Welding Tips and Tricks

Hello to all,

I just thought I'd say hello.

I've been using a MIG welder for years to repair car bodies, and fabricate things
( and an old plasma cutter to cut them apart again!)
Also have experience of arc welding large steels for structural building work.

This year I treated myself to a small DC inverter TIG welding set, so I thought I had better work out how to use it!
It's only a small cheap scratch start welder, but perfect for me to learn on I think.

I've got a pile of filler rods to start me off, and for the first time ever, I will also have a crack at Brazing...
I pick up my argon cylinder tomorrow, so look forward to playing with the TIG over the weekend.
It was funny - the consumables cost more than the welder!

I've been looking around here a bit, and already picked up a lot of tips & tricks.
I wish something like this forum existed when I bought my first MIG welder set over 20 years ago - it would have saved me a lot of heartache and guess work....

Still, hello to all, and forgive me any of my silly questions..

Cheers,

Mike Evans,

Mike,
Welcome to the forum.

We treat every question the same here because of the make up of our membership. We have folks here with all levels of experience from, how do I hook this thing up to, how do I avoid Hydrogen embrittlement of the HAZ on Inconel. We're just a bunch of people who like to share what we know (and don't know) about welding and fabricating. I think you'll find our little corner of the world a place that you can feel at home.

Get some seat time in and come back with your questions and we'll set about getting you answers, simple as that.

Len

Hi Len,

Cheers for that.

It's clear that I'm very much a newbie here, and it's good to be welcomed so warmly.

Also, the videos are a great resource - just to show what I should be doing, what the arc should look like, what the puddle looks like, how rod is fed in etc,l

You can explain it a thousand times, but showing it explains a lot more...

Mike.

Mike,
I wish there would have been someplace like this when I was younger and learning to weld. I've welded for years and I can honestly say that I've learned more about welding in a couple of years on here than I did in 40 years trying to teach myself. It's easy to become a student when, like you mentioned, you can watch a video and see how it's supposed to look. It seems to flatten out the learning curve a lot.

Len

Mike welcome to the forum.

Well, I tried TIG welding for the first time last night.
Spent about half an hour burning holes in a test piece, and getting the feel of it - trying to get the hang of laying a bead.

Very impressed - very controllable and neat.
I was amazed at how slow and controllable it was.
The scratch start took some getting used to.

There were a few immediate learning points though...

1. Remember to turn the torch gas valve on before striking an arc!
2. The tungsten doesn't last very long at all if you strike the arc with no gas!
3. When TIG welding, I need a grinder conveniently nearby to regrind the tungsten after I have struck an arc with no gas.
4. The inverter welder might be small and suprisingly light, but it packs an impressive 130a punch ( it helps to actually think about the current setting, rather than "crank it up and see what happens!")
5. I really shouldn't use the TIG while wearing shorts - I have a wicked arc- sunburn on my legs!
6. Remember to turn on the torch gas valve before striking the arc.......

TIG finger arrived in the post this morning.
I have a few small non critical light fabrication jobs to do this weekend - I'll get more practice and see how it goes.

I'm a very happy bunny right now...
Thanks to all who contribute, and for the really useful videos too.


Mike