Mrs. Pullstart

[The Tuul Crib 7,336]

17 hours ago, 953 nut said:

That isn't noise, that is MUSIC!                           

 A symphony !!

[Pullstart 62,894]

Well, thanks guys for the support, Rylee is free and clear of issues, checkup in 6 months!  Woo hoo!

[19richie66 17,508]

Good deal!

[PeacemakerJack 10,738]

 Great news Kevin!  Thanks for the update and glad to hear that she is doing well  It is much easier to breathe that sigh of relief when, as a parent, you hear that good news from the Doc!

[ebinmaine 67,515]

32 minutes ago, pullstart said:

Well, thanks guys for the support, Rylee is free and clear of issues, checkup in 6 months!  Woo hoo!

 

 

 

Free and clear of issues..... That's more than I can say for most of the rest of us.

Edited December 7, 2018 by ebinmaine

[AMC RULES 37,130]

 Now, where's the fun in that? 

[Pullstart 62,894]

Just now, AMC RULES said:

 Now, where's the fun in that? 

 

Oh there’s plenty of fun to be had!  

[ebinmaine 67,515]

I like that archery shot. Interesting that she finger points where she shoots.

I'll show that to Trina later. My honey is a pretty good bow shot herself. She'll get a kick out of that.

[AMC RULES 37,130]

Love that first pict...

with the tink tink on the cherry bomb. 

[Pullstart 62,894]

12 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

I like that archery shot. Interesting that she finger points where she shoots.

I'll show that to Trina later. My honey is a pretty good bow shot herself. She'll get a kick out of that.

 

She shoots like a girl!  But that girl is a pretty awesome shot herself!  I’ve seen her shaft an arrow twice in our shooting days...

[Tractorhead 9,064]

Great news, glad to hear that.

Convalescence wishes to Rylee and allway's some fun.

 

 

 

[dells68 7,498]

Kev, gotta say that I’m loving that little girl and have never met her!  You can tell in her pictures that she has a sweet spirit, but loves to have fun!  Your girls will be like Emory, they will love the show once they go and it will be a yearly tradition afterward.  Doing this stuff with our kids is what makes it all worth it!

Edited December 8, 2018 by dells68

[Pullstart 62,894]

I couldn’t bear the thought of wishing I had trimmed the tank, but didn’t.  Well, I’m to the point if no return once again with Frank’s parts...

 

 

[Pullstart 62,894]

This should work out just fine..

 

  

[Pullstart 62,894]

Only 3 tries to get the broken screw out...  

 

[Tractorhead 9,064]

20 minutes ago, pullstart said:

Only 3 tries to get the broken screw out...  

 

 

 

These are the things, nobody needs....

 

maybe you can carefully pointwelded a screw on thread, warm the Aluminum arround a bit, an then remove.

send you some strong nerves for that operation.🤔

 

Another solution was (because thread seems to be ripped sunken) drill out and use helicoil.

cannot see what dimension, but on Pict it looks fiddely small and not much material for that issue.

🙄

Ah, seen it, the picts are confused, seems you made it ! 

Congrats! 

Edited December 9, 2018 by Tractorhead

[Pullstart 62,894]

I am prepping to TIG weld the bottom plate to the tank, shouldn’t need those tapped holes when I’m done 

 

 

[Pullstart 62,894]

So, I’ve done aluminum a handful of times.  This welder is new to me, and I have a feeling this is not top notch material.... given the history of being frugal running deep with the Wheelhorse brand, if I may.  I think I’ll end up with a product that holds fuel, but may not receive awards for beautiful welds...  May it be known, these are not pretty.  I’ll probably die grind out the horrible spots and try to lay a better bead.  I’m glad that these will not be exposed

 

 

 

 

[Tractorhead 9,064]

I'll be with you Kev, - don't be upset.

 

Aluminum Welding has it's own Law's.

 

Who cares of the beauty of welding, important is only that it lasts and no fuel spill.

Some other issues can be hided..😉

oh, upps did i say that... 😂😎

 

Not the Top notch of Welder was the critical part allone, the practice and to be familar with your equippment is also as important as the Material itself.

Was it plain Aluminum or was it any sort of Alloy, thats causes also in very different Welding results.

Aluminum Welding needs a lot of practice (so my experience) to get a nearly clean and nice looking seam.

especially if is not your own welder or you are not very familar with it.

 

I found Aluminum Tig welding harder than Wig welding to get a clean seam.

 

With TIG you can make meters or inches in welding, but not that nice seam, 

in WIG Welding you can make clean seams, but be not really quick.

Each Welding technic has it Advantages.

 

So go ahead made a great job ! 👍

 

Edited December 10, 2018 by Tractorhead
Go ahead

[Sarge 3,463]

The trick on that casting is allowing the tig enough time to clean the metal before depositing any filler into the puddle. The biggest thing is to keep a tight arc and the torch angle nearly 90* to the surface, cast aluminum is very porous and dirty. Start off with a nice, crisp arc and let it cook for a few seconds until you have a very bright, silverish puddle, then add filler, repeat. I've found on any casting that has had fuels, oil or antifreeze in constant contact you must take the time to burn the residue out of the metal first. Most times I'll run a short bead without filler, grind out any garbage and repeat while adding filler where the base is clean enough. Otherwise, you end up with too much contamination in the welds to seal up the tank. 

