Welding Tips and Tricks

Ok, what is standard operating procedure for dealing with tig filler stubs that are 3”-4” long. Do you recycle them or toss them?

Honest question from a newbie


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Tack Them together and use them.

I throw them away. Unless it's Titanium, Hastelloy-W/X, Inconel, or Super Missile Weld. Those are expensive to throw away.

i keep them. they come in handy for packers or gap fillers.

Get a holder like this and use them down to about 1/2"

So far I like the holder idea best. What is the name of that little tool so I can find one to buy.

Not sure my AHP welder has low enough amp control to weld 1/16 tig filler back together. I tried it last week, at lowest amp setting, and did get the pieces to stick but I had to heat them up with the tig torch red and stick them together while they were still glowing. I couldn’t just hover over them with the torch and weld. Could be because I’m green also[emoji23]

Right now my short filler pieces are just steel ER-70S2 and 1/16 diameter. Have welded a few hardware clasps to angle iron with 309L 1/16 filler because I was unsure of what the hardware was made of. That clasp was for attaching a mini cyclone to my central vacuum system.


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I turn up the amps pretty high and put them on copper or alu block and blast them really quick (like Jody’s speed tacking technique) goes pretty easy.


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3 to 4 inch get used for tacking until too short. Then I toss them.

If you are trying to tack them end to end, try to use a little overlap, instead of a butt joint.

Ok, will try tacking again with overlap and on a backing.

LtBadd wrote:Get a holder like this and use them down to about 1/2"

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Or use needle-nose pliers...

Thanks, I thought about needle nose pliers after I failed to tack them together. Was hoping for something more elegant than pliers even though I would use pliers before throwing them away. I do tend to keep pliers on the bench to rip tungstens out of the collet when it gets stuck. I can contaminate 10 tungstens running 4 little beads. Not kidding

Was hoping Richard might have the name for the little holder he shared a picture of. If I can find one it might be an affordable and easily used solution.

Have not had a chance to try overlapping the filler rods and doing the quick tack technique.

Realize this might be super difficult(tacking tig rods) because I have only opened a high pressure argon cylinder 5 times in my life. That's how new I am to GTAW. Have been studying how to do GTAW for a decade but have only welded a hand full of times with GTAW. My only other welding experience is Fabshield .030 in my Hobart 210. Have done a few very nice, simple and practical, projects with that Hobart.

Radishfever wrote:Not sure my AHP welder has low enough amp control to weld 1/16 tig filler back together.

About 35-50 amps will do it. Surely your AHP goes that low? Maybe it's down to your current level of experience feathering the pedal?

As said, lay two pieces end-to-end on ally. Use another piece as filler to join the butt ends.

That little holder tool is a torch tip cleaner for Oxy/Ac torches. Comes with tons of very small drill bits to clean the orifices. Check your local welding store or online web retailer.

I forget where I got that, I thought maybe MSC but I didn't see it there. Basically if you do a search for a pin vise, then when you get the results click on images and you'll see many. I actually found the exact one I have and there are others as well.

Remember if you do buy one it must have a hollow body (although I guess it doesn't have to if you're only using very short < 4" lengths) mine will only hold max 1/16" dia wire. There was a time I welded using .020" and smaller dia. filler so it made holding them much easier

Richard has a pin vise there. They come in various options and sizes and some come with different size changeable collets. Going for a ride tomorrow to investigate a hobby shop for one. Also, don't know how small it will go, but would a tig pen work?

BillE.Dee wrote: Also, don't know how small it will go, but would a tig pen work?

Possibly, the idea of a tig pen is to feed the wire, with a short length you won't do much feeding.

The good thing about the pin vise is you can lock it (the filler) in place

Pin Vise it is,

I did find the Tig Pen online yesterday but feel it is really for other purposes than dealing with 3” filler ends. Not going to get one.

Will look pin vises later this morning.

Have not had the GTAW running since asking. When I tried tacking the filler rod together I never thought about dabbing it with another rod. I just butt the pieces together and tried to weld them. I did not have them overlapping either.

Because I’m learning welding unsupervised there is nobody around to subconsciously steal techniques from or learn traditions. And the vocabulary used in welding is much different than carpentry or landscaping.







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Radishfever wrote:Pin Vise it is,

When I tried tacking the filler rod together I never thought about dabbing it with another rod. I just butt the pieces together and tried to weld them. I did not have them overlapping either.

More then one way...so the saying goes
What I do is butt them together, I use an aluminum block to hold one side, torch in my right hand and with my left I hold down the other wire with a slight force pushing the wires together. Then with a very tight arc I'll fuse the 2 together keeping the torch in place for the post flow

Like I said, I wasn't sure how small, but meant short, the tig pen would let you go.
I suppose a pin vise with a hollow tube would be excellent with several sized collets.
The tacking the remants together would also get you good practice at fine welding, which I'd have to do during an earthquake to lesson my shaking...

Haven’t tried to but weld filler rod ends with TIG, but do it all the time with oxy/acetylene.


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LtBadd wrote:

Radishfever wrote:Pin Vise it is,

When I tried tacking the filler rod together I never thought about dabbing it with another rod. I just butt the pieces together and tried to weld them. I did not have them overlapping either.

More then one way...so the saying goes
What I do is butt them together, I use an aluminum block to hold one side, torch in my right hand and with my left I hold down the other wire with a slight force pushing the wires together.

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Then with a very tight arc I'll fuse the 2 together keeping the torch in place for the post flow

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Thank you so much for the thoughtful and picture full explenation. There are little silly things like this that I'm faced with because I do not have anybody to copy. I will try the tacking method described several times now, before looking for a pin vise. I remember my father had a tool similar when I was growing up. Just did not no the name of them, although I kind of figured it was a machinist tool of some kind.

The oxy/acetylene method is kind of how my first GTAW tacks went. I melted the filler end and quickly stuck the pieces together. It works but it takes several attempts and the outcome is really ugly looking

BillE.Dee, yeah I looked at the tig pen. It's not really designed for nibs. It's more of a feeding system and they are $40. I bet if all fails I get get a pin vise that will make do for under $20. That's a complete guess though. The next time I fire up the welderI'm going to do some practice beads and spend some time trying the tacking techniques offered.

I really appreciate the help with my odd questions. Honestly missed the entire metal working seen while growing up. I don't know the traditions that your trade was taught. Also I was always supervised when working on jobs, so the concept of someone going from welding school immediately to pro really scares me. In construction everybody has to pass either the supervisors requirements or the Building Department. Just reading about the work was not enough and you had to prove your abilities before anybody would communicate with you. The culture is very new to me and I appreciate good quality feedback.

Have never been so excited about learning a new skill. We can actually melt metal in our garages. It has expanded what I once thought was impossible.