It helps with ionization thus driving the heat into the weld. Argon will work but makes it harder.
I will share my work so you have an idea. These are my 914-6 oil tanks.
I teach welding at college level for the trades and have extensive back ground in aviation welding. I do a bunch of magnesium and aluminum. 4043 would be just fine for this but really it's all about the prep and then the settings of the machine. The Dynasty is a very nice machine but you do have to go into the background settings to get it set correctly.
Preheat, cleaning, and using helium would be the answer. It helps with ionization thus driving the heat into the weld. Argon will work but makes it harder.
I will share my work so you have an idea. These are my 914-6 oil tanks.
I agree completely. I also have a Miller and it’s a fine machine. As I mentioned in my post I think the key is the gas and spending enough time to burn off the oxides. Your welding is very nice.
03-28-2022, 03:27 PM