 

If the welder has the capability, try setting the frequency down around 80hz. AC balance needs to be around 68-72% for enough cleaning, maybe even further. On a few odd castings due to their alloy mix, I've had to go as high as 190hz to concentrate the heat cone enough to boil out contamination, then drop it back to less than 100hz to get a truly clean puddle before making the final weld with filler metal. Also, there is a newer filler alloy that really seems to help with castings - 4943, seems to flow out better and bring contaminants up to the surface better. That welder is an early model Fronius and I see it does have a decent range of balance settings, but no real reference as to the percentages - probably have to swing the knob about half scale to the right, from the looks of the scaling. 

Actually, upon a closer look - it's a mig?

 

Sarge

[Pullstart 62,894]

1 hour ago, Sarge said:

The trick on that casting is allowing the tig enough time to clean the metal before depositing any filler into the puddle. The biggest thing is to keep a tight arc and the torch angle nearly 90* to the surface, cast aluminum is very porous and dirty. Start off with a nice, crisp arc and let it cook for a few seconds until you have a very bright, silverish puddle, then add filler, repeat. I've found on any casting that has had fuels, oil or antifreeze in constant contact you must take the time to burn the residue out of the metal first. Most times I'll run a short bead without filler, grind out any garbage and repeat while adding filler where the base is clean enough. Otherwise, you end up with too much contamination in the welds to seal up the tank. 

 

If the welder has the capability, try setting the frequency down around 80hz. AC balance needs to be around 68-72% for enough cleaning, maybe even further. On a few odd castings due to their alloy mix, I've had to go as high as 190hz to concentrate the heat cone enough to boil out contamination, then drop it back to less than 100hz to get a truly clean puddle before making the final weld with filler metal. Also, there is a newer filler alloy that really seems to help with castings - 4943, seems to flow out better and bring contaminants up to the surface better. That welder is an early model Fronius and I see it does have a decent range of balance settings, but no real reference as to the percentages - probably have to swing the knob about half scale to the right, from the looks of the scaling. 

Actually, upon a closer look - it's a mig?

 

Sarge

 

Sarge, thanks for your tips!  Here are some more details.  It’s my father in law’s welder, he parked it here for my use.  It’s been so long since he used it for aluminum, he wasn’t quite sure how to tell me settings... but I had to plug this box in for aluminum tig?

 Would preheating the cast with my oxy acetylene torch help?

 

[Tractorhead 9,064]

The importantst issue i have learned, is to clean the Welding area as good as possible,

best directly short before welding additionally with a grinding fleece.

 

My Teacher suggestes me for preperation,  to use a brand new stainless steel brush and use this exclusive for Aluminum Welding,

to prevent any contamination of the brush and the Aluminum.

 

Each cleaner the surface, each nicer and better the Seam will be in result.

100% agree to sarge, give Seam time for burn in and feed material with feeling.

 

 

If you welded manually by Flame ahead, you be nearly good prepared to welding with TIG

(WIG in German is same as TIG in USA )

Mig Welding on Aluminum, my teacher told as "rape" of material. 

 

I have both worlds in Office available, but i like TIG most.

as far as i see your machine is able for WIG welding (manual feed of material) 

i'm not shure we talk about same.

 

there are 2 different Welding technics most welders use.

1. with presetting where the Welder has to controll the speed of welding

2. With Pedal, where the welder can steer the flow of welding like a gas pedal.

with pedal he can reduce power, in case of a possible blow, to control the Welding bath.

 

i choosed the first version for me, my teacher "loves" the pedal version.

he told me this shall be a individual set, each guy do it as he like.

forgotten, 

he told me also each Aluminum differs a bit, depending on purity of Aluminum you like to weld.

 

Edited December 10, 2018 by Tractorhead

[Pullstart 62,894]

I forgot to mention, this does not have the p dal which I am used to.  The tig torch has an on/off button and an amp up / down button.

[Tractorhead 9,064]

I tryed one time to use pedal, but this was not mine.

 

i found the controll of welding bath with my change of speed much easier than the Pedal version.

 

but importanst of all is - clean- the welding area as good as possible, to have a shortes time to oxyde before welding.

 

[Sarge 3,463]

Ok, now I understand why it had that huge plug coming out of the front panel and an auxiliary control plug next to it - a high-frequency box was added as an option for that unit. Fronius is made in Switzerland, so some of their labelings are quite foreign to us. I did look up the HF box numbers and found the following control parameters - that box is mostly just a remote option.

Top large knob - main amperage control

Bottom left knob - AC balance

Bottom right knob - AC frequency

 

I'd say from the looks of that tank casting - you'll need to run the balance somewhat in the upper range for the most cleaning action to help get the garbage out of that casting. On the frequency, run it somewhere in the lower range (turn the knob left) to help agitate and spread the puddle. Also, it helps to have something similar to practice on - the early/mid 60's dashes are about the same type of aluminum casting, if you have an old one it would be a big help to get the welder dialed in properly. 

