[AT] TIG welding--a little OT

[charlie hill]

I'll add slightly to this thread but tell you up front I'm not a TIG welder. 
I have been around a lot of it for a long time.

Don't try to TIG weld in the wind.  You need to be in a protected area.  The 
wind will blow your purge gas away from the weld.  Also, resist the urge to 
save money by turning the presure down on the purge gas at least until you 
get good at it and know what you can get away with.  As others said, the 
purge gas is the flux and if there isn't enough or it blows away your 
results will be ugly in both apperance and strength.

Oh yeah, not only do you need good gloves make sure you wear a long sleeve 
shirt with a collar.  If you decide TIG in shorts and a Tee shirt you can 
cancel your appointment at the tanning booth!  grins.

Charlie


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Robert L. Holtzer" <rholtzer at earthlink.net>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Friday, March 17, 2006 12:34 AM
Subject: Re: [AT] TIG welding--a little OT


> As Ron says, John, there is a special rod for TIG.  It looks like regular 
> copper coated acetylene rod but apparently differs in the coating.  I've 
> used 1/16" for "body work" on tractor hoods, etc., and it does a good job. 
> It comes in 1 pound lots in a plastic tube that is convenient for storage 
> and a pound lasts quite a while.  I have a 175 amp Lincoln TIG which has 
> proved very useful for a wide range of welding.  Tanks of argon are 
> reasonably priced.  As I recall there are different gas mixes for 
> different types of materials being welded but argon has been OK for 
> general needs.
>
> Bob Holtzer, Windsor, CA
>
> At 01:14 PM 3/16/2006 -0800, you wrote:
>>Hi John.
>>There is a special filler rod for mild steel when you use tig.  A this
>>strip of the parent material cut on a sharp squaring sheer will work
>>also.  The inert gas is the flux.  It is much like oxy acetylene welding,
>>except the electric arc is the heat source.  Takes lots of practice to be
>>good.
>>
>>Ron Haskell
>>rdhaskell at juno.com
>>Riverside California USA
>>http://www.oldengine.org/members/haskell/
>>
>>On Thu, 16 Mar 2006 12:46:21 -0800 John Wilkens <jwilkens at eoni.com>
>>writes:
>> > Thinking about a new tool--TIG welder.  What kind of filler rod would
>> > you
>> > use for thin steel?  Just regular unfluxed mild steel wire--or
>> > baling
>> > wire--or??
>> > I'd like some general feedback on TIG welding (thin steel, aluminum,
>> >
>> > etc.)--any thoughts.  What got me interested was a program I watched
>> > on the
>> > Speed channel about a fellow building a custom motorcycle.  He was
>> > always
>> > using a TIG welder and it sure looked like it worked slick--and the
>> > guy
>> > wasn't a pro welder.  I've had zero luck trying to weld fender-thick
>> > steel
>> > with a small (probably too cheap) wire feed welder.  Just couldn't
>> > control
>> > the heat good enough.    John
>> >
>> >                     In the wide-open spaces of NE Oregon
>>_______________________________________________
>>AT mailing list
>>Remembering Our Friend Cecil Monson 11-4-2005
>>http://www.antique-tractor.com/mailman/listinfo/at
>
>
>
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