keep in mind this is the first time i have picked up a TIG, i was just trying out some of the different settings. i also want to make a battery box so i wanted to see if i couald seam a 90 degree angle. this was on 16 gauge mild steel with mild filler rod @ 18cfm of argon, and red tip tungsten.

i know i need alot of practice

 

mild steel will never look too pimp its just the plain reality of it. Be sure to clean the metal before you weld...and grind your tungsten on its OWN wheel, and grind it with the tungsten not on its side, but straight up so that it leaves grooves that go to the point(if you catch my drift)

what size filler rod are you using? You should be using the smallest possible rod that you can find. notice that the metal pops and sputters at you? thats just mild steel. try around 40-60 amps and dont forget to actually use the pedal dont just floor it.

good job keep up the practice

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ~RTErnie~ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">mild steel will never look too pimp its just the plain reality of it. Be sure to clean the metal before you weld...and grind your tungsten on its OWN wheel, and grind it with the tungsten not on its side, but straight up so that it leaves grooves that go to the point(if you catch my drift)

what size filler rod are you using? You should be using the smallest possible rod that you can find. notice that the metal pops and sputters at you? thats just mild steel. try around 40-60 amps and dont forget to actually use the pedal dont just floor it.

good job keep up the practice </TD></TR></TABLE>


thanks very much for the input, i have seen a lot of your work and it is killer.

the rod i was using was rather large i wanna say 1/8th. i bought some stainless rod too but i was gonna grab some SS pipe and have a go at it.

i did some pipe welds on some intercooler piping, and as long as i clean and bevel the pipe ends on angle it goes together very well and minimal filler was needed. it sat very nice in the groove

i figure in about a year i will pretty decent at TIG'ing, thanks

 

try to weld the pipes by fusing them(no filler rod just heat)....once you can do that...your joints on your pipes are really good. thank you for the compliment

I use SS rod on everything...i find it doesn't sputter and "calms" the metal down. I got some .035" from Burnstainless...omg that **** is perfect for 16 gauge. 1/8" is .125" so its a little bigger than 1/32 I guess I use 3/32 rod on schedule 10.

pay attention to your heat, pay attention to you torch angle and how you hold your torch. You'll see patterns and find out what works for you, I learned from lots of practice and stumbling onto things that just work. (wasn't what you were intending on doing, but the ending result was better than what you originally planned)

just start making random ****...and try to make it as nice as possible.

After about 40 hours you get to be pretty proficient...after 100 you can weld most anything decent...after 200 you have some style way beyond that you turn into one of the guys @ FR or Engloid.

 

at work we have a 130 dc only scratch start tig, but with 16ga mild steel boxes, i find it works well and looks good if you just melt the 90deg seam together with no filler. its all about how you fit the corner, and if you keep your torch pointed more towards 90deg rather than a 45 it helps to prevent burn throughs. hth

 

thanks guys

on the corner of that box i really did mostly "seam" it and just pushed the puddle downward.

also like you said RTErnie i tried a couple weird techiques and they work well, for some reason if i insert the filler behind the torch in the puddle it comes out better, and with the heat it just walks its way into the weld and fuses

i know this probably isnt correct but it seems to work nice for me

and for only working with this thing for a few hours i think with some practice i can be a mildly decent welder.

im gonna try to do my own cage in a few weeks

 

ernie how in the world do you get that mild steel splatters at all? No offense intended at all but I have never had that problem. They only issues I've ever had with mild steel is a wandering puddle which is due to contamination. I respect your work and skills so maybe we are just refering to the same thing but using different terms and causing a confusion?

To the OP I'm confused about your description of "adding the filler behind the torch". If that works at all you must be holding your tungsten quite some distance from the work piece at a strange angle.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by I4sillypwr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ernie how in the world do you get that mild steel splatters at all? No offense intended at all but I have never had that problem. They only issues I've ever had with mild steel is a wandering puddle which is due to contamination. I respect your work and skills so maybe we are just refering to the same thing but using different terms and causing a confusion?

To the OP I'm confused about your description of "adding the filler behind the torch". If that works at all you must be holding your tungsten quite some distance from the work piece at a strange angle. </TD></TR></TABLE>

its kinda hard to explain:

i start the puddle with the torch, Torch in my right hand filler rod in left. if i move from right to left, the filler is added in front of the torch into the puddle, and i can get it to do well.

but if i hold everything in the same configuration but move from Left to Right, never changing anything, i can still add the filler but at the back of the puddle where it is still hot and will disperse into the heat and blend with the metal


like i said its hard to explain but has kinda worked well so far, and i did say its probably NOT proper welding protocol

 

its called dragging as opposed to pushing and no it is no the proper way to tig weld with more practice you will get good results with pushing.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by I4sillypwr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">its called dragging as opposed to pushing and no it is no the proper way to tig weld with more practice you will get good results with pushing. </TD></TR></TABLE>


yeah i was figuring it wasnt proper but i am determined to put in an hour or so a nite( sleeping disorders can be good!) i wanna be up tp par with you guys one day

 

One thing that helps alot of new TIG welders is to intentionally blow a hole through a piece of metal. Alot of new people don't get full penetration, but if you strike an arc and blow a couple holes intentionally, you get an idea of what its like. Hope that helps.