 

Stainless brushes to clean aluminum are a must. If you sand/grind/brush aluminum parts with the wrong type of cleaning tool you will contaminate it, badly. Aluminum oxide to sand/grind is ok but not optimal as it contains other ingredients that can harm the aluminum. Ceramic flap disks and such are your best bet. Not cheap, I know, but they cut better and don't create a problem with the base metal. Personally, I prefer CGW (camel grinding wheels) over the other brands as they last longer and cut much faster, Weiler is also a good brand as is Pferd. Avoid the garbage at the local home or hardware stores, go to a true welding supply or online.

 

For hand or machine type brushes, it must be non-contaminated (never used on carbon steel), clean stainless steel. I buy common types of scratch brushes by the bundle from a few suppliers - if they get dirty they go into the general brush pile, otherwise, that clean stainless stuff stays separate away from other tools and if anyone comes here to help do work or borrow something - that stuff is off limits and they all know it. For that tank, look around for the Weiler stringer brushes in SS, they work awesome on a joint of that type.

 

Honestly, what you've got laid down so far needs to be ground out - that looks like a 90% chance of a serious leak. No offense, but gasoline can migrate through the smallest of paths and in a short time will follow those dark contaminants to the outside as they break down. Especially if ethanol-laced fuel is used. Coarse or single cut carbide die grinder bits are your friend here, use the various shapes to remove contamination or welds that are full of junk, then re-burn it and fill again until you have a clean bead. Hunt around, electric die grinders are far better than air powered ones, many can be had cheap online on eBay or CL for less than half what they cost new. A very must-have tool for working on these tractors with the right bits. Single cut for aluminum, double cut for steels/iron. Serious eye protect required, those little tiny chips are evil and very tough to remove from eyes or skin, so be aware and cast iron work is by far the worst. I paid $60 for a high end, high-torque Metabo, couldn't live without it now. Air units are ok, but on aluminum with a single cut bit it takes a very high torque air die grinder to run those bits and a lot of cfm, I own an IR HD high torque model but new ones are north of $300 now.

 

Yes, pre-heating can help some, but on a cast tank that frankly isn't that thick I'd be reluctant to try it, you risk totally melting off an edge. One very helpful thing is to run a back-purge line into the tank and keep it filled with argon. Btw - if that machine is a transformer type, the 10% helium mix would be needed in most cases. If it's a newer inverter type, straight argon or 90/10 argon/helium mix is required. The helium helps a lot with penetration, but most tank suppliers don't stock the stuff - you'd have to check with your local supplier. Part of that black contamination I see in the part you've started on is a lack of gas coverage - using a gas lens helps a lot and back purged argon inside the tank help even more. Remember, argon is heavier than air, so it will fill from the bottom upward - give it time to purge the oxygen out of the tank before welding it. For the positioning of welding that tank, put a purge line into the fuel outlet and let it fill the tank up. You can cycle some welders with the ground removed to allow the gas solenoid to fill a void out of the torch, just watch yourself as that high-frequency starter will look for something to initiate that arc - it can be the operator and trust me, that truly hurts, bad. My Miller has gotten me several times with the 26,000 volt current for the starter when I forgot to hook up or clean a proper ground - if the thing hits you right it can kill you. If your machine doesn't have a gas solenoid and you're using a valve torch, even better - just run the gas for a minute to fill that tank void. You will have to re-fill as you go pretty often, even if the joint is clamped tight. Oxygen loves to find a weld puddle - it is attracted to by electron activity.

 

If you don't have a dual-head regulator there is another way to do a purge line without having to run a second tank - CG580 tee adapters are made by Western and will allow you to run two regulators or flow meters. This is how I've set up mine to weld aluminum and even steel tanks for purity reasons - it is absolutely required when tig welding stainless steel or the weld and base metal will "sugar" and destroy it. Flow meters are nicer to work with but not totally necessary - I've run one cheap regulator I had on one side for a low-pressure (2psi output setting) purge line and a good quality Harris flow meter for the welder itself to control the shielding gas better at the torch nozzle.

 

Honestly, getting those AC balance and frequency settings matched to the type and quality of the metal is really the key here, as well as argon coverage. With TIG welding, any slight breeze or disturbance in the argon shield will wreck a weld - you are going to use a lot of argon to do that tank. Here, it would probably take all of a 125 cylinder to weld one of those properly and still no guarantees unless I can pressure test it. Take the comments to heart about allowing the puddle to completely clean out and become bright, pure aluminum before adding any filler as well as keeping a tight arc gap while maintaining a proper torch angle - it is very important to start clean before adding anything. No more than a 25* torch angle on aluminum.

Want to really learn some things about TIG and aluminum? Check this guy out - he's young but amazingly talented.

http://www.6061.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcuMSDG2svjR7BncF841GJg

 

Hope all of that is clear, not sure what your skill level is, but everyone has to start somewhere.

Any questions - just shoot. I'm by no means an expert as I'm self-taught and only been doing this since '07.

 

Sarge