Author Topic: How To TIG Weld  (Read 22376 times)

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Offline Noel

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Re: How To TIG Weld
« Reply #90 on: August 17, 2009, 11:06:28 pm »
Fitter and turner ,work in marine industry


Material is 1.5mm

comments on welds
outside weld has not quite enough amps and I was using 2.5mm filler which is a bit big for the size of plate


inside fillet,  A  little  too many amps and got caught out and stopped then restarted need a bit more pre flow



Noel
« Last Edit: August 18, 2009, 06:33:12 am by Noel »

Ji Gantor

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Re: How To TIG Weld
« Reply #91 on: August 18, 2009, 08:08:42 am »
Hi Noel,
Thanks mate.

Ji

Ji Gantor

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Re: How To TIG Weld
« Reply #92 on: August 18, 2009, 08:35:07 am »
Hi Noel,
Are you left handed?
I see that the fish scale pattern on the open corner weld runs from left to right.
The 2.4mm filler rod did deposit a large bead but that is okay. The larger filler rod helps to cool the job as you weld so on thin metal it is a good idea.
The funny white boarder around the weld is a cleaning etch mark. The AC boils the alloy and all impurities float to the top and away from the bead. I see that the etch mark disappears and turns into a black carbon boarder on the right hand side. Also there is some pepper marks at the end of the bead on the right hand side. This can be avoided by better cleaning and more post gas.
If your electrode is blue after you have finished welding there is not enough post past flow.

On the T fillet weld it does look flat and that is a function of too many amps. The black spots are carbon due to lack of gas. Where the weld has started again near the black spots too many amps have made the bead widen. This is due to the increase of heat as you move along the job. A heat sink can help or if you have a foot control press all the way down to get the puddle formed and then easy back to half throttle. There will still be enough amps for welding but the heat will be reduced. The other way is to stop when the bead starts to widen, let it cool and start again.

Once you get the bead going it runs pretty fast so the heat sink is the way to go on thin jobs for me.
As Noel said keep the filler rod inside the gas shield at all times when welding.
Clean your filler rod before welding just like your plate.
When you stop or release the trigger hold the torch over the weld so the gas can shield the puddle until it hardens. If you do not that is where post pepper is formed.
When you get to the end of your run release the trigger hold the torch in position and keep feeding the filler rod into the puddle. This will fill the crater and prevent pepper.

Ji

Ji Gantor

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Re: How To TIG Weld
« Reply #93 on: August 18, 2009, 01:11:36 pm »
Hi Bahnsy,
How did it go last night.
I guess it went well seeing how we did not hear from you.

Ji
« Last Edit: August 19, 2009, 08:03:03 am by Ji Gantor »

Offline Marc.com

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Re: How To TIG Weld
« Reply #94 on: August 18, 2009, 01:40:07 pm »
No Bansy you are fine.
The pilot arc that Firko is talking about is not on your machine.
The arc on your machine is formed when you pull the trigger via the AC setting.
Ji


the AC pilot arc, is useful on Aluminium from memory is it scales the oxide layer before you go to DC.

hey Noel you alloy welding is good or as good as it needs to be for most occasions.

formerly Marc.com

Ji Gantor

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Re: How To TIG Weld
« Reply #95 on: August 19, 2009, 07:49:43 am »
Hi MarcFX,
Cool, I can learn something here.
How on bahnsy's machine do you set the pilot arc?

I hope I did not upset Firko as that was not my intension.
These new Chinese machines have a whole new bunch of features that were not on the top brands 5 years ago.

Ji

Ji Gantor

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Re: How To TIG Weld
« Reply #96 on: August 19, 2009, 08:32:59 am »
This is my first attempt at TIG welding steel.
It is a lot easier than aluminium.
I used a Miller Syncrowave 250 that had a gas tap on the torch. Mine has a micro switch that controls everything so this was a bit different.
The brown mark in the T was because I forgot to turn on the gas tap before welding. This unit has HF but we decided to try scratch starts instead for some thing new.
I did not clean this plate before or after welding and you can see the mill scale. This is not a usable weld but just good practise. These welds were performed in DC mode, 90 amps with the job clamp set to negative. Gas was set at 10L/m of flow and 10 seconds of post gas flow. Pulse was turned off. The plate was 3mm think, electrode was 2.4mm diameter gray and we used a 1.6mm diameter filler rod. This filler rod was not matched to the electrode but it was all we had. You certainly had to keep feeding the filler rod in.

Ji


« Last Edit: August 19, 2009, 09:46:08 am by Ji Gantor »

Ji Gantor

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Re: How To TIG Weld
« Reply #97 on: August 19, 2009, 08:37:02 am »
This is a series of tac welds laid down by my 14 year old son last night. This was his first attempt at TIG welding, and in fact this was his first attempt at any kind of welding.

Steel is certainly easier than aluminium.

Ji



Ji Gantor

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Re: How To TIG Weld
« Reply #98 on: August 19, 2009, 08:52:07 am »
Junior Ji or Kid Gantor in full battle dress ready to show that steel a thing or two.

Ji



Ji Gantor

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Re: How To TIG Weld
« Reply #99 on: August 27, 2009, 08:28:05 am »
Last night I practised making a box section from 3mm thick mild steel plate.
The open corner welding joint really suits this construction.
When everything is going well TIG is great to use.

Ji


« Last Edit: August 30, 2009, 08:49:16 am by Ji Gantor »

Offline Lozza

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Re: How To TIG Weld
« Reply #100 on: August 27, 2009, 08:45:08 am »
Ferrous needs a RED Thoriated electrode for DC welding for best results.ER70S2 or 6 give god results for filler rods.
Jesus only loves two strokes

Ji Gantor

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Re: How To TIG Weld
« Reply #101 on: August 27, 2009, 08:49:07 am »
We used the gray electrode (ceriated) because the thoriated is radioactive and can damage your lungs when grinding.

Ji

Offline Lozza

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Re: How To TIG Weld
« Reply #102 on: August 27, 2009, 12:05:51 pm »
MUCH more dust comes off the grinding wheel, you actually grind the electrode very little and the thoria is only 1-4% of the electrode .According to THIS the thorium oxide won't penetrate paper, so a cheap disposable mask is what I'll be wearing in the future
« Last Edit: August 27, 2009, 12:08:00 pm by Lozza »
Jesus only loves two strokes

Ji Gantor

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Re: How To TIG Weld
« Reply #103 on: August 27, 2009, 12:18:36 pm »
Hi Lozza,
I think they have done quite a few tests that state that with normal use it will not hurt you. We just decided to use an alternative.

Ji

oldfart

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Re: How To TIG Weld
« Reply #104 on: August 27, 2009, 03:46:33 pm »
Gi - find yourself a bit of S/steel plate and practice fushion welding on it  ;)  watch the stuff bend and twist out of shape. I'm a red tip man