Tig time anyone? Learning tig....

[Shadow_storm56]

So I'm learning to tig which sofar is going fairly ok....on steel. I hooked a tig torch with a valve to our stick welder which is a lincon 250 transformer based welder. Steel goes great I get nice smooth welds and I'm happy except for one thing... my tungsten keeps melting even though my polariry is good on the bright side my arc dosen't seem to wander but it is annoying for it to melt. I'm not touching the puddle either so idk...

Now the fun one the aluminum on ac polarity, the tig makes a puddle and all looks good until I go to dab the filler. I had a strong wind that blows my filler rod away like melts long before i can dab and blows away the metal. It's not the gas as I'm only runny 20 on the gas. My first day with tig though and sofar I love it, being ambidextrous made the 2 handed part no problem. Anyone here good at tig?

 

[Yooper]

Tig is my go to process when welding tanks or cylinders where leakage is an issue. What you see is what you get. Clean clean clean is the requirement for good welds. On steel I like to use 309 stainless filler rod. Very stable.

Might want to check your polarity. Sounds like you might have it on DCSP. That raises havoc with the tungsten. DCRP is what you want.

Not sure about your aluminum situation. The grade of aluminum has much to do with the results of the weld and choice of filler rod. Using argon I hope? 15-20 is what I use for gas flow welding inside a building.

 

[Shadow_storm56]

Tig is my go to process when welding tanks or cylinders where leakage is an issue. What you see is what you get. Clean clean clean is the requirement for good welds. On steel I like to use 309 stainless filler rod. Very stable.

Might want to check your polarity. Sounds like you might have it on DCSP. That raises havoc with the tungsten. DCRP is what you want.

Not sure about your aluminum situation. The grade of aluminum has much to do with the results of the weld and choice of filler rod. Using argon I hope? 15-20 is what I use for gas flow welding inside a building.

I thought I had the polarity right but I guess I can flip it and see. Yes I'm using argon, 15-20 is what everything said to use so I did as well. The main reason I bought the tig torch was so I could repair aluminum pipe but it makes such a nice weld on steel with so much control I will probably use it for that too with some things. I'm used to stick welding but tig is so nice and I read it's both nicer in looks and strength. No areas to crack or tiny voids.

 

[Yooper]

Yes, I know exactly what you mean. Eventually you will graduate to foot pedal control with high frequency start. Then there is no going back!

I started exactly the same as you are doing. You have to set the amperage for the middle and end of your bead and be patient as the heat builds up in the beginning. Also, the scratch starts take the nice point off the tungsten when doing steel.

 

[Lil Foot]

While I was still working, our research group ended up with a huge cart mounted Tig welder, that cost about $13K. It only rarely got used by our NASA certified welder, so I thought I'd take a stab at welding aluminum. Having no luck at all, I asked the certified welder if there were any training aids, vids, or drills that might help me. He said the old guy who taught him gave him this drill to start out.
Get a blank sheet of typing paper, a standard 1/4" flat washer, and a very sharp #2 pencil.
Lay the washer on the paper and drag it around the paper with the tip of the pencil lead, without losing the washer, or making a mark on the paper. When you can do that for 45 mins, you are ready to start learning. I retired and lost access to the welder before I got very good at it.

 

[Shadow_storm56]

Yes, I know exactly what you mean. Eventually you will graduate to foot pedal control with high frequency start. Then there is no going back!

I started exactly the same as you are doing. You have to set the amperage for the middle and end of your bead and be patient as the heat builds up in the beginning. Also, the scratch starts take the nice point off the tungsten when doing steel.

Probably one day . The good thing about this welder is however the transformer is setup it never had any trouble starting an arc unless somthing was really dirty. So the scratch start is not aggressive by any means.

 

[Shadow_storm56]

While I was still working, our research group ended up with a huge cart mounted Tig welder, that cost about $13K. It only rarely got used by our NASA certified welder, so I thought I'd take a stab at welding aluminum. Having no luck at all, I asked the certified welder if there were any training aids, vids, or drills that might help me. He said the old guy who taught him gave him this drill to start out.
Get a blank sheet of typing paper, a standard 1/4" flat washer, and a very sharp #2 pencil.
Lay the washer on the paper and drag it around the paper with the tip of the pencil lead, without losing the washer, or making a mark on the paper. When you can do that for 45 mins, you are ready to start learning. I retired and lost access to the welder before I got very good at it.

Haha yea that sounds about right, you can probably stick somthing together with less skill but to actually have a professional grade weld you need a good steady hand for sure

 

[Shadow_storm56]

Yes, I know exactly what you mean. Eventually you will graduate to foot pedal control with high frequency start. Then there is no going back!

I started exactly the same as you are doing. You have to set the amperage for the middle and end of your bead and be patient as the heat builds up in the beginning. Also, the scratch starts take the nice point off the tungsten when doing steel.

Currently I'm stuck using electrode positive for the aluminum. Theres some harmonic in my ac causing a wind that blows my filler rod away. Only need about 40-50 amps, started with 100 and the polarity needed for dc Aluminum meant my tungsten was like byeeeee gone. Surprisingly it worked really well.

Also I am pretty sure my tungsten is too small for the steel I weld because even with proper polarity it slowly melts over time.

