Got a welder, now the fun begins...

[GreenMonti]

You might also look into Tri-Mix (WS2) from Diamond Ground Products.
I use this tungsten for alloy steels as well as aluminum, plus it's doesn't contain any radioactive elements like thoriated(red) tungsten.

Its a bummer being in aerospace. The 2% is all they allow us to use.

 

[BrewBeemer]

Got a 125cf bottle of argon and 4lbs of filler.

I still need coolant. The welding supply ordered the coolant and should have it after 4 pm tomorrow.

Gettin closer.

Cool beans Ed, you'll be tiggin this weekend.
Report back once you have gas plus a properly
dressed tungsten, size matching amps with your HF arc test.

Just showed the wifey your welder, she said
"Houstion We Have A Problem".
She gave up after one look at my 350 Sync.
I'll practice on Mr.Miller before twisting her knobs later.

 

[Ohio-Ed]

A question for you guys...

I'm going to have 2 coolant hoses, 1 argon hose, and the 120vac line running from the back of the welder to the bottom front panel.

I'm thinking of hanging a 2" pvc sleeve under the cart to run the lines in. Any reason to separate any of these lines? See any problems with doing this? What do others do?

Ed

 

[BrewBeemer]

Ed,
I would run the 120 VAC cooler power cord seperate, keep it away from
the torch HF / current line. My thinking induction between the two rather be safe than sorry.

 

[Ohio-Ed]

Ed,
I would run the 120 VAC cooler power cord seperate, keep it away from
the torch HF / current line. My thinking induction between the two rather be safe than sorry.

BB,

That's why I asked. I can hang two sleeves, no problem.

Thanks,
Ed

 

[BrewBeemer]

Ya owe me!

 

[Ohio-Ed]

Ya owe me!

I agree

Ed

 

[BrewBeemer]

I bet your wife wants to kick my butt for infecting you with Tig?

 

[Ohio-Ed]

Got coolant and an extension hose today.

Other than a clean piece of 1/8" mild steel to practice on, I think I have every thing I need to give it my first try.

With any luck, tomorrow is the day.

Ed

 

[Ohio-Ed]

Here we go...

My first tungsten grind (it's 3/32"):

Not sure how much tungsten I need to have exposed, but here is where I started:

Rough ground test material. It's a cutout from my panel, it's about .080" thick.

VERY FIRST Attempt with the torch (This is actually my second attempt. I could not get a puddle on the first, then realized I had the welder set to 10amps to test HF Start) :

Backside:

After the flap sander:

OK, who wants their keg welded? Bring it on over...

So, I will be playing and will post some more pics as I go. I'm going to switch to a 1/16" tungsten

Sorry about the large pictures, I didn't feel like taking the time to re-size.
Are they too large?


Ed

 

[Ohio-Ed]

Wow... I'm now even more impressed by the work that some of the folks have shown here. Even IF you get everything set right (not sure I have done that yet), managing the pedal, feeding the rod, keeping the torch a consistent distance and speed is A LOT to coordinate.

After a few more practices:

 

[dmfa200]

Ed,
Sharpen the tungsten to a sharp point. The angle of the point is good though.
The exposure will vary with the type of joint. You will need more stick out for deep grooves, tight spots, or weird angles.
Do you have a gas lens under your cup or a gas diffuser? Gas lenses will give you a more consistent gas column coming from the cup which means improved shielding.

 

[bendavanza]

I'm jealous. TIG is on my list of things to learn.
FWIW, my friend has some kind of abrasive wheel on his grinder, it's more soft, maybe a scotch brite (but much denser) wheel. He sharpens the tungstens on a belt sander and then finishes them on the wheel, which has worn down a nice groove in the center from the tungstens. This makes a very sharp point like a pencil and it's less blunt than what you did, I'm sure every one has their preferences. I've done a lot of tungsten sharpening for him while he welds stuff for me.

 

[dmfa200]

Check this out...
http://www.millerwelds.com/resources/calculators/tig_amperage_calculator.php

 

[Ohio-Ed]

Ed,
Sharpen the tungsten to a sharp point. The angle of the point is good though.
The exposure will vary with the type of joint. You will need more stick out for deep grooves, tight spots, or weird angles.
Do you have a gas lens under your cup or a gas diffuser? Gas lenses will give you a more consistent gas column coming from the cup which means improved shielding.

Thanks for the feedback.
I read different things on sharpening to a fine point vs a "blunt" tip. I will resharpen to a fine point. I do not have a gas lens, just the collett holder. Not sure if that is the same as a gas diffuser? With my whooping 15 minutes experience with a torch, 90% of the time, I pull the torch away at the end of the weld instead of taking my foot off the pedal and letting the post flow do it's work.

I'm jealous. TIG is on my list of things to learn.
FWIW, my friend has some kind of abrasive wheel on his grinder, it's more soft, maybe a scotch brite (but much denser) wheel. He sharpens the tungstens on a belt sander and then finishes them on the wheel, which has worn down a nice groove in the center from the tungstens. This makes a very sharp point like a pencil and it's less blunt than what you did, I'm sure every one has their preferences. I've done a lot of tungsten sharpening for him while he welds stuff for me.

Thanks for responding.
I bought a bunch of tools from a guy a couple months ago and he threw in a cheap belt/disk sander. I think it has found a new life as a tungsten sharpener. The belt on it is fairly course which makes quick work of shaping, I'll look for a finer disk that I can use for finishing.


Ed

 

[Ohio-Ed]

Check this out...
http://www.millerwelds.com/resources/calculators/tig_amperage_calculator.php

Got it bookmarked

I used it on the angle I welded.

Ed

 

[BrewBeemer]

Boy I missed all todays action Ed.
Been out directing the wife and kids to replace my X-mas
decorations the fence seems a group of people ripped me off
last night plus other neighbors I alone lost over $350 worth.

Ed, it's a big learning curve ya just have to hold your tongue correctly to tig.
Call it mutitasking like clutch, brake and throttle for heel toe shifting like on a road course.

I would recommend a pointed and smooth finished tungsten vs the small blunt tip.
I forgot, how's the HF start working now?
Tig on bro......~=o&o>........

 

[Ohio-Ed]

Boy I missed all todays action Ed.
Been out directing the wife and kids to replace my X-mas
decorations the fence seems a group of people ripped me off
last night plus other neighbors I alone lost over $350 worth.

Ed, it's a big learning curve ya just have to hold your tongue correctly to tig.
Call it mutitasking like clutch, brake and throttle for heel toe shifting like on a road course.

I would recommend a pointed and smooth finished tungsten vs the small blunt tip.
I forgot, how's the HF start working now?
Tig on bro......~=o&o>........

HF starts are working good. I have the intensity set to about 25.
The only time have had issues is when I've gotten a bit close to the work with the tungsten (ok, ok... I touched the puddle)

A couple times I had a bit of trouble and found that if I just touched the cup sideways to the work piece the HF would kick right in.

I really haven't had much trouble keeping an arc. Keeping the pedal constant has been the challenge.

Ed

 

[BrewBeemer]

My friend after Tigging a couple years still piles on the heat and filler, heat affected zone way too wide not necessary with tig this ain't stick welding.
It's sad with this bad economy high schools plus adult ed classes not having night welding classed like years ago.
Best to learn right than to break bad self taught habits, i'm guilty.
How long of a HF arc do you get now that your spark gap contacts have been cleaned and gapped?
Inlaws coming i'm out of here sorry Ed. The wife hits harder.

 

[Ohio-Ed]

My friend after Tigging a couple years still piles on the heat and filler, heat affected zone way too wide not necessary with tig this ain't stick welding.
It's sad with this bad economy high schools plus adult ed classes not having night welding classed like years ago.
Best to learn right than to break bad self taught habits, i'm guilty.
How long of a HF arc do you get now that your spark gap contacts have been cleaned and gapped?
Inlaws coming i'm out of here sorry Ed. The wife hits harder.

HF arc is probably at least 1/2".

I understand the need to avoid gettin the wife after you. The worst beatin I ever had was from the SWMBO and she never laid a hand on me

Ed

 

[GreenMonti]

Damn glad to see you got it running.

IMO, your not doing too bad. That last pic, that piece would be hard to learn on due to the holes. I understand that practice is done on what ever you can spare. The holes will cause heat fluctuations in the puddle. However, what I see I don't think its half bad for the first go.

I also like to sharpen my tungsten to a point, due to being lazy and not putting in the flay spot. The more steep or the more short the point is, the more penetration. I sharpen mine at 50*.

 

[Dynachrome]

...I need an argon bottle, some filler material and I'd like to run the correct coolant instead of distilled water. ...

Ed

While you're at it look around for the bits you'll need to run argon or CO2 inside whatever you're welding. It protects the back side of the weld.

At least read a little on it.

I'm really jealous. I've been after my wife to let me get one for 20+ years.

 

[Ohio-Ed]

Damn glad to see you got it running.

IMO, your not doing too bad. That last pic, that piece would be hard to learn on due to the holes. I understand that practice is done on what ever you can spare. The holes will cause heat fluctuations in the puddle. However, what I see I don't think its half bad for the first go.

I also like to sharpen my tungsten to a point, due to being lazy and not putting in the flay spot. The more steep or the more short the point is, the more penetration. I sharpen mine at 50*.

GM,

Thanks for chiming in.

The holes did make it a bit of a challenge. One benefit was it forced me to "feather" the pedal at each hole.

Looking around the shop, nearly all the scrap metal I have is painted. It's a pain to have to strip the paint, before practicing. I really need to come up with some scrap to practice with.

Ed

 

[GreenMonti]

GM,

Thanks for chiming in.

The holes did make it a bit of a challenge. One benefit was it forced me to "feather" the pedal at each hole.

Looking around the shop, nearly all the scrap metal I have is painted. It's a pain to have to strip the paint, before practicing. I really need to come up with some scrap to practice with.

Ed

Well, you could grind the weld off that piece and weld on it again, and again...... Then you would get more practice with the feathering of the pedal.

When I get those pieces of "metal cloth" for you, I'll also send you some small pieces of tubing so you can build a purge out of it. I'll see what I can do about some small squares of scrap sheet too. Then you can play with SS, Inconel, and I'll try to grab some titanium just for fun.

 

[dmfa200]

You could also try asking around at some small job shops.
They always have scraps lying around, and may give you some.
It will probably be carbon steel but any time under the hood is gonna help.
Don't call ahead just show up. It's easier to tell someone "no" over the phone than face to face. Tell them that your learning how to weld and they most likely will oblige you.

 

[Berniep]

For welding in AC mode the way you sharpened the tungsten was good but in dc mode I find a sharp point focuses the arc better.
I ordered a "T" from the local welding shop that connects to the bottle and bought a cheap flowmeter off of ebay to supply backgassing. I was afraid that with a "T" after the flowmeter I could not be sure of the flow to the torch.

 

[GreenMonti]

You could also try asking around at some small job shops.
They always have scraps lying around, and may give you some.
It will probably be carbon steel but any time under the hood is gonna help.
Don't call ahead just show up. It's easier to tell someone "no" over the phone than face to face. Tell them that your learning how to weld and they most likely will oblige you.

That's a good point. You may get a lot further ahead if you agree to bring back the scrap after your done with it. They may just let you pilfer the scrap bin all you want.

 

[BrewBeemer]

The local college auto shop instructor always collects exhaust pipe scraps for his students, the scrap man gets what's left.

Ed, save that scrap with holes for filling holes shut later.
As I told you before is to tap off for back gassing before
the flow meter to not starve the torch like mentioned above.
You get a Vee Neck sunburn yet?

 

[Ohio-Ed]

While you're at it look around for the bits you'll need to run argon or CO2 inside whatever you're welding. It protects the back side of the weld.

At least read a little on it.

I'm really jealous. I've been after my wife to let me get one for 20+ years.

Thanks, I'm familiar with back purging. The need to back gas is real, but I'm not sure it's a skill... just something you do or don't (maybe figuring out how to do it effectively is a skill). I'm thinking I want to practice and work on my coordination before worrying too much about the backside. That way I will also be saving gas. I am thinking of the stuff I will need.

Ed

 

[Ohio-Ed]

Well, you could grind the weld off that piece and weld on it again, and again...... Then you would get more practice with the feathering of the pedal.

When I get those pieces of "metal cloth" for you, I'll also send you some small pieces of tubing so you can build a purge out of it. I'll see what I can do about some small squares of scrap sheet too. Then you can play with SS, Inconel, and I'll try to grab some titanium just for fun.

GM,

Thanks! I have some SS (keg cutouts and 1/2" tubing) and some aluminum. I thought I would be better off working on my coordination with mild steel before wasting the "good stuff" Anything you can put together would be appreciated. Just let me know, I'll be happy to cover shipping.

Ed