A Return To Tig

[Turbo]

After an 11 year absence from tig welding I laid my first beads today!

I managed to cobble together a working torch with stuff donated by Tom Morrow and what I had. I used a 1.6 tungsten (which I got very good at sharpening), a no 7 cup & gas flow was 6 l/m. Steel was cleaned up using a powerfile.

First I tried a few beads on a piece of 40x5 steel using 1.6 filler rod.



Tried again on other side using 2.4 rod and amps increasing from top to bottom.



Things were starting to get too hot on the last weld!

Decided to try a lap joint using some scraps of 2mm mild steel plate, 1.6 filler and around 50a.





A bit bumpy, I couldn't get positioned to move smoothly along the joint. Also I was using a new pair of gloves that were too stiff and seams in the wrong place. I tried again, this time without gloves and a better position.



The hf didn't seem to be working and I was getting fed up grinding the tungsten every time it got stuck on start up. Discovered the hf was switched off, oops!



Hands were starting to get hot so I found an old set of much more comfortable tig gloves.





I was very happy with the last weld so I stopped there, besides which it was after midnight so time for bed! Where did those 3 hours go?

One thing I struggled with was finishing the weld neatly. The button on the torch was not very well positioned so when I released it at the end of a weld the torch would jerk. I used the welder on 2t rather than 4t as that meant less button presses.

I am also going to get a flex head torch, it will make it much easier to get a better angle for welding. I am also thinking that a bicycle clip would be useful to hold the cable on your arm as my lead is too stiff to wrap around your arm.

Also discovered that the diamond drill sharpener I bought in lidl is very good at sharpening tungstens. This is the same machine in machine mart.
https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/cla...GS-040210749&gclid=CO357o_imc0CFUlmGwodzz8NWA

I might make some sort of guide to keep the angle consistent but it works quite well just holding it against the wheel while spinning the tungsten in a drill.

 

[Turbo]

Tonight I decided to try to reposition the torch switch to make it easier to use. The previous owner had used miles of insulating tape to hold everything together.

Once I had the tape off I found a problem - there was a bad split in the lead letting out a lot of gas! It was surprising that last nights welds had turned out as well as they did.

I'll need a new lead but I can't afford it at the moment so I repaired the old lead in the meantime.



I used adhesive lined heat shrink so it should hold, it's not under much pressure after all!

This is how the switch sits on the torch. Whoever designed it wasn't a welder as it's not conveniently positioned unless you are holding the torch in your fist.



Torch is so much easier to hold without it fitted.



I couldn't find a good position to attach the switch even with taking it out of its casing. I've decided to make up a foot switch to make life easier using the switch along with a vacuum sucker I got in a box of contents from an auction.



The lead has a rubber outer covering that is quite heavy and I'm thinking of removing it as I have a zip-up sleeve for it that will protect it anyway. Is that a good idea?

 

[norlander]

Iknow what you mean about the switch position, you can get a a woven material sleeve which is much lighter.



You can knock up a lead support if you think it will help -simple roller made of tube over bar- the ring thing on the end does nowt, it was a piece from the scrap bin, the flat is there to stop the lead rolling off, I left the ring on in case I thought of a use for it someday.



Good find on the MM drill sharpener, cheers for that.

 

[optima21]

I know what you mean about the torch switches being a bit akward, I've finally got the hang of mine but did get an on/off foot switch to use instead but havn't got round to using it. I guess the torch lead cover has two purposes, to add a bit of extra protection and to keep the gas tube, torch switch and power cable together. it looks like you have a combined power cable / gas tube (and foot operated on/off switch), so if you are careful I'd run it without a cover.

Im using 25mm braided sleeving for electrical wires, it keeps the wires and gas tube together for me but offers very little protection to them.

 

[norlander]

Nice job optima, that looks to be about the size of my CK torch leads. You can see it on the deck bottom of first pic. I call my WP26 Monty, cos its like wrestlin a python at times.

 

[Turbo]

You can knock up a lead support if you think it will help -simple roller made of tube over bar- the ring thing on the end does nowt, it was a piece from the scrap bin, the flat is there to stop the lead rolling off, I left the ring on in case I thought of a use for it someday.

I like that idea, could even mount it on a magnet or a clamp to make it portable. I've no welding bench yet but I've one planned (a modified drawing table). One thing I really need is a welding trolley, welder is currently perched on the bench, ready to fall & break like my last one and the gas bottle is tied to my sack truck!

I have a woven cloth cover and I think I'll ditch the rubber cover.

What do you think of my welds - any tips appreciated.

95% of my previous experience was on stainless steel which I think is easier to weld as it flows better and you don't normally get the weld pool exploding from a bit of rust you missed on the back of the plate - that one woke me up!

One of our jobs was repairing large s/s bins that had a top lip of s/s sheet rolled over mild steel bar. They cracked along the lip, water got in and it was a pig to weld, between hidden traps of water & the rust blow-outs in the weld were common. Not surprisingly it was a job normally given to the apprentice and was a good way to learn tig the hard way.

I must look for some of the stuff I made in s/s and take a pic.

 

[norlander]

The last welds look ok, on the finishing, I tweak my slope down, and do a lil circular movement with the torch, sometimes I had a dab of filler before sloping down, sometimes not sometimes I backup on the bead at the end.
If you fix up a pedal, watch out you don't bung too much heat in, I find thats easy to do with the pedal, so I use the pedal for Alu only mostly. I often get undercut with the pedal, so use switched torch on everything else.
Yes, I would get everything set up and safe before doing much more.
You can modify a couple of cheapy workmates for starters to make a bench and a platform for the welder (a ratchet strap can be used to secure the unit). But get the bottle well secured as priority.
Your welding looks good enuf to make up brackets and bits etc, so get yourself comfortably and safely set up as your first project.
Over here, they sell 1000x500 mm x1mm steel sheets in the DIY sheds, so easy to cover a bench top for starters, you might have to go to a steel stockist, but then you could get thicker stuff from the off.

 

[Richard.]

Looking lovely T.
Great practice session there.
The welding looks great.
Don't worry too much about the end but all I do is a couple seconds slope down
This gives you about a second to do the following.
Get your final dab in as you release the trigger. Then step backwards over the run slowly till the lights go out. You should of gone back about 5mm
That will sort your bumps and dips on the end of the run.
That aside the formation of your filling intervals is very uniform and straight so a great job I say.

 

[Turbo]

Thanks for the complements, I was surprised that I picked it up again so quickly. Even after a few months without mma welding it takes me a few rods before I get the hang of it, so after 11 years I would be a beginner again!

Any guide settings for pre-flow, post flow & slope down?

I got a few minutes last night to adapt the torch switch to a foot switch. First job was to cut a recess in a scrap of ply for the switch.



Not very neat but it was done freehand in a hurry using a router bit in a bench drill. Fitted switch & secured with metal plate.



I tapped the sucker M10 and screwed an M10 coach bolt into it.




Trimmed the bolt to length, cut a slot in the end for adjustment & added a grub screw to lock it in place. Secured it in place over the switch using self tappers.



I tried the switch out & it works a treat! It felt so nice using the torch without the bulk of the switch plus the weight and stiffness of all the tape and covering. It was like going bareback after using condoms for ages!

Now I proved that it works I was thinking about swapping the wood for a block of nylon I have somewhere. Then tonight I was looking for something & came across an electric sewing machine I acquired. Lo and behold if it didn't have a nice little foot switch fitted, perfect for the welder.

 

[Richard.]

I don't find the torch switch a problem. That's how they all sit. Are you holding it correctly?
You should use your tig to build your pedal. A nice thin bit of chequer plate would be lovely.