Ss Tig Welding

[slampt]

So I just bought a TIG, and I am going to head down to Weldmart and pick up some electrodes and SS filler, plus a few other bits and pieces.
Let the fun begin!!

 

[pk.sax]

So I just bought a TIG, and I am going to head down to Weldmart and pick up some electrodes and SS filler, plus a few other bits and pieces.
Let the fun begin!!

Good luck. Its not that hard to weld TIG. I did a 4 day course a while ago on how to TIG weld from the TAFE just to get myself some practical skills on the process. From not having any exp/knowledge of it to being able to successfully weld a clean straight bead in 4 days (over a month) was pretty cool. If you're going to do a heap of welding, I recommend u look up a little TAFE course like that if ur not having much luck gettign it right by urself, but seeing as u already have the machine, give it a go

 

[slampt]

I will be practising on some scrap SS (the tops from my kegs) this weekend. I also grabbed a SS bowl from ikea which I will use for filling the back of the socket with Argon.
Hopefully it will work

Cheers.

 

[slampt]

Hey All,

Just letting you all know I am all set to test my skills this weekend.
What is the optimal amperage to tig the 50L Kegs. I am going to test on the cut offs of my kegs first.

Cheers

 

[peaky]

Hey All,

Just letting you all know I am all set to test my skills this weekend.
What is the optimal amperage to tig the 50L Kegs. I am going to test on the cut offs of my kegs first.

Cheers

I've found some machines will weld the same material at different amperage. Put it at 50 amps and see how it goes. You'll be able to tell straight away if it's too hot or cold then adjust accordingly. I take it you are using 1.6mm filler rods? Some people have a preference to the way they sharpen the tungsten too, I always sharpen in the direction of the point rather than sideways. I also sharpen the point to about 5mm long, once again personal preference. Play around a bit and you'll get the hang of it.

 

[ledgenko]

Joe .. I have a free week end in 2 weeks if you want to see if you can teach a paramedic how to do to TIGging ... cant be that hard ;-)

Matt

 

[slampt]

Hey peakydh

Thanks for the info, I am using 1.6mm filler and 1.6mm electrode (2% thoriated) I am looking forward to giving it ago. I would be trying it out now, but unfortunately I have to head to work :/

Matt - no worries, but I am not sure if I will be able to teach you anything! Welcome to come by when you can and give it a go!

Cheers
Joe

 

[peaky]

Also, see if you can get a chuck of copper. Any bits around 100x50x10 aprox will be good for sinking some of the heat out of the weld once you've finished. I usually finish the weld then lay a bit of copper on it to sink some of the heat out. Stainless can warp to buggery if you put too much heat into it and then let that heat disperse into the object you are welding. As a newbie, there will definately be times where you put too much heat into the material



edit: spelling etc

 

[amiddler]

So I just bought a TIG, and I am going to head down to Weldmart and pick up some electrodes and SS filler, plus a few other bits and pieces.
Let the fun begin!!

Got a picture/make and a price handy there Slampt? I'm a busted arse sheety, left the game 7 years ago but would love to build myself a brewery from the ground up. Would like to know what model you have and how you think it rates (after some practice )

I've found some machines will weld the same material at different amperage. Put it at 50 amps and see how it goes. You'll be able to tell straight away if it's too hot or cold then adjust accordingly. I take it you are using 1.6mm filler rods? Some people have a preference to the way they sharpen the tungsten too, I always sharpen in the direction of the point rather than sideways. I also sharpen the point to about 5mm long, once again personal preference. Play around a bit and you'll get the hang of it.

Bits that I do remember peakydh were as you stated, sharpen the point length ways rather than around to give yourself a sharper/straighter arc and your further quote about copper being good to disperse conductive heat produces a neater job especially when joining benches which was my speciality

 

[Thefatdoghead]

Mate do you have a finger slide to adjust amps on your TIG? You should get one if not. Also get some chemical sharpening powder.....heaps easier if you dont have a bench grinder. If you have a finger slide to adjust AMP's you want to set the AMP's to about 60amps and just move the slide up to start an ark, then you can slide it further until you just see a pool. Keep the heat more on the socket or the thickest material and get the heat into that first. So once the pool is going then dip the rod in and off you go moving and dipping the rod in sync.

The biggest thing you will have to worry about is your preparation. Make sure you have no gaps, make sure everything is spotlessly clean and make sure the electrode is nice and sharp with the flow of electrodes going lengthways down the electrode. Welding thin s/s to a thick socket is very hard if your prep is no good. Oh and don't worry about purging the back of the weld if you do it right the weld will be nice and neat on the other side ready for the next one. Hope this helps ya mate. Good luck

Gav

 

[slampt]

Hey Gav,

I don't. All i have is an on/off switch.. This will most likely prove more challenging then?
I am only planning on welding one side of the socket so from what I have read/seen on youtube flooding the back of the weld site with argon seems to be the way to go..

