Welding Tips and Tricks

Want to see if anyone has used a TIG Pen before. I picked one up a year ago at our local weld supply on clearance because they couldn't sell them. I have mixed feelings on the Pen. I like it but it would take a little getting used to if you were going to use it everyday. I never remember to grab it when I am working. I am not sure I would use it all the time for certain repairs anyway. What do you guys think?

how do they work?
I have heard of them but never seen one in action.

ksmrf wrote:how do they work?
I have heard of them but never seen one in action.

Here you go

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybxo6tTc8_c

Here is a picture of me holding the TIG Pen. You insert wire of choice in the end and roll the wheel with your pointer finger. I think the youtube video shows it better though.

how many dia of wire/rod can be fed through these thingys????
Do you have to have one for each dia of rod????
John~

AKweldshop
I know it will do up to 1/8". The little arm on the bottom adjusts to different diameters.

OK,
what did you pay for yours?
John

I paid $12.50 for mine. I wanna say that they are $30+ normally.

Superiorwelding wrote:I paid $12.50 for mine. I wanna say that they are $30+ normally.

Really great price that....here in the UK they are really expensive , whether you go to any welding supplier or E-Bay..

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tig-Welding-P ... 27de0c4acb

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Esab-Tig-Weld ... 3f2fdda0ba

Superiorwelding wrote:I paid $12.50 for mine. I wanna say that they are $30+ normally.

WOW

where did you get it??

John

Our local weld supply, Albright Welding Supply. I think the story was someone wanted one and they had to order a min of 3 or 4. I bought the last one out of that bunch. If memory serves me right I think that price was at or lower than their cost.

This post reminded me that I had one and never used it. So I tried it out today. I like it. Takes some getting used to but I found I am more stable with the rod end than when I am trying to slide it thru my fingers. I have watched Jody's video's but can not get the rod to move as smoothly as him. I am sure more practice would help. I think I paid $23. for mine at the welding shop but it has been a while.

I checked around and have been told the company went out of business and they are no longer made. I would like to get one myself so if anyone wants to get rid of one...

Glenn

I bought one a few years ago and have not tried it. I need to add practicing with it during my many practice sessions. It should help me from having to stop welding due to the need to reposition the rod. I'll try it this week, have a bunch of small welding projects stacked up.

Jim

I really like that. I need to get one. Anybody have one that don't use it.

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I will ask around and see if the welding supply can get anymore at all. I will hold on to mine...you never know when you will need it, besides I like collecting tools anyway!

NYWELDERJim wrote:I bought one a few years ago and have not tried it. I need to add practicing with it during my many practice sessions. It should help me from having to stop welding due to the need to reposition the rod. I'll try it this week, have a bunch of small welding projects stacked up.

Jim

Just to be open, not trying to knock anyone who uses the tig pen.

Recently I started teaching my son to tig, the very first thing we did is have him decide how he wanted to feed the filler through his fingers on each dip.
If you feed through your fingers on each dip into the puddle, you will not need a tig pen.
It really is a necessary skill - on aluminum I often feed the entire rod before stopping.
Feeding on each dip eliminates that panic when your hand is now too close and the weld isn't quite finished.
Good luck and have fun

An update:
My local welding supply got back with me and said to their knowledge, they cannot find any in the Ohio area from their suppliers. The original company did indeed go under so if you find one pick it up. If you don't like it you might be able to sell it off!

In sorry, no real welders use those, there's a reason that company went out of business. Mt last employer bought one when an employee broke his wrist to see if it would let him work. He did better without it, with his hand in a cast. Learning to feed wire, is part of learning to weld.

Wes917,
I absolutely agree, anyone learning to TIG weld should learn with their hand. I was just putting feelers out to get input from those who have used it. It sits on top of my machine and collects dust. I was doing a welding demo for a local aircraft club and brought it along just for their interest. No one used it, but they thought it was neat.

how did it break his wrist?

It didn't he did... they tried the TIG pen to see if the welder in question would be able to return to work easier even with his hand in the cast.

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My bad.

Do you guys think this tig pen is a useless tool?

~John

AKweldshop wrote:My bad.

Do you guys think this tig pen is a useless tool?

~John

I bought one about a year ago just to review. I was hoping to use it for those remnants of .030" and .035" mig wire that I sometime save, thinking I might use them for tig.

The tig pen wouldn't feed the .035" wire without lots of slippage...so I gave up on it.

Maybe for some with disfigured hands, or arthritis, it might be useful for 1/16" thru 1/8" rod, but from what I experienced, it turned out to be a useless tool for me.

best,

Jody