First try at TIG
12-21-2007, 02:33 PM
#11
1.5 BAR
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 964
Re: First try at TIG
Originally Posted by t_cel_t
first those welds look like ----,
second what i did my first time was just get an arc going and only have the pedal pressed down far enough to just barely even melt the metal
on stainless your pool is only going to be like 1.5T to 2T or 2 thicknesses of the metal so learn to keep it that wide, and keep the tungston like 1-2mm above the metal, thats how you get penatration. and only dip your filler when you see that pool dropping.
second what i did my first time was just get an arc going and only have the pedal pressed down far enough to just barely even melt the metal
on stainless your pool is only going to be like 1.5T to 2T or 2 thicknesses of the metal so learn to keep it that wide, and keep the tungston like 1-2mm above the metal, thats how you get penatration. and only dip your filler when you see that pool dropping.
lol, thanks for the hints. hopefully i can improve on this next time. I was just excited I could get the metal to stick together. What would be a good amp setting for sch 40 SS?
12-29-2007, 09:40 PM
#13
1.0 BAR
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 209
Re: First try at TIG
yeah.. i was dumb *** and was welding in shorts and short sleave shirt.... :1
2hours or so...
lets say i was lucky... 1st degree burns up and down my arms and legs, Its not the fucken pain for 2 weeks its Itchy fucken skin and peeling.
i was rather be stung by 100 bee's or shot in the back with salt rock again..
its horribly frustrating.
when they say cover your ---- cover it...
2hours or so...
lets say i was lucky... 1st degree burns up and down my arms and legs, Its not the fucken pain for 2 weeks its Itchy fucken skin and peeling.
i was rather be stung by 100 bee's or shot in the back with salt rock again..
its horribly frustrating.
when they say cover your ---- cover it...
12-30-2007, 01:50 AM
#14
1.0 BAR
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 327
Re: First try at TIG
I always leave my amps all the way cranked. Because I can adjust it with my foot pedal. Just get good with your pedal and never touch the amps. There nothing worse then pressing all the way down...and not getting anything to melt. Set that heat HIGH!!
Also when your doing small puddles with stainless keep the point on the tungsten sharp as possible. and grind it so that the grind marks are going toward the point. It keeps the arc from wondering.
Another good tip..When your trying to fuse tack something. Hold the tungsten close, and tramp the pedal hard and quick.
Also when your doing small puddles with stainless keep the point on the tungsten sharp as possible. and grind it so that the grind marks are going toward the point. It keeps the arc from wondering.
Another good tip..When your trying to fuse tack something. Hold the tungsten close, and tramp the pedal hard and quick.
12-30-2007, 04:24 AM
#15
3.0 BAR
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 1,811
Re: First try at TIG
god damn quit welding on pipe now.
your technique on both is all wrong, your hands are too unsteady, there is surely tungsten inclusions (along with uncleaned base material & filler rods) everywhere. you rod angles are both wrong your electrode angles are all wrong, your travel speed is turtle slow along with your amperage being way too high which is why you've burned that stainless steel into something else.
looks worse than stick welding.
look what you need to do is spend about a month welding up 3/16" mild steel T joints until you can do something more complicated.
Drop the amperage on your TIG to 30-50amps. You do not have Michael Schumacher's 300 million dollar throttle foot. By leaving it at higher settings you're starting off with very poor resolution (too sensative) and it only gets worse as heat builds up and less amperage & more travelspeed are needed to compensate. Not to mention holding a tig pedal insessantly around 20-25% of the way down is for shitholes, while anyone slightly smarter will simply learn to set it where floored will do just a bit more than you need.
Turn your gas coverage down to 15cfh. You've no need for 20cfh.
Buy a gas lens and set it to 7.5-10cfh depending on what you're welding. (If you go weld T joints you'll be okay for what you're doing at 10cfh or slightly less on a regular descent size cup.)
Dude... Seriously... Quit welding on pipe 'cause you're jumping in a deep end that will take 500x longer to get out of by starting on pipe instead of being able to atleast run a straight bead.
And don't say you can stick metal together arc welding. Im not master arc welder but even I know how to get 7018 rods to weld themselves together by proping the stinger and wrapping the cables so don't sound like an uneducated african american. We're trying to reduce that population.
AFA the contamination, visually anytime you see the arc color change. Anytime you get the electrode too close (without touching) to anything else you'll get tungsten migration across the arc even if you don't see it. Even if you're not walking the cup. There is nothing stopping you from resting the edge of the gas lens to the workpiece to steady your hand; provided your work and travel angles are still correct.
You can also see the tungsten erroding away. You should be using a sharp tungsten with a trunctuated point. At the amperages you'll need the tungsten should not round over. (it will, but only the small trunctuated portion) It will round over, become lopsided and or fuzzy looking. Not only are you contaminating the weld, but you loose control of the arc as it starts to wander and become odd-shaped.
When using a tungsten on ferrous materials do not grind it on anything that has ground non ferrous materials like aluminum. Tungstens are like throwing sticks in a campfire. Once it's done, it's done. Don't use it on something else b/c you're simply continuing to cross contaminate.
your technique on both is all wrong, your hands are too unsteady, there is surely tungsten inclusions (along with uncleaned base material & filler rods) everywhere. you rod angles are both wrong your electrode angles are all wrong, your travel speed is turtle slow along with your amperage being way too high which is why you've burned that stainless steel into something else.
looks worse than stick welding.
look what you need to do is spend about a month welding up 3/16" mild steel T joints until you can do something more complicated.
Drop the amperage on your TIG to 30-50amps. You do not have Michael Schumacher's 300 million dollar throttle foot. By leaving it at higher settings you're starting off with very poor resolution (too sensative) and it only gets worse as heat builds up and less amperage & more travelspeed are needed to compensate. Not to mention holding a tig pedal insessantly around 20-25% of the way down is for shitholes, while anyone slightly smarter will simply learn to set it where floored will do just a bit more than you need.
Turn your gas coverage down to 15cfh. You've no need for 20cfh.
Buy a gas lens and set it to 7.5-10cfh depending on what you're welding. (If you go weld T joints you'll be okay for what you're doing at 10cfh or slightly less on a regular descent size cup.)
Dude... Seriously... Quit welding on pipe 'cause you're jumping in a deep end that will take 500x longer to get out of by starting on pipe instead of being able to atleast run a straight bead.
And don't say you can stick metal together arc welding. Im not master arc welder but even I know how to get 7018 rods to weld themselves together by proping the stinger and wrapping the cables so don't sound like an uneducated african american. We're trying to reduce that population.
AFA the contamination, visually anytime you see the arc color change. Anytime you get the electrode too close (without touching) to anything else you'll get tungsten migration across the arc even if you don't see it. Even if you're not walking the cup. There is nothing stopping you from resting the edge of the gas lens to the workpiece to steady your hand; provided your work and travel angles are still correct.
You can also see the tungsten erroding away. You should be using a sharp tungsten with a trunctuated point. At the amperages you'll need the tungsten should not round over. (it will, but only the small trunctuated portion) It will round over, become lopsided and or fuzzy looking. Not only are you contaminating the weld, but you loose control of the arc as it starts to wander and become odd-shaped.
When using a tungsten on ferrous materials do not grind it on anything that has ground non ferrous materials like aluminum. Tungstens are like throwing sticks in a campfire. Once it's done, it's done. Don't use it on something else b/c you're simply continuing to cross contaminate.
12-31-2007, 12:21 AM
#16
1.5 BAR
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 964
Re: First try at TIG
Thanks for the advice. I've been too busy tearin apart my 94 Si to have any free time to play with the welder anymore. But hopefully I can improve some. Once new years rolls by I want to see if there is any metal suppliers in my area I can get some steel from to practice on, because frankly all I have is sch. 40 ss pipe for manifolds and some flanges.\
I knew about the cross contamination for the grinder, so I bought a cheap Craftsman grinder, and I have dedicated the finer grit wheel to only tungsten. But can you grind different kinds (colors) of tungsten on the same wheel and not worry about contamination? I don't have a gas lense, but since everyone either 'loves theirs' or recomends it I guess I'll be making a call to Arcet or Airgas soon. Anyone know of a good place online I might find some?
Thanks,
Blake
I knew about the cross contamination for the grinder, so I bought a cheap Craftsman grinder, and I have dedicated the finer grit wheel to only tungsten. But can you grind different kinds (colors) of tungsten on the same wheel and not worry about contamination? I don't have a gas lense, but since everyone either 'loves theirs' or recomends it I guess I'll be making a call to Arcet or Airgas soon. Anyone know of a good place online I might find some?
Thanks,
Blake
12-31-2007, 01:27 AM
#17
3.0 BAR
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 1,811
Re: First try at TIG
Originally Posted by onlyflash944
Thanks for the advice. I've been too busy tearin apart my 94 Si to have any free time to play with the welder anymore. But hopefully I can improve some. Once new years rolls by I want to see if there is any metal suppliers in my area I can get some steel from to practice on, because frankly all I have is sch. 40 ss pipe for manifolds and some flanges.\
I knew about the cross contamination for the grinder, so I bought a cheap Craftsman grinder, and I have dedicated the finer grit wheel to only tungsten. But can you grind different kinds (colors) of tungsten on the same wheel and not worry about contamination? I don't have a gas lense, but since everyone either 'loves theirs' or recomends it I guess I'll be making a call to Arcet or Airgas soon. Anyone know of a good place online I might find some?
Thanks,
Blake
I knew about the cross contamination for the grinder, so I bought a cheap Craftsman grinder, and I have dedicated the finer grit wheel to only tungsten. But can you grind different kinds (colors) of tungsten on the same wheel and not worry about contamination? I don't have a gas lense, but since everyone either 'loves theirs' or recomends it I guess I'll be making a call to Arcet or Airgas soon. Anyone know of a good place online I might find some?
Thanks,
Blake
http://store.weldingdepot.com/cgi/we...ml?id=b9c5vwft
You can grind all the tungstens, but don't grind one that's welded on aluminum on something else.
https://www.homemadeturbo.com/forum/...?topic=80885.0
read that thread. pretty much the same boat as he was on.
