Welding Tips and Tricks

Should you match your tungsten and filler rod diameter? For instance if I’m using 3/32 tungsten should I use 3/32 filler rod or can I use any size? What do you guys do?

Match it to the application.

I match tungsten diameter to the amps, and the filler to whatever amount of filler seems appropriate. Obviously, higher amps likely means you'll want a larger filler, but there's times when like today for instance, I was welding at 200A on alum but using 1/16 filler because I wanted a super small fillet. But that's rare.

On steel I use 1/16th filler for almost everything. No need to match, and larger diameter filler tends to stick more

My recommendation, for what it's worth (lol), is to match filler diameter to amperage.

For example if you are at 20 amps on steel using a 1/16 filler is pretty large and will cool your puddle. If you feel your filler getting stick, its a good sign to go down a size.

For stainless I pretty much only use .045 filler.

I like to use a smaller diameter filler and feed more generally.

When it comes to tungsten, it's similar but the other way around. If you are at high amps and your tungsten is erroding, good call to bump up in size.

bap_ wrote:My recommendation, for what it's worth (lol), is to match filler diameter to amperage.

For example if you are at 20 amps on steel using a 1/16 filler is pretty large and will cool your puddle. If you feel your filler getting stick, its a good sign to go down a size.

For stainless I pretty much only use .045 filler.

I like to use a smaller diameter filler and feed more generally.

When it comes to tungsten, it's similar but the other way around. If you are at high amps and your tungsten is erroding, good call to bump up in size.

+1

a big tungsten won't hurt the weld, but an undersized one will as the tip erodes.

with filler, to big will cool off the puddle to much.
to small will mean your having to feed lots in, ie shoving it in instead of dabing it. plus for laywire technique you need to have the right size.

Get filler in various sizes. Everything from .035" (sometimes even .030") all the way up to 1/8".

Hood down. Arc lit. Try each one on different materials and different joints over and over again. Rod selection will become second nature after that. You won't even have to think about it, and you will also develop the skills to meter your dabs appropriately even when you don't have the ideal filler rod size on hand.

you can always add smaller filler BUT you can't take out the bigger filler....just saying.