Yet another 1st TIG weld post

[Lanzecki]

Hi,

While this is not my first TIG weld, It's my 4th. The other 3 were mess ups such as realising the gas was off, And that the tungsten should be negative.

Now I've got a proper bottle of gas I'm good to go.

I have ARC and MIG welded for years and recently got a few hours on gas welding which I think set me up for TIG.

I'd welcome comments on my first offical welds :

Picture 1 is the front. Picture 2 is the back.

Paraweld XTI121 Invertor. Lift Tig. 100Amps on the bottom weld, 80 on the top. 8 LPM. 2mm steel. 1.6mm Thorated tungsten, 1.6mm rod

 

[Shox Dr]

Not a bad start. You will find a world of different if the mill scale is removed from the area to be welded. In TIG welding the first and last word is CLEAN

 

[outofstepper]

good start! shox is correct, clean is better. if you don't have an angle
grinder even some acetone and a wire brush will make a world of diff.

this is a guess here, but i'd suggest you take some weight off of your
torch hand and drag it along as consistently as you can.. it looks like youre
pivoting on the heal of your torch hand and welding in 1" spurts.

but I could be wrong.

keep it at it; good start.

-Tony

 

[Llundberg]

I wish my first attempts on steel looked like that. I can't even imagine what mine would have looked like on alu if I tried that first go.

 

[Lanzecki]

Thanks for the info. I cleaned the next peices (flap wheel) and the weld was move consistent. It was better on the back as well.


I was having problems keeping a constant speed. A No12 glass in my welding helmet didn't help as I was having problems seeing where I wanted to weld. Changing to a No.10 Has helped. Pitty my auto helnet doesn't seem to like tig that much.

So that and poor technique was causing the lack of a straight line.

So I shouldn't be resting my arm's weight on the table? Seems understandable. Hard to do though

I shall have to practice more.

A few questions : Should I have that much on the weld on the back? I'm used to mig, and I wouldn't want that much. I guess it's just too many amps?

Also the welding video's are great, but are vertical and upside down welds possible with TIG? I realise it would be very hard, but is it technically possible?

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[hotrodder]

I think that the 'drunken stagger' appearance of the weld had Tony thinking you were putting too much weight on your hand/arm/elbow and moving the torch in an arc as a result. Not being able to see properly is a better excuse Most do something to steady themselves/make life easier whether it's resting an elbow, hand or at least (lightly) using a finger/knuckle to gauge arc length when there's nothing to lean on. Some pipe welders use a technique known as 'walking the cup' where the ceramic is literally walked along the weld joint but we're getting ahead of ourselves and that technique has limited applications

Yeah, can weld vertical up, down (some caveats) and overhead with TIG just like other processes. Gets to be real fun when you're, say, contorted into a pretzel inside a rollcage with tubes digging you in the ribs and you can still only get the torch in there with your non dominant hand and/or need a mirror to see what you're doing

Weld reinforcement... it'll improve with time, without a root gap you're relying on weldpool appearance to gauge complete pen. When learning and struggling with maintaining a consistant arc length and travel speed it's not easy. Thin sheet aside it's more usual to have a root gap for butt welds, say gapping the plates to the width of the filler wire. You can then see the edges melting and keep filling the keyhole (before it gets too big!). With practice root pen can be very consistant and typically slightly over flush

 

[Lanzecki]

Drunken staggers I was as sober as a judge. Until I finished playing in the workshop. Beer is for play

I was thinking about it and I was resting my arm on the workbench and rotating around my wrist. Once I got too far away from the join I was having to reset. I guess it's just a case or practice.

Or maybe I've created a whole new style

Thanks for the info. espically about the penetration.