Just curious how far some may have come with their TIG skills from when they first started. I love TIG welding but can't get the hang of it 100% yet a year ago I could do aluminum so so. Right now (in tech school) we are doing mild steel which I think it pointless with TIG because Gas welding it is easier and almost more appealing.

None the less I strive to become good becuase it's what I want to do with my future.


Modified by LSEGHATCH at 5:17 AM 1/12/2007

 

i first tigged about 11 months ago. i now have over 100 hours on it, and im still learning every day i do it. some days are really good, and some days arent so great, but i keep getting better. i have a lot of supplies that keep me learning too like lenses, and different filler metals. i probably see a big improvement every 10-20 hours i weld.

 

can you breifly describe the following terms i here frequently used.
Lenses
cups.

 

Cup is the pink part, it basically determines the size of the hole where the electrode and gas come out of. Smaller cup gives a more defined gas area, sort of.

Gas lens is a part that straightens the gas flow to decrease turbulence, thus giving better coverage as a turbulentic gas flow can suck in oxygen and can wonder off.

I havent been tigging from since beginning of january, used mig for everything before that, so I had the basics of welding already.

 

They are parts of the torch, seen exploded here.

 

wow there are like 50 different Tig posts on this forum and its getting rediculas.... I started on aluminum and got better.... good luck! just practice.

 

Today was a good day, I must've just needed a day to get back into the swing of it. Also this is the first time I have used a foot pedal compared to a throttle on the torch. Finished up 4 welds today, now ahead of the class.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dfoxengr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i first tigged about 11 months ago. i now have over 100 hours on it, and im still learning every day i do it. some days are really good, and some days arent so great, but i keep getting better. i have a lot of supplies that keep me learning too like lenses, and different filler metals. i probably see a big improvement every 10-20 hours i weld.</TD></TR></TABLE>

X2 exactly, only I'm at about 13 months and counting. Some days work out great, and then others I seem to have some issues. But soon enough I hope to be able to pick up a torch and weld anything I need to.

 

At first I used to find I welded best on a the weekend when I had stayed in bed for a while, Rather than doing it in the evening after work when I was more tired.
As I got more practice it became less noticable.

Lee

 

I actually started welding tig on 4130 tubing. welded an entire frame together only to learn the hard way about HAZ brittleness

I do REALLY wish that I had learned tig on aluminum; I just started trying it and cannot keep the tip out of the puddle for anything!

 

I started GTAW a few years back and excelled on it. After a semester of practicing, I now currently work out in the field. I've worked in refineries, structural, and etc; I get paid pretty well. Somewhere between $40~160/hr easily depending on what I do. I drive around, get to see all kinds of things I've never seen before, and it's pretty interesting.

 

i bought my first tig in dec 04 so its been just over 2 years....i do it alot more often than most people though ( went through 3-4 large argon tanks this week

 

GTAW is all i did in my second year in my welding class.

When we got to pipe welding, the 6G position owned me. 6G is welding a pipe that is at a 45 degree angle. It's the hardest because it's the combination of vertical and horizontal passes.

If you're a right handed welder, starting at 6 o' clock and going towards 9 o'clock and finally to 12 o' clock. It's tough. But then you get to the other side. 6 to 3 to12. This totally owned me. It is damn near impossible to do it right handedy.

So then I said expletive it, and started tigging with my left hand, and became just as good. 6g pipes are now a breeze

It landed me in a state wide competition, 6th in the state, I would have done better, but ESAB machines are horseshit

 

I've had my tig since the summer of this year. Havent really used it much though. I have maybe 2-3 hrs of welding. I think i'm okay at it

 

^ you mean last year?

I like tig myself, now that I've gotten the hitch of the whole thing, I like it alot better than mig welding, its much relax paced.

 

i found that people get good at it, but what gives them those days that they seem like aint nothing going good for them. is usually their setup and style. when i tig i usually spend more time looking over **** before then the amount of time i even spend welding, gas pressure, correct gaps. crossed ground - power lines . those types of things. and my hands have to be in the exact perfect way to make good passes. if i dont do those things. im fu**ed from the start.

hope that helps someone

 

Whats "crossed grounds"????

 

Tried welding left handed today and it turned out surprisingly well. Almost better than my right hand welding.

 

sorry refering to welding in general- got a little carried away

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by postman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">sorry refering to welding in general- got a little carried away</TD></TR></TABLE>

lol like when the piece is hanging off the metal portion of the table, but still on the wood portion, and the only good ground is your wrist

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 90blackcrx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

lol like when the piece is hanging off the metal portion of the table, but still on the wood portion, and the only good ground is your wrist </TD></TR></TABLE>

It's really exciting when that happens

Kinda like jump starting your heart. It's good for ya every once in a while.