Playing with Tig
 

Unable to make Exeter show ( again ) :(

I have been sulking away in the workshop looking for easy sit down jobs.

Junior gave me a hand to fit the alloy rear panel & I am part way through making the fuel tank

Recently bought an AC Tig welder, inverter type

It works well for a cheap Ching-Chong bit of kit.

Now, I have not tig welded alloy for almost 25 years :eek: & was pleased how quickly I got the hang of things once more.

Here is a test piece I done before starting the tank



2mm alloy sheet, corner weld, no filler rod needed, 2.4mm Zirc tungsten, 110 amp ( ish ), argon flow 10L, number 8 cup.



Here's another of the partly made tank fitted in its place.




Baffle plates & endcaps next

Oh....Get Junior to take me on a jolly to find some alloy tube for the tank fittings !!

That looks great id be very suprised if that leaked
Ray:)

How do you get away with no filler rod?

good stuff bonzo,
and very neat fit.
i was looking at those chinese tig's. cheap as chips.
wat make is yours?

no filler rod actually makes it easier as your not introducing a different metal
sometimes its best to cut thin strips of the parent metal when welding and fuse them together
you can tig copper and brass using this method
sometimes adding a filler rod actually puts impurities into the weld
all my own opinion
Ray:)

Hey Ronnie that looks nice,

you open for orders????;)

oh ok I see now just lay the strip over the join and fuse it all together or use the strip like filler rod?

you can do either
but i think ronnie just fused the two pieces together

I seldom find the need to use filler rod on a close fitting corner joint ( Must be tight with no visible gaps ) ;)

I think it is purely to do with the correct set up & weld procedure.


Yes I took a gamble on a Cheap Chinese import, I know that some of them have a dreadfull reputation.
The price was worth the risk (ish) :eek:

The model I bought was a WSE200. ( "Giant" Branded set )
200 amp AC/DC inverter.
60% duty cycle
HF start
Pre & post gas
Slope up & slope down
Cleaning width adjustment
£395 including free delivery & foot controller

It has a surprisingly smooth AC output & very fine current controll.

Time will tell as to wether it lasts the distance or not :D

If it does all of the work planned for my build, it'll owe me nothing !!

Could of had a used commercial set for not a lot more but was unable to locate a good second hand unit locally ( Fetch silly money down here ) :rolleyes:

Yep you are correct Ray. I just fused the edges together. :)

Filler rod can be a bit of a nuisance at times........ If you are not extra careful & if too much filler rod is introduced to the weld pool, the pool tends to flow too quickly & can cause poor root penetration or hidden cavitys in the weld. ;)