10 basic commandments for TIG welding beginners

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After seeing multiple posts concerning the same topics time and time again I came up with a brief list to read BEFORE posting. I didn't see any similiar stickies so maybe this will help.  I tried to keep it fairly simple as I am sure there could be hundreds of points to it.    Please understand this was directed at newbies and with the intent to keep it short so they actually read it! 1) Before posting what may seem like common questions check for STICKIES !!! And as always Google is your friend!2) If you are having a "WTF" issue check all simple scenarios before you post, i.e is the machine plugged in, is the gas on and correct for the application, am I grounded properly so others don't waste their time pointing out simple common errors. Pictures are worth a thousand words. Post them and learn how to take good pics of the correct size and please....rotate them if necessary. 3) Know your material, i.e ferrous and nonferrous and what polarity is required.4) Know how to select the proper filler material. Remember composition AND size matter for a good weld joint.5) Get familiar with your torch series, know it's limitations and its components and have a good selection of consumables on hand whenever possible. A gas lens is cheap and will always be a good help to you. 6) For newbies (who this post is obviously directed at) make sure you use a good clean material for your practice welds. This will make your first experience much better than being frustrated with poor welds caused by rusty or dirty material. And for the love of all things holy, if all you have to play with is hot rolled steel, grind it down to a shiny steel surface to remove mill scale. If welding on the back of a T-joint wire brush the oxidization caused by welding the other side. Nothing will make you learn  faster than seeing your welds start off  ok and progressively get better. 7) Know the proper way to grind your tungsten and have the proper bench grinder wheel on hand to do it. Do not use it for anything else but tungsten and true it up when needed.8) When welding try counting  to ten in your head to establish a rhythm for dipping the rod. You will soon forget that you are counting and will notice the consistency of your welds improve. To me the most important thing about any welder I hire is consistency (preferably consistently good lol) 9) Don't be discouraged, very few of us started off as great welders ( I was terrified of the welding machines in shop class in HS) However you will find  practice and patience are invaluable skills for a good TIG welder. 10) Listen to constructive criticism. Don't take it as a personal affront. Most of us are here to help and guide. A relatively small number are here to make themselves feel important at others expense and will never post constructively. Probably trying to compensate for "shortcomings" elsewhere. This is a forum for help and ideas, not to prove you are the biggest, baddest welder who ever walked the earth. No matter how good you are there will always be a guy who can put you to shame.  Albert Einstein said it best:“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” "Anybody can talk $h!t behind a monitor, I let the quality of my work speak for itself"Lincoln Square Wave 255 and 355 Tig Lincoln 255 Power-Mig w/ spool gun Koike 5 x 10 CNC plasma Hyd-Mech DM-10 bandsaw Ineco QB-76 NC tube bender
Reply:Nicely put man.  I can see many people here make rookie mistakes.  I also see people that "Think therir poop don't stink" attack the.  We were all there at some point.Millermatic 251Miller Bobcat 225Lincoln 135Victor Oxy/FuelOlder Thermal Dynamics 50 amp (paid $700 with 10 sets of consumables)
Reply:Originally Posted by Coupebuilder8) When welding try counting  to ten in your head to establish a rhythm for dipping the rod. You will soon forget that you are counting and will notice the consistency of your welds improve. To me the most important thing about any welder I hire is consistency (preferably consistently good lol)
Reply:Sarg, the point of counting in your head is to establish a rythm, it also tends to put you in a bit of a zone and block out distractions.     As far as the brake cleaner there is a stickie at the top of the page explaining how Brake Cleaner can turn into Phosgene gas when exposed to welding heat its bad news....Acetone works well and evaporates very quickly with no noticeable residue. I used to use brake clean for years when I started, not knowing any better, now I seem to have become sensitized to it being sprayed anywhere. One shot in the back of the shop and I can smell it in my office a hundred feet away. "Anybody can talk $h!t behind a monitor, I let the quality of my work speak for itself"Lincoln Square Wave 255 and 355 Tig Lincoln 255 Power-Mig w/ spool gun Koike 5 x 10 CNC plasma Hyd-Mech DM-10 bandsaw Ineco QB-76 NC tube bender
Reply:Yup, read that sticky last week, after I got myself sick and determined that was probably what happened to me.  I just always use soap and water, but now know to pay attention to the inside of what I am welding as well!
