Welding Tips and Tricks

Hello All,
Hi guys and any gals. I'm new to the forum. I just picked up a Lincoln Precision TIG 225. I was googling around and I saw the tig aluminum training video. That was great. I need to do that for I'm guessing 40 hours or so to get the hang of it. (I have been using a Henrob oxy/acet torch for the last 20 years and there is a lot of things to learn about that too. You dont just pick it up and get great welds.)

I want to build a welding area in the garage that can be dedicated to practicing and to small tig projects. I was thinking I could frame the ceiling and walls with thin steel and put a fan on top that would suck fumes to the outside. That would take of sparks and fumes. I cant think of anything else other than to build a 40x40 shop and put the thing right in the middle.

Any suggestions on how to do that?
- Airflow (like a kitchen range hood motor, or maybe a small attic fan) with a 6" or a 12" diameter pipe?
- Size (4ft wide x 3ft deep)?
- Tabletop - 1/16" steel sheet over pressed 3/4" pressed board or ?

This is probably one of those questions that people wont want to comment on because of liabilty reasons.

I appreciate any comments.

Thanks
Tim

well, if you're only doing OA and tig, ventilation isn't as big of a deal. for tig, you really want to minimize the amount of draft in the room, or you'll lose your shielding. if you're planning on doing MIG or stick later, or plan on welding lots of conduit or other galvanized, then I'd look into a fume hood or a general exhaust fan for your shop/garage. you don't need a ton of movement, especially 'cause even with ventilation, you should still wear a respirator for welding on galvanized.

also, tig doesn't make sparks. if it does, you're doing something HORRIBLY wrong.

as far as the table construction and size go, you're going to want the heaviest, largest steel plate you can afford/transport/set up.
we have a 4x8 table in 3/8" plate which is plenty fine for sheet metal work, but I wouldn't want to do anything heavy on it. if you're sure you're only going to be doing small stuff, a 3x4 3/8" or 1/2" plate would probably be just fine, just make sure you put nice heavy legs on it (3 or 4" heavy wall sq tubing)

I wouldn't use wood if it were me, as the table top can/will get hot enough to burn if not ignite wood if you're welding small bits that you've clamped to the table.

also, you should build up at least 2 welders helpers (aka welders third hand, welders finger) basically, its a tripod with one pointy end and a big weight so you can set it on something to hold it in place without having to clamp it down. google should turn up something.

if your budget allows it, that modular table that Jody reviewed looks awesome. I've been drooling over that since he posted it. catalog page: http://www.stronghandtools.com/pdf_ctlg ... ro_imp.pdf

good luck!

oh, and if this is all out of your price range, don't worry. just build something out of 18ga steel and angle iron. it will hold you over for a while, but you'll definitely want to upgrade.

Hello ogorir,
Thanks for the reply. I really appreciate it. You know, when I read your reply for the first time, I felt like a real noob. I was trying to figure out how I missed the mark so badly. I stepped away, re-read, stepped away, re-read ... and then I got it. I started laughing. I am at the square one stage and you took me to the rocket-to-the-moon stage; I mean, you took the question and ran with it - way down the road to a commercial production cost is no object, rocket to the moon precision, welding table. That was definitely an eye opener. My thinking is based on oxy/acet and a mig that I ran 10# of wire through. But, I've never used or even seen a tig in action - just read through marketing brochures. I really didn't know what to expect. But your comments about the airflow made me pause. I get it. At this point, I just want to get going with low amp, thin sheet, steel/ss/al, and get the dip dip dip kind of thing down. I assume that will take at least 40 hrs to get the technique down. ... that table really blew me away - what does that cost $20,000???

well, not really 'cost is no option.' the 4x3x30" buildpro table is $1900 from this place: http://www.autopartsdealer.com/strong_h ... =APD266065
and $2200 from northern tool. I've never dealt with the former, but that's the cheapest price i found.

there are $20k+ welding platen tables, but the buildpro isn't one of them. I think our 4x8 table cost about $500 in steel alone. if you scrounge and check your local steel supplier's drops pile, you can probably find materials for a 2x3 or 3x4 table fairly cheap.

if you're handy with OA, you'll pick up tig in a lot less than 40 hours. 40 hours of torch time is a LONG time for non-production work. just grab a rod and feed it through your hand while you're watching tv for a few nights and you should be pretty well set.

also, invest in a nice pair of gloves. they make a big difference. I'm using tillman's onyx tig gloves right now, but their regular tig gloves are nice too. they're about $12 and they're going on 6 months and still no excessive shrinkage, holes, ect.

