Tig Progress.

[Willl]

Im going to start this thread to keep track of my tig skills, which so far are non-existent but that'll hopefully change. As some of you know a while back I bought a parweld 202, due to loads of factors I've not been able to have a go until today, and even now I'm not sure where my filler is and I only had a few minutes so it was quick and autogenous, which sounds dirty. Anyway, on to the pics.



Material is 4mm hot rolled mild steel with the millscale taken off. Various attempts with different torch grips and amps between 100-150. Not much to look at but its a start. More to follow as I keep writing the same damn post over and over and when I change tabs to get the pics I return and only half the draft is saved.

 

[Willl]

So I then decided to do what everyone learning to weld does, and try to stick stuff together without understanding the core principles of what I'm doing. Attempt number one, roughly 50 amps, 1mm mild sheet, credit card sized, uh, card for scale.

 

[Willl]

Attempt number 2, not quite as successful, my helmet went super dark for some reason and I couldn't really see, hence to wavy burnt away edges.

 

[Willl]

Attempt number 3, went a bit better, the hole at the bottom was me starting off the arc without really thinking about what I was doing and the one at the top was me staying in one spot too long to taper off and dipping the tungsten. Oh well.

 

[Willl]

I then concluded I had mastered tig and started on my first project. I remembered see the batman that someone has drawn in tig weld, with all the pretty rainbow colours, and I thought "how hard can it be?"...



































It didn't go to plan. A pun about the dark knight rising or something? Give me a break I've been up for about 25 hours.

 

[Richard.]

Start immediately with filler rod will. There are very few occasions especially with mild steel where your going to be running without it so your not actually practicing tig welding as its very much a 2 handed process. You will find it harder but that's the process and that's where ideally you want to be starting out. Good luck.

 

[Miggy89]

^^ as above get some filler rod & start laying a few beads with that then move on & try butts again

 

[Willl]

Yeah I get its a bit pointless, I've got some new rods coming in the post to replace the lost ones (our house flooded a bit since I lost them so they've probably rusted anyway). This was just a case of finally having all the parts, welder, gas, steel, etc. to have a go and get some time with the torch in my hand. I might pop to boc tomorrow to get a small pack until the others turn up.

 

[Freddy0309]

Yeah I get its a bit pointless, I've got some new rods coming in the post to replace the lost ones (our house flooded a bit since I lost them so they've probably rusted anyway). This was just a case of finally having all the parts, welder, gas, steel, etc. to have a go and get some time with the torch in my hand. I might pop to boc tomorrow to get a small pack until the others turn up.

What part of Berkshire are you? If near Swindon your more the welcome to a handful of ms rods

 

[Willl]

I'm in Bracknell mate, but it's all sorted now, I really appreciate the offer though.

 

[Freddy0309]

No worries bud

 

[Willl]

Right, had my first go with filler yesterday, I obviously need a lot of practice! 1.6 filler and 2.4 lanthanated tungsten. Very inconsistent, I need to work on arc length and torch angle, it starts right but goes to hell over time. Also nursing some sore sunburned biceps!

Here we go, roughly in chronological order:

 

[Willl]

 

[Willl]

 

[Willl]

Collection of ruined electrodes.

 

[Miggy89]

not to bad that iv seen worse, you seem to be heading in the right direction keep at it & try to get consistancy then youll crack it. how thick is that sheet metal you mite be better off using a 1.6 tungsten

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Collection of ruined electrodes.

I can turn those out at will...... [no pun intended ]

 

[Richard.]

Miles better mate.
You have dabbed a few tungstens but that's the way it goes when learning.
Nice attempts with filler.
We can have a look at perfecting those on 24th
Tig welding is all about starting off right then maintaining consistency. Keep a tight arc. I can see from your tungstens its been very tight at times
A tight arc all the time makes everything else much easier to control. Keep em coming will.

 

[Willl]

Thanks, definitely a work in progress, so far my total practice time with filler comes in at less than 15 minutes but apparently that's plenty of time to burn my arms.
Also speaking of burning, any of the welds that look dodgy at the end are where my filler hand was half an inch from the weld and the arc length went to about 4 inches as my gloves caught fire. Miggy, it's 4mm mild plate.

MOD: Edited for language

 

[Willl]

Today's efforts, the horizontal beads on the near side.