A bit of advice to all you TIG learners...

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I have been doing some experiments with usig my TIG.  I have heard all the time about "cleaning" your metal before TIGing, but nobody ever really defined "cleaning" or what to use.  Heard some say use acetone to remove grease.  Well over the course of Tigging I encounted several things that plagued me.First when welding I would see little "sparks" from time to time....they would come from the weld puddle and fly up.....sometimes it was worse than others.  Second on occassion I would get area that would "volcano", and you would have to grind it out to get it to weld.  If you went back over it; the area just got worse.  The above two scenerios were on "cleaned metal".  I was using a wire wheel, acetone etc.  Recently I stopped at Fastenal to get some supplies.  I saw some arbors there for 90* die grinders.  The shaft is about 1/4" with a rubber disk area that take different type pads.  Cost about 15 dollars and the pads are between 1-3 dollars.  I throw some on the counter of each and figured I would give it a try.  Wow do those babies work.  Some of them are scotchbrite and other look like small sanding disks.  Very easy to swap between them and they last a lONG time.  Last night I had some brackets I needed tigged up....so I went to town cleaning them.  The new cleaning tools took the metal down to what looked like a mirror finish...in just a matter of a few seconds.  Did all surfaces that would be welded and they even work to put on small chamfers.  I then started to TIG.  To my amazement the beads flowed like a dream.  Not one little spark like I mentioned above and not one area caused me trouble.  My beads looked WAY WAY better as I had much more control and the metal seems to melt much easier and more uniform.  I have had good luck in the past with TIG welding and have had some pretty critical people look at my stuff and it always got positive reviews....but if they saw these one from last night I think they would be pretty impressed.  I know some of you more seasoned welders are probably not too enlightened by this post....but I think some of the newer guys will see some value in it.  Remember to get the right equipment for the cleaning and it becomes a much easier task.  A little wire brush or wire wheel is not going to cut it.  You need some get a finish that is near "chrome" looking and many of the problems I was having vanished.  This sounds like a lot of extra work, but it went super fast with the sanding pads on the angle die grinder.  I found myself last night using the tig on stuff I used to MIG, just because of how smooth things were going, ,where before all the monkeying around was not so attractive.  Moral of the story is - CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN to a near polish and watch the beads FLOW.  Best Times with 434 Naturally Aspirated Vette60 - 1.261/8 -  6.37@ 107.25 MPH 1/4 - 10.08 & 134.9MPH1/4 - 9.60@144MPH
Reply:I just use a grinder. No acetone or anything else.  Bare metal.DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:Ski, You are referring to steel process, correct. If you did the same cleaning method (die grinder with sanding pads) for aluminum you will imbed the aluminum oxide grit from the sanding pads in the aluminum and this will contaminate the weld. Your process is good for steel. I use that as well.For aluminum use a dedicated STAINLESS hand held brush and not a wire wheel. You need to break through the oxide layer on the alum. with the stainlss brush.Use acetone after that. T.J.www.tjsperformance.comDynasty 300 DXHTP 240HTP Microcut 380Hyperthem 85JD2 Hyd Bender and HF Hyd Ring Roller all in one =(Frankenbender)Bpt. Mill/DRO4' x 8' CNC Plasma TableInstagram: tjsperformanceYT: TJS Welding and Fabrication
Reply:Originally Posted by TJSSki, You are referring to steel process, correct. If you did the same cleaning method (die grinder with sanding pads) for aluminum you will imbed the aluminum oxide grit from the sanding pads in the aluminum and this will contaminate the weld. Your process is good for steel. I use that as well.For aluminum use a dedicated STAINLESS hand held brush and not a wire wheel. You need to break through the oxide layer on the alum. with the stainlss brush.Use acetone after that. T.J.
Reply:have recently learned here and tried out flap discs. omg...never use a grinder again...much faster, much cleaner..i get 99% of my steel from demo projects in old boiler rooms some of it 50 years old with lots of paint(old pipe supports, heavy angle and channel).grinder takes a lot longer and does not come close to as nice and uniform  a polish..