Reply:10 count seems WAY long. I always recommend practice puddling w/o adding rod. Once a tig noob is comfortable controlling the puddle,then practice adding filler rod.
Reply:Originally Posted by grumpycricket10 count seems WAY long. I always recommend practice puddling w/o adding rod. Once a tig noob is comfortable controlling the puddle,then practice adding filler rod.
Reply:And for the love of all things holy, if all you have to play with is hot rolled steel, grind it down to a shiny steel surface to remove mill scale
Reply:i use alcohol. When i weld tho, i also use it! Isopropal alchohol is a good degreaser and it seems to work for me. I have acetone but do i need it? Any thoughts people?Miller diversion 165Miller mig 211Hypertherm pm 30Milwaukee 6230 14 inch chop sawMd 45 mag drill (RIP; fell on its head)New MD 45! Thanks to the esposa!Finally got an O/A setup
Reply:One other thing to add is if you are asking a question post all of the settings that you are using. i.e. amps, gas flow, material, filler etc. etc. along with the pictures that were mentioned.Miller Diversion 180Lincoln Mig Pak 5000 HDHypertherm 45Uni-Spotter Stud WelderOxy Set-up with Harris TorchMiller 30FX Arc StationMiller Elite - Hockey Canada Helmet
Reply:Originally Posted by GambleWhy do you say only hot rolled and not cold rolled?
Reply:Originally Posted by GambleWhy do you say only hot rolled and not cold rolled?
Reply:[Last edited by MoonRise; 05-07-2012 at 01:54 PM.Reason: double post  The best laid schemes ... Gang oft agley ...
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Reply:I don't get it....zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Good idea Coupebuilder. May I humbly implore commandment #10 to suggest  that possibly there could be created 10 basic commandments of welding in general,  for all processes, and also 10 separate commandments which are Heliarc (or other process) specific? Having General Commandments would allow 1,2,3,4,6,9 and 10 to be moved to the General Commandments category, thus freeing up space for more specifics. The free space could then be used for more TIG-specific commandments and maybe to include  process-specific basic rules-of-thumb on settings, technique, shielding, etc. Just a thought and suggestion.Good LuckLast edited by denrep; 05-07-2012 at 10:35 PM.
Reply:Excellent post CoupeBuilder.TA Arcmaster 300CM3XMT 304S22P12 suitcase feederX-Treme 12VSOptima pulserTA161SMaxstar 150STLHypertherm PM45OP setupStihl 020AVP, 039, 066 Magnum
Reply:Originally Posted by denrepGood idea Coupebuilder. May I humbly implore commandment #10 to suggest  that possibly there could be created 10 basic commandments of welding in general,  for all processes, and also 10 separate commandments which are Heliarc (or other process) specific? Having General Commandments would allow 1,2,3,4,6,9 and 10 to be moved to the General Commandments category, thus freeing up space for more specifics. The free space could then be used for more TIG-specific commandments and maybe to include  process-specific basic rules-of-thumb on settings, technique, shielding, etc. Just a thought and suggestion.Good Luck
Reply:I would also like to see a shortlist of what to if and than a list of 10 most important things that can go or always go wrong when starting to TIG weld. I don't want to offend anybody but it is really difficult to tell somebody that never TIG welded what to look for and how to resolve problems you encounter. I am very very new to TIG welding and I don;t mind being a gunny pig and document all my mistakes including photo's and asking so called stupid question which don't exists actually. Stupid questions indicates that the other (the person that tries to master) is very close to the answer he/she is looking for.......May I should start a new thread instead of abusing this one. I would love to do this because it is taking way to much time I believe to get started: there is simply to much information to wade through when getting started (general WEB problem) and even the instruction video 's don't really address ALL aspects so that I can replicate the setting to conduct my experiment (hahahah)Just to give you an example: on many place you see described how to sharpen your tungsten, I think many tell you to grind it linear to the grinding stone. What they don't tell you is the exact form: does it need to be really sharp or not? I will call the thread "TIG welding for idiots...."  which will start anyway. I can make very detailed pictures with my D400 DSLR.Regards