Welding Tips and Tricks

Yesterday I was welding for 5 hrs strait. The first 3 hrs went fine. Useing the same jig, same amps, ground in the same spot, same material all the sudden I kept getting shocked up my filler and were my arm was touching the material right through a very thick glove. My ground seemed fine.
Also my arc was doing a lot of snap, crackle and popping. My arc was not acting like a constant sizzle any more. Again this was after welding fine for 3 hrs and not changing a thing. The machine is a Lincoln precision tig 225. I was welding 1/8" Aluminum flat bar to 1/8" round tube. 140 Amps with a 3/32 Thoriated tungsten strait argon at 18.

Heat build up in the machine and sweat in your clothing? Dampened clothing may have provided a good ground point. Here in socal, my garage is hitting 100 F pretty reliably these days. It's hot.

Kinda sounds like high frequency was staying on, like it wasn't detecting that the arc was establishing.

It does get hot in my shop and I was sweating more after the first 3 hrs of welding so maybe thats it. Next time I run the machine if it is still arcing rough I will call the lws I got the machine from.

TwentyFourSeven wrote:Yesterday I was welding for 5 hrs strait. The first 3 hrs went fine. Useing the same jig, same amps, ground in the same spot, same material all the sudden I kept getting shocked up my filler and were my arm was touching the material right through a very thick glove. My ground seemed fine.
Also my arc was doing a lot of snap, crackle and popping. My arc was not acting like a constant sizzle any more. Again this was after welding fine for 3 hrs and not changing a thing. The machine is a Lincoln precision tig 225. I was welding 1/8" Aluminum flat bar to 1/8" round tube. 140 Amps with a 3/32 Thoriated tungsten strait argon at 18.

Check your ground lead from end to end... Is it attached firmly at the machine? Is the clamp-screw in that fitting tight, and the wires clean (and not corroded/darkened from heat)? Is the cable firmly attached in the ground clamp itself? Is the ground clamp itself in good condition?

This may not be the most obvious problem, but your description of an inconsistent arc followed by shocking strongly suggests a ground issue as the simplest place to start.

This may, in fact, repeat, since a slowly warming "bad connection" will worsen as it heats, and heat more as it worsens.

Steve S

I don't know much about your machine. My old Dialarc HF had continuous HF, my new Dynasty has HF to start each arc. In either case, a bad ground can mean the HF which is also high voltage will find an alternate path. Sometimes it passes through air to pass through me. Make sure every connection in your ground cable is shiny metal. this will ensure there is always a better path than your body.

I was having similar issues with my machine, I got some thick strand copper wire and clamped that under the jaws of my ground on the table.
Have not had any issue since.

Got that idea like so many others from Jody.

I welded today for a short while without getting shocked but I was welding something different. I forgot to add the other day there was also a lot of moisture in the air because it was raining all day and I weld in an open garage right close to the opening. Not sure if that had anything to do with it.

You mention it was raining. Did you happen to go outside and get your shoes wet? My boss will often try to have me go outside when it is raining (our parking lot gets puddles) to go look at some job, and I tell him, " No, I am not welding in wet shoes all day."

Yes I probably had wet shoes. I have thick rubber matts on the floor of my shop also.