Basic TIG Welding Questions

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I was going to call this "Stupid TIG Welding Questions" but I do try to observe the old saying "No such thing as a Stupid question, on Stupid Mistakes".I have used the search function here to attempt to find some answers, but for many of my basic questions I have not been successful.I'm attempting to learn how to TIG weld with no personal instruction at all, I have the welder a book, YouTube and this forum. I understand that TIG welding is not the easiest thing to learn, but I have in the past taught myself other things that people said are hard to learn without a teach, like woodturning, I bought myself the needed tools, watched videos, read books and I got pretty good at it.....I made that entire chess set for my youngest daughter for her 16th birthday.I know I can learn new skills, but I also know that one on one instruction is really valuable. The first time I saw a real pro woodturner in person, I learned more in 30 minutes than I had in six months prior that I had been trying to teach myself.If you all will indulge me I want to ask very basic questions, the type that I am sure would be cleared up by just being around a TIG instructor.Thanks in advance for any help you can offer, and I would ask other newbie TIG welders to add to the list of basic questions here, I know I don't have a handle on all of this by far.OK some basic questions.Can you weld together two or more short pieces of filler rod to make a longer rod that you can use?My welding space is small, hey I live in downtown Tokyo, my filler rod comes in 1 meter long lengths (is that normal?) and often it is a bit long, banging into stuff. If I cut it in half it is much easier to maneuver around, but when any filler rod get to be about only 6" long it is too short to use (or is that another mistake?) I was wondering if I can tack two or more of these short pieces together, I'm not making any money at this now, I'm attempting to learn, so while I understand that it will take money to do this, cutting costs where I can is important.See I told you I should have called this "Stupid TIG Welding Questions" Next up, when I'm adding the filler rod to the　front edge of the puddle it makes a popping or cracking sound as the filler rod is melted, is this normal?Well that is a few to start, I'm sure there will be many more and again I ask that any other newbies add to the list.Thank you all so very much.Cheers!Dragon D-150 Arc WelderHobart Handler 175 Set up with 100% CO²WT-60 Plasma Arc Panasonic TIG Star YC-300TWX-2 Panasonic YX-0092UW Water Cooler for the TIG
Reply:Yes, you can tack stubs of filler rods back together.  But be cautious about contaminating them through poor shielding gas coverage.  I'd get the argon flowing from the torch before actually tacking the pieces together.  Most guys I know cut full tig rods in half before welding. The shorter filler rods are less likely to accidentally ground or arc off of something else in the vicinity of where you're working.  For the smaller diameter tig rods that can be hard to see, some welders will also bend a loop on the far end of the rod for safety.  Its less likely to poke into or through something sensitive with a small loop on the end of the TIG rod.The pop/tick/crack you hear when adding filler metal to the leading edge of the puddle is normal.  I can't say I notice it all the time, but when dipping the rod in the puddle I do hear it occasionally. I probably don't hear it when I'm wearing ear plugs...Last edited by A_DAB_will_do; 02-25-2014 at 08:54 AM.Benson's Mobile Welding - Dayton, OH metro area - AWS Certified Welding Inspector
Reply:Originally Posted by A_DAB_will_doYes, you can tack stubs of filler rods back together.  But be cautious about contaminating them through poor shielding gas coverage.  I'd get the argon flowing from the torch before actually tacking the pieces together.  Most guys I know cut full tig rods in half before welding. The shorter filler rods are less likely to accidentally ground or arc off of something else in the vicinity of where you're working.  For the smaller diameter tig rods that can be hard to see, some welders will also bend a loop on the far end of the rod for safety.  Its less likely to poke into or through something sensitive with a small loop on the end of the TIG rod.The pop/tick/crack you hear when adding filler metal to the leading edge of the puddle is normal.  I can't say I notice it all the time, but when dipping the rod in the puddle I do hear it occasionally. I probably don't hear it when I'm wearing ear plugs...
Reply:Hello Stu, just to expand on A_DAB's information a bit, it is a common mistake of many welders to remove the end of the tig rod from the envelope of the shielding gas before the rod has dropped below the reactive temperature(sometimes this occurs during the welding process when the operator whips the rod around too much). This will contaminate the end of the filler and the next time that you go to add rod to a new or continuing bead you may introduce a bit of contamination to it, how much this matters is completely dependent on what you are welding and how critical the work really is. Preflow is a good thing when you are tig welding, it precludes the atmosphere from the weld zone and ensures a good clean start. In the case of "tacking" filler rod pieces together it will ensure a clean fuse between the two ends. If you do suspect that the ends are contaminated just simply use a pair of wire cutters and clip off the ends before joining. Postflow is important as well, many materials that are joined with the tig process are susceptible to contamination post welding because the shielding gas has been removed too quickly and allows the atmosphere to contact the weld bead or the filler metal end before the temperatures have dropped below the reactive state and oxidation can no longer readily occur. In short, keep the torch over the termination of the weld and the end of the filler rod within the gas shielding envelope until the postflow has timed out. This is just a good habit to get into whether it is always necessary or not. Good luck on your upcoming endeavors and best regards, AllanOne other thing, have you ever done much gas welding? If so you have a leg up on this process, they are similar in many ways with regard to technique. You form a puddle with your "electric torch" and then you add filler metal to provide reinforcement and a bead. Or, you can also weld autogeniously(without filler) to join some materials together. There are materials that don't weld weld well without the use of filler but that is much further down the road for you. Best of luck and keep working at it.Last edited by aevald; 02-25-2014 at 10:38 AM.aevald
Reply:I tried this, but was only successful with 1/8" filler rods.  Use a brief momentary "pulse" to fuse them.  If you try to "weld" them where it takes 2-3 seconds to "puddle", the ends will ball up and wick away from each other into their respective rods. 1st on WeldingWeb to have a scrolling sig! HTP Invertig 400HTP Invertig 221HTP ProPulse 300HTP ProPulse 200 x2HTP ProPulse 220MTSHTP Inverarc 200TLP HTP Microcut 875SC