learning to TIG

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I finally got a used TIG unit recently, a Chemetron ac/dc 300 HF.  I've had a lot going on, besides normal work, my shop got broken into and had 3 trucks and a trailer stolen, so I've been itching to try to learn to use this machine...  Finally got a bottle of Argon last week, and got it hooked up...These are my first attempts: Attached Images
Reply:I know I had some contamination in these welds, I dipped the tungsten a couple of times... Also, I don't think I cleaned the steel as good as I should have.  Approx. settings:Middle pic (T-joint):1/16" tungsten (not sure what kind, guy threw it and one cup in with machine, and it's only a short piece.DC straight polarity10-190 amps on course6 on fine current (which I would assume would be about 60 percent, or 114 amps?)1/16" and 3/32" filler rod15 CFH on the Argonusing a WP9 air cooled torch with #5 cup.Top and bottom pics, just beads:Red 1/8" tungstenSame course setting (10-190)Same fine setting 6Number 7 cup1/16" and 3/32" filler rodWP-9 air cooled torch15 CFH Argon
Reply:I felt like I was pushing the torch pretty hard, it would get so hot you didn't want to hold onto it... But I didn't have a cooler for my WP-20 torches yet...  I got the gas lense, and collet for 1/16 tungsten with the machine, then went to my LWS and got the stuff for 3/32 and 1/8 tungstens, but they gave me the wrong length collets for 3/32 so that's why I went with the 1/8 on this practice.
Reply:So, I had some time today.  I went to the shop and first order of business was to rig up a very crude cooler.  Got that done so I set up the WP-20 torch, and did some more practice... Attached Images
Reply:I tried to clean my practice steel better today.  4 grinders on my truck, shop full of crap, and not a decent flap wheel to be found....Anyway.. I thought I had more pics of today, but these are all I'm finding.  This is a second pass. And my first attempt at "walking the cup".  I think I can get it down with a bunch of practice, but I need lots of practice...LOL.Settings today:WP-20 torchRed 3/32" Tungsten1/16 and 3/32 filler rodCourse setting 10-190Fine setting 1020 CFH ArgonI turned the fine on up to 10, my homemade cooler worked good, torch never got above warm.  I found with this setup, I could mash on the pedal pretty good, get a puddle started pretty quick, then back off the pedal some.
Reply:Any tips, tricks, techniques would be much appreciated.  I've stick welded for over 25 years, Mig welded for over 20 years, and Dual Shield fluxcore for about 15 years.  But this is literally the first time I've ever been around TIG.  I've watched quite a few youtube videos, but don't really have anyone to teach me, so I'm kinda on my own with this.  As soon as I get the steel gathered up, I'm about to build a welding bed for my main truck (pipeline bed), and it was suggested that even though it'll be slower, I could really work on my TIG skills while building this bed.One thing I've already noticed, I thought the foot pedal would really be hard to get used to, but I really like the amount of control it gives you over the puddle.  It had been a long time since I've done any Oxy/Acy welding, but the coordination has come back to me pretty quickly I think.  My dad made me learn that process and brazing before I got to fire up the SA200 and burn rods...  I may have to buy a regular hood to keep in the shop, either that or get an auto darkening module for my pancake.  It's kinda unhandy to pull the hood down with a torch in one hand, and welding rod in the other.  But so far I've made it ok. What shade lens is good for TIG?  I put a gold 11 in my hood today, and it was just way too dark.  I went back to my silver 9 and could see what I was doing good again.  But I thought you usually needed a darker lens for TIG?
