how hard to learn to TIG?

[bad_religion_au]

obviously any form of mastery at TIG welding will require lots of practice, but how hard is it to pick up and start having a go at? Dad's workshop has a TIG sitting round collecting dust because they always just MIG their stuff up, and i wouldn't mind giving it a go.

is it a steep learning curve/theory intense thing?

[SteelArt]

it is not that hard to Tig as such it is sort of like Oxy Welding in that you feed your filler into your arc and off you go.

If you have a steady hand and a good eye and understand what you are tryig to do you will pick it up quickly. To master it takes practise.

You will never know unless you give it a go. I TIG as a love it, I Mig cause I want metal to stick togeather. TIG is a lot more precise and accurate but as you are often doing it on alloy and stainless where you want to leave the welds showing if often looks like crap unless you are quite good at it.

Have a look on You Tube and the Miller Website, there are some good vidoes showing how to get goeing.

If you have access to a TIG then give it a go. I have a mate who had never welded TIG before in his life and I was amazed how quick he picked it up.

[bad_religion_au]

cheers for that, dad is pretty schmick with oxy welding, so no doubt he'll have some pointers (he hasn't TIG'D either...). guess i'll have to have a shot next time i get the chance. just reading your last thread with all the pulse width sine wave inverter tech talk made me go... hmmm better not fawk with it.

[SteelArt]

cheers for that, dad is pretty schmick with oxy welding, so no doubt he'll have some pointers (he hasn't TIG'D either...). guess i'll have to have a shot next time i get the chance. just reading your last thread with all the pulse width sine wave inverter tech talk made me go... hmmm better not fawk with it.

Ok I would ignore all that wave crap if I was you, that was just me justifying spending a lot of money on something I wanted to play with, most older tigs won't let you stuff with it and for most it is not an issue, kind of like saying you can't go 4WDING without diff locks, of course you can.

Check out these for a "Miller" prospective will help you with some terms etc - http://www.millerwelds.com/resources/vi ... y/tig.html#

Ron Corvell has a few good vidoes out there which take you through it and is a good place to start.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR8Rlpf0ELQ

[highwaychook]

TIG is great. As already said it's a very concentrated strong weld.

Aluminium is tricky 1st up.

Grab some steel and give it a go with the remote.

Don't get a TIG flash, been there done that one...

[Bluefreak]

Sharpen the tungsten electrode regularly, if you stick it to the job, sharpen again - a sharp electrode provides a better flame and more accurate welding...

Edfit: welding thin stuff like staino tube, you can use just the flame without filler to make tacks, once the job is self supporting it's easier to get a handle on feeding the filler... Also, grab a length of filler rod and play with it when you have free time, practice feeding it between your fingers - this helps weld continuity by not having to stop and reset your hand on the rod...

[Dzltec]

If you can oxy butt or fill weld, tig is the next step. Its not hard, keep everything clean and practice.


Andy

[festy]

Ron Corvell has a few good vidoes out there which take you through it and is a good place to start.

x2 - I bought an old ac/dc tig, watched Corvell's tig welding video twice, and my first weld was better than anything I managed with my mig.
He reminds me of Al off home improvement though

[shakes]

If you can oxy butt or fill weld, tig is the next step. Its not hard, keep everything clean and practice.


Andy

I wish, I've spent several hours chewin through a mates consumables and still realllllly struggle with tig (mostly due to not using it reguarly) I can oxy weld extremly well, I can arc pretty well. but I have lots of trouble keeping my tungsten distance steady enough for an even arc = inconsistant weld.

Doesnt matter how I brace myself or my arm I struggle.

[SteelArt]

If you can oxy butt or fill weld, tig is the next step. Its not hard, keep everything clean and practice.


Andy

I wish, I've spent several hours chewin through a mates consumables and still realllllly struggle with tig (mostly due to not using it reguarly) I can oxy weld extremly well, I can arc pretty well. but I have lots of trouble keeping my tungsten distance steady enough for an even arc = inconsistant weld.

Doesnt matter how I brace myself or my arm I struggle.

This might sound stupid but what you need to do is get an old school kids roller skate, you know the ones you use to strap onto your sneakers that you could extend as your foot got bigger.

Anyway set yourself up and use it as a mobile arm rest so you can move from the sholder not the wrist, it makes it much more steady. Once you get the hang of tigging then you can go back to free hand but it lets you get the feel and help steady your hand so you can cerntrate on one thing at a time.

Keeping the tungsten clear of teh filler / material is often a battle, try a Gas lens to give you more clearnance or play around with cup sizes to get th etip a little further out / in etc.

[Harb]

Here you go, I like this place as its a no BS sort of site....... lots of good video's

http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com

good luck with it........you will nail it and say, "boy this was easier than I thought"

[benji.]

a ggod set of eyes, ive taught a few people and unless you have good
vision it's useless. a steady hand will come with practice. but you must
be able to watch the puddle and be consistent with the filler metal to create a uniform bead. practice makes perfect

[grundomat]

[quote="Bluefreak"]Sharpen the tungsten electrode regularly, if you stick it to the job, sharpen again - a sharp electrode provides a better flame and more accurate welding...

to add to this, if you are going to weld steel or stainless, sharpen the point on your tungsten along the tungsten, not around it, you need the tiny grains that you create in the electrode by grinding it to run along it, and not around it, this will direct the arc straight out the end of the point. if you sharpen around the tungsten the arc will blow out the sides in an erratic manner, bad arc blow, and cause alot more difficulty in creating a stable weld pool.

this doesn't apply to zirconated tungstens for aluminium as you grind a small taper around the squre edge of the tungsten the strike the arc on copper or brass to ball the end up. but it will make a huge difference to steel and stainless, and one other thing, cleanliness is the biggest key, keep your work as clean as possible and it will weld a lot easier.

cheers

Matt

[bru21]

Most important thing I feel is to have the right gear. i started with a s/h transtig 180 (sweet machine for age) - though I had incorrect filler wire, gas cups, etc. It was hard to be consistant.

Use tig filler rods as they have silacone in them to pull the impurities to the surface (rather than gas filler rods). Use the correct diameter for what you are welding as it makes puddle control easier. Use the biggest electrode you can get away with - when learning as they last longer between sharpening and handle high current better. The arc seems to be softer to. I used 3.2 - now I use 2.4. If you touch the surface with a smaller diameter electrode the tip dies every time.

Try welding hotter / faster then you think too - most I have shown seem to sit in one spot for ages with no herbs. The idea is low heat input and quicker passes.

I bought a few books off amazon and had some good videos posted here - maybe someone here still has them - post the link if you do as I don't have it anymore.

cheers bru.

[v840]

http://www.tonywelding.com/
Has a few good vids.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR8Rlpf0 ... r_embedded


Also a winner: http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/


Also, check this out. A fair bit of helpful info here: http://tractors.ucdavis.edu/TOMBELLTIGTIPS1.pdf