TIG welding practice

"Lemonhead" (lemonhead)
06/29/2014 at 21:01 • Filed to: None

I think I'm making progress. I've been welding since Tuesday of last week and with help from YouTube, I have been able to make it this far.

I build a steel grate to weld on, and make a couple of heat sinks out of copper tubing. With the heat sink, I was able to do the outside corner welds and the butt weld without making a complete mess. I still blew out the end until I started overlapping the heat sink better (like I did on the butt weld). For the butt weld, I sheared a piece almost all the way across so I could concentrate on the weld and not on the fitment - which is why it doesn't look like a butt weld.

I'm pretty happy with my progress.

DISCUSSION (13)

tromoly > Lemonhead
06/29/2014 at 21:36

Just looking at it, you could use a little more practice with heat penetration and consistent filling. Keep at it, you're getting better with practice.

Lemonhead > tromoly
06/29/2014 at 21:47

Yeah, I was inconsistent. It's 22 gauge I'm practicing on because I have to weld in patch panels on my hood project. It's taking me a bit of getting used to the puddle using the heat sinks. I tried without them and just blew holes left and right. So I got kind of scared to take time to get the puddle going correctly. Now, with the heat sink, I can make the puddle and can work on my filling and heat control. I still find myself seeing the puddle and moving it along and then I feel like maybe I've got too much heat and back off the pedal, then I see the puddle shrinking so I add more heat and finish.

I think it helps that I am a classically-trained pianist because I don't have a problem using both hands and the foot pedal - that feels natural to me.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Lemonhead
06/29/2014 at 21:53

Get a song in your head to help you keep rhythm. When you get to the end, to avoid blowing out, let up on the peddle until you have just enough amperage to maintain your arc. You could also try some thicker metal, I found it helpful when I was learning.

Not bad progress at all though. Stick with it, TIG is very rewarding once you get the hang of it.

Now try some aluminum!

Lemonhead > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
06/29/2014 at 22:00

I've got some thicker material. The thin stuff is my immediate need for my project so I decide to work on the welds I'll need. I think once I get used to managing the puddle I'll be able get the consistency down.

My machine is DC only so I can't do aluminum. I plan on upgrading in the future.

Thanks for the feedback!

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Lemonhead
06/29/2014 at 22:11

Oh darn. Then try welding two cans together if you can find steel ones. Soda cans are real fun, but they're aluminum. Make sure to get real good before trying it for real, you don't want to mess up your project.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Lemonhead
06/29/2014 at 22:18

You could also try switching hands. I write with my right hand, but hold the torch with my left and fill with my right, which is backwards from most people I know. Figuring that out was the major breakthrough in me learning to TIG. Now I can do it either way, but it made all the difference years ago.

I still think you should get the technique down on thicker and easier material before the thin stuff. Race car drivers don't start in F1, they probably start with go-carts.

Lemonhead > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
06/29/2014 at 22:26

I have thought about switching hands. I think it's probably a good thing to be able to do. Now that I have a process that will allow me to work on the thin stuff, I'm going to be practicing on thicker materials. The other part of the project is made out of 1" square tubing, so that's on the agenda. However, I think next up is going to be fillet welds - I didn't have good luck initially with them.

Lemonhead > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
06/29/2014 at 22:27

I have some steel cans I can use. I'll definitely give it a try.

SteyrTMP > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
06/29/2014 at 22:36

Yeah... I learned TIG on .060 3003 on my own. Chromoly seemed so easy after that.

BJohnson11 > Lemonhead
06/29/2014 at 23:20

Just keep practicing. TIG is a useful skill to have (especially if you have your own machine!). Consistent heat application comes with practice, as does consistent filler. Get a filler rod, and whenever you're just watching TV just practice feeding it through your hand. Find a technique that works (go to YouTube to find a few), and keep practicing it.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > SteyrTMP
06/29/2014 at 23:51

Yeah. I tried learning on the same stuff back in high school my spare time without anyone really showing me what to do, but didn't stick with it for very long. Came back to it a couple years later after learning steel, much easier then. But after learning how to weld aluminum pretty well I think I could do steel in my sleep.

Lemonhead > BJohnson11
06/30/2014 at 09:04

Thanks! Work on my filler rod feeding technique is something I definitely need. I used MIG wire for the filler on these practice pieces so it was really hard to do anything other than hold the wire and stop to move my hand back and restart again.

SteyrTMP > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
07/01/2014 at 00:24

Yeah... I had a decent learning curve—I learned on the 7.