Pssssst! Do you TIG?

[RobThomas]

Are you one of those dark, mysterious people who knows how to TIG or gas weld Alloys? I'm seeking the advice of someone conversant in the mystical arts of zapping aluminium to make nice, straight welded alloy panels.

Ultimately I want to become self-sufficient in manufacturing aluminium panels but am currently a MIG-only welder. Anyone want to teach me in return for a good fee?

[barrie102]

Are you one of those dark, mysterious people who knows how to TIG or gas weld Alloys? I'm seeking the advice of someone conversant in the mystical arts of zapping aluminium to make nice, straight welded alloy panels.

Ultimately I want to become self-sufficient in manufacturing aluminium panels but am currently a MIG-only welder. Anyone want to teach me in return for a good fee?

I am too far from you to assist however have you considered night school ?.

[RobThomas]

Night school? Yes, but there isn't one round here, at least not with an hour. My job is also not the kind to allow me a regular series of nights off . Longhaul pilot.
I'm happy to buy and try, it is just that I'd like to see it being done and to have a chat before I lay the money down.

[barrie102]

Night school? Yes, but there isn't one round here, at least not with an hour. My job is also not the kind to allow me a regular series of nights off . Longhaul pilot.
I'm happy to buy and try, it is just that I'd like to see it being done and to have a chat before I lay the money down.

Have a chat with your 'ground crew' engineers (not the guy who sits on his bum in cockpit with you !) I feel sure some of them TIG weld and could give you a 'heads up' .

It takes a while to master and to weld aluminium a little longer and more expensive kit (AC not DC tig set.)
Barrie

[RobThomas]

We only have line engineers, no workshop engineers at all. None of them would do any welding anyway since it would cost too much to have one on call all the time.

As for flight engineers, our last ones were retired about 1975.

[bmcecosse]

TIG welding is lovely to do - but relatively expensive equipment, and always going to be expensive in gas. I've welded quite a bit of stainless (for Missile batteries!) with TIG, both by hand and setting up automated equipment - but never tried aluminium - although it's just a matter of having a steady hand. Probably need to supply blanketing gas to the back side of a weld with aluminium to prevent oxidation.......

[IaininTenbury]

Did a fair bit of tig welding in the previous job - making body panels for Morgans. All the headlights were tig welded onto the alluminium wings (steel wings had them brazed on) and the stiffening ribs were tigged on too. Huge old tig welder, a pain to get set up if I remember so it never got altered for welding steel and was just kept for ally jobs. The rest of the wings were all gas welded, which I much prefered as it seemed much more controllable, and easier to fill in any holes you make too!
I knew the principles of gas welding ally sheet before I started there, but its really practice that gives you the skill. Five pairs of Morgan rear wings in a day was plenty of practice.... Now and again one ended up in the scrap bin, but mainly to do with wrestling with the 1930s machine for doing the wired edge than a welding problem.

Certainly don't do enough ally welding these days to justify a tig welder - you need an AC /DC tig btw, cheap DC only ones are for steel only. The few ally jobs I get I always gas weld. The first weld is always tongue out concentrating hard, then it all comes back and gets easy (ish) again![frame][/frame]