Rick wrote:

Ok, so I fired up my Christmas present today, a thermalarc 185TSW tig/stick
welder.

First I tried a stick, on DC...wow! So much easier to start and maintain
the arc than my AC buzzbox. Very happy.

Next I ground a 1.5% lanthinated 3/32" tungsten electrode to a pencil point,
then ground the tip flat to about 1/4 the diameter of the rod, put in a #5
pink cone thingy and tried running a bead on a piece of 1/4 mild steel,
sanded clean, using a 3/32 filler rod, 115 amps, basic square wave foot
pedal operation, and 20CFH flow rate on my argon. A few seconds later I
reground a 1.5% 3/32" tungsten....well you get the idea.

How in the world do you keep the tungsten tip from touching the work or the
filler rod??? Nobody's hand can be *that* steady!
Can you rest the pink ceramic cup on the workpiece?

How do you hold the torch (angle from vertical) and where do you feed in the
rod to the puddle? In front of the torch? to the side? behind it?

I accidentally welded a pretty smooth bead, but the next few attempts
produced more of the filler rod or tungsten getting stuck to the workpiece.

I need a class...Ernie, when is the next welding course in Seattle?

Rick

When I first TIG welded, in a school and about 7 years ago now, the
slowest part of the course was the lineup in front of the grinder.

It takes very little time to grind a handful of tungstens, after which
you can actually get down to doing some practice. Once all your
tungstens are contaminated, you will be ready for a short break while
you get them ready to go again.

Yes! There are guys hands out there that ARE that steady. It comes from
practice.

Feed the puddle from the direction you can. I like to feed from in
front of the torch if I can, but it depends on the orientation of the
work, the weld bead, and the welder.

I watched two instructors, at the school I was at, weld a cracked
assembly under the dash of a light aircraft. The guy doing the welding
was upside down, with his head on the floor facing the front of the
aircraft, while the other held the pedal against the foot of the first,
so as to allow him control. The weld looked much better than what we
were doing at the time.

Cheers
Trevor Jones