TIG welding day 1

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Well, I got everything I needed to start TIG welding and here are the results from first atempt. I did like 4 or 5 runs without filler then decided to give the filler a try, just to see if I am coordinated enough for this. I'll be practicing more without the filler, but I wanted to see what I could do here without practice. I know it ain't purty, but I definitely learned quite a few things already. For instance, it looks like I was jumping to far in between filler dabs since it's so spread out on the first one. The 2nd one I did with the filler looks a little better, but I know it still no art piece. I need to learn to be a little more consistant I think. Well, thought I'd post this up here, maybe snap some pics as I progress throughout the future. Oh yeah, and the end is where I accidentally touched the filler to the tungsten, oopsy, regrind. Oh yeah, and this is with one of those Chinese 3in1 units, so no foot-pedal. I think one would help some as it seems I need to draw back the further I go as it starts to melt faster. But it starts easy enough with a press of the button.Last edited by kman0066; 04-19-2008 at 12:56 AM.
Reply:Considering how incredibly talented all these newbies seem to be at taking really blurry pictures, I'm surprised none of them have posted any pictures of Bigfoot*.Anyway, kman, it's next to impossible for anyone to offer good advise base solely on your first 3 inches of weld (especially when they are out of focus). I don't even understand why you stopped after running only those beads just to take a picture. Weld now, pictures later.I think that the best way for someone to start learning GTAW (a.k.a TIG) is to start with a piece of plate (not sheet metal) at least 6"-8" on each side at least 1/4" thick, preferably 3/8". Then grind the whole thing until it's shiny (both sides and edges), bonus points for wiping with acetone. I cannot stress enough to start on thick plate. When starting out you need to focus on moving the puddle in a straight line at a constant speed and coordinating the filler, not worrying about heat control on thin sheet. Trying to learn GTAW for the first time on sheet metal, especially without a foot control, is like to learn to sky-dive over northern France on the morning of June 6, 1941, it's not a good idea.Start at one edge of the plate and run a bead from end to end no no more than 1/16" from the edge, and starting and stopping no more than 1/8" from the ends. After that first bead, keep running bead right next to each other. By "right next to each other" I don't mean with a 1/2" gap between them, I mean overlapping slightly. There should barely be any "valley" between the beads. Keep running beads while keeping them straight and parallel to each other and the edge of the plate.It is helpful to keep a pair of pliers and a large bucket of water handy to cool the plate off in (careful, steam can hurt like hell). Just make sure it's dry before you keep welding.Don't fiddle with any settings on the machine until you have run at least two full beads with that setting. After the first 10-12 beads, stop messing with the settings all together. If you haven't found a the perfect setting by then, you aren't going to without help, just stop messing with it and run some beads.About the time the plate is half way covered, you'll finally find your rhythm. The goal is to be able to make consistent welds. It doesn't matter if they are consistently good or consistently bad, as long as they are all the same. Finish covering that side of the plate, then post pictures (preferably in focus). That being said, here's a picture I took of the plate I learned to GTA weld on when I was in school. It started off as 1/4" plate but I ran so many beads on it (front and back) that it is now uniformly 1/2" thick (click for larger view):* On second thought, some of the pictures that get posted around here are so blurry they could be of Bigfoot.Visit Tensaiteki.com