First go at Tig welding

[Hodgy]

Hi folks, had my first go at tig this evening on some mild steel scraps I had lying around.

1.6 filler rods
1.6 2% thor tungsten

I tried a couple of beads first which went ok, but not neat by any stretch of the imagination!!

Had a go at a T-fillet too, dipped the tungsten and poked it with the filler rod a number of times!

Comments please!!

 

[irondarren]

for a first go its not that bad, but be aware, for arc welding you can happy get away with a bit of rust and what ever in the welded area. Mig likes it clean but will stomach a little bit of rust and even grease. TIG requires the steel to be cleaner than your sunday best under pants. Jokes aside i have found with TIG even mill scale can cause problems, and brand new box section, needs the grease removing otherwise you get holes in the weld bead. dont have the tungsten out to far from the ceramic as TIG is very sensitive to there being enough shielding gas.
clean a bit right up real clean and give it another shot at doing a fillet, gas flow should be about 10 lpm

 

[Codafile4]

If you have a few fillet welds to do, treat yourself to a "Gas Lens Kit" this allows you to get the tungston closer to the job and has a more accurate gas flow, you can have near 25mm of tungsten protruding from the ceramic, place the ceramic cup near resting on the flat plate and the verticle plate gives a guide for the stick out, useing the standard ceramic and tunsten wont get you close enough to the joint, gas lenses are used for butt joints and fillets, used extensivley for puting route runs in pipe. The brown staining is caused with lack of gas cover, the gas lens will cure this.

 

[Hodgy]

Ok second try today....

Did a butt joint with a little filler and cleaning the millscale off...

then did the other side too for a bit more playing..

Tried another fillet, going right to left, got the hang of it at the very last bit!! :lol

Apologies for rubbish pics, camera phone

 

[TazzieTig]

The last fillet is pretty good.....

Just remember to keep it all consistent and the heat is the key!

It's better to be running very hot rather than lukewarm. Since your practicing on fairly thick stuff, don't be afraid to up the herbage a little. No sense waiting around for your weld to pool because you'll end up with a cold, chunky weld. Up the amps, and you'll see what I mean. How many are you running>?



Cheers,

TazzieTig.

 

[Puddles]

Hi Hodgy!
I didn’t see where you said what machine you’re using. I never did much Tig welding in my career, I was a structural weldor, and 95% of my welding was done with a wire feed on large beams. Since retiring I wanted to teach myself how to Tig weld aluminum. So I bought a Miller Dynasty 300. It’s true a good machine is a huge asset when learning to weld. This picture is my first attempt at welding with both hands, leaving the pipe in one spot, no rotating!

 

[Hodgy]

Hi Puddles

Looks like you've got a better handle on this tig lark than me!

I'm using a cheap chinese job, I guess if I can use this I'll have a good chance of success on a quality machine

Had another go today, leaving a 1mm gap or so on a butt weld for penetration fun..

TazzieTig I dunno the exact amps, the dial goes up in stupid increments, about 90-100 I guess.

3mm plate to answer the next question

And the back

 

[Puddles]

You might should take a sanding disc 36-grit and clean all that mil scale off your plate, or at least 1-inch each side of the weld joint, and both sides of the plate. You’ve head the old saying “cleanliness is next to Godliness” never truer than with Tig welding, more so on aluminum!

 

[Hodgy]

I did clean off a certain amount, you can see some of the grinding marks, seems the weld covered or miscoloured most of the cleaned bit though, I didn't clean the back though? Worth doing?

 

[Puddles]

I didn't clean the back though? Worth doing?

Yup!

Clean, Clean, Clean, Clean, Clean! If you’re anything like me, you need all the help you can get!

 

[Hodgy]

Oh do I need help

Thanks matey

Joe

 

[Puddles]

You know another thing! Trying lowering your heat, maybe try adding more filler, and sharpen the tungsten with more of a blunt tip. One trick I learned in my quest to learn how to weld aluminum, not sure if they have them in the UK, but over here they sell a heat glove for cooking called the Ove-Glove! Oh man for Tig welding it’s the best thing since chocolate ice cream!
http://www.amazon.com/Improved-Orig...1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1199986322&sr=8-1

 

[Codafile4]

Oh do I need help

Thanks matey

Joe

Hi Hodgy, looking at your TIG welds, if you haven't done TIG for a long time, you can't expect to get the perfect run, your weld samples are OK, a bit more practice is required.
TIG welding is concidered the most demanding of all the arc processes demanding, eye, hand co-ordination and of course consentration, these are the ingredients. practice what your doing now and dont' try and get something out of your welder thats not there, and next week you will be wondering what all the fuss was about.

 

[Hodgy]

Hey Codafile, I've never done this before at all!

Migged a little, but fancied a new challenge

 

[Codafile4]

Hey Codafile, I've never done this before at all!

Migged a little, but fancied a new challenge

If you've never done this before, your showing good results, keep at it, you will suprise yourself.

 

[Hodgy]

Cheers matey, truth be told I'm quite enjoying it