Playing with Tig

[Bonzo]

Originally Posted by Talonmotorsport

Just waiting for the rest of the new toy to arrive such as argon regulator,gas pipe,new mask,better gloves, mild steel rods,stainless rods etc...this TIG lark aint cheap is it!

You can say that again

Especially when you get sweet talked into buying a new welding screen when you only went in for a tube of filler rods

That's the trouble with an account. so, so tempting to go beserk whilst at BOC. !!??

I'm sure that you will get the hang of it quickly.

One of the best bits of advice i can remember being given. " Don't let the weld pool rush you " ... " Be the boss of the weld pool & make it work at your pace "

If things start getting a little hot. Stop & move a few inches further along, then do a bit more.

On the tank, I held the joints in place with a small strip of light gauge alloy angle & clamps. ( Remove once tacked )

I then placed a few small tack welds evenly spaced ( about 150mm apart ). The use of filler rod will make tacking easier. Just enough to catch the two edges ( Not looking for full penetration at this stage )

Once the tank was all tacked up I started to fully weld the seams. Starting at the right hand end of the joint.
Slowly fused the edges together for a distance of 50-75mm, Flip the tank round & do the other end. Finally a couple of small sections in the middle of the seam. ( Will help to prevent heat build up & distortion )

If the tacks are large, fettle back with a file or flap disk that is saved only for alloy use.
Once the tacks are reduced the weld pool will soon melt them away.


May I ask, What did you think of the Plasma cutter as I am temped to buy one of those as well.