The Welding Thread

[IronFreak]

Been doing this for years :)

Polish it with some fine paper, and watch how controlled you can be at low amps. I've welded razor blades and beer cans that way - had a very stable arc down to ~5amps.

How fine? 400?

[ForcedFirebird]

How fine? 400?

Hmm, don't exactly remember. Been years since I welded cans/razors together lol.

Today I drilled the tungesten on the stone, then on the belt sander (blah blah, it was about to be changed, don't lecture me on inclusions), 120 grit. Almost took a pic and posted here, but didn't have time - had a 5pm dyno appt and was welding the pipes at 4.

[marshallnoise]

Tried my hand at tig today. .040 sharpened ceriated tungsten. 30 amps and 15 cfh argon flow and a #4 cup. No filler added at all. Just wanted to see how hard it was to start the arc and see if I could shove some steel around. It works. But I am not thrilled with the gas coverage. It is awfully windy around where I live in the afternoons so when I would arc up, it would work great, then the wind would blow the gas coverage. And obviously I don't have a steady hand at all because I kept dipping the tungsten into the work, soaking up metal. Then the arc was just wild and pointless.

But I can see what all the fuss is about with TIG. The control is amazing when it is working right. It is super easy to lift start an arc and I only had problems when the gas isn't covering well and the tungsten is all covered in crap. Obviously I am a novice...but wow. It is going to be fun!











Edit: I think the .040 is too small of a tungsten even for 20 gauge. It is hard to sharpen mainly. I am going to get some 1/16" stuff.

[pantelones]

Today I drilled the tungesten on the stone, then on the belt sander (blah blah, it was about to be changed, don't lecture me on inclusions), 120 grit. Almost took a pic and posted here, but didn't have time - had a 5pm dyno appt and was welding the pipes at 4.

I always polish my tungsten, it helps with arc starts and if you get too close it will actually repel the puddle instead of sticking. I can't imagine why you would go to the extent of using a drill, I have never had problems just "rolling" it through my fingers.

I much prefer my little harbor freight bench ginder... The left is a stiff brillo pad material that I polish with, and the right side is for shaping. I always sharpen and polish parallel, and toward the tip. I also run a vacuum wedged in the vice next to it, and it sucks up the dust right away so you don't have to breath it in.

IMG_0175 by Los Pantelones!, on Flickr

Edit: I think the .040 is too small of a tungsten even for 20 gauge. It is hard to sharpen mainly. I am going to get some 1/16" stuff.

Nah, .040 is good for 50amps DC- and that basically puts you at 16ga. You need a wind screen to protect the work area from sweeping you argon away. Cardboard, old window screens, plywood, whatever... You need to build a barrier.

[marshallnoise]

Nah, .040 is good for 50amps DC- and that basically puts you at 16ga. You need a wind screen to protect the work area from sweeping you argon away. Cardboard, old window screens, plywood, whatever... You need to build a barrier.

I think choosing the time of day I weld will help too. It is dead calm from 11-1 pm. Thanks for the confirmation with the .040. I will work with it some more. I am looking at gas lens kits too. I think that will help a lot too.

[Eric]

slow your speed! Also, let up on the pedal slowly, this prevents the crater in your puddle. Does your little everlast box have post flow settings? If it does, keep your torch pointed towards the puddle/hot zone until the post flow stops flowing, this keeps the argon in the area protecting the weld.

[marshallnoise]

slow your speed! Also, let up on the pedal slowly, this prevents the crater in your puddle. Does your little everlast box have post flow settings? If it does, keep your torch pointed towards the puddle/hot zone until the post flow stops flowing, this keeps the argon in the area protecting the weld.

My box doesn't have any gas controls or a pedal. I have observed that snapping out and then putting the gas back on the end of the weld works.

I know I am really handicapped with my machine. But many a welder have done this more with an AC/DC buzz box and the same gas setup as me so I am determined.

Speed is something I need to practice. I am going to get some thicker scrap to practice with. Then I can see the technique involved.

Thanks for the help!

[ForcedFirebird]

I always polish my tungsten, it helps with arc starts and if you get too close it will actually repel the puddle instead of sticking. I can't imagine why you would go to the extent of using a drill, I have never had problems just "rolling" it through my fingers.