 

Good advice from Niles. You'll then know what it looks like...and once you get the hang of blowing holes...you should be able to hear a slight difference right before it blows through...so then you know if your doing a project, and hear that slightly different tone...move faster or back off the pedal.
1/8" filler is WAY to big for thin sheet metal too. You probably had problems with the filler getting stuck to the base metal, and was somewhat hard to pull back away from the puddle huh? On really thin stuff, use silicon bronze filler wire. It has alot lower melting point, so uses less heat, therefore minimizes warpage. Dont be afraid to use that stainless filler on mild steel either...it will work fine and create a really strong weld.
Keep up the good work. Youll have it mastered in no time!
Kyle

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by blueoval557 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Good advice from Niles. You'll then know what it looks like...and once you get the hang of blowing holes...you should be able to hear a slight difference right before it blows through...so then you know if your doing a project, and hear that slightly different tone...move faster or back off the pedal.
1/8" filler is WAY to big for thin sheet metal too. You probably had problems with the filler getting stuck to the base metal, and was somewhat hard to pull back away from the puddle huh? On really thin stuff, use silicon bronze filler wire. It has alot lower melting point, so uses less heat, therefore minimizes warpage. Dont be afraid to use that stainless filler on mild steel either...it will work fine and create a really strong weld.
Keep up the good work. Youll have it mastered in no time!
Kyle</TD></TR></TABLE>

thanks much guys, i do back out and try some stainless filler on the mild steel and it does look better and seems to lay easier.

i did some of the blow hole techniques just to see how long it would actually take for me to do this on various settings

also yes the big filler rod was getting stuck a few times i would like to get some smaller but all they had was 1/8th. i think that is some of the issue too cause i think im getting TOO much penetration as i can flip over the plate and see little metal rain drops, but i need the heat to help melt the filler........so i probably should get some smaller rod


thanks for all the help

Tig is sooo much more fun to weld than MIG, i wish i had bought one years ago, i really like how you can slow it down ans speed it up and not have to worry about the wire just pouring onto your work area

 

Ya if you are ever stuck for smaller filler sizes try looking in the mig section and by a roll of smaller mig wire and just straigten it out....just a suggestion because everything will come easier with smaller filler

Or maybe some coat hangers lol

 

Nice guy i get my tigg soon can not wait to start nuking some **** lol

What one u have i can not see if u posted

 

Awsome, keep us posted on how you do, always good to see your gains. Im here on my chair waiting for my TIG my self, 2 more days!!

 

mild steel isn't a clean metal by any means. The metal tends to pop... if there is a lot of slag on the piece or if its been sitting outside. It pops from contamination...thats internal to the metal itself. If you've welded enough you know what Im talking about.

 

Hey RTErnie before you said you use SS filler rod on everything, even mild steel. I just got my tig welder today and I'm a little confused on the filler rod. I'm only going to be welding SS and mild steel. Can you guys please tell me what filler rod I should use with each one. Also when welding SS to mild what rod should I use. Thank you guys.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by rplopes &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Hey RTErnie before you said you use SS filler rod on everything, even mild steel. I just got my tig welder today and I'm a little confused on the filler rod. I'm only going to be welding SS and mild steel. Can you guys please tell me what filler rod I should use with each one. Also when welding SS to mild what rod should I use. Thank you guys.</TD></TR></TABLE>

308L Stainless Rod ---for mild and stainless steel---
309 Stainless Rod ---for Stainless to Mild, if not 308L will work just as fine--

Im still learning myself, but yea.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ~RTErnie~ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">mild steel isn't a clean metal by any means. The metal tends to pop... if there is a lot of slag on the piece or if its been sitting outside. It pops from contamination...thats internal to the metal itself. If you've welded enough you know what Im talking about.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Trust me I've welded enough to know what mild steel will do. If there is slag or its been sitting outside you need to clean the material better. The inside stuff is something you can't do anything about and in reality it's not that big of a deal. If it's hissing and popping every time you weld mild steel you have a shielding problem. no ifs and or buts about it. The way you worded it makes it sound like every time you weld mild steel there is going to be an internal contamination problem causing the metel to pop and that is entirely untrue.

 

I agree with RTernie. I tried a number of different mild steel rods and I always had poping which resulted in my tungsten covered in junk. I used a SS308 rod and everything welded nicely. It just worked much nicer. One other thing I liked about SS308 rod is you could tell if the weld was too hot or cold by weld color like stainless. Mild steel rod was a little more difficult.

 

i got some more SS rod and a bit smaller today, im gonna give it a go later on tonight

 

You can get color on mild steel it's just a little different looking than stainless. I'm not saying that stainless filler doesnt result in an easier, prettier weld because it does but you guys are blowing this mild steel popping thing out of proportion.

 

believe me I dont have a shielding problem.... I use the biggest lense on the market 1 1/16" diameter LENSE. with the pyrex cup. PLus I backpurge. ANd I clean the metal.

 

I don't get what there is to fuss about. If you have success with mild steel rod, use it. Its just good to know that using stainless rod can often minimize some issues. Some people dont pay attention to contamination. Watch any of the discovery channel car shows and you can see the material poping and fizzing when TIG welding. Thats a clear sign of tungsten/material contamination and yet those guys sell their products for thousands of dollars and are concidered some of the best in their fields. My tig welder should be here next week and I plan on just buying ss308 rod and not getting mild steel rod. Sure I'll spend a few extra bucks, but to me it will be worth it in the end. If you really think about it, much of welding is about personal preference and style. There are guidlines to follow, but there are obviously a number of ways to get a job done, and do it right.