TIG Welding

[DesertBearhawk]

Guys, Iam taking a TIG welding class at the Commuinity Collage and I am getting my rear end handed to me, TIG is hard to do! How long did it take you TIG experts to start to see some good results? It looks so easy to do until you do it....

They need to come up with a new type of tunsten rod called "Infuriated" because thats how I feel most of the time I am doing it!

Thoughts?

[Bradrock]

I'm no expert, Dave, and probably nowhere near welding my fuselage. But I have seen the light at the end of the tunnel, and I don't think it's a train anymore! I started doing lots of little projects that weren't critical, along with bending brakes and jigs etc. it won't look the way you want, but the hours of hands on welding on practical items (so you don't feel like you're wasting time on scrap metal) helps to make it all start to feel familiar. A bit like the project itself, I'm attempting to do a little welding most days just to get the momentum and familiarity. It will come!

[alaskabearhawk]

FWIW, another video, if you haven't seen it. It has more to do with my welding education than the test conclusion:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEA-g8sMynY

Practice, practice and more practice! Two hours a day, three times a week for two semesters. Taking a semester of gas welding first taught me so much about puddle and heat control that it really made my TIG experience a lot better. After doing the gas welding, TIG almost seemed like cheating because of the precise control you have with the heat.

BTW, reference tungsten...wait until some wiseguy in your class replaces your tungsten with a sharpened piece of stainless filler rod...that will get your attention.

[Zzz]

I've only TIG welded aluminum, and found it pretty agreeable to whatever it was I was doing for the 30 minutes I spent with it. Maybe that's not long enough to reveal my ineptitude. Setup is probably half the battle, then just keep practicing the technique they're teaching you for pushing your puddle. I really found it to be pleasant; a very clean and sophisticated welding technology

[mswain]

Dave,

I did the same thing you did, took a class summer 2012 at the local CC. It took me a couple of months before I felt "comfortable". After the class I built a few non-airplane things....a wheeled stand for my bandsaw, welding cart, etc. Those really helped me practice. I also bought a box of 4130 from spruce. it was something like $30 and came with a bunch of foot long pieces of tubing. I practiced for another month or two when I had time on the 4130 tubing. I then built all the steel parts for the wings....and they turned out pretty good.

The fuel tanks were a whole new experience. Thin aluminum is a whole new animal compared to steel.

It'll click for you soon.....just takes a lot of practice.

[bestbearhawk1231]

Hi Dave, I haven't TIG welded but I taught myself how to oxy weld. I bought a quarter sheet of 22 gauge sheetmetal from my local metal supplier and cut it into small squares. I chose 22 guage because it was about as thin as anything we are going to weld on this project and I knew it would force me to learn heat control. I started by simply forming a puddle and chasing it around the piece of metal. Eventually I could move it however I needed to and the warpage went down. Once I had figured out how to move the puddle I then started playing with the filler learning how to add it without the rod sticking or blowing a hole through the metal. After all this, I started playing with overlapping welds, butt welds, 90 degree inside and outside welds....it took a while to get the hang of it all. After I became proficient with the 22 guage, I bought some 18 guage sheet and repeated the process. A pretty weld is not necessarily a good weld. Make sure to watch the metal melt and become one puddle. The "stack of dimes" look will come with practice. You can see if you have good penetration by looking on the back side of the sheet. I wouldn't waste my time or money on 4130 until I am fairly proficient with mild steel, 4130 welds a bit different and can crack easier as it cools but if you practice on cheap mild sheet it really won't take much practicing with 4130 to get up to speed with it. When I first started, I really thought I was screwed but it all started coming together. I bought the Tinman's video set on 4130 aircraft construction because I was having trouble with the filler, all at once everything came together for me. I believe that there is a TIG video that came out a couple years ago that is pretty good, not sure who sells it though....might try the EAA store, Wicks, or ACS. Also, ACS and wicks sells 4130 practice packs of tubing. Mainly drop they won't sell otherwise. I have ordered a package from both wicks and ACS and the ACS package contained more "usable" steel in it. What I mean is that the sizes I received were closer to what is used on our aircraft. Wicks sent me a bunch of "junk" that really wasn't even good for practice, maybe it was the package I received. Oh ya, one other thing...when I started adding the rod, it helped to cut the rod in half so it didn't bounce around so much. With practice, you will probably find the rythem that works so you won't have to cut them down. When the rod gets short, let it stick to the puddle and weld the fresh rod onto the short one, heat up the puddle again and keep going. That way you minimize the waste. What are you using for filler?

[aerolite]

Dave,
I've been an occasional tig welder for a few decades now and I still practice on some materials first before final welding. Don't worry, it will come, like others said, it just takes some patience and practice. Having a good teacher is a big plus. One of the biggest things I can stress to you is to have good joints, especially when welding thin tubing. Get proficient on steel before moving on to aluminum.
LOL Alaskbearhawk, I know exactly what it's like when somebody changes the tungsten rod on you! Also when someone shuts the gas off and you wonder wtf until the light bulb goes off! You need a thick skin working in a machine shop!

[jaredyates]

I started with OA welding, and it took me a set of tanks worth of practicing on scrap before I felt like I could call myself a welder- and not an expert welder by the way. I didn't keep track of the hours, but perhaps that was 15-20 hours of torch time spread over a few months. I have tried some TIG since then and find that the skills are very similar. I never felt like I was wasting time by practicing. Even now, I could spend a whole afternoon welding useless items and enjoy it. Talking about it makes me think maybe I should make some time to do just that.