TIG Welder Tips

[azapa]

After many moons of procrastination I've bought a TIG welder with the idea of learning, stainless and aluminum being the goal. Before I go and sign up on another forum (uhhg) I thought I'd reach out here.

Any experts around preparded to answer noobish questions?

 

[Lozzer]

Start practicing with stainless before aluminium , it's more controllable/forgiving. An argon purge may be required depending on thickness. Aluminium is AC and the polarity is opposite. (+ Earth)

 

[azapa]

Thanks Lozzer. i've watched a few too may videos and am keen to actually try. just missing the argon, should have that by next week

 

[Lozzer]

Thanks Lozzer. i've watched a few too may videos and am keen to actually try. just missing the argon, should have that by next week

Hey, good luck, it really isn't that difficult, just need a steady hand and bags of patience. Start with the easy stuff and build up some confidence. I can't say what this is, let's just say you wouldn't like to handle what goes in it!

 

[azapa]

bottling machine maybe? nice work, i will be hitting you up for tips for sure!

 

[mjheathcote]

Can't TIG weld myself however I've managed for a few decades that can do, mostly stainless for the food and drink industry.
All we do is with argon backing and shield gas. You can get away with nitrogen backing gas if you don't require it super clean though.
Aluminium runs a lot hotter, and when we have done it commercially we use a water cooled TIG torch.
We use 3 phase and single phase sets.
The single phase 13 amp plug type sets only good for a couple of mm max on stainless steel.
Set prices have come down massively over the years.
Decent set prices around a grand, although recently they appear to have dropped down again, to an aldi/lidl special for a few hundred, I'd like to know the welding ampage though!

 

[Zep]

The trick, I have found, is to make sure your gas flow is just right, too high and it blows the pool around, too low and you just blow through. If you are doing sheet materials you don’t need shielding back plates and what have you. Make sure you have the right thickness of tungsten rod for the material (for steel it is basically the same thickness as the material) and practice, practice, practice. You’ll find you need to speed up your torch speed and filler as the work piece heats up.

If you can, have a foot pedal for varying the current, it makes it much easier, although then you are holding the torch, filler rod and standing on one foot, so it takes a bit of mastering.

 

[Oishi]

+1 on all advice so far, especially Zeps on the pedal. On aluminum for instance, it oxidizes easily, and aluminum oxide has a higher melting point than pure aluminum. The pedal lets you up the current to burn through the oxidation layer, then back off to maintain weld puddle. Practice, proper amperage, correct polarity, bias (if available), correct tungstens, correct filler rods, and practice.

 

[Lozzer]

I've never used a set with a pedal yet, not had any need to, the set I use has the ability to reduce the amperage by a user set percentage while welding. This is done by pressing the torch button once while welding, I can literally pulse the amperage if I want to.

 

[Zep]

Oh yes, filler rods. Correct material and in my experience with sheet, the next size up from the material you are welding, so it doesn’t over cool the weld pool when you feed it in.

 

[Lozzer]

Oh yes, filler rods. Correct material and in my experience with sheet, the next size up from the material you are welding, so it doesn’t over cool the weld pool when you feed it in.

You are sort of constrained by the standard sizes with that , ie 0.8, 1.0, 1.6 , 2.4 or 3.2 mm filler wire. As a general size 1.6 being the most versatile. Again it all depends on the thickness of material but i find 1.6 diameter is good for most.

 

[Zep]

I've never used a set with a pedal yet, not had any need to, the set I use has the ability to reduce the amperage by a user set percentage while welding. This is done by pressing the torch button once while welding, I can literally pulse the amperage if I want to.

It’s this sort of thing that makes me wish I had spent more on my set!

 

[Lozzer]

Hey, good luck, it really isn't that difficult, just need a steady hand and bags of patience. Start with the easy stuff and build up some confidence. I can't say what this is, let's just say you wouldn't like to handle what goes in it! View attachment 74281

Yes I can, found a video on YouTube of my last year's project in action, I fabricated every bit of kit in the vid, including the glovebox itself, I know what I would rather be doing

 

[Navcorr]

I can't say what this is, let's just say you wouldn't like to handle what goes in it!

Is it a football question?

 

[Oneball]

The trick, I have found, is to make sure your gas flow is just right, too high and it blows the pool around, too low and you just blow through. If you are doing sheet materials you don’t need shielding back plates and what have you. Make sure you have the right thickness of tungsten rod for the material (for steel it is basically the same thickness as the material) and practice, practice, practice. You’ll find you need to speed up your torch speed and filler as the work piece heats up.

If you can, have a foot pedal for varying the current, it makes it much easier, although then you are holding the torch, filler rod and standing on one foot, so it takes a bit of mastering.

You don’t need to be standing. Unless your piece is fixed or huge, sit down and get comfy. Then trace where your bead is going along it’s entire length. A lot of nasty welds are because the welder isn’t in a natural position.

 

[CatmanV2]

Is it a football question?

Off with their goolies!

C

 

[Oneball]

Off with their goolies!

C

Enema machine?

 

[CatmanV2]

Enema machine?

Probably not in this case

C

 

[Zep]

You are sort of constrained by the standard sizes with that , ie 0.8, 1.0, 1.6 , 2.4 or 3.2 mm filler wire. As a general size 1.6 being the most versatile. Again it all depends on the thickness of material but i find 1.6 diameter is good for most.

Me too. I found 1mm too thin to and enough material and 2.4 too thick. In my hugely limited experience anyway!

 

[Zep]

You don’t need to be standing. Unless your piece is fixed or huge, sit down and get comfy. Then trace where your bead is going along it’s entire length. A lot of nasty welds are because the welder isn’t in a natural position.

That is what I have struggled with most, found it easy on the bench, when actually doing it on the car, more difficult to get good results. But I am getting there now.