 

[Justasquid]

I’m more of a novice Tig welder, having done it for years, although it’s not my job and I only do it occasionally. But I am curious of what type and brand of tungsten your using? My concern would be getting the tungsten in your welds. If it’s melting, it’s going somewhere. It doesn’t always just burn back into the tungsten. Different types of tungsten are better than others for certain situations. Ive always used diamond group products tungsten and usually 2% lanthanated. it seems to be a good all around tungsten. If your using pure tungsten, it can cause some of the issues your talking about.

As for aluminum. Make sure your using a stainless wire brush to clean before welding. And keep that brush only for aluminum. Any contamination can cause not only poor welds,, but odd performance. Another thing that helps when learning aluminum is using some sort of heat sink on your test samples. aluminum heats up so quick, the heat sink will help stabilize the weld. A large piece of aluminum works best, but even a large pieces of steel will draw the heat out as well.

Take all of the above with a grain of salt though. I’m not an expert and I’m sure others here have much better advice. Congrats on your new skill set.

 

[Henro]

Another thing you might try sometime is TIG brazing. Using silicone bronze rod. Works really neat for times you have thin to thick metal you are not good enough to weld using standard filler, and also for cast iron, where welding is more difficult...My limited experience is it is a pretty cool option...

 

[lugbolt]

close up your arc length

when dabbing aluminum, you can't get the filler too close to the arc, but you still need to keep it close enough to keep it shielded

tig is a pain unless you do it real often. And I ain't no expert!

make sure your polarity is correct, it will also have an affect with aluminum on ac because of ac balance.

 

[Shadow_storm56]

close up your arc length

when dabbing aluminum, you can't get the filler too close to the arc, but you still need to keep it close enough to keep it shielded

tig is a pain unless you do it real often. And I ain't no expert!

make sure your polarity is correct, it will also have an affect with aluminum on ac because of ac balance.

I'm slowly figuring it out, although I have better luck with a flat tip tungsten than ground to a point. Im not good enough yet not to occasionally drown my tip. If it's a point then it makes a ball and the arc goes wild. It's very fun though

 

[lugbolt]

I'm slowly figuring it out, although I have better luck with a flat tip tungsten than ground to a point. Im not good enough yet not to occasionally drown my tip. If it's a point then it makes a ball and the arc goes wild. It's very fun though

with mild steels you should be able to maintain a point for a long time (well until you dip). I've run the machine at max with a 60 deg point although I usually run about 90 deg (or thereabouts). A sharper point is better for smaller parts and thinner material, the arc is more focused and much less erratic. A dull tungsten with mild steel has a tendency to let the arc wander and it gets worse with more arc length. Then your welds come out looking dull gray with a larger haz, almost as if they're done really hot.

if the polarity is backwards it will quickly burn the tungsten off. Also if the tungsten is too small it will burn off quicker, althought polarity is the #1 cause with DC and steels. AC with aluminum only (and some exotics)--and even then if you run AC with the incorrect balance it'll burn the tungsten down.

with aluminum you can get away with a balled tungsten although I still prefer a flat pointed tungsten. With that I haven't done a lot of aluminum. Or steel for that matter. Just enough to learn what I've stated above.

 

[Shadow_storm56]

with mild steels you should be able to maintain a point for a long time (well until you dip). I've run the machine at max with a 60 deg point although I usually run about 90 deg (or thereabouts). A sharper point is better for smaller parts and thinner material, the arc is more focused and much less erratic. A dull tungsten with mild steel has a tendency to let the arc wander and it gets worse with more arc length. Then your welds come out looking dull gray with a larger haz, almost as if they're done really hot.

if the polarity is backwards it will quickly burn the tungsten off. Also if the tungsten is too small it will burn off quicker, althought polarity is the #1 cause with DC and steels. AC with aluminum only (and some exotics)--and even then if you run AC with the incorrect balance it'll burn the tungsten down.

with aluminum you can get away with a balled tungsten although I still prefer a flat pointed tungsten. With that I haven't done a lot of aluminum. Or steel for that matter. Just enough to learn what I've stated above.

Yea if I reverse polarity my tungsten is just gone haha. Aluminum is very hard but it's a very useful skill for the farm, especially with irrigation pipe. If your tungsten is sharp it literally is just a perfect needle point arc but I am constantly fighting my urge to move closer as I did alot of stick welding. They were out of stock of the tungsten I should have for steel so it is a bit small.

 

[lugbolt]

Generally a 3/32" tungsten will work fine up to 250A. I use it exclusively, from really thin stuff to 3/8 thick stuff. There are times when 1/16" would be better on really thin stuff but that's not usually what I do. Though, I may end up buying a set of 2% Lanth 1/16" tungstens and gas lens.

Keep playing with it. Honestly, it takes a LOT of practice. You can't just step away for a few weeks and come back to it, because you will be rusty. Before taking on a project, grab some scrap of the same material and thickness and play around with it before you start sticking projects together, particularly stuff that belongs to someone else-OR something that is yours and needs to be nice.

I have eyesight issues and GTAW is tough for me; although I do what I can. I will not take on projects from others unless it's a family member, or if it's something that doesn't have to be perfect. I fixed my friend's floor jack the other day using some Hastelloy filler. Neat stuff, though expensive now. did a downpipe for my brother's 64 Fairlane (mild steel 4" dia), came out ok.