Self Taught TIG

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Welders: I have a job at a fab shop that does mostly designer iron work. I have been a fluxcore welder for years and I'm trying to teach myself to TIG. We do alum and stainless. Which would you suggest I try to start practicing on? The co. doesn't mind me using the equipment or rods to lean with so I have lots of opportunity here. Plenty of scrap laying around. Which one would be the easiest to try and start with. I have watched other workers and have some basic understanding but if I want to get good I pretty much have to teach myself untill they are ready to let me start doing actual work. Any suggestions tips etc appreciated. They do certify us at the shop too.Thanks Gramo
Reply:I would suggest starting on stainless if I were you.  That's what they started me on, it welds pretty easy.   Also, learn how to grind your tungsten cause you are going to be sharpening it alot.   When I started tig welding i was changing or sharpening the tungsten every other weld and it's pretty frustrating.  But if you keep practicing you'll get the hang of it.  Also, make sure your metal is clean clean clean... Tig seems to be extra sensitive to dirt and grease, and it will make a perfectly good weld look bad in a hurry.That's my 2 cents anyway.My Babies:MillerMatic 185Thermal Arc 300SHobart StickMate AC/DC 235/160Dalex Werke Spot WelderOh and the wife and kids are important too!
Reply:I'd start on stainless, higher sucess ratio.What welder? Transformer or inverter? Sharpen both ends of your tungsten.  Pick one color (not green) and stick with it or you'll have a bench full of unknown tungsten.9-11-2001......We Will Never ForgetRetired desk jockey. Hobby weldor with a little training. Craftsman O/A---Flat, Vert, Ovhd, Horz. Miller Syncrowave 250
Reply:move the tungsten from left to right one the grinding wheel. dont keep holding it in the same place and carve a slot in the wheel.   i hate that lol
Reply:I don't know if it a transformer or inverter. I know the old machine had a water line running to it and we just got a brand new miller and this one doesn't have the water line. It does have a foot peddle and one of the other welder told me that'll be great b/c it will help me control my heat(?).Thanks for the suggestions. We've got plenty of stainless I can practice with. One last question is should I lay out the practice piece like a t-plate or just butt it up and go along the seam to practice?
Reply:Is your welder big and heavy (x-former, Miller Syncrowave), or could you pick it up and put it in the truck? (inverter, Miller Diversion, Maxstar or Dynasty). Do NOT use a green tungsten for any steel!! A pedal is a good thing. In class, we started with a lap joint, no filler.9-11-2001......We Will Never ForgetRetired desk jockey. Hobby weldor with a little training. Craftsman O/A---Flat, Vert, Ovhd, Horz. Miller Syncrowave 250
Reply:it is big and heavy. it a Miller alright.
Reply:It is a really sad situation the way that a trade is learned now.We need apprenticeships and mentoring of new welders.I do not even know where to start. Find a buddy in your shop that is EXPERIENCED and let him know that you really want to learn. Hopefully the person that is teaching you has some formal training.Manufacturing in this country is in a very precarious situation. Very sad.AWS certified welding inspectorAWS certified welder
Reply:I'd start on aluminum. It's harder to master so I'd tackle that first.  After you're comfortable with aluminum, everything else is gravy.  'Just like when beginning to weld.. I tell people, learn stick first.  After you're good at stick, MIG is cake.  But that's just me - I find I learn better doing the hardest procedures first then move to the easier ones after.Aluminum tig and stainless tig are night and day.  The puddles are -completely- the opposite of each other.  Stainless gives a nice tight puddle whereas aluminum spreads it's heat out across the workpiece VERY fast.  If you do alum. first and can master that puddle, you'll be in heaven when you switch to stainless."A winner isn't someone who doesn't lose, a winner is someone who doesn't quit."
Reply:Originally Posted by Donald BranscomIt is a really sad situation the way that a trade is learned now.We need apprenticeships and mentoring of new welders.I do not even know where to start. Find a buddy in your shop that is EXPERIENCED and let him know that you really want to learn. Hopefully the person that is teaching you has some formal training.Manufacturing in this country is in a very precarious situation. Very sad.
Reply:Originally Posted by gjgarreI don't think there is a problem with the way he is going about learning a new trade.  The most important thing somebody needs is self motivation and ambition, and he seems to have both.  I raid the scrap bin everyday at my job just to get metal to practice on to improve my skills cause I don't always have somebody to watch over my shoulder and tell me what I need to do.  Practice makes perfect, he obviously has tig welders around to ask questions, but from what I have learned, is that you can only be told or shown something so much then you need to get dirty and practice.It seems that alot of people on this forum have a problem with "new" welders asking questions.  Not everybody has the money or the time to go to a welding school, or to take up an apprenticeship.  I went to a vocational school for welding and all I learned is that I wasted my money.  I learned more sitting down with a welder on my breaks and after hours at work then I did in class.  Other welders have told me the same thing.
Reply:Gigare, Donald----  I think both are pretty valid points.It's hard to learn anything.  The books are a great resource, but fall short when it comes to actual hands-on practice.  Although I've never been to school, I wish I had.  I picked up some bad habits learning on my own.Training in a job environment is about the best I can think of.  It's how I learned to drive a truck many years ago.  Any employer that encourages a guy to learn at work is a pretty good boss, and a smart one.  He gets a better employee out of the deal.I've seen guys here on the site improve with time too.  You see the work they put out at the time they first joined, and watch it improve over time.  Hell, I'm one of 'em.  I used to whip a rod to death.  Looking at decent welds, and listening to folks talk and show pics helped me to get out of the habit.The guys that don't listen to criticism, and get their lil' ol' undies in a bunch, are the ones I'm afraid of.  I do not want to be behind one of 'em when their latest project falls off the back of the SUV, or whatever.  There's always folks satisfied with pure crap, and don't care to change.Just a thought"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:a long time ago i tried my hand at TIG when i got experienced and comfortable thie stick.. it was nasty scratch start chaos and i hated it. never did it again.. it was a ghetto setup as well. but i made complete trash and it pissed me off. after years of stick, i did some MIG and found it to be able to be done in one's sleep after stick welding for years on end and on all types of metals and in weird situations and positions.when i became a machinist i had access to some synchrowave 350's.. i figured i'd give TIG one more chance.. i did aluminum.. 6061 T6511 to be exact.. .250 thick, freshly milled and cleaned in an acid dip. i was laying dimes in like 15 minutes.even the guy who was showing me the ropes was impressed, as was i. 2 things here.. setup is KIG, and good experience and a solid fundation of how to weld in other forms is king as well. i think i wouldn't have caught on quickly had it not been for knowing the ropes on MIG and stick. i will of course agree that al spreads heat and the puddle take a sec to build.. carbon and stainless steels are CAKE cake cake to weld with TIG. it's also pretty noisey.it's the AC i think.. DC is whisper quiet. the biggest thing is coordination of both hands and your favorite foot. a little time on some Al sheet or plate and you'll be welding everything well and consistently in maybe a day of hardcore practice and professional insight from your co-workers.http://kawispeed.com/ -moderator and tech deluxewww.myspace.com/trickortrack -cuz i have no life
Reply:Originally Posted by Donald BranscomI am frustrated with big box stores selling welding machines and not offering ANY welding books or even a simple pocket guide.