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taking bets on my broken boom
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dllee



Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 5328
Location: East Bay

PostPosted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 11:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I did ask, I thought aluminum needed HELI arcing, not regular welding.
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rigitrite



Joined: 19 Sep 2007
Posts: 520
Location: Kansas City

PostPosted: Fri Aug 01, 2014 8:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It’s a moot point with regards to Andys’ boom, but to answer your question: aluminum requires shield gas and compatible alloy when filler metal is used. Aluminum reacts rapidly with O2 to form aluminum oxide (a non-metallic compound), so we use shield gas to prevent this. You can easily MIG weld aluminum, but it requires a spool gun, because aluminum is too soft to run through a standard MIG welding gun. You can TIG (heli-arc) weld aluminum either with or without filler metal. The acme of aluminum welding is shielded friction-stir welding, used primarily in the aerospace industry.
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andydavis



Joined: 11 Apr 1999
Posts: 319
Location: Point Isabel

PostPosted: Fri Aug 01, 2014 10:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

zirtaeb wrote:
I did ask, I thought aluminum needed HELI arcing, not regular welding.


I have a modern, multi-process, inverter based, TIG machine. I was using pure argon as a shielding gas and 4043 filler rod. I am not a welding engineer or a metallurgist; however, I did suspect this was a doomed experiment. I believe the tubing for aluminum booms is something like 6061 T-6, which has a yield stress ~ 40 ksi. Alloys in that series are very weldable, but when heated by welding tend to revert to the qualities of the base metal unless retempered. In a welded structure you want to minimize the heat affected zone, and keep it away from areas with the greatest bending stresses, which I didn't/couldn't do. I just slathered it up with some vicious heat, welding a piece of tubing (of unknown alloy) on top as a doubler. I was just kind of hoping that the added metal, would be sufficient to compensate for the loss in tensile strength. In short, it was a waste of argon. (and this whole thread is a waste of precious electrons)
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rigitrite



Joined: 19 Sep 2007
Posts: 520
Location: Kansas City

PostPosted: Fri Aug 01, 2014 10:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

^ correct ^

Your weld most likely broke in the HAZ. Not a wasted thread and an interesting experiment.

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spennie



Joined: 13 Oct 1995
Posts: 975
Location: Thousand Oaks, CA

PostPosted: Fri Aug 01, 2014 10:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's not about the money...it's about having a welder in the basement and not having a legitimate use for it.

Wow, sounds like me! Are we related?

I think we all understand now that you were basically just goofing around with your welder to see if you could pull off a self-fix. Hope you had some fun with it! You should know that just about every thread will degenerate into abuse if it goes on long enough.

Argon well-spent, I say!

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mac



Joined: 07 Mar 1999
Posts: 17742
Location: Berkeley, California

PostPosted: Fri Aug 01, 2014 11:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This has been hysterical! One of the best threads ever!
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jp5



Joined: 19 May 1998
Posts: 3394
Location: OnUr6

PostPosted: Fri Aug 01, 2014 11:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

In another thread someone suggested a copper tube inner sleeve pop riveted on either side of the break but this has been way more fun.
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gerritt



Joined: 06 May 1998
Posts: 632
Location: Redwood City, CA

PostPosted: Fri Aug 01, 2014 1:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Indeed a very fun thread - not a waste at all. Wine and Roses. Wine and Cheese. Now, wine and welding.
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whitevan01



Joined: 29 Jun 2007
Posts: 607

PostPosted: Fri Aug 01, 2014 1:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

andydavis wrote:
(and this whole thread is a waste of precious electrons)


what? what do you think happened to them?
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rigitrite



Joined: 19 Sep 2007
Posts: 520
Location: Kansas City

PostPosted: Fri Aug 01, 2014 2:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think he meant to say "bandwidth", but it's not a waste of that either.
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