tig welding sheet metal settings and advice

[tech69]

got my new eastwood dc tig welder tonight and ran a couple beads and then this open butt weld on 18 gauge. On the far right the haz gets big cause at that point it was too late to run my grinder to clean up the tungsten and it was dull. Anyhow, I was running it around 30 amps/ purple 1/16" tungsten/ 1/16" rod for mild steel/ 5 cup/ 1/16" collet/ 3/32" collet body. The welder only came with the 3/32" collet body. Anyhow, I ran a small bead about 1/4" and at the end I didn't really taper the amps cause I was kind of overwhelmed with everything else so I got a few craters, but kept the post gas on the final weld.

So my questions are,(#1) how long do you taper the amps for? The final second? The final couple seconds? Is it a slow taper to really low amps?

#2 Should I go get the 1/16" collet body asap.

#3 Should I go less amps and perhaps use mig wire or is there rods that are thinner than 1/16"? What size? Would I need them or is 1/16" fine? Warpage is a concern as well as a good penetrating weld.

#4 I also did a couple tacks without filler. Should I have turned it up a bit? I used the same amps and they were tiny tacks. Just quick trigger pulls cause I was scared of burning thru on the open butt weld.

#5 One last question...sorry guys. Do you guys zig zag on open butt welds with a slight gap so you don't burn thru? Or do you turn down amps or use copper backing?

Any tips or advice on good sheet metal tips with warpage in mind very appreciated, thanks.

[Marty Comstock]

1) I hardly taper the amps so to speak, I just watch my puddle solidify and its become such a habit, I dont time it, just ease off the pedal

2) Why not run 3/32 tungsten? I use 1/8 all day for everything.

3) .023 mig wire is awesome stuff, find some ER70S-6, it has the most deoxidizers in it to help bring nasty stuff to the surface. give a length a twist with one end clamped in a vice, the other on your drill chuck, straightens it out nicely.

Less amperage, more time per inch, equals more distortion.

4) High amp tacking without filler is a well used skill, I try it when I have a really good tight panel fit. Almost impossible when the panels dont touch, spent 2x more time on your fitup, you'll be glad you did.

5) I add more rod and go for it. Like I said, more time on a panel is a distortion maker. Or I try to close the gap somehow. Gaps cause a lot of labor on the backend of the job.

Warpage happens. Now you get to learn to hammer it out.

[Richard K]

Everything Marty said plus lots of practice. Practice will answer lots of questions.

[ozi jim]

Henry

Sometimes its worth trying settings and different wire size ,move the electrode in and out.

Not everything has to be text book to work.

Don't be worried about having a go.

Jim

[metalfab]

Marty, your 5 tips are the best, most simple steps we all should follow when we tig our panels. I would like to add; that we should all finish our welds by keeping the tig cup over the end of the weld till the post flow of gas runs out.

This last step can help to cool the puddle and keep the crater from forming in the center of the weld. thanks jim p @ metalfab

[tech69]

Originally Posted by Marty Comstock

1) I hardly taper the amps so to speak, I just watch my puddle solidify and its become such a habit, I dont time it, just ease off the pedal

2) Why not run 3/32 tungsten? I use 1/8 all day for everything.

3) .023 mig wire is awesome stuff, find some ER70S-6, it has the most deoxidizers in it to help bring nasty stuff to the surface. give a length a twist with one end clamped in a vice, the other on your drill chuck, straightens it out nicely.

Less amperage, more time per inch, equals more distortion.

4) High amp tacking without filler is a well used skill, I try it when I have a really good tight panel fit. Almost impossible when the panels dont touch, spent 2x more time on your fitup, you'll be glad you did.

5) I add more rod and go for it. Like I said, more time on a panel is a distortion maker. Or I try to close the gap somehow. Gaps cause a lot of labor on the backend of the job.

Warpage happens. Now you get to learn to hammer it out.

cool, thanks. I already have the .023 in my mig welder. Not sure if it's er70s-6. Need lots of more practice before even thinking of welding something other than scrap. For being on the trigger for so long doing 1/4" beads I'm surprised at how little warpage there is. So what's dabbing like with the mig wire? Before you see a puddle form or just earlier and more often? I'll give it a try tonight.

[tech69]

I tried using the .023 wire and didn't see any rise in the bead so maybe the amps gotta go way down to maybe even 10 amps, or pick up my speed. In any case, I get the feeling a .035 wire would suit me better but will keep trying with the .023 wire. I'll