Reply:You are doing very well. The amount of time you have under the hood with other processes and the fact you learned on OA shows. I've seen students who spent the whole semester and still haven't made it as far as you have.As far as things to work on, here's what I'd suggest. You have a tremendous amount of control with tig. Besides the pedal, you can control the heat with arc length, travel speed and the size and amount of filler you add. I'd suggest you do a few basic drills and get a feel for what each will do for you. I usually suggest students eliminate as many variables as possible from the equation while doing these drills. Set yourself up so you are comfortable and can rest your torch hand and slide it along to help maintain a consistent torch height and arc length. Warm up by running some puddles with no filler keeping the arc length and travel speed the same. Just use the pedal to control the heat. Then readjust the machine so you can mash the pedal to the floor and eliminate it from the equation. I usually suggest that students set the machine at roughly 110 amps to do this working with 1/8". It is a bit "cold", but allows them to make the adjustments with the other perameters. Then do the same drill just using arc length to vary your heat, followed by just using travel speed. Since you already know what the puddle looks like and have a good understanding of how to manipulate it with the other processes, all you are doing is getting a feel for what each variable will do for you. Then do the same drills with filler. Now you will want a couple different sizes of filler to play with. Try and get the same bead using 1/16", 3/32" and 1/8" filler. Obviously the larger filler will cool the puddle more than with smaller filler, and you will have to feed more filler with the smaller rods.All of this shouldn't take you that long since you obviously already can weld. After you understand the basics, it's simply hood time to develop muscle memory. Welding up the bed should do nicely. One thing you may have to wok on is feeding filler. I usually suggest students take a piece of filler rod home with them and while watching TV practice feeding filler with their tig glove on. Again it's all about developing the muscle memory so you can feed filler without thinking about it smoothly.As far as shades for tig, I usually run a lighter shade myself vs mig and stick. I tend to run 9-10 with tig, 10-11 with mig and 10-12 with stick on average with my Miller AD hood..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:it's difficult to tell from those pictures, but the cleaner the better the weld.  Now I've gotten used to getting it down to practically mirror finish, lol.
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWYou are doing very well. The amount of time you have under the hood with other processes and the fact you learned on OA shows. I've seen students who spent the whole semester and still haven't made it as far as you have.As far as things to work on, here's what I'd suggest. You have a tremendous amount of control with tig. Besides the pedal, you can control the heat with arc length, travel speed and the size and amount of filler you add. I'd suggest you do a few basic drills and get a feel for what each will do for you. I usually suggest students eliminate as many variables as possible from the equation while doing these drills. Set yourself up so you are comfortable and can rest your torch hand and slide it along to help maintain a consistent torch height and arc length. Warm up by running some puddles with no filler keeping the arc length and travel speed the same. Just use the pedal to control the heat. Then readjust the machine so you can mash the pedal to the floor and eliminate it from the equation. I usually suggest that students set the machine at roughly 110 amps to do this working with 1/8". It is a bit "cold", but allows them to make the adjustments with the other perameters. Then do the same drill just using arc length to vary your heat, followed by just using travel speed. Since you already know what the puddle looks like and have a good understanding of how to manipulate it with the other processes, all you are doing is getting a feel for what each variable will do for you. Then do the same drills with filler. Now you will want a couple different sizes of filler to play with. Try and get the same bead using 1/16", 3/32" and 1/8" filler. Obviously the larger filler will cool the puddle more than with smaller filler, and you will have to feed more filler with the smaller rods.All of this shouldn't take you that long since you obviously already can weld. After you understand the basics, it's simply hood time to develop muscle memory. Welding up the bed should do nicely. One thing you may have to wok on is feeding filler. I usually suggest students take a piece of filler rod home with them and while watching TV practice feeding filler with their tig glove on. Again it's all about developing the muscle memory so you can feed filler without thinking about it smoothly.As far as shades for tig, I usually run a lighter shade myself vs mig and stick. I tend to run 9-10 with tig, 10-11 with mig and 10-12 with stick on average with my Miller AD hood.
Reply:Originally Posted by Oscarit's difficult to tell from those pictures, but the cleaner the better the weld.  Now I've gotten used to getting it down to practically mirror finish, lol.
Reply:I'm a hobby welder that took up oxy/gas first, then MIG, then TIG and lastly stick (at least as far as welding classes go) I know that's a bit mixed up, but TIG does seem to follow the rules of all of the other processes. So, no wonder you are getting some nice beads with your first passes. Nice work.You will have to try some OS corners and edges to fine tune the weld toe.At least that helped me.__________________
Reply:beads are lookin good..you have the idea..and what you said is true..mash the pedal, get the puddle, and back off as  it seems fit..now practicepracticepractice
Reply:Got a little more practice in sunday afternoon.  Not much, but every bit helps.  I did get my steel a bit cleaner than before, and it helped a lot I think.  Thinking about sandblasting all my material before starting my bed.  I could sandblast it, then store it all inside while I'm building it.  I think it would save me a lot of time in the long run doing it that way compared to having to spend so much time cleaning it piece by piece...Anyway, used my actual camera this time instead of phone camera to get some pics... Attached Images
Reply:I tried just running the stringer in, with no filler rod, then ran multiple passes over part of it.  First pic shows stringer, then in the middle there are 2 cover passes (upper and lower), then a wide cap over it all.  Second pic is just stringer without filler rod.  Third pic is another 4 pass cap.  I didn't have time to really practice with the other exercises mentioned before, but intend to hopefully in the near future.  I really planned on getting some good practice in over the Thanksgiving weekend, but had a trackhoe job come up that I may be able to do for some ca$h for a friend, so that kinda takes priority...I need to get to an acceptable level before long, including outside corner joints, to where I can start on my truck bed...I could always weld it out with stick and mig, but I really want to do as much with tig as possible just to get some hood time.
