New to Tig Welding "How Hard Can It Be" ?

[I'm getting on a bit]

I have a couple of projects in mind that have to stay secret

So i have to practice to tig weld

In my engineering background i have stick welded using "Oil cooled Welders"

Oxy Acetylene

At my home i have used a buzz box and mig, which i still have which is a Murex Tradesmig 251

Soldering lead using an iron "Yes it is very similar to tig"

So i have an R-Tech 210ext and watercooler using a WP20 torch

My first goes are on square steel tube

Okay not too bad

This was my 5th attempt

6th and 7th welds

I was confident to repair a block paving cutter that i bought on ebay that had been left to rust no pics of that

I then had a go at thin stuff 0.6mm stainless

These are beads and an overlap but using 1.6 steel filler as i didn't have any stainless

Okay this is a corner weld autogenous 3 tacks using an angle for support

Starting from the right i had the amps to high 35 and well you can see the result
Dropped to 20 and things went a lot easier

So now time to turn to ali and where it all went pear shaped

Yes well this is where i started looking at threads like "My welder won't weld ali" as neither did mine
but i finally started to get a bit of a bead going
The pictures are front and back of the same piece

So now to have a go at some proper welding

The top weld was the first weld 3mm plate autogenous at the end i had a bit of a slump then i lowered the amps to 110 from 120
The bottom was the 5th weld using an oversize IMHO 2.4mm filler

My second attempt was the external corner not all one run but it sorted the slump issue
The top fillets were done with the piece rotated 180 degrees as shown this would be the 4th joint

All the welds well done one after another and the piece was getting a bit hot and my belief why weld 5 fillet was looking a bit saggy

The steel tubing is 20x20 2mm wall

The big ali plate is 65x185 5mm

The other pieces of ali is 3 off 25x180 x 3mm

I await your comments with bated breath

 

[skotl]

I've never tried TIG, but I expect that when I finally get round to it that my results will be worse than yours

Some of these look not too bad. There you go, faint praise from someone who's never done it

 

[zx9]

I know you have got a new tool and it is tempting to play with all it's functions but sometimes you have to slow down a bit, take things one material or joint at a time. Try posting more info on individual set ups and you will get more useful feedback.

 

[Richard.]

Wow. Talk about all in a days work. I agree with both replies from the guys above. They don't look too bad at all for a first try and yes you need to hit the brakes a bit.
The top welds on mild steel box look a little on the hot side hens the wide sinking run and under cut. The stainless. Well don't bother untill you've got some filler or just concentrate on autogenous runs. Ensure a good fit up lower current again 25ish amps per mm good gas coverage and pick up the travel speed. The Alu is looking ok especially the outside corner joint on Ali pic 2. Don't bother autogenous welding aluminium unless it's a tack up. The charectoristics of Alu make such a thing really difficult as it tends to run away from you once heat is building up and using filler gives you control over that. I would be looking to perfect DC welding before moving on. You've set yourself a lot of work if you intend to get all those joints in those materials spot on. But hey good luck and nice job so far.

 

[Leetig]

Ok so for the mild steel tubing it looks like you have way too long an arc. The bead looks very wide. Arc length along with clean metal and torch angle are the key for success in tig. My advise is to master the mild steel tubing before attempting anything else.

 

[I'm getting on a bit]

Hi guys thanks for the responses i don't need telling that i have a long way to go as my welds are only passable

It was a lighthearted attempt to counter the negative threads about how much problem some people are having, Noods springs to mind

I would like to know what torches you tig welders are using up to 150/200 amps because to my mind the biggest barrier to a beginner getting decent welds is the torch supplied or the beginner buys a cheap torch that is so big and unwieldy and makes controlling that torch an almost impossible task due to the very fact they are beginners therefore have no experience of using a small light flexible torch.

 

[I'm getting on a bit]

One useful tip i found useful myself was just run along a flat surface to get a good arc and see a reflection of the electrode in the molten pool no trying to lay beads because if you can't do even that then you need to be able to do whatever it takes to be able to do it. This should be the number one lesson in my book.

In my case it was a small torch and water cooler

 

[Richard.]

You have a cooler. I suggest wp20 is your ticket. If you like really small intricate stuff then a wp24 is good for 150 amps. I use a weld craft unswitched and an older style esab thx switched both wp20 flex head.

 

[langy]

Hi guys thanks for the responses i don't need telling that i have a long way to go as my welds are only passable

It was a lighthearted attempt to counter the negative threads about how much problem some people are having, Noods springs to mind

I would like to know what torches you tig welders are using up to 150/200 amps because to my mind the biggest barrier to a beginner getting decent welds is the torch supplied or the beginner buys a cheap torch that is so big and unwieldy and makes controlling that torch an almost impossible task due to the very fact they are beginners therefore have no experience of using a small light flexible torch.

