TIG Sound

Very new to TIG, so bear with me....

I have done a lot, relatively, of MIG and Stick welding. Quite a bit of O/A brazing, so the basic concepts are within my realm it's just a mattter of mastering a new set of techniques.

I was trying to practice last night. Needless to say, I need more.

My setup: Very old Miller 330A/BP w/ 3/32 2% th tungsten. 0.050 stainless. DCEN set for max current of around 55A.

My first question is what sort of sound am I going for when I have an arc going? When I had a good crackle/sizzle going the arc seemed real erratic and not very hot. At a certain point, I could get it almost silent but then I would melt off my tungsten, or just get the whole coupon red hot and not really weld anything.

How fast should I move across the weld once I get a puddle? Just kind of watch the fusion puddle and move along accordingly.

I was having trouble getting a good puddle going, but I think I have found a few flaws with my method that may correct that.

Did a lot of research on this group today and I think I have found the answers to a lot of questions, or at least ideas of things to try tonight....

Thanks

JW

Reply to
Jeridiah
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Well your amperage is a little high for a flat weld.

1 amp per 0.001" minus 30% for SS = 37 amps.

Dial the machine is right, then move the tungsten in until you get your puddle.

The final weld should be no wider than 2 times the thickness of the metal.

Torch travels in a straight line, sliding along. No weaving, no zig zags. Torch has a 70 deg angle to the metal. Filler metal comes in at a 30 deg angle.

Filler metal taps in at a even pace. tap..tap..tap..

The more consistent your filler metal is , the more consistent your welds will be.

Reply to
Ernie Leimkuhler

Found a few things wrong and now my welds looks basically acceptable given my level of experience:

1) Wrong polarity (oops, switch was flipped the wrong way) 2) Too much power 3) Moving to fast

#1 was the biggest offender. Explains why I was burning up my tungsten. #2 minor. Still doing it a little bit, but I'll work on that. #3 working on this. Trying to develop a rhythm, but I didn't do to bad this time around.

Now I am developing a puddle and can get the filler rod dipped in it. Having a little issue with dipping/sticking the tungsten but that's something I need to work on.

So overall... Woo hoo, I can TIG! Not exactly boiler certified yet, but I have a start.

JW

Reply to
Jeridiah

(snip)

Sounds like a good addition to the Welding FAQ page.

Be careful. Uploading binaries to this group will piss off a lot of folks. Most of us use the Metalworking.com dropbox.

Just go here, and you will understand.

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The welds look OK, but a little erratic and a little cold. On 3/16" steel I would be bevelling both edges so I had a V-groove. This means less dilution of the parent metal, and lower amps to weld the piece.

Tack at each end, run real tight root pass, and then a slower cover pass. Say around 120 amps, and 1/16" flller.

For a single pass, full penetration, weld you would need 180 amps, and

3/32" filler.

Reply to
Ernie Leimkuhler

Yeah, I'd like to see something like that, and offer to help out with the technical details if needed.

Yeah, I thought about that after I did that. Won't do again.

Ah, thats perfect - thanks for the tip/pointer.

Excelent, thanks very much for the tip and pointers. I'll try that here this evening or tomorrow. 3/32 1.5% Lanthenated tungsten Ok for the torch ?

Thanks again.

Reply to
Mr Wizzard

Yes, if you e-mail the pictures and explaination to me, I can post them on WeldingFaq.com We don't have a "picture uploader" set up yet.

Then I'll add comments from the experts (as they come in).

Finally a 'corrected' photo will show the improved results.

Larry

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'Web Guy & Hobbyist Welder'

Reply to
Gomez

(snip)

Yes, should be fine. A 3/32" Lanthanated should be able to go up to 220 amps on DCEN.

Reply to
Ernie Leimkuhler

This sounds like a good idea. I found some pictures of good/bad arc welds but nothing for TIG welds. This would have been great.

I ended up showing some of my first stuff to our TIG welder and work and he said that it looked pretty good. Little too much heat(which I knew), and he commented that I was sweeping a little bit when I was laying a bead, and not to do that. Habits from doing primarily arc welding for a long time.

JW

Reply to
Jeridiah

That sounds like a heck of a plan - I think that would be ultra usefull for newbies like myself. Same with stick welding too I suspose. a Lot of us learn by real-word pictures, and the pics in some of these text books are hard to see/understand.

Reply to
Mr Wizzard

I strongly suggest finding a local welding program in your area.

It is one thing to have someone tell you what is wrong with your work and quite another for them to demonstrate what you are doing wrong and show you how to do it right.

I took a course at the local Mesa Community College (what a awesome welding shop!) and the instructor was the nicest guy but serious about what he would "pass" as a good weld.

You should see my aluminum TIG welds (straight, horiz corner, up and up corner.) they all look like welds you would see on a production line. There was times I was frustrated about how picky he was about the welds but in the end I was a much better welder for it.

This was a one semester course that met for 2 4 hour sessions per week and if space was available you could "drop in" on other days.

It was awesome to drop in on the Tues - Thurs night class. 30 stick boxes going, 20 Acetylene torches, 10 Migs, 5 Tigs with people waiting to use the Migs and Tigs. 3 Instructors were all busy. No worry about them closing this class.

Reply to
Bart D. Hull

I would love to do this, but the only welding class I can find at the local tech college doesn't have a schedule that works with mine, unless I feel like cutting work for a few weeks. They list it as an adult education class, but it starts at 3:00. What's up with that?

The one class they do have at 6:00 covers MIG/SMAW which I already feel pretty confident, but the TIG class doesn't work for me.

I know a guy that works for a welding shop that is generally considered a welding guru. It's just a matter of coordinating our schedules a little bit so he could look over my shoulder and see what I am doing right/wrong.

JW

Reply to
Jeridiah

So how's that instructional tape/DVD going? Any release date yet? I keep looking for it on Amazon.

Reply to
breezed

Well I am teaching enough this quarter that I don't have to do any contracting so I wil finally have some cash and some time to work on the book and tape.

Reply to
Ernie Leimkuhler

At my local CC, there is one instructor that teaches all of them, so you can take any class in any of the sessions, if he's OK with it. Call the instructor and ask what you can do.

Reply to
Rich Jones

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