If I don't have to do that then I won't but I want these to be as good as they can be given a complete noob is welding them

Thanks

 

[Thefatdoghead]

Well if you dont have a slide it will make things harder. What you can do if you have a benzo torch you can heat the thicker piece of steel first then weld. You can set your amp's by practicing then you will have the right amp's for your job. But without a slide if you blow a hole in the keg you won't be able to back of the amp's straight away and it will be really difficult to fill.
You can use inert gas on the back of the weld if you want but I think it's a fair bit of trouble for nothing. I've welded a lot of s/s with GMAW and never used gas to purge and I still get really neat welds. You really only want to purge when your welds are being X-raye'd for use with gas etc. Just make sure everything is clean and the sockets fit in the holes nice and neat with no gap and you might just get it.
Cheers

Gav

 

[slampt]

So i did a few practise welds today, 50Amps seems a little to high, I managed to blow a few holes into the SS.
I also tried back purging the weld to see how that went and it appeared to make it more susceptible to blowing holes int the SS too.
To summarise I currently suck at TIG, but my mate who came over and gave it a crack seemed to be pretty darn good at it. I have enough steel to do a few more tests so will keep going until I am confident!

Thanks to everyone for all the advise.

 

[Spoonta]

if you want ss of cuts let me know I have heaps laying around

 

[slampt]

if you want ss of cuts let me know I have heaps laying around

Hey Spoonta,

If you don't mind that would be great, I was using some old SS pipe to try and simulate the sockets.
Got an ok weld done now, but must of been a little too hot as the are globs of SS on the inside of the tube!

Cheers
Joe

 

[DUANNE]

never tiged out of a factory setting but,dont buy rods just guillo some sheet that matches and pump up the heat but move more quickly.

 

[slampt]

Ok more practising today and it is official.. I suck ass at this
I think i have the heat right, I am just way to slow at moving the tig, and getting the filler in. (Lots of big holes to prove it too!)

I need to sharpen my drill bit before i can drill more holes to test welding "sockets"


Some how I don't seem to be able to get the knack of it, but I will keep trying.

 

[pk.sax]

Make sure you are holding the torch at the correct angle and try to move from socket to plate, i.e. thicker to thinner. I find it a bit tricky to do fillet welds as well but with enough practice you will be able to form a little weld pool on the socket and move the heat to the plate while dipping the filler rod on the socket first in one motion. Then its just a matter of moving the filler on to the weld pool you just created on the plate fast enough so that you are heating the filler rod and avoid blowing a hole in the plate.

If I had more practice at it I'd be able to explain better perhaps, by the time I finished my short course I'd managed to weld one tube to a plate. Mig welders excel at this fillet welding stuff. Butt welds and sheet joining is really where Tig is easier to use.

PS: Try cutting a hole in the plate first and then positioning the socket inside the hole. Then do a butt weld from the 'inside' of the keg/plate. Once that is done - far easier to do - you can do a careful fillet on the outside to close it up, not like its required. I'd just use some sort of cement, like JB weld on the outside or strength.

 

[peaky]

Ok more practising today and it is official.. I suck ass at this
I think i have the heat right, I am just way to slow at moving the tig, and getting the filler in. (Lots of big holes to prove it too!)

I need to sharpen my drill bit before i can drill more holes to test welding "sockets"


Some how I don't seem to be able to get the knack of it, but I will keep trying.

Cut some scrap and try fusing them together without using the filler. If you're having trouble so far, forget the filler rod.

Some of the welds we do at work are done without the use of a filler rod. The material is just fused together. The melting of the material into the weld pool can provide enough filler to complete the weld. Just make sure you have NO gaps, or else you'll blow a hole. (Sockets aren't welded this way but it's good practice for newbies). Get this right first and then introduce the filler rod to your welding.
Fusing without filler can help you get a feel for the speed you should traveling at for the heat you're putting into the material.

Also, if you get molten material on the electrode or if it touches the work, stop and re-grind it immediately. Don't try to keep welding with crap on the electrode tip. Even if you have to grind the thing every 3 minutes, make sure it's spotless.

How are you holding the torch? I usually hold it with the hose going over the back of my hand, like I'm throwing a spear. I find I get better control of the torch this way.

 

[peaky]

It's a shame you don't live in Chelsea, Vic. I'd just pop round to your house now and weld the bloody socket in