Reply:I've never had any "formal" welding instruction.  I was lucky growing up that I literally grew up on pipelines, and was around several VERY good pipeline welders.  Those gentlemen knew what they were doing, and taught me a lot over the years.  My dad never welded on pipelines, but started in pipelining in 1946 as soon as he got out of school.  The only time he didn't pipeline from then until his death in 1992 was a 2 year period from 1950 to 1952 he served in Korea.  He could have easily set up a rig and welded, as he was very able to weld, but instead he hired good competent welders.  Between the welders we had, and him, I was taught a lot that you just won't learn in most schools.  When I was about 12, I already could cut with a torch, and told dad I wanted to learn to weld.  He said ok, but we're gonna start at the beginning.  First order was oxy/acyt brazing and welding.  Had to get the fundamentals of fusing metal together...  After that, progressed to running beads with 6010 (5p) then 7018.  I built up a BUNCH of scrap trackhoe teeth... Next, started welding pieces of steel together flat.  then started running 6010 downhill, and 7018 uphill.  Then progressed to welding pipe downhill with 6010.  Did a lot of bellhole pipe welds on road bores...  By the time I was 16-17, I was doing most of the welding for our mechanics around the shop.  Replacing shanks on backhoes and trackhoes, fixing cracked trackhoe booms, new cutting edges, fixing our trailers (mainly ramps on lowboys and such), and either him or I would weld the casing on road bores we did.I learned a little mig in high school, in ag class, but never really did much with it, as I usally worked on the heavier stuff requiring 7018.  I didn't really use mig much until about 5 years later when I bought my first mig.  300 amp Snap On, that I still use today.  That's when I really got into mig and flux-core (dual shield).We had an old welding rig the whole time I was growing up, and in 1996 I bought a new 1 ton Dodge, and rigged it up as my own personal rig.  I didn't intend to weld full time, but it's always handy to have a welding rig on the job.  I quit pipelining about that same time, just got burned out and fed up... We were working for 1980 prices at 1996 costs, having a LOT of trouble with keeping people that could pass drug tests (natural gas pipelines put you under D.O.T. guidelines) and just worn out from trying to be at multiple places at the same time...  But I DO have all my pipeline equipment still, so could do some small jobs quite easily.  In 2000, I did a small gasline job in a plant locally (it was just about 2,000' of 8"), and since myself and my partner were both the equipment operators, I contracted the welding out.  (All of my old welders had retired by then).  First thing they tried to do, was tig the pipe onsite, outside... That didn't work.  So then they tried welding it all uphill with 7018.  SLOW... This plant didn't have a procedure to follow, it was up to the welding contractor to come up with a procedure, so they ended up with a tig procedure, uphill 7018 procedure, and a downhill 7010 procedure.  They had one downhill rig welder that worked for about a week before he went off on a good pipeline job.  So by the time it was all said and done, they welded most of the above ground welds, and my partner I think did 3 bellhole tie ins, and I ended up doing 2.  They just couldn't make the welds if they couldn't get everything exactly perfect.  Our welds x-rayed just as good as theirs did, and it all turned out good.  But I could have saved about $15,000 and a LOT of aggrevations if we had just done the welding ourselves...I know this is long winded, and mainly irrelevant, but just thought I'd tell some of my history and experience for what it's worth...lol
Reply:Last pict looks very good. One before that, #2, I see a lot of undercutting at the top on the right. Middle of that pict is hard to see clearly, but it looks like you still have some undercutting at the top.With tig on steel you almost always want to use filler. You can fuse stainless with no filler, but normal steel really needs the additional deoxidizers and so on in the filler..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Until you get the hang of things it's NOT necessary to MOVE the tungsten......Holding a tight distance from the end of tungsten is more important than washing or walking the cup........getting a rhythm going between dabs and moving the tungsten....the rest will come as you get used to holding that close gap getting max gas coverage.....  Miller Dynasty 350Twenty Six HammersThree Crow BarsBig Rock
Reply:Guys get pretty creative with that torch.......lol   not really necessary for a sound weld  Miller Dynasty 350Twenty Six HammersThree Crow BarsBig Rock
Reply:Deleted, Wrong thread..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan