Macro Etching Welds with Household Products

See the detailed article here www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/m...
Macro Etch tests can provide some really good feedback to the welder. Especially if the test is done right away while the puddle image is still vivid in your minds eye.
Visit our store here: weldmongerstore.com/

[@johnstark3058]

I've always just done the BFH technique, but this is very helpful info. Thank you for taking the time for us begginers .

[@TheRabidgoalie]

Thanks a lot for making this information available. As a beginner, it is great for me to see how deeply I am penetrating with my welds. Without this information, I would never know if I could trust my welds at all (and I *_WOULDN'T_* trust them, either). All of your MIG videos have been a huge help to me...and your also a bad influence. Now, I want to buy a TIG machine for no good reason at all! :D

[@bryanallo]

Your videos are a great public service! Thank you!

[@ronniesmith6933]

Im a time served sheet metal worker for forty odd years and self taught myself tig welding seriously about five years ago. Your vidoes have been invaluable. Wish I'd found them earlier ha. Thanks.

[@georgeserrato6037]

good day sir, I'm here now in Saudi Arabia work as a foreman welding. your video is very nice and helpful to those who want to know more about welding .thank you very much for sharing your knowledge to us..God bless sir.

[@DanieleGiorgino]

My father and I enjoyed this video. Thanks!

[@pierresgarage2687]

HI Jody, Good teaching, a good way to improve ourselves by providing methods for controlling our work. Received my TIG Fingers, one excellent purchase, takes about a week to get to Canada, but get's here safely. Thanks for sharing, Pierre

[@skungagook]

man thanks this is good to know . i have been a CWI for 10 years and have never heard of common chemicals doing this.

[@forced420]

Great video as usual. Thanks for the info. This will help with a few projects I have in mind.

[@minimench]

just tried this on a full pen. aluminum j-groove pipe i did today with a bottle of wheel cleaner. the back said it contained phosphoric acid. used a heat gun to preheat and within 1 min had very visible results. thanks for the tip!!

[@kbmtf]

thanks Jody great video as always. Always learn something from your videos!!

[@samwaters8877]

Great video! Really helped with my college assignment.

[@arnomaas6452]

excellent presentation and video altogether,thanks for the tips !

[@tomherd4179]

Great video, as a beginner watching KZbin videos I have learned much. This video immediately raised two questions for me. First, noticing the Aluminum Bronze penetration, or lack of deep penetration, I was wondering just how strong would such a weld be, and where would it be safely used? Second, other videos use the same Aluminum Bronze for cast iron. My guess is it would never be as strong as the unbroken item, but would it be strong enough? Specifically, I have seen some older cast rocker arms brazed with success for farm engines. I am just trying to get a general idea as to where and when to use Aluminum Bronze and when not to. Thanks for your teachings! Tom

[@bobhumphries3998]

Great tip, Jody. I was cutting welds with my band saw but couldn't see them all that well. I bought some naval jelly this morning and followed your instructions and the welds jump right out at you. It's nice to know that I am getting good penetration (I am a novice at welding). Excellent tip. Thanks again.

[@lifeisonlyoptional2215]

how much polishing did it take?

[@bobhumphries3998]

@@lifeisonlyoptional2215 I only went as far as a 220 sanding disk because that was what I had in my shop. That was enough for me to see the weld penetration very well.

[@SBBlacksmith]

Awesome video as always.

[@dogbuggy32]

great demo

[@shawnarmitage7955]

This is good I've been thinking that I should test my welds. There not braking or anything, just what too know if they can be better.

[@zoranbilbiloski652]

Very clever,thanx for this info and love your videos!

[@heydave56]

Great info and excellent technique!

[@1113562]

Ferric Chloride solution as used for copper circuit board etching works well on carbon steel I found. Not exactly household product but its cheap and if you are into electronics you may have some laying around.

[@supertig]

Thank you so much!

[@jony54108408]

thanks u for sharing this professional knowledge .

[@robstorms]

Thanks Jody !!!

[@davidmott2090]

Thanks for the great info

[@EverettWilson]

Super helpful, especially as a complete beginner.

[@vittoepifaniosopranodilaur9636]

excelente vídeo

[@Goodwithwood69]

Love these videos ! Would love to be a welder!

[@jeetendrag10acc2]

awesome video. I learned a lot.

[@jozafax]

Great stuff, thank you.

[@mahmoodjaber6965]

thank you so much for this

[@ctempleton3]

Very good video.

[@onlyreallifematters]

hey jody, good video as always, but i would really like to see how the sticks penetrate. we use a lot of 4mm rods at the shop where i work, and the veterans always sa we use it because it "digs" so deep

[@assylbekabdullin7583]

Hi, could you please tell which is the brand of angle polisher grinder in the video? Thanks

[@Stubytube]

Thank you very very much.

[@QualityExpertVlog]

Thank you very much for additional info sir❤️

[@formeitwastuesday.1515]

I cant see some spot welds on a project im doing and need to remove some parts. Will etching show the spot weld?

[@2112jeff]

Great topic, I'll try the naval jelly. By the way, I've got our book store buying TIG fingers for our welding students. They love them! I'll check out the form as well. Thanks for everything your doing.

[@Landons1Dad]

Hey do you have any videos on welding positions with an aluminum spool gun? I've asked chucke2009 but he never responded. I just bought a millermatic 180 auto set and am looking to do alot of aluminum work. Thanks

[@dejoy68]

Hey Jodi, are you in the Marietta area? I'm off i675. Student at Atlanta technical college. I would like to show a few welds with aluminum to you, (TIG). It runs from the tungsten sometimes.

[@azhaafiikhsan7891]

tq sir.. Hello from Malaysia ..

[@JFerreira95]

Thanks

[@chebocho]

what do you recommend for Stainless ?

[@tertessa]

Good Stuff ..

[@esoomreltna]

Jodi, Can I use muriatic acid to etch steel (gloves, eye protection of course) Very interesting video and a great way to get a visual on the weld bead/penetration. Thank you!

[@zanpekosak2383]

esoomreltna HCl will work great on Al but it will badly discolour it and it produces H gas.

[@NRBW]

You could also use drain cleaner to etch AL ( Drain cleaner is usually Caustic soda ) just be careful because it gives off bad fumes

[@Bryan-nh1xn]

Can you cut an edge a puddle weld slot the same as a t joint help

[@jayhughes559]

What flash light are you using?

[@niceguydmm]

I have tried everything to etch my TIG weld. They will not etch. Any reason? The welds look great and burned in good. ER70S-6 filler. Been welding for years and even welded molds when I was a tool maker with TIG.. I cannot get a etch line. I even cut the welded part off and it was burned in as it should be. I am using Permatex 81756 Rust Dissolver.

[@stevefernandes8512]

So anything with phosphoric acid will work? I got rust converter..... contains phosphoric acid 30 -

[@floydwilcox2640]

Hi Jody, first of all thank you for all your videos. I’ve learned a lot from them. So I have a couple of questions about this video. Do you put the navel jelly on and let it sit then rinse it off? Or do you put the naval jelly on apply a little heat and not wipe it off? Thank you

[@PANTYEATR1]

awesome video! another future video idea is welding aluminum DC neg. I took a welding test for a job at space x and they wanted to use DC neg when welding aluminum. I completely destroyed the test piece since it wasn't taught in school. :(

[@PANTYEATR1]

yeah, it was TIG DC neg. it puts allot of heat into the work piece for great penetration, but the weld will always look dirty as your doing it and that makes it hard to do for me atleast

[@stovolbelinche3178]

i wonder if muriactic acid will will work to

[@nileshpatil5644]

What were the parameters you used ...?

[@Grantham777]

Hi Jody, none of your old videos are playing on youtube at the moment sir. Tried 4 in the last couple of days and nothing. Just spinning wheel. Click on something else ... plays straight away.

[@MountainNZ]

Actually we're not busy, that's why we're here, but go on.

[@BigNicky77]

Thanks Jody! Is my cold saw (Northern 14" dry cut) adequate to do the cross cut? I know it will go through my welds no problem, just wanted to make sure it will not give me any "false" characteristics on my nugget.

[@weldingtipsandtricks]

a cold saw works fine for cross sections

[@leonardpearlman4017]

The thing they always say to NOT do is "polishing", like with a buffing wheel. You want it flat and shiny, but cut down and not buffed, which apparently can smear the metal out a little and change the picture. This is more for micro-etching anyway. In a metallography lab I think everything they do is "cold", uses water or coolant, you want to kind of sneak up on it.