Reply:You're right about trying to use a wire wheel to clean up steel.  All the wire does is polish up the millscale so it's shiny.   I use an angle grinder with fibermetal grinding wheel to remove the millscale down to bare metal.  Same can be done with a flap wheel or sanding disc.   The grinding wheel works quickest and lasts longest for me.   Grinding stone on a bench grinder works good too.TJS is spot-on about aluminum cleaning.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:Along with the 90 degree die grinder with the discs I also use this. I change the belts for what I need to do.T.J.www.tjsperformance.comDynasty 300 DXHTP 240HTP Microcut 380Hyperthem 85JD2 Hyd Bender and HF Hyd Ring Roller all in one =(Frankenbender)Bpt. Mill/DRO4' x 8' CNC Plasma TableInstagram: tjsperformanceYT: TJS Welding and Fabrication
Reply:i agree with the flap disks... much faster, cleaner, and over-all nicer than a grinding wheel on 99% of stuff. much easier to control and more forgiving on contoured pieces. even a 32 or 60-grit can get a piece of metal nice and shiney... you'd be surprised what one of them little guys can do at 11,000 RPM. i usually try to get it nice and shiney before using my flux-core wire... even with a simple flux-core setup, one can see a real difference with the cleanliness of the metal.Later,Andy
Reply:Originally Posted by TJSFor aluminum use a dedicated STAINLESS hand held brush and not a wire wheel. You need to break through the oxide layer on the alum. with the stainlss brush.Use acetone after that. T.J.
Reply:Originally Posted by EngloidIf it's mill finish, and not been sitting around for years, I just weld it.  I almost never use acetone on anything.  I actually don't even have any.
Reply:Originally Posted by ski_dwn_itWow do those babies work. Some of them are scotchbrite and other look like small sanding disks.
Reply:Originally Posted by EngloidIf it's alum mill finish, and not been sitting around for years, I just weld it.  I almost never use acetone on anything.  I actually don't even have any.
Reply:i usually just grind about an inch back from where my weld is going to be at. But if the acetone is working for you go for it. I also keep a sharp tungsten and that helps me get no undercut.As said by CHENRY:you cant weld on a thingamajig like that. are you even certified to do thingamajig welding ? I once saw an improperly welded thingamajig fail and eleventy twelvoteen things got ballywhacked. I dont think i would risk it.
Reply:Those little disk you are referring to are the 3M RoLok disk. Have been using them for a long time. I am also a user of flap disk, especially for mill scale.Patriot Performance AutoLincoln Power Mig 255CLincoln AC-225 StickVictor Journeyman O/AQuincy QT-5 Compressor
Reply:roloc stuff is AMAZINGscotch brite pads are great for removing paint and old gaskets
Reply:Do you guys do anything different for aluminum other than stainless steel brush and acetone?Any sort of pads etc?I have been doing a bit of pipe, and after cutting it, there are a lot of burrs. So you're saying I should NOT use sandpaper to get rid of the burrs and smooth out the pipe?
Reply:Originally Posted by UnderwhereDo you guys do anything different for aluminum other than stainless steel brush and acetone?Any sort of pads etc?I have been doing a bit of pipe, and after cutting it, there are a lot of burrs. So you're saying I should NOT use sandpaper to get rid of the burrs and smooth out the pipe?
Reply:Originally Posted by zapsterSandpaper..File yes..Acetone and a stainless brush..A tubing deburrer works good also..Get it as smooth as possible..Those little "leftovers" from saw cutting are a pain in the rear..The smoother the joint the smoother the weld.....zap!
Reply:Check out this thread..http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php...ighlight=CleanTake it or leave 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:Originally Posted by UnderwhereI have been doing a bit of pipe, and after cutting it, there are a lot of burrs. So you're saying I should NOT use sandpaper to get rid of the burrs and smooth out the pipe?
Reply:Originally Posted by EngloidIf it's mill finish, and not been sitting around for years, I just weld it.  I almost never use acetone on anything.  I actually don't even have any.
Reply:Scotch brite on a linisher...(Yes I know the belts on backwards.......... ) Attached ImagesA good guess is better than a bad measurement