I learnt using a WP26, in my opinion once you have mastered the 26 you can weld with anything so it's a good idea.

 

[norlander]

I learnt using a WP26, in my opinion once you have mastered the 26 you can weld with anything so it's a good idea.

I agree, I started with lift TIG WP9V, then had a clonking greet 26, I did sort of master it in the end, but as you can imagine, coming from a diddy 9 to a 26 was a bit of a shock.
But we had a saying in my old army mob "Train hard, fight easy" you can get the sexy light kit later on, but learning on the basic kit can pay dividends.
The other thing about TIG is, the actual welding and manipulation of the torch and filler is one thing, but getting the settings right, and getting into position to put the bead down are way more critical than any other process in my limited experience.
So, always start off with the less sexy kit, get to grips with that, and you can fall back on it if the sexy kit goes off line.
Bit like modern cars and motorbikes with ABS, traction Control etc, learn to drive/ride thru the seat of your pants first, fancy kit can pack up and you are back to basics on a wet road at night with loadsa roundabouts.

 

[langy]

I agree, I started with lift TIG WP9V, then had a clonking greet 26, I did sort of master it in the end, but as you can imagine, coming from a diddy 9 to a 26 was a bit of a shock.
But we had a saying in my old army mob "Train hard, fight easy" you can get the sexy light kit later on, but learning on the basic kit can pay dividends.
The other thing about TIG is, the actual welding and manipulation of the torch and filler is one thing, but getting the settings right, and getting into position to put the bead down are way more critical than any other process in my limited experience.
So, always start off with the less sexy kit, get to grips with that, and you can fall back on it if the sexy kit goes off line.
Bit like modern cars and motorbikes with ABS, traction Control etc, learn to drive/ride thru the seat of your pants first, fancy kit can pack up and you are back to basics on a wet road at night with loadsa roundabouts.

Totally agree John, its a bit like the time when i was doing a slalom course in my T bucket running on crossplys, a guy said to me they ain't no good, But I went through a slalom course 2 seconds quicker than someone in a daily on radials !!!

 

[norlander]

Totally agree John, its a bit like the time when i was doing a slalom course in my T bucket running on crossplys, a guy said to me they ain't no good, But I went through a slalom course 2 seconds quicker than someone in a daily on radials !!!

excellent pics, yeah, sometimes it aint what ya got, its wot you can feel the limits of of what you have.

 

[PSweeney]

I'm not great at TIG but I can lay a reasonable bead in a comfy position. Three things helped me.

1, Cut stock, set yourself up properly with clean metal, the right gas flow, properly ground tungsten and the right settings and then practice with deliberate attention to arc length, torch angle and travel speed. No need to lay 6in beads in the hope the end will be better than the start. Lay 1in beads, work out what went wrong, adjust your settings / technique until the bead improves. Don't just plow on, stop and work out what you need to change and you'll improve quicker

2, Fillet welds is where it came together for me. The 90 degree angle forces you to adjust the tungsten length to achieve the arc length and you can creep up on the amps required to fuse the two surfaces.

3, Take the weight off the torch hand. Prop you're hand and support the cable. I go to extreme lengths when welding out of position with clamps and all sorts to give me the best chance of achieving a decent weld.

 

[norlander]

Get some new clean mild steel, stainless, and ali. All the same thickness. Weld butt joints, then laps, outside corners, drill some holes and fill them. When it goes right, note your settings down-preferably on the practice piece itself and keep it.
Then get same materials but different thickness and practice joining them. Then practice fillets flat to flat and tube to flat, same thickness, then differing thickness, then get used materials and practice on them to simulate repairs.
Thats what I have been doing, and you know what? -I'm still crap

 

[I'm getting on a bit]

I forgot one picture of my last practice piece before i felt comfortable doing welds for real ending bottom left

 

[norlander]

looks similar to where I was, before going for a joint (not a morrocan woodbine), I have a pedal now, but I think I reduced the "crater" at the end by backing up,doing a little circle and a dab of filler, but best let a more experience bloke comment on that. some beads I left like that as a "ramp" to start my next bead on, because I tend to keep runs shortish for what I do at the mo.
I also kept them short because as you will have found, the job heats up fast with ali, and the beads start getting fatter.
Pedal helps again there I am finding out.
still, its getting more fun than frustration with the practice now, hope you are finding that too.