First proper tig job.....

[dobbslc]

What do you think?
Be gentle!


It's part of a petrol tank mount I'm trying to make.
55 amp max on the control with a foot pedal. WP9 torch.
2mm plate and 1.6mm tube.
I was using a 1.6mm tungsten, no6 cup, and 1mm filler.
I think I was using about 6 litres per minute on the gas but I don't know where to take the reading on my flow meter, top or bottom of the little floating gauge?
I used 3 tungstens, last one is still untouched.....
I've got an old Lincoln Norweld DC machine.

 

[Chris Stevens]

Looks fine to me..............good first attempt.

 

[eSCHEn]

Three tungstens, yoinks! Have you got the polarity right?

Looks like it won't snap in a hurry. 55A is a bit hot for me, I'd be more like 40A. Rest of the figures look good though

All things equal, the measurement at the torch end is most accurate. I use a flow meter (vertical ball in a tube affair) and that's fine for my purposes.

Good job


Edit: Ignore the amps, I see you have a pedal

 

[hotrodder]

There's sometimes a little symbol on flowmeters denoting whether they're read from the centre (ball floats) or top (pretty much all other shapes) for example



ETA, thinking about it'd probably more accurate to say that floats are typically read from their widest point, always the centre of balls usually the top of other shapes?

 

[eSCHEn]

Jesus wept man I am dumb tonight

 

[Miggy89]

looks good here keep at it things will only improve further

 

[dobbslc]

Thanks guys. I only knackered the tungstens by touching down, the polarity is correct, I know exactly what reversed polarity looks like.........
The good thing tonight is that I didn't blow holes in everything.
One more to make then I have to weld them to a 40 year old tank!

 

[Chris Stevens]

Thanks guys. I only knackered the tungstens by touching down, the polarity is correct, I know exactly what reversed polarity looks like.........
The good thing tonight is that I didn't blow holes in everything.
One more to make then I have to weld them to a 40 year old tank!

You might find its better to Tig braze them to tank? Tungstens dont need to be replaced if you touch down, just sharpened. Cheap bench grinder with Ebay diamond wheel intended for angle grinder is good for sharpening tungstens, and no need to mess around dressing wheels, which you will be doing if grind stones are used.

 

[dobbslc]

I've already got a green stone on my grinder so just put the tungsten in a battery drill and grind that way.
Does the penetration look ok?

 

[Chris Stevens]

Yes it looks fine. You would find preparing tungstens a good deal easier if you get hold of a £5 diamond wheel from Ebay. I used to mess around with grindstone, but found diamond was a good deal better.

 

[monkeh]

hey chris, which diamond wheels are you using mate? Im currently using a standard 60 grit wheel which does fine but as you say needs dressing as the tungsten leaves grooves. the problem im having is my grinder is an old draper gm125 which uses 125mm wheels with a little 12.5mm bore and i cant find any diamond discs suitable. I may even just buy a new grinder or try and get something rigged up for my dremel.

 

[Chris Stevens]

Diamond wheel intended for angle grinder (£5 Ebay), with adapter turned so it can be fitted to bench grinder spindle.

 

[dobbslc]

I started in the other tank mounting tonight but I'm having trouble seeing what I'm doing. This resulted in a hole in the tube!
Any pointers to lighting up the job?

 

[Twitchyboy]

Our guys at work use a 500w floodlight behind them to light the job up whilst doing tig blending!!!

 

[slim_boy_fat]

I started in the other tank mounting tonight but I'm having trouble seeing what I'm doing. This resulted in a hole in the tube!
Any pointers to lighting up the job?

Don't laugh, but I use this and find it quite effective. Amazon LED torch + some velcro, and Robert's your Father's brother.....

 

[Twitchyboy]

Looks like something out of star wars!!

 

[Rickardo]

It looks good.