My first TIG welds.

[newman]

I do a lot of MIG welding, but I've never TIG welded before, and I really needed to learn, so i tried today on my lunch break.

Practice 1:


Practice 2:


Then I thought I was competent enough to weld a mounting bung to my new catch can. It was a good thing to start on because you can't really see it, but it came out OK for a first try:


I'm not trying to brag about my welds, because they're not great, but I think for a first try, they're alright.

[Farbin Kaiber]

Not bad for a first few tries, but it is not a "stack of quarters", yet. Looks like with some steady arm training, you should have it.

[der affe]

not bad, you did noy appear to blow through any where. it looks like you have a little contamination there though. take a stainless steel wire brush and brush down both surfaces first before you weld along with wiping them down with brake cleaner then air drying them with compressed air. you can see where you stopped and started but it is not too bad either.

just do as much practicing as you can and it will come to you. gas welding is an excellent way to practice too.

[Bishop]

Looks damn good for aluminum first few attempts... I TIG welded stainless and carbon steel for 2 years + schooling and I have only attempted aluminum like twice, didn't look that good lol...

[FredK]

Not bad for a first few tries, but it is not a "stack of quarters", yet. Looks like with some steady arm training, you should have it.

I think there should be a rule, sort of like a rule where you call someone's gf ugly, that you need to post a pic of whom you're hitting. Can we see your welds?

[newman]

I think there should be a rule, sort of like a rule where you call someone's gf ugly, that you need to post a pic of whom you're hitting. Can we see your welds?

This is a duplicate post of one I made on a local forum. Someone on that forum asked:

"What makes a good weld"

Well, what makes a good weld isn't aesthetic, it can only be determined by xray or destructive testing, factors include penetration, solidity and a few other factors.

However, in the car world a "good weld" is something that's clean and straight and consistent.

It's also something that 98% of people can't do even a little bit, but are internet experts and critique the hell out of anyway.

[TwoJ's]

gas welding is an excellent way to practice too.

This was the biggest thing for me. When I learned to weld, I was forced to go through 20 lbs. of rod with the oxyacetylene welder before I was even allowed to touch the TIG, MIG or stick welders. I got proficient at gas welding and the TIG shit came easy.

[Wh33lhop]

Shit, they look good to me. And by good I mean relatively pretty.

[der affe]

TIG is gas welding using electricity to generate the heat VS flame. it is an easy way to watch the metal's behavior too. you can watch how it cools and how to move your puddle easier with gas too. that way when your TIG, it will come as second nature.

it looks like you monting bracket that you welded on to it was a thicker alum? it also looks like you were feeding your rod in while the weld was still kinds of cold. in situations where you are welding a thicker metal to a thinner metal you need to put your heat into the thicker metal and draw it into the thinner metal. you should get it to flow into the thinner metal then use your rod to cool the puddle if it starts to get thin (remember that it takes some temp away to heat your filler rod). if there is a big difference in the thickness and the host metal is thin and it is on a mounting point, i will run back over it with the torch and some rod to reinforce it abd regain the orginal thickness of the metal.

not crapping on your work, just throwing out some hints.

[newman]

TIG is gas welding using electricity to generate the heat VS flame. it is an easy way to watch the metal's behavior too. you can watch how it cools and how to move your puddle easier with gas too. that way when your TIG, it will come as second nature.

it looks like you monting bracket that you welded on to it was a thicker alum? it also looks like you were feeding your rod in while the weld was still kinds of cold. in situations where you are welding a thicker metal to a thinner metal you need to put your heat into the thicker metal and draw it into the thinner metal. you should get it to flow into the thinner metal then use your rod to cool the puddle if it starts to get thin (remember that it takes some temp away to heat your filler rod). if there is a big difference in the thickness and the host metal is thin and it is on a mounting point, i will run back over it with the torch and some rod to reinforce it abd regain the orginal thickness of the metal.

not crapping on your work, just throwing out some hints.

If I were mig welding this I would have preheated the block. But I was too busy trying to think about everything else I needed to do that I didn't want to add in another step.

[87e30]

I have NO idea how to weld. I'm impressed. This is an awesome skill so you can make your own stuff.

[der affe]

no worries, you can actually do a good enough job preheating it with your TIG torch for it too work just fine.

sounds like you have a good understanding of welding and metal behavior, it all applies the same to TIG. welding alum is just a little different because it dissapates the heat quickly, thereby causing you to use more heat to make up for that.

all you need is more seat time to get used to it and you are golden.

are you using a foot controled reostat or a finger controled on the torch? for me it was harder to use the finger control so i always use the foot controls.

[newman]

Foot controls.

[hoveringuy]

I have a flux core Mig with gas capability that I haven't taken advantage of yet, mainly because I move so often that I couldn't move the bottles.

I'm looking for a Tig now but will probably get gas as a stop-gap.

I'm definitely not a great welder, but I have much more appreciation for those that are!

[Farbin Kaiber]

I'll have to find pics of the fence repair I did. (stock fence for the cows.) It was Oxy/Act, and I was not trying to be pretty, but it worked. Sorry to have spoken. (Father was a welder for 15 years, been around it a bit, thought I could share visual insight.)