Big Tip for Passing 1G Aerospace Aluminum Welding Test

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You’ve probably read how aluminum needs to be really cleaned thoroughly before welding.
Truth is a whole lot of aluminum can be tig welded without doing a whole lot of cleaning….but it really depends on the application.
For general fabrication, often times a wipe with acetone or alcohol will do the trick.

But not for a welding test. Or for critical applications.

For a welding certification test, the 3 C's really come into play.

1. Clean
2. Clean
3. Clean

In this weekly video, I welded 2 butt joints…

One cleaned…and one not cleaned.

Then I tested them using a simple down n dirty test that reveals porosity in around 30 seconds.

Enjoy and thanks for letting me be in your feed each week.

[jdgower]

I don't want to presume to talk for anyone else, but I would bet a lot of your fan base will agree with me on this - Your comment about "too much talking and not enough welding" is a little off the mark.
Most of us come here to learn from you, not just to watch arc shots. When you're talking - I'm learning. When you're welding, I'm learning, too.
You have a way of balancing just enough of one with just enough of the other in order to teach very effectively.
I learned a lot in this video, and most of it is from what you said - not necessarily from the arc shots.
Keep talking. You'll get no complaints from people who are here for the reason that you are making the videos.
Again, thank you for what you do.

[Kashed]

Best instructor bar none! Thanks Jody! 🙏🏻

[chadcleaver]

Useful and to the point! thank you sir, may I have another?

[markbreidenbaugh]

I love these nuggets of wisdom from past jobs! Thanks for sharing!

[Mortal]

I only did about 2 weeks of Welding training in a program I'm currently in and we did 1 thing of TIG Welding the last day for a few hours, while the rest was mostly MIG and Stick Welding. Your videos actually helped me improve massively from my first couple days of being a complete screw up. I'm hoping to possibly join a Union for Welding after this program is complete so I can further my skills and get myself started on a career. These videos are quite literally amazing as I had issues with some of my Welds compared to some of the more experienced people in my group and thanks to these I ended up outshining them in a few aspects to which our Instructor notified me because once I mentioned these videos, he knew exactly who I was talking about as he also watches these.

[mariazalazar]

Best welding videos in the whole internet, wich means best, welding videos all over the world.

[Foleyathome]

Great comparison and amazing results. I couldn't of imagined how the fileing and cleaning impacted the final weld quality.

[mattiaseklind]

I learned allot from this video thanks 🙂. I have welded a cylinder head and got these bubbles in the weld and could not figure out what it was. Now I know! Thank you and keep up the good/ great work.

[TheNicko]

Very cool video.   Ordered from Weldmonger last week.  Got exactly what I was looking for and fast delivery.!!  Thanks Jody and family.

[mcpheonixx]

I do a lot of fusion welding on 1/8 " aluminum at work and cleaning that sheared edge is spot on. We also had a lot of trouble in the beginning with contaminants in the welds. The only thing we figured was happening was that when the metal was sheared the shearing action embedded trash and contaminants into the metal itself.
We found that brushing wasn't good enough, we had to take away a layer of the aluminum off the sheared edge to get rid of that " Dirty " metal. Normally just a light hit with a belt sander or flappy disk does the trick. Then go over it with some zylene or acetone cloth and your gold.

[Skydmig]

It really jumps out at you when you consider how linear the pores are aligned. They are not being moved around as you move the tip off center, but are forming just at the meeting surfaces of the two metal pieces. Great video!

[itonjoans]

I'm trying this on my next practice joint, thanks for posting.

[dee]

Thank you for this very informative video.. i always wondered about the sheared edge on what is considered "clean enough"

[masterofnonetv]

I've really learned alot from your vids. I had a pressed in bearing that had come apart and left the outside race stuck in the part and I couldn't get a punch or anything on it to drive it out so I built up enough weld on the inside of the race and that allowed me to get a screwdriver on it and knock it out! Keep that in mind guys.

[stevenlocklear]

Thanks Jody! Your videos have helped me improve the quality of my welds, tremendously.

[wilsonocasio]

Thank you so much! Jody, you are welding a better world !

[MikeSmith-smzz]

Once again, wealth of information from the best! Sure wish you taught at a school. I would definitely be there

[lesfoster]

Hi Jody. Great video, I have been flying airplanes for 33 years, ( hobby welding for 32 yrs ) and I would be proud to have you weld anything on the B777 that I fly now. Cheers, Les

[squib]

Excellent, as I'm learning aluminum right now, that helps a lot!

[jetfixrguy]

So much to learn with such a short video! Thank you for your time as always Jody!