[@Yannique1]

Hey Jody, how are you doing? I have a question but it's off topic so I hope you don't mind. I've been TIG welding SS and regular steel for years (no alu) and I always used 2% thoriated tungsten, at work and for personal use. I grind them on a bench grinder, like alot of people do I presume. A few weeks ago while putting the electrode on the grinding wheel, it "skipped off" and the electrode went into my skin, just a little, some blood but nothing serious, I just forgot about it. Last week I had some blood test done just for a checkup and it showed my thyroid gland worked way to slow, it's the first time I ever had that and I get my blood checked every 3 months...The doctor didn't know what to make of it, but when I told him about the incident with the thorium electrode he said I could be a possible reason for these values. Have you ever heard of something similar? Maybe it is time to make a switch altogether.... What would you recommend? I only use regular steel and 304 or 316 base with ER702S or 308, 309 or 321 filler. Thank you.

[@weldingtipsandtricks]

Wow, I have no idea if thorium could be causing thyroid issues, doctor stuff is way above my pay grade. I will say that if you switch to 2% lanthanated, there are really no drawbacks in welding so maybe its worth trying.

[@Yannique1]

weldingtipsandtricks Yeah, pretty nasty stuff it turns out, but you know how it goes, it works so you just keep using it...I'm buying the lanthanated ones! Thanks Jody!

[@TorontoDrivingVideos]

if it is slow he should be checking it in another 3 weeks not months to see again as a slow thyroid can really ruin everything so make sure he checks it out to see if you need to start medication and anyone can develop thyroid problems out of the blue. Make sure you look at your blood work and the blood work should have 3 numbers (tsh, free t3 , free t4). It's really important you keep an eye on your energy levels and note any tiredness.

[@superjojo555]

@@TorontoDrivingVideos how are u doing now?

[@hamdisobri2690]

how i get in malaysia?

[@Parents_of_Twins]

Will Draino work on Aluminum than since its active ingredient is sodium hydroxide as well? Might be a little easier to use since it is so viscous kind of like the Naval Jelly.

[@daltonduperreault3504]

It does yes

[@Parents_of_Twins]

@@daltonduperreault3504 Thank you.

[@Stubytube]

Hi a question which is the code number or filler rod for braze thank you very much.

[@weldingtipsandtricks]

ERCuAl-A2

[@sedanmansixtyseven]

I am pulling my hair out! I cannot get this to work at all. Did they change the formula on naval jelly?

[@sedanmansixtyseven]

Ok, Jody's idea of "not a mirror polish" is different from mine. I re-polished my cut and this worked. If this doesn't work for you, go back and polish the cut again. If you think you're done, you're about 1/2 way there.

[@illduitmyself]

wow these welds are like computer animation

[@PANTYEATR1]

Yeah, it was TIG

[@coachgius]

can this test be done also on an old weld?

[@leonardpearlman4017]

Yes! That doesn't matter. He's just talking about doing it quickly so you remember what you did when you welded it.

[@einarvading4949]

I wanted to try this at home but I had none of those chemicals at hand. I put my sample in a mix of apple cider vinegar, table salt and water. Then I connected the sample to the positive terminal and a copper wire to the negative terminal of a 6A, 12V car battery charger, put the copper wire in the juice and one minute later had a nice etch.

[@CerealKiller187]

Going to have to try this one out. Thank you for this good bit of information.

[@einarvading4949]

@@CerealKiller187 It should have been sample to the positive and copper wire to the negative. I have updated my comment.

[@465ryda]

Do this every day at work. Even use the same 3M pads. I never use the burgundy one. It's to high of a grit. Start with 120 then go to the gray then to blue. I think we use nitric acid. Not positive. It's in a tiny dropper. The cut and etch is cake. Measure the welds once.

[@nekminutguy]

7:55, tell me the stain on the aluminum doesn't look like camels head

[@shonaoneill5151]

The welding forum.com has the most outdated, ridiculously stupid sign in pages ever! I tried to sign up today, but noooooo! "you failed to answer the spam question incorrectly".......weird I thought, didn't notice that......reason being, it does not exist! It would not let me sign up no matter what!

[@supertig]

Thank you so much!

[@PANTYEATR1]

Yeah, it was TIG