I much prefer my little harbor freight bench ginder... The left is a stiff brillo pad material that I polish with, and the right side is for shaping. I always sharpen and polish parallel, and toward the tip. I also run a vacuum wedged in the vice next to it, and it sucks up the dust right away so you don't have to breath it in.

IMG_0175 by Los Pantelones!, on Flickr





Nah, .040 is good for 50amps DC- and that basically puts you at 16ga. You need a wind screen to protect the work area from sweeping you argon away. Cardboard, old window screens, plywood, whatever... You need to build a barrier.

I don't have a problem using my fingers either, the drill just speeds put he process. Takes about 3 seconds per tungsten that way, and it's easier to keep the nice and concentric.

[IronFreak]

Tried my hand at tig today. .040 sharpened ceriated tungsten. 30 amps and 15 cfh argon flow and a #4 cup. No filler added at all. Just wanted to see how hard it was to start the arc and see if I could shove some steel around. It works. But I am not thrilled with the gas coverage. It is awfully windy around where I live in the afternoons so when I would arc up, it would work great, then the wind would blow the gas coverage. And obviously I don't have a steady hand at all because I kept dipping the tungsten into the work, soaking up metal. Then the arc was just wild and pointless.

But I can see what all the fuss is about with TIG. The control is amazing when it is working right. It is super easy to lift start an arc and I only had problems when the gas isn't covering well and the tungsten is all covered in crap. Obviously I am a novice...but wow. It is going to be fun!











Edit: I think the .040 is too small of a tungsten even for 20 gauge. It is hard to sharpen mainly. I am going to get some 1/16" stuff.

Some good suggestions but this is what I'm seeing based on the picture of your passes.

• Run something bigger that a #4 cup. you're running pretty low amperage. 15cfm and you're funneling all that directly through a 1/4" hole onto your arc. looks like you're getting blowout.
• Run a bit more stickout on your tungsten, even with your conventional cups you should still be able to run a good 1/2" without problems.

I've noticed that the small diameter cups are great for aluminum, but I don't ever run anything under a #8 with mild/SS

Also- setup in the garage to alleviate blowout from the wind, tig isn't spark happy like mig......if it is, you're doing it wrong :)

[marshallnoise]

Some good suggestions but this is what I'm seeing based on the picture of your passes.

• Run something bigger that a #4 cup. you're running pretty low amperage. 15cfm and you're funneling all that directly through a 1/4" hole onto your arc. looks like you're getting blowout.
• Run a bit more stickout on your tungsten, even with your conventional cups you should still be able to run a good 1/2" without problems.

I've noticed that the small diameter cups are great for aluminum, but I don't ever run anything under a #8 with mild/SS

Also- setup in the garage to alleviate blowout from the wind, tig isn't spark happy like mig......if it is, you're doing it wrong :)

Wonderful advice! I was definitely getting blowout. The largest cup I have on hand is a 6 so i will try that. I am waiting for the Dogfab stuff too. I think it will really help. With the .040, it is definitely a tiny arc.

My reasoning for practicing outside is because that is where the car will be welded. I picked a poor time in the day to practice at all. I had just done a butt load of other stuff and giving this a shot was an afterthought.

In all likelihood, I will be welding at night and there is no wind once the sun goes down here. So I think I will be good.

This thread is awesome. So much information!

[IronFreak]

Wonderful advice! I was definitely getting blowout. The largest cup I have on hand is a 6 so i will try that. I am waiting for the Dogfab stuff too. I think it will really help. With the .040, it is definitely a tiny arc.

My reasoning for practicing outside is because that is where the car will be welded. I picked a poor time in the day to practice at all. I had just done a butt load of other stuff and giving this a shot was an afterthought.

In all likelihood, I will be welding at night and there is no wind once the sun goes down here. So I think I will be good.

This thread is awesome. So much information!

A #6 with more stickout should be a lot better for you. you need to give the gas a little distance to disperse and provide more coverage.

Agreed, lots of good information being passed around.

