TIG Rods

[Mr shiney]

Maybe a daft question..... Do people cut TIG rods in half to make the easier to manage? Mat college we just folded them over on one end to stop accidentally poking someone in the eye!!

I find that a full length rod is a pain to feed smoothly.

Also.... I am just about to make a rack for consumables and it would fit much better if the rods were all half size!!

 

[langy]

Depends on length of weld, personally I prefer the balance of the whole rod but if its a small weld in an awkward place I will cut them

 

[TechnicAl]

Maybe a daft question..... Do people cut TIG rods in half to make the easier to manage? Mat college we just folded them over on one end to stop accidentally poking someone in the eye!!

I find that a full length rod is a pain to feed smoothly.

Also.... I am just about to make a rack for consumables and it would fit much better if the rods were all half size!!

Yes...........nearly always which is why some firms insist that we identify (stamp) both ends

 

[Mr shiney]

I must say I prefer the balance of the shorter rod. I shall cut them in half now as it will make the little tube pots I am making and welding to the bench smaller!!

 

[chevy2]

Never bothered cutting them in half, simply bend the end over,
but, on many an occasion i've hooked the end of the rod onto something else= no filler rod in pool

 

[hotrodder]

As Chevy and Langy i only cut or bend 'em when bits of what i'm welding get in the way. Half the waste and more importantly (unless the wire is Ti or Mg and £££) less stops when welding say thick ally

I used to cut 'em in half when i started out but once i got to grips with feeding the wire stopped bothering

 

[zx9]

I am a still a TIG novice and have a very low ceiling over the bench so have been cutting them in half, I never thought of just bending the last foot or so over but I will do next time.

 

[chevy2]

I dont bend the last foot or so over, just the last inch so you dont poke your eye out,
Also handy when you have to pick up a rod from a flat floor with gloves on, simply roll the rod and grab the folded end.

As Hotrodder says, no point cutting ali rods as you often feed so much rod in,
infact you sometimes wish they were even longer!

 

[zx9]

I dont bend the last foot or so over, just the last inch so you dont poke your eye out,
Also handy when you have to pick up a rod from a flat floor with gloves on, simply roll the rod and grab the folded end.

As Hotrodder says, no point cutting ali rods as you often feed so much rod in,
infact you sometimes wish they were even longer!

Thanks Chevy, it's my ceiling that gets in the way, hense the last foot comment.

 

[Mr shiney]

I gave the same problem, it catches on stuff above the bench. I only really run a few inches at a time when welding. I am very small scale!

 

[lotus 30]

sorry to hijack the thread but as it is on rods. Do i need to get more rods for tig welding steel i have plenty of rods for gas welding but i will put money on it i have to buy more LOL

 

[chevy2]

sorry to hijack the thread but as it is on rods. Do i need to get more rods for tig welding steel i have plenty of rods for gas welding but i will put money on it i have to buy more LOL

In a word yes,
Your gas rods arent suitable for tig welding, you'll get porosity in the welds and maybe other problems,
keep them strictly for gas, many new tig welders have come on here with problems and after several questions back and forth its down to them using gas rods,
what you need for tig welding steel is A15 rods, they aren't that expensive compared to the amount of argon you'll be using,
you can easy tell them apart if they get mixed, the tig rods are crimped at the end with numbers stamped into them.

 

[lotus 30]

I sorta had a feeling that was going to happen thank you

 

[Wendelspanswick]

The other reason we were taught to bend over the last inch of a rod, mainly from a gas welding point of view, is you know which it the cold end!

 

[compositepro]

We were taught it was to stop you poking an eye out, I cut in half purely because when it 36 inches its a pita to weld a bicycle with it waggling round

 

[Rrunnach]

If an eye is poked oot, then eye owner is too, close and, not wearing appropriate PPE...........anyways, if you did knock one out, you can tell whoever, they can get into the pics for half price!

 

[compositepro]

Oh I dunno I don't think any amount of PPE can fix stupid I've seen students stuffing them into their ears for an itch, walk up behind someone to see what their doing to end up speared on the end and the best one is ,helmet up and the 3 inch of remaining rod goes in the mouth for a nano second....sometimes it makes you wonder

 

[Shox Dr]

Always fold the end over. As said stops you picking up the hot end, poking yourself etc, it also saves one of the ID tags so you know what it is

 

[Paul G]

If working alone I would never bend the rod end over. If I have someone watching me then I do.

I have lost count of the times I've caught the hook end on something or in my clothing, and thinking I'm
moving the rod to the pool slid my fingers past the red hot end. Oooo! The smell of burning flesh.



On the subject of cutting rods down, then only if I have to. You end up throwing away twice as many stub ends otherwise.

I bought a kilo of ally/mag the other day and made sure the eBay add stated "1000mm long" before I ordered.


HNY
Paul G

 

[Kent]

I will do anything I need to and nothing I don't so my answer is "sometimes yes , sometimes no".