So today was the first time I ever TIG welded, though I have stick welded and MIG welded a couple times before (for fun). I was pretty impressed that I could even lay a bead down.

I didn't get any instruction, just read the wikipedia article on tungsten inert gas welding to understand the theory, read some threads here, and looked up some videos on youtube.

I know I have a lot to learn, but I figure this info might be helpful to others as well.

my main question is:

1. How do I know the speed at which to travel? and the rate to add filler? I pretty much just guessed, and looked at the weld puddle trail and kept pushing the puddle forward while adding tiny bits of filler.

2. The foot pedal controls the amps, but how do I use it to control heat input into the metal? Should I go full throttle, input filler, then lay off pedal, move forward, full throttle, input filler, etc?

3. This was steel, but what changes do I make for aluminum? I know settings wise I need High Frequency, AC current, pure tungsten electrode. The main reason I want to TIG is to fit my ebay FMIC piping as cleanly as possible.

Any other general tips?

<flamesuit on>

 

Just a quick note: remember what welding is for, you're joining metals together. So while throwing a few beads on top of metal is all fine and good, you should start practicing welding some peices together, then cut them apart, and check your penetration. The prettiness quality will come with time, what you're looking for is accurate penetration and heat control.

I'll let others chime in....

 

My noobie tig welder reply is that im guessing not enough heat and work on rhythm. And like ^^^^^^ said join two pieces together

 

more heat and slow down.

 

here is a response someone PMed to me, i figure its good knowledge for all:

"i will answer your questions and hopefully the info wont be overload.


btw this is the WORST way to learn. but i will try to be descriptive and then it is on you to practice to make perfect


so lets start with question 2.

the foot pedal controls the amps. or also known as your heat. this is the penetration you get into the metal. right now you are barely melting your filler.....and barely melting your base. the idea is to metl both equally.


so, in the spirit of keeping things simple, i wont get into detail about certain machines having a clean vs pen capability, or filler rod, or type. all of these will effect a steel/ss weld. they are VERY important for an alum/high freek weld.

the idea behind the foot pedal is to control your heat. why? well sometimes your metal gets away from you and you could blow a bigger hole in the material than the seam you are trying to weld. so in that event (and i will get into how to look for it later) you want to raise the pedal, and reduce amps.


the idea is to start the arc at a low heat (slow foot pressure) and ease into the weld until you see a puddle start to form (or in most cases a small puddle on each side of the seam, if you have one) once the puddle has formed you know you are penetrating the steel. the concept of welding is mating two metals seamlessly. there are forces on a weld though, that make it easier said than done. gravity being one, and heat being the other. heat rises and generally responds to current. gravity.....well you know about that

so when you are welding you have to fill the weld because gravity is taking material away, and heat is moving it in the direction of current. this is where angle of the torch comes into play. you want to point the tungsten forward so you "push" the puddle, but you dont want to be pushing it straight down. the idea is to be 90 degrees to the abutment of the material (unless you are welding a flat piece like pictured, but the concept is still the same) so point your heat where you want to go, and control it with the foot pedal.

now question 1, speed can be answered. speed is determined by 2 things, user and material. some people prefer to run hot and got fast, other like to take their time and modulate the puddle with their foot. i have been trained and found best success with running a consistent heat and adjusting my speed to how the puddle looks. meaning that once i get my machine dialed in, i rarely change my foot position unless i run into a problem or something else. come to think of it, i prolly do adjust my heat but it is involuntary, i just do it second nature, but rarely will i vary out of 10% of the desired amps. meaning i dont modulate that much.

tig has a lot to do with rhythm, and that will have to do with your speed. this is tough to explain. you will have to look at the puddle to know when you are going too fast, or too slow, and when you should add filler. this means you should be looking at the FRONT of the weld, and adding filler from the front (front is the destination side of the arc). once you get good you will feel it in the filling procedure, or if you are me you can hear the amps in the metal change.


you will know to add filler because as you move, there will be a "halo" in the puddle. this halo is a sign that the filler you just added has been moved to the back of the arc and for a small amount of time there is a "hole" to fill. this hole is your penetration. a big hole will never get filled which is why you add filler consistently, along with how fast you are moving.


this is one of those things thats hard to explain, but i could show you in 3 seconds.


alum is different. in a way it is easier. alum takes more energy to melt, but also loses it much quicker (duh) so it is much more forgiving to mistakes. when you finally do your IC, you will want to purge the core and the end tank you are welding. i explained this to you in the email. purging puts gas behind the weld so that when you penetrate fully you dont have any perocity (air getting to a weld). it is 100% gas shielded. this also makes for easier alum welding. if you should run too much heat and blow through, purging will help keep the metal from falling away, it gives you the chance to lower your amps and fill.


i hope this helps. it is very hard to explain without pics or diagrams maybe i could make a video for you next week.

so recap:

pedal = heat. set it for a heat that is just higher than what you need to full penetrate. that way you cant ever really severely blow through by getting a lazy foot.

speed is determined by how you penetrate and how you fill. once you find the right penetration, and you see how long it takes to fill it, admire and repeat. i personally have a faster rhythm. i would say it is a slow 4 count??????first song that comes to mind would be U2's numb.......sorry, i really tried to think of a better song "

 

I guess the only suggestions I could make that haven't been made is depending on materials you are working on. If you're welding mild carbon steel, cleanliness and preparation are of upmost importance. Since welding has a tendency to "draw in" or pick up impurities surrounding the weld zone. Not so much an issue with High freq. welding on aluminum or SS steel, but just as important.

When welding on aluminum I usually set my amps at 100, and use about 70 to 80% of the current selected to make my weld. Also make sure you are using Alternating Current for alum. welds. Start your weld pool, then in a steady manner "feed" the filler metal into the leading edge of the pool. After you've achieved that first drip continue forward with a slight "back angle" on the torch just shy of 90 degrees, and intermittenly drip your weld metal.
\
\--------->
in order to give a little bit of preheat ahead of your weld pool. YOu have to move rather quickly depending on the amount of heat you're putting into the weld. This is were practice comes in handy when doing aluminum. Watch your heat closely until the end. Rinse repeat. That's all I got for now, hope it helps.