[pantelones]

The regulator came back into stock ;D

IMG_0192 by Los Pantelones!, on Flickr

I did some reading and I found that generally stainless takes about 1/3 less amps than carbon steel. Backings, and heat-sinks are also commonly used to control heat. So, I lowered my amps to 50, and I made some heat sinks using copper tubing. ;)

IMG_0187 by Los Pantelones!, on Flickr

And just a few wiggles side to side breaks them off...

IMG_0188 by Los Pantelones!, on Flickr

IMG_0189 by Los Pantelones!, on Flickr

I have been purging 40 SCFH for a min or two, then bringing it down to 15, and it will drop to like 8 once the torch is flowing. I also have been running about 25 SCFH for the large lens. I just with that I could adjust post flow, a few times it would have saved a blue/purp bead from popping up.

IMG_0196 by Los Pantelones!, on Flickr

IMG_0198 by Los Pantelones!, on Flickr

Gold and full pen :)

IMG_0197 by Los Pantelones!, on Flickr

Almost done... Just needs the fillet, and then it gets polished

IMG_0199 by Los Pantelones!, on Flickr

This turned out pretty nice... I don't think I could bend the tube this good again if I tried haha I didn't take any photos, but I have a JD2 model 32 bender that was used for this.

IMG_0200 by Los Pantelones!, on Flickr

Muffler is almost done, I just need to decide between a plate with holes, or a mesh type thing to hold the SS wool packing that I'm going to put in. Hopefully going to finish this tomorrow after picking up another tank, I can't believe how fast I went through almost 1000 PSI :crazy:

IMG_0202 by Los Pantelones!, on Flickr

[ForcedFirebird]

1000psi on a 300cf tank seems like a lot of gas to go through on those few welds.

[IronFreak]

1000psi on a 300cf tank seems like a lot of gas to go through on those few welds.

I agree......you might want to invest in a better purge setup. I back purged my entire manifold and didn't use that much argon. I went and bought a small gas lens and made an adapter to screw it into the end of my purge line. I don't purge over 10scfh and have no issues with penetration or proper coverage. There is no reason you should have to purge that high for that long, that pipe can't be more that 2" in diameter.

diffusing is your friend....not just at the torch.

Edit:

All that being said, very nice job! looks like a fun little minibike!

Edit #2:



I've learned to be smarter about how I purge as well. In this case, you're purging several inches away from your joint. I would have balled up some foil, stuffed it into the long piece 1-2" past the welded end, and purged into the small piece. Then you're only purge a few cu.in. instead of that entire piece. Just food for thought. One you're done shove a coat hanger in there and yank out the foil.

[pantelones]

1000psi on a 300cf tank seems like a lot of gas to go through on those few welds.

125cf tank... I also did 6 or so practice pieces as a warm up so I used a bit more than just the welds shown. And I think I left the gas on once for 5-10min when I dipped my tungsten and took a frustration dump haha

I agree......you might want to invest in a better purge setup. I back purged my entire manifold and didn't use that much argon. I went and bought a small gas lens and made an adapter to screw it into the end of my purge line. I don't purge over 10scfh and have no issues with penetration or proper coverage. There is no reason you should have to purge that high for that long, that pipe can't be more that 2" in diameter.

diffusing is your friend....not just at the torch.

Edit:

All that being said, very nice job! looks like a fun little minibike!

Edit #2:



I've learned to be smarter about how I purge as well. In this case, you're purging several inches away from your joint. I would have balled up some foil, stuffed it into the long piece 1-2" past the welded end, and purged into the small piece. Then you're only purge a few cu.in. instead of that entire piece. Just food for thought. One you're done shove a coat hanger in there and yank out the foil.

First off, :thankyou: My brother is quite happy with the way it's turning out :D

I didn't even think about diffusing the purge line... And again, I have a 125cf tank so it's not that excessive, but it still was a lot more than I should have used. As with everything in TIG welding, work smarter not harder haha Thanks for the tips!

You also state that you don't purge over 10SCFH, and is that during welding, or including prepping the tubing? I read almost everyone that works with stainless will do a 20-40SCFH purge for a time per volume for the work piece, then drop it down to 5 while welding.