got me a tig welder!!

[general--lee]

hi i have a murex mig welder and have done loads of mig as in making things or repairing mot failures etc ,

i have now brought a tig (to play with) and have used it a little
hopefully i wont be shot down in flames but im liking it to gas welding which ive done a little of, im practicing at moment fusing things together with no filler rod as i was told this is a good way to start with the gas???

i have used filler as well but have gone back to practicing melting the 2 parts togehter .

so far i have joined a few 10mm bolts together which was farily easy as thick metal.

i have also joined an overlap of 21guage steel together with no filler rod and cam out ok ,

oh sorry the tig is a dc saf nertinox 250 3phase but i have no instructions for it but i have worked out which nobs do they slope in out and post pre gas etc

sorry for wafting basically my question is am i right practicing with no filler rod and whats best to practice on ? ie sheet metal or box section etc thin or thick?
thanks for any help

 

[shenion]

I started with 1/8" steel and it was real easy. Thin stuff is a whole different game though.

I never did much fusing, I have never needed it.

 

[Wedg1e]

I had a few scrap bits of car guage tin (0.8mm-ish?) that I first practised on with my TIG, partly because at the time I had a 3-pin plug on it and was worried about crisping the workshop wiring!
I read somewhere that an amp per thou. of a an inch was about right so I set for about 40A and went from there. I managed to get some tidyish butts fairly quickly (just as well really as I'd ordered some rods but the Ebay seller was on a go-slow ). Thin sheet distorts very quickly so it was good practice at striking the arc to get some quick tacks on without blowing holes everywhere.
Full-on TIG welding is a bit like playing drums, every limb has something to do!