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In article , Craig
Suslosky wrote:
Hello,
I just picked up a used Lincoln Square Wave 175 TIG welder
very cheap. I`ve never TIG welded before,and was wondering if you guys
had any good places to go for hints etc... I have torch welded a long
time ago. Any advice or help would be great.
Thanks,
Craig
Here are some quotes from my past answers to your question about basics:
Here are some basic settings.
The foot pedal should only be giving you a percentage of the dial
setting.
If the dial on the machine is set for 100 amps, then the foot pedal is
giving you 0-100 amps.
The dial on the machine should be set to about 5-10% more amperage than
the minimum needed for your weld.
Here are some guidelines for minimum amperages.
These numbers are for Steel or Aluminum.
Start with 1 amp for each thousandth of an Inch of thickness (0.001").
So 1/8" steel or aluminum = 0.125" thick = 125 amps.
Simple and easy.
Now 2 complications.
For inside fillet welds, increase amperage by 30%
For outside fillet welds, decrease amperage by 30%
Now take those numbers and adjust them for these other materials
For stainless steel, decrease amperage by 30%.
For copper, increase amperage by 100%.
For bronze, decrease amperage by 50%.
DCEN or AC Lanthanted or Ceriated tungsten
High amperage AC Zirconiated tungsten
Base Metal Tungsten Filler rod Amperage
0.010" - 0.045" 0.040" 0.024" - 0.030" 5 - 20
0.030" - 1/8" 1/16" 0.030" - 0.045" 15 - 90
3/32" - 1/4" 3/32" 1/16" - 3/32" 50 - 200
3/16" - 3/8" 1/8" 3/32" - 1/8" 180 - 275
5/16" - 1/2" 5/32" 1/8" - 3/16" 220 - 350
The tungsten sizes do overlap, and you can fudge a little up or down,
but try not to use a tungsten
or filler rod THICKER than your BASE metal.
Also when dealing with really thin base metal and low amperages on
DCEN, you do want a sharp point since the diameter of the tip of the
point sets the minumum amperage needed to initiate the arc.
For 1/16" material and thicker you want a tiny flat on the tip, because
at these higher amperages a really sharp point can pop off into the
weld metal.
Thoriated tungstens are about the same as Lanthanated, but can take
about 10% less heat.
If using Pure tungstens all tungstens are shifted up 2 rows.
Lanthanated Tungstens run on DCEP for aluminum shift up 2 rows.
A basic selection of TIG Rod should include Steel, Stainless steel,
aluminum, and bronze.
Steel
ER70S-2
The basic TIG filler for steel.
It comes copper plated to prevent rust, but keep it in a tube or bag
anyway.
Sizes:
0.045", 1/16", 3/32", 1/8"
Stainless steel
308L is the standard filler for 304 SS which is the most common type.
309L is a better filler for joining any kind of stainless to steel.
316L is the best for marine work.
Sizes:
0.045", 1/16", 3/32"
Aluminum
4043 is the most common aluminum filler rod.
It works well for most situations, but...
5356 is stronger, better corrosion resistance and better color match
for polishing or anodizing.
4047 is my favorite for welding castings, but it is kind of hard to
find.
Sizes:
1/16", 3/32", 1/8"
Bronze
Silicon Bronze is excellent for joing other copper alloys such as
copper, brass and most bronzes.
It can also be used to TIG Braze Weld steel and stainless steel.
TIG Braze Welding is very useful for stianless steel since it doesn't
actually melt the base metal so there is no chromium oxides formed on
the back face of the metal.
Sizes
Sizes:
0.045", 1/16", 3/32"
An advanced selection would include:
Some aerospace alloys like Inconel, Hastelloy, or Haynes alloys.
They are my favorite alloys for joining odd things and are extremeley
strong.
Pure Nickel is excellent for joining cast iron..
Pure Copper is good for TIG welding copper where it will be seen.
ER80S-B2 is the current top choice for TIG welding Chrome-Moly tube for
planes, cars, motorcycles and bikes.
As to a vendor.
The only guys I know that even list TIG rod on the Web a
http://www.tigdepot.com
Great outfit, they carry all things TIG.
You can also mail order from Central Welding at :
http://www.centralwelding.com
Just call them and they will ship it to you.
Here is an exercise to practice when not welding.
Level 1
Take a 3/8" steel washer.
Place it on a piece of white paper.
Take a nice sharp pencil.
Place the tip of the pencil against the paper inside the washer.
Now start swirling the pencil tip around the inside of the washer to
draw a circle on the paper.
Keep circling the inside of the washer, while nudging the washer across
the paper.
Try to end up with the washer traveling in a straight line across the
paper.
You should end up with a long swirl pattern acrosss the page.
Keep parcticing until the swirl pattern is even and in a straight line.
Level 2
Same setup, with one change.
Once again slide the washer across the page while swirling the pencil
tip around the inside of the
washer, but now DON"T touch the paper with the pencil tip.
This means being able to hold the tip of the pencil within a 1/16" of
the paper without touching it
and without lifting out of the washer.
Level 3
Do Level 2 while standing next to the table without any part of your
arm resting on the table.
Level 4
Move to a 1/4" washer.
This exercise comes from a welding textbook from 1929, and it still
works quite nicely to train your
muscles for floating the torch.
Normally I do not swirl the torch while TIG welding, but this still
works as an exercise to build up muscle control.