Need Tips for Tig Welding Please?

[James10]

Hi All

I am knew to Tig welding and would like some tips to improve tig welding.

1. What is the best movement to move the tig gun when you pushing welding puddle?
Should you zig zag the tig gun or make small circles with the tig gun?

2. As a beginner is it better to tig weld with 2.4mm filler wire?

3. If you welding 10mm mild steel together, what you should tig welding machine setting be?
Should it be on 90, 115 or 130?

4. How do you tig weld so that you have puddles that overlap?

5. What should your gas setting be? My gas setting is on 15? Should it be higher?

Regards James

 

[Richard.]

Hi, unfortunately no body is going to be able to teach you to tig weld in a post but we can point you in a sensible direction. Check out the tutorials on here also. Practice running beads along a plate until you have the basics of arc length and torch angle sorted. Then start adding filler. 10 degree pushing angle 2-3mm tungsten to work piece gap. The diameter of the filler wire is dependent on the current. Too thick and you will chill the pool too thin and you will be throwing it in. 10mm steel joint (learn the basics first) and unless it's a root your thinking off you will need a lot more current than you suggested. Gas around 6-8 LPM.

 

[hotrodder]

1. Neither as a general rule. A slight side to side weave is sometimes used when welding thicker sections that are gapped/prepped for full penetration
2. As said filler wire size depends on amperage amongst other things
3. TIG is generally used on thinner stuff as it's a relatively slow but precise process. Thick stuff and it's more usual to only use TIG for the initial root pass and even then more usually on pipe for it's precision... with plate it's more common to use a backer or weld from both sides which makes the precision of TIG less useful than speed/high metal deposition offered by other processes. Amperage for 10mm steel depends on various things like joint type... fillet weld or a butt weld for example as said
4. That's a byproduct of the way TIG typically works, the overlaps are just 'freeze lines' from each dab of filler wire or in the case of thick stuff the very slight weave motion. Google 'walking the cup TIG' and you'll find some vids that show the later. The former can be seen in the tutorial vids
5. 15 what? If you're working in CFH (cubic feet per hour) then it's in the ball park as 15CFH is ~ 7 litres per miute

 

[Richard.]

Walking the cup as said above requires quite a lot of skill to do it properly and there is not many situations where it is needed . I believe hotrodder has named the few above. The problem with adding any side to side movement with tig is unless you match your filling nicely with the motion you will suffer undercut as the arc cuts into the parent material and then moved away without sufficient filling. It sounds to me like your just starting out with the process. Clean up some plate and concentrate on straight and steady keep your filler low and dab it into the front of the pool (not across the arc) wear a glove on your filler hand to start cos if that filler touches the tungsten