tigging for a hr or so

[davidjohnperry]

hey guys and girls as work let us go early to watch fool ball I thought I'd use my time to brush off some tig welding it's not the best steel I could of used but it's all I had and I really need a flat bench but I hope I'm going in the right direction my filler metal has started to oxide as Well. So I tacked up 4 pieces of metal and just went for it.
100 amps
6mm steel
it's probs a bit cold.
and I stress in all welding forms I'm self taught.
I'll go sit in the corner

 

[langy]

You would find it easier using clean material but good effort

 

[davidjohnperry]

agreed matey but it's all I could find at the time in work I need a flat surface to rest as I got carpool tunnel in my torch hand the raised edges of my rigid tri pod bench is quite difficult to get comfortable so my hand shakes a bit after a while

 

[Richard.]

Wowsas
Your filling arm must of been flicking like a bad bulb in a strip light. Slow that up a bit. On material that thick you are always gonna be one pace ahead to fill at and travel at intervals that suit you as much as the joint.
Get your pool going and when you fill do it a less frequently but for longer at a time.
There isn't anything wrong with what your doing but it's not a controlled technique. Try a dab a second and see how you get on. Thinner gage you might go faster

 

[davidjohnperry]

it will take a while as I don't get much time with this process it's a Shame I quite enjoy it I don't dab I just feed I keep my hand still ish just slide the wire through my fingers

 

[langy]

agreed matey but it's all I could find at the time in work I need a flat surface to rest as I got carpool tunnel in my torch hand the raised edges of my rigid tri pod bench is quite difficult to get comfortable so my hand shakes a bit after a while

It's well worth waiting for better material or making an effort to get it as clean as possible,.
When feeding the rod put more in but bigger time gaps

 

[davidjohnperry]

ok guys I'll see what I can do I can probs get some tomorrow I'll use my flap disk to clean all the mill scale off and I'll use clean grinding wheel for sharping my tungsten I know I'm like the worst person to attempt tig welding but when ur only option is a scrap yard where the workshops a s hole and everything is dirty

 

[Kent]

I really respect your enthusiasm for the job. It's so hard to comprehend nobody has snatched you up and taken you under thier wing
Good keen staff are so hard to find and skilled ones soon become premadonas and a pain to have around

 

[davidjohnperry]

altho I did struggle I'm using a gas Lens but it might be I'm using s**t filler wire material I'm keeping a tight arc Trying to keep the filler metal just in the shielding gas but it still sometimes balls up the filler wire

 

[T0rnado69]

I got carpool tunnel in my torch hand

it aint easy is it, i got it in both wrists along with arthritis in all finger and thumb joints...
find it hard to feed the thin wire and keeping the wire in the shielding gas.....
but il keep practising when i can.

 

[Richard.]

altho I did struggle I'm using a gas Lens but it might be I'm using s**t filler wire material I'm keeping a tight arc Trying to keep the filler metal just in the shielding gas but it still sometimes balls up the filler wire

Your welds don't look contaminated so don't stress about all those things too much.
The wire balling up before it's made it too the pool is because your melting it across the arc.
Keep your arc tight to the job and it won't happen.

 

[davidjohnperry]

ok mate I'll try that there are a few holes in the other side of the lap joint from either crud of metal or filler

 

[davidjohnperry]

If you like food book a Greenwich Village Food Tour on line. You get a guided tour of the Village plus samples of five or six different New York dishes. La Mela on Mulberry has great Italian food at reasonable prices. The Lower East Side Tenement Museum shows what immigrant life was like in 1900s New York. The Top of the Rock on the Rockefeller Centre is less crowded than the Empire State building and is nearly as tall. Riding the subway is fun but be careful as trains marked "Express" don't stop at all stations.
Sam Adams is a drinkable attempt at beer but if you fancy a bottle of Bass or even Watneys Red Barrel, together with cursing and rugby on the TV, get along to the Red Lion on Bleeker, off Broadway.
I lived in New York for 5 years - loved every minute.

I really respect your enthusiasm for the job. It's so hard to comprehend nobody has snatched you up and taken you under thier wing
Good keen staff are so hard to find and skilled ones soon become premadonas and a pain to have around

I think it's my age even where I'm working now I had a day mig welding training and 3 months fab training been on my own for the last year and a bit. Don't think I'm amazing or anything I have made quite a few booboos along the road but if I can keep pushing my stick and tig skills I might just become a pipe welder

 

[HughF]

When I come and see you, see if you can get some argon and we can have a play with the tig, either off my engine drive or with your thermal arc.

 

[davidjohnperry]

I've got a bottle mate and I can buy a rent free I'd need be

 

[ikb]

agreed matey but it's all I could find at the time in work I need a flat surface to rest as I got carpool tunnel in my torch hand the raised edges of my rigid tri pod bench is quite difficult to get comfortable so my hand shakes a bit after a while

That Carpal Tunnel syndrome is a real bind!
I had both hands fixed under a GP referral by the NHS Patients Choice system maybe 20 years ago - I am 75 now - and both hand were fixed straight away and are still good. Sometimes the op doesn't work apparently. Maybe I was lucky.

 

[davidjohnperry]

I'll try and get it done next year mate at the moment I'd rather bear and grin it this year. I don't need the money as such but if I have kids in the next few years I'll need as much behind me as possible

 

[Freddy0309]

What torch do you use? I've recently started using a weldcraft flexi head torch and a slight tweak up and I notice I've got a bit longer before my hands start to shake (got a problem with my nervous system) not sure if it would help with carpal problems but may be able to tweak it to find a comfier position

 

[davidjohnperry]

Hello matey I use a tweeko tig tourch that came with the machine I used to have a scratch start tig torch and I preferred it to that one but I lost it. I've got a fixed one on the migatronic but they are both bulky. I've asked on various threads about torches but for how much they are and how much tig I do I can't justify the price I like keeping my hand in it just in case a job ever comes up but I mig weld day to day and stick weld repairs on site for dad. Like I said I quite enjoy it tig welding but till I get a bit of space sorted and some free time it's a skill I need to perfect but not just yet if that makes sence

 

[Freddy0309]

Makes sense to me, if your ever near Swindon your more then welcome to pop in and try one out