TIG welding for starters or idiots....

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Hi All,This my very first posting of a real question or it is going to be many questions.What I would like to do is to document carefully every hurdle or obstacle I encounter while trying to master TIG welding. I have very limited MIG/MAG experience but I would love to be able to TIG weld. In the next post I will show you my equipment, my tungsten and the results I am getting.I want to record all aspects to share this information with the next person that starts from scratch. The problem I am facing is that there is simply way to much information, to extract the essentials of TIG welding. I really hope that other starters will be able to use this information. It is almost a (only) hands on course on how to learn TIG welding. That is the spirit of this threat. So please take that to into account that the writer has no experience at all and/or doesn't know what is already available ie here on this forum. This thread will be used to bring this knowledge together so that a very practical approach on how to learn tig weld.Thanks!André
Reply:My first question is regarding the tungsten tip: you read that it needs to be as high from about 2 to 2.5 the width of the tungsten. My question: is it true that 1) it need to be let's call it very sharp? 2) (Or just the otherway around?)  make it sharp and then just take of the very sharp tip?It seems that if i make it very sharp that the very tip melts when I make a (small....) mistakes that contaminates my welding and that accelerates the whole process to a mis-weld
Reply:Think sharpened pencil.  That's about the taper.What machine do you have?  What kind of tungsten, size, amps your gonna weld at, material, AC or DC?You're gonna need to give more info to get more info.TA Arcmaster 300CM3XMT 304S22P12 suitcase feederX-Treme 12VSOptima pulserTA161SMaxstar 150STLHypertherm PM45OP setupStihl 020AVP, 039, 066 Magnum
Reply:I just learned to tig weld. It was easier than I thought.The easiest way to learn is to have someone nearby show you how to do it!I put an ad on craigslist and I could not believe the number of people that replied for $25 an hour. My guess in today's economy you could get people for $15 an hour if you are on a budget. Figgure paying for 2 to 4 hours for first lesson. Craigslist is a little annoying because you get people that are totally not qualfied responding. You might want to put the person must own a tig machine, that will weed out a lot of people (some of whom would otherwise be great teachers) but I dont' have all day to weed the wheat from the chaff. 2nd biggest help was watching video's online, esp. welding tips and tricks. on youtube.comAlso liked Tig welding fundamentals video by david bird on amazon.com around $40miller sells a book called tig welding for dummies it is a decent book you should probably read that. you can PM me your contact info. I have an extra copy if you want it. ,lastly the forum helped quite a bit, but honestly seeing it first hand is the best way to learn good luck.
Reply:My machine is :tungsten Wolfram WLa20 2.4x175  (11 pieces: very handy when starting)
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Reply:Originally Posted by AluminumWelder---snip----lastly the forum helped quite a bit, but honestly seeing it first hand is the best way to learn good luck.
Reply:I am also not sure what is easier to use: touch or a HF arc that triggers the arc? And I can't figure out only on the machine's interface  to start with a higher current to start the puddle and after that reduce the current when the puddle is fine. I am seriously thinking of building a peddle from a Volumen Pedel: these are much much Much cheaper and I guess exactly the same. Pedals for an inverter, Guitar amp or even a sowing machine are I think all the same : a resistor that changes based on how for you push the pedal  exactly the same a you would turn a volume knob : the welder versions a more rugget but that is it. Once you have enough experience you will know the amps used
Reply:A couple of years ago when I first started to learn tig, I found the Ron Covell Basic Tig and Advanced Tig videos quite helpful. I still think that it was money well spent. http://www.summitracing.com/search/B...FQq0nQodGhMARQ
Reply:Originally Posted by davido30093A couple of years ago when I first started to learn tig, I found the Ron Covell Basic Tig and Advanced Tig videos quite helpful. I still think that it was money well spent. http://www.summitracing.com/search/B...FQq0nQodGhMARQ
Reply:First mistake, you have a chinese machine.  Support the country in which you live and work and support your fellow workers, buy an American machine.....Sheeeeeeese.
Reply:Originally Posted by SidecarFlipFirst mistake, you have a chinese machine.  Support the country in which you live and work and support your fellow workers, buy an American machine.....Sheeeeeeese.
Reply:I bought the Basic TIG video and thought it was pretty good. What is good is he does a section in the video where he shows what happens when things go wrong. He does stuff like welding though oil, and welding with not enough gas and stuff like that to show what it looks like. Then he shows how to weld aluminum foil which was pretty cool.Good video for a beginner.kidtigger24  They think I’m crazy, but I know better. It is not I who am crazy. It is I who am MAD!
