new to the TIG world, advise and tips

[T0rnado69]

hi all,
as some of you may know i bought the 200A tig inverter from fellow member @Screwdriver.

cant remember what torch it is. think he said its a wp26 ?
maybe screwdriver can confirm?

so i need some consumables to get me started and filler wire etc.

tungstens, what size would be best and thickness of metal you can weld with them.

filler wire thickness's

going to need some for mild steel and stainless.

and why different size shrouds...

im sure il think of more to ask

 

[Screwdriver]

I can't remember either but it's written on the side of the torch. I use 1.6mm for just about everything LOL. I think you go up a size if the tip starts melting which is unlikely imho. Also I find very little difference between thoriated or zirconia in practice so I just ignore that complication.

Bigger shrouds are better if you really crank up the gas flow but you might find they get too big to fit or even to see what you're doing. Also you want to use as little gas as possible so smaller is better. The other reason you would use a bigger shroud and more gas is if you want a lot more stick out on the tip.

Ps. I did forget to hand over the stick holder so I guess I better pop it in the post!

S.

 

[Brad93]

You need Consumables that fit a 26 Torch.

You should get yourself a few of each, 1.6mm and 2.4mm Collet bodies, 1.6 & 2.4 collets, size 5, 6 & 7 shrouds.

Tungsten wise its personal choice but I use Zirconiated (white tip) tungsten's on AC and thoriated (red tip) tungsten on DC. You can also use lanthanated which is suitable for both AC and DC.

You also want 1.6 & 2.4 filler.
For mild steel you need ER70-S6 also known as A18.
For aluminium 5356 or 4043 is suitable.

 

[T0rnado69]

thanks for reply, i shall check tomorrow. as the torch and cables are in a bag in garage.
unit is up here as i was cleaning up the outer cover

cheers for allowing me to test it and have a bit of practice.
and a lovely cuppa...

snail mail is fine mate for the stick holder..

ohh and thanks to you im searching ebay for a bench metal shear LOL

 

[Screwdriver]

Aha. Yes, you'll be wanting a Gabro notcher if you want one like that.

 

[Brad93]

The size of the shroud you use basically dictates how much stick out you can have, but with normal bodies you get a tumble of gas unlike laminar flow from gas lens.

 

[T0rnado69]

arg, had to go and check lol
yes it has 26 stamped on torch body.

ok il look around for consumables for wp26

i did ask in BOC when i was finding out gas prices
how much the filler rods are and the smalled they said they do is 5kg pack.

prefer an assortment pack really


cheers screwdriver i shall search about

 

[Brad93]

The difference between thoriated and Zirconiated is really only visible on AC. Thoriated will not ball nicely straight away, is prone to growing nodules and splitting. Thoriated is ideally suited to steel, go for lanthanated if you want a non-toxic electrode or one electrode that can cover both AC & DC

 

[Brad93]

West country welding supplies do 1kg packs of rods. Well worth giving tom a call. They also have an eBay page.
The only assortment kits I know of on the shelf are CK but again west country welding will be able.to put something together for you.

 

[Brad93]

BOC are expensive for Consumables and wire in my opinion?

 

[T0rnado69]

cheers brad, big help

the tig/mma inverter is only DC

so just steel and stainless.

but it will get me started and see if i can do it....

 

[langy]

You need Consumables that fit a 26 Torch.

You should get yourself a few of each, 1.6mm and 2.4mm Collet bodies, 1.6 & 2.4 collets, size 5, 6 & 7 shrouds.

Tungsten wise its personal choice but I use Zirconiated (white tip) tungsten's on AC and thoriated (red tip) tungsten on DC. You can also use lanthanated which is suitable for both AC and DC.

You also want 1.6 & 2.4 filler.
For mild steel you need ER70-S6 also known as A18.
For aluminium 5356 or 4043 is suitable.

I think you mean A15, the 2 flavours of ally rod
5356 is stronger than 4043 but tends to get porosity when used to weld aluminum castings.

4043 is fine and usually a pretty good choice for castings because the silicon content makes it a close match for most aluminum castings.

 

[Wendelspanswick]

If your welding aluminium I would get yourself a #8 shroud to learn with, it gives a good coverage and helps eliminate coverage problems while learning.
When I taught myself I struggled with my Rtech to begin with but that was because it comes with 4 shrouds, #4 to #7. As I was practising on relatively thin sheet, 1.6mm, I started with a #5 shroud* and had awful problems to begin with, problems which I now know were because of insufficient gas coverage.
Once I switched to a #8 it become alot easier!

*Duff logic!

 

[Chris Stevens]

If you are just starting a CK gas saver kit of front end parts will be a good idea, as they do actually save gas, and give improved coverage. For thinner materials 1.6mm tungsten and 5 or 6 ceramic should work fine.

 

[Wendelspanswick]

For thinner materials 1.6mm tungsten and 5 or 6 ceramic should work fine.

You a proficient welder yes, for a newbie to aluminium TIG welding I would say no.

 

[BrokenBiker]

Especially with a dc welder...let's stick to the ops request and advise him on what he needs to weld steel and stainless steel.

Get yourself a consumables kit off weldequip I'm sure he sells small packs of tungstens, kits that include collets, bodies and ceramics etc they will get you started and the tungstens have a current guide to them just like stick welding rods do so you can kinda gauge it from there as to what thickness you can weld with each and so on. Obviously this alters if you need a small weld on a large part etc but it's a good rough guide.

 

[BrokenBiker]

Just looked and 20 quid will get you some tungstens, collets, bodies, 1 of each ceramic and a heat shield in a convenient case

 

[Richard.]

As langy said A15 is the common tig wire and whilst A18 can be used its a mag wire.
For a beginner/expert with ALL tig welding I'd always suggest a no7 cup as a great all around size.
A 1.6 tungsten on AC is really only useful for below 100 amps (2mm) which ain't the best to learn on. I'd say go with 2.4's and get on some 3-4 mm flat and lay out some dimes. DC on the other hand a 1.6 will cover you happily to well beyond 100 amps and tend to carry current better even if your prepping isn't brilliant so get some of those too. Don't mess about with reds and whites as the multi purpose ones tend to do a better job these days and it's more cost effective to buy 1 type. 2%lanth are a good go to flavour.

 

[Chris Stevens]

You a proficient welder yes, for a newbie to aluminium TIG welding I would say no.

The OP is going to struggle welding aluminium with his DC set. Big part of the costs for a beginner is gas, so well worth spending a bit more on a CK gas saver front end kit, which does allow you to use less gas, and will save the difference over cheaper front end parts pretty quickly.

 

[Richard.]

I do agree that quality front end parts are worth buying no matter what the skill level. Saving gas is a good thing but the ck gas savers don't save any more from my experience with them than the ck gas lenses. All good lenses save gas over collet bodies. The Pyrex cups are lovely and will benefit someone who is learning as visibility is a issue for new tig welders and they tend to change fundamentals such as angle, arc length to get a better view.