Tig Welding - What Not to Do

When you are just starting out with TIG(tungsten inert gas), there are many things to remember. Keeping everything together in a new situation is no small thing and mistakes are bound to happen. If you know some of the common mistakes that happen when people are new to this type of system, it may help to ease the learning curve.
Here are some things to watch for:

- Electrode size -an electrode gets really hot on a/c at 250 amps. Do not use the same size electrode on DCEN. If it is tried with the wrong electrode, it will at some point explode.

- Aluminum welding-make sure to set to high frequency to continuous-the system will lose halfcycles as the direction of the current changes in AC.

Make sure to just round the electrode- creating a ball is overkill.

- Watch how far your electrodes sticks out-you have to be able to see the end of the electrode otherwise, you can't be sure about the arc. The electrode should be extended far enough to see the tip easily.

- Argon-if the arc is really loud , check the argon flow . A 7/16" TIG cup should be set at about 13-15 CFH depending on how far the electrode needs to be extended. More torch gas in a gas welder system is not better.

- Tungsten- don't use pure tungsten. Use a multipurpose electrode that works for AC and DCEN. 2% lanthanated works well.

- Torch Angle-watch the angle of the dangle if you don't want a puddle

- Length of the Arc-find that spot where the arc will be close enough to do the job and time will be spent using the gas welder and not preparing electrodes.

- Filler rod size- Too big of a rod can stop the shielding force of the gas and serious heat will be lost from the puddle. A rod that is too small and the rod will just melt before it makes it to the puddle.

- Use a stainless steel wire brush-not carbon steel. It will save a lot of headaches later

If you spend some time watching out for some of the TIG welding "Gotchas", you will save time and money.

Faye Herl writes The Welding Review at http://www.theweldingreview.com

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Tig Welding - What Not to Do