Reply:Originally Posted by SidecarFlipFirst mistake, you have a chinese machine.  Support the country in which you live and work and support your fellow workers, buy an American machine.....Sheeeeeeese.
Reply:Originally Posted by GambleHe is here for help, not to be criticized of his machine. Don't you know not everyone can afford american made. And from my experience; the china made welders are hit or miss. Some are crap and some are great. Nobody seems to be bashing a thermal arc product and it's not american made.
Reply:Originally Posted by SidecarFlipWell, I have a Hypertherm myself and it's American made by American workers (Thanks Jim Colt)  My take on a TIG machine, any machine for that matter is, if you can't afford a new one, buy a used American Made machine.  Lots of them out there.When the Chinese machine craps out and it will eventually, you have nothing except you gave the money to a foreign power.  Not too bright IMO.
Reply:Originally Posted by SidecarFlipFirst mistake, you have a chinese machine.  Support the country in which you live and work and support your fellow workers, buy an American machine.....Sheeeeeeese.
Reply:Dang this thread would have mods all over it already if it was on my forum, from such derailment.Back to the topic on hand--I remember seeing a picture, I think on the Miller website, detailing the differences between the arc cone shape of differently sharpened tungstens.  I'll see if I can find it.
Reply:I do my tungstens needle sharp as I can get them and tapered back about a half in or so.
Reply:Originally Posted by SidecarFlipFirst mistake, you have a chinese machine.  Support the country in which you live and work and support your fellow workers, buy an American machine.....Sheeeeeeese.
Reply:Originally Posted by DonoharmThat is an ITALIAN machine and  a very good one , Sure there are other brands you prob never heard about even better then that, like REHM, EWM etc
Reply:I'm also just barely starting to learn to TIG weld. I have heard a few different descriptions of tungsten sharpening depending on materials and process (AC vs. DC). Since I've only got a DC machine, I am experimenting with sharpening to a slightly flattened point. I'm mostly just working on running a puddle back and forth on a flat surface, occasionally adding some filler material. All mild steel, 75/25 gas. I am going to get some lessons in a few weeks, so for the time being I'm just playing.
Reply:Originally Posted by keithwinsI'm also just barely starting to learn to TIG weld. I have heard a few different descriptions of tungsten sharpening depending on materials and process (AC vs. DC). Since I've only got a DC machine, I am experimenting with sharpening to a slightly flattened point. I'm mostly just working on running a puddle back and forth on a flat surface, occasionally adding some filler material. All mild steel, 75/25 gas. I am going to get some lessons in a few weeks, so for the time being I'm just playing.
Reply:Originally Posted by spixI am also not sure what is easier to use: touch or a HF arc that triggers the arc? And I can't figure out only on the machine's interface  to start with a higher current to start the puddle and after that reduce the current when the puddle is fine.
Reply:Originally Posted by DonoharmThat is an ITALIAN machine and  a very good one , Sure there are other brands you prob never heard about even better then that, like REHM, EWM etcLet's remember that the Lincoln Invertec V205 and HTP TIGs are also made in Italy.So that graph proves to be counterintuitive.If you want a very tight narrow arc, a blunt "D" shaped tip should do the job as opposed to a sharp point?TA Arcmaster 300CM3XMT 304S22P12 suitcase feederX-Treme 12VSOptima pulserTA161SMaxstar 150STLHypertherm PM45OP setupStihl 020AVP, 039, 066 Magnum
Reply:Originally Posted by shovelonGood! Nice to know they are built in countries that value democratic values.
Reply:Originally Posted by Drf255Let's remember that the Lincoln Invertec V205 and HTP TIGs are also made in Italy.So that graph proves to be counterintuitive.If you want a very tight narrow arc, a blunt "D" shaped tip should do the job as opposed to a sharp point?
Reply:Originally Posted by spixI think that is true for many difficult skills, finding the all pittholes yourself is pretty difficult and time consuming. Welding tips and tricks is mostly for people that want to improve, not those that really start from scratch. It would be nice to have a sort of recepi for how to make your first tig weld on a flat scrap piece  4 or 5 mm thick metal: may be even use a guard or a piece of wood as a guard to make sure that the tungsten is at a certain height for example.reminds me of my approach in software: it is much easier to break something that works than the other way around.what I mean is that it is essential to be able to go back to something that works for sure: that is what I am after, a working starting point and that is also something I think what you are trying to say: find somebody that helps you learning the first principles so that you don't get frustrated or start spinning your wheels. Right?
Reply:Originally Posted by GambleFor TIG you want 100% argon.
Reply:Yup, probably so.  Get a tank of 100% argon and it will be night and day difference.