First go at TIG

[Pete.]

So I bought a TIG welder this weekend and decided to have a go at some welding. Not strictly my first ever because I had a little go on one a couple of years ago that was set up by the owner but this was all my own doing. I did an autogenous weld around a piece of stainless tube which was cut most of the way through. I think I had the amps a bit high and maybe the gas a bit low as I got a lot of heat in it and turned the work black.



Second bit was some 4mm thick ally angle on AC. First run was autogenous from far right running to left. Next was a filler run that got a bit hot towards the end and I couldn't keep up with the filler. Then the last one was a small butt-weld across with filler, that I think I turned the amps down a bit too far for to compensate for the heat in the part.



Anyway, that's my first TIG welding. Thanks to Windy Miller for lending me his bottle of argon so I could check the machine works and have a play. Just one problem I have now is I've sunburnt one side of my face despite having the mask on the whole time. I think it's reflected off the bench and filing cabinet to my left.

 

[Shox Dr]

And all for a oner' happy days

 

[Wallace]

And all for a oner' happy days

You found a home for that Tec Arc 206i then?

Pete, when I started practicing a Y size BOC bottle went in 4 days so I went up to a W which worked out much cheaper. The Y is available on the BOC Volkzone offer now but depending on who you favour as a gas supplier it might be worth looking at the W size for the short term while practicing.

Mike

 

[Brad93]

Nice job for a first time. The stainless weld is a bit hot. You may find you need to stop and start with stainless that thin as it heats up so quickly. A gas lens will help for coverage rather than wasting more gas, you're looking for a nice straw colour.
Remember stainless needs purging if you want to avoid sugaring/oxidation on the back of the weld.

 

[Pete.]

Cheers, I recognised that it was hot. I didn't purge since I am just on a learning curve and want to minimise the gas I use. I tried several different power settings and even the low ones were turning the weld black. I guess I might have had to use more gas or a bigger ceramic to slow it down a bit.

 

[Windy Miller]

Looking good so far Pete - if you want to have a try on mild steel, I have a shed load of 1.6 and 2.4 rods here that you can use...

 

[langy]

Cheers, I recognised that it was hot. I didn't purge since I am just on a learning curve and want to minimise the gas I use. I tried several different power settings and even the low ones were turning the weld black. I guess I might have had to use more gas or a bigger ceramic to slow it down a bit.

You also need to move a bit smartish with stainless, I do a lot of stainless and a pedal lets you have far more control.

 

[Pete.]

No pedal on this machine, nor the facility for one. It's got a crank-handle on the front to change the amps.

 

[Pete.]

Done a LOT better today. First I put some effort into doing some lap welds in 1.6mm stainless. Managed to keep my heat under control and only touched down a couple of times

Then a fillet weld, which was a bit harder but managed a passable effort.

Then later this evening Hotrodder dropped in to see how I was getitng on and gave me some fantastic advice on setup, arc length, travel speed and basic technique. and I pretty-much nailed some butt welds in 2mm ally. Mine are the arrow-marked welds.

So from now on it's practice practice practice. My great thanks to Hotrodder for his fantastic advice and patience.

 

[Brad93]

Nice HAZ on the stainless fillet it still has a bit too much colour in it, as I said earlier a small gas lens would be a good purchase.

 

[Pete.]

Lol with less than a metre total weld length under my belt I'm just satisfied that it reaches from one end to the other with no gaps

 

[Brad93]

Yeah for your first go it's very good. Your ally welding is a lot better than my first attempts I tell you that.
I still struggle with outside corner and fillet welds in aluminium.

 

[Wallace]

Then later this evening Hotrodder dropped in to see how I was getting on and gave me some fantastic advice on setup, arc length, travel speed and basic technique.

My Tig welding improved from reading Hotrodder's comments on my posts, that's just showing off!

 

[Pete.]

My Tig welding improved from reading Hotrodder's comments on my posts, that's just showing off!

I'll be honest, I started off running some beads along some plate and the first one nearly sank out the bottom which was depressing having just watched him lay two perfect runs down. After another 5 or 6 attempts at that with HR coaching me I got my speed up and managed to control my arc length better until I put two quite nice runs down then went ahead and did the butt welds in the photo. You can see one end is a bit messy where I first started a puddle then stuffed my filler rod right into the tungsten giving me a massive touch-down.

I reckon I'm going to keep going with this welder for a while then maybe treat myself to a nice inverter for Christmas or in the new year.

 

[Windy Miller]

Looks like you're really getting the hang of it Pete - wish I found it that easy!

 

[hotrodder]

I think Pete is a bit of a natural or at least has steady hands on his side... the last person i gave a quick TIG lesson had been welding professionally for years with MIG and while he got autogenous TIG immediately it all fell apart as soon as he had filler wire to deal with
That Cebora has got a lovely smooth, stable arc to it. Nicer to use than many of the cheapnese TIGs i've experienced as a result despite having none of the usual refinements like slope control or even a potentiometer to make repeatable small tweaks to the juice. It's bascially an AC buzzbox combined with a AC/DC HF add on box in one case. It's been a good while since i've used a basic sinewave machine for ally and thinking about it i reckon they're actually a good thing for learning... the arc is less 'harsh' than inverter squarewave and everything happens more slowly

Nice HAZ on the stainless fillet it still has a bit too much colour in it, as I said earlier a small gas lens would be a good purchase.

HAZ and weld colour are two different things, the former is invisible to the naked eye without macro etching or the like while the later is just light surface oxidation that gives a rough indication of surface temp when the gas shield was lost. Heat tint is effected by loads of different things for example it's easier to get 'good colour' on thicker material than it is with thin stuff

Much of the stuff written on the internetz about weld colour is utter drivel. Especially if it's to do with automotive stuff. You wouldn't see someone like TIG Paul worrying about colour on stuff he makes for the food industry because ANY weld colour will usually be removed before the part leaves his shop... pickling & passivating for hygiene and corrosion resistance or due to blending out welds and regraining etc. Exhaust guys, especially on forums, often spout a load drivel about carbide precipitation and straw/golden welds and completely miss the point that the first time the engine is run in anger the entire thing will be covered in surface oxides and turn grey in a relatively short time. More here... http://www.bssa.org.uk/topics.php?article=2

 

[Pete.]

Made a baffle for a friend's bike today. Came out reasonably well.

 

[Wallace]

Baffle? You can see the exhaust valves through that! What did the welds look like inside?

 

[Pete.]

Had a little bit of sugaring but nothing crazy. The bike is due it's 1st MOT on Monday and the guy just wanted to shut it up a bit. Here's a close-up.

 

[Wallace]

Looks like the machine is earning its keep.