Thanks again, I appreciate the very specific reply. It saves me so much time. There are so many of them out there, I could look at gloves for days before I make a decision. I guess I have "analysis paralasis". So, that really helps. For me this is a labor of love; I enjoy welding projects or other projects that require welding (like fitting a patch panel to a truck fender) and I get a lot of personal satisfaction of it. I'd like to good at this. I got the machine saturday and haven't started an arc yet so I'm going to get over to the closest metal yard later today and see what I can find.

Thanks for getting me started.
-Tim

I'm an analyzer, too. watch all jody's videos, grab some mild steel, then start an arc. really, nothing substitutes seat time and you'll have tons of questions after you've been welding for a while. feel free to ask away.

ogorir wrote:I'm an analyzer, too. watch all jody's videos, grab some mild steel, then start an arc. really, nothing substitutes seat time and you'll have tons of questions after you've been welding for a while. feel free to ask away.

Thank you. Thats really nice of you. I was just on craigslist looking for some tanks. I need to get one and it for some helium. I read a little bit and they said to get helium for aluminum. I have some straight argon and a couple tanks of argon/co2 (75-25). I have a tank of dollar store balloon helium - I'd like to use it up but I heard it wasnt pure enough to weld with. Which reminds me of a funny story. We had a nice clear day out here last summer - perfect and I had just got some clothes back from the dry cleaner. So, I had the bag and the tank - what the heck? I filled the bag, took it outside and let it go. It went straight up - there was no wind - up and up and up. It finally started moving off in northerly direction and moved until it was out of sight. The sun reflected off the plastic a little. The next day I was reading the paper and it was reported in the police blotter section that the police department received numerous calls about a UFO flying over the town. I'm in a good mood. I've been wanting to do this for a long time.

When you setup for aluminum do you have two tanks - argon and then helium with a "Y" connector running into the regulator on the tig? Is that all it is?

From a noob do the aluminum tig drill alot. It helped me so much to learn pedal control.

if you're handy with OA, you'll pick up tig in a lot less than 40 hours. 40 hours of torch time is a LONG time for non-production work. just grab a rod and feed it through your hand while you're watching tv for a few nights and you should be pretty well set.

a purpose welding table is way up there on my wish list but when i first started to practice i had an old cut down guilotene blade about 10mm thick and put the clamp on there. i spent all my time welding very thin plate as it was all i had and i didnt have a foot pedal at that point so i had to get the amp settings right on my machine and use the switch on my torch to start the arc, then when i got it sweet i would note down all the settings/metal thickness/type of joint etc- now ive got a pedal its easy- but i still think that early experience of making notes on all the settings has helped me alot to understand how different metal and thicknesses react when you weld, instead of just setting the amps to max and having all the adjustment on the pedal. but im abit of an geek like that..

tigger wrote:when i first started to practice i had an old cut down guilotene blade

holy sh... serious? Do you think it had anyone's blood on it?

Thanks Guys,
I was able to get some aluminum beads on a flat 1/16 sheet, and made some very nice 1/4" steel
welds right out of the shoot. How nice ... twist the knob, stomp the pedal ... its so much easier than a torch. Its a beautiful tool ! At this point, I'm keeping mental notes on settings but I have to start writing it all down. Thats a good tip. I had 3 or 4 good long practice periods. I upgraded from my first table setup to a small, cast iron table saw top with a steel plate on it that I welded to tube to an H. Now I can place my forearms on the table and it is so much better than with hands and arms unsupported. Knowing what to expect, I can now get a better look at the puddle and my tig rod and torch are more stable - it reduced my dipping the tungsten in the pool by 75%. Feeding a tig rod is not happening. I have like a 3 second delay in feeding the rod through my hand, so I just release the pedal so it doesnt get too hot, reposition and start the bead. I know this wouldnt fly for a commercial job but the beads are fine and its practice. I welded up a small 1x1x2" rectangular box from a scrap strip of 1/8" aluminum diamond plate. I can see why the suggestion is to start welding on thicker plate than thinner sheet. The weld area was pretty big compared to a 1/16th thick sheet and with the 1/8th I could get a good look at it. This machine is so slick and I got such a good result, I can why people who do this for a while want to take it to the next level - perfectly spaced stack of dimes. I had a problem finding 2% lan tungsten and I eventually found a Chinese supplier for 2% lanthanated tugsten. I also ordered a complete set of cups and collets for about a buck each and 10 packs 020, 040, 1/16, 3/32 and 1/8. So, I'll be set up in a week or so and I can try other diameters. It looks like I might skip the practice table that I thought I would make and just go right to a regular larger welding table. I can see the benefit of having that right off the bat.

Thanks for the tips. I appreciate it a lot.