I have had my Lincoln TIG for about 6 months now. I have gotten pretty good (I think so anyway) considering I pretty much just bought the TIG, read the manual, read posts on here, and practiced some.

My welds are pretty descent, and I always do the best pre-clean possible. I put alot of focus on penetration and my bead profile, which I feel I have improved alot, but I still feel like my knowledge to improve further is lacking. I feel like I have plateau'd, and am not getting any better.

I really want to get to that robotic TIG weld we are all after, but I think I need a better understanding of what is needed. I see alot of people adjusting gas flow for various applications, and I am just wondering what signs are available to know when you need more or less. Is there some way to tell?

Also, how can you tell what is too hot, versus just right on mild, stainless, and aluminum? I see some peoples welds look pretty good, yet they say it is too hot...just wondering how I can judge correctly?

Lastly...and I am almost embarrased to ask because I feel I should know, but I just can't find it or have it explained. What the hell is a gas lense? I see people saying what a benefit it is, and I assume it just increases the welds protection of the inert gas's "shield", but I just haven't seen what it looks like and how much it costs.

I know that's alot of questions, but that's what a forum's for right . Thanks

 

I usually just weld at 17 CFM on anything i weld... only time i turn it up is if i have to extend the tungsten out of the cup a little more to get at a weld in a tight space.. then i turn it upto about 25CFM.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RC000E &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Lastly...and I am almost embarrased to ask because I feel I should know, but I just can't find it or have it explained. What the hell is a gas lense? I see people saying what a benefit it is, and I assume it just increases the welds protection of the inert gas's "shield", but I just haven't seen what it looks like and how much it costs.

I know that's alot of questions, but that's what a forum's for right . Thanks</TD></TR></TABLE>

How about I answer this one...

A gas lense is a fine mesh disk that is part of your torch. To get the location, the lense screws into the torch body, and then the cup screws onto the lense.

It helps give a better argon distribution because a) It forces the gas to leave the torch in a uniform way (instead of having a higher flow rate on one side of the cup), and b) it acts as a flow straightener, removing the turbulence from the gas as it's leaving the cup (this helps because turbulant gas tends to draw fingers of regular air into the work area).

 

Well, I have been keeping my flow at about 17-19 cfm all the time, so I guess that's cool.

Thanks on the gas lense info...I actually got a pm about it as well, so thanks to that person.

 

thin stainless im around 10... aluminum i crank it up... 4130 i keep around 15-20 as well as other steels... try differant setting and see what works best for u... gas lens and cup size are factors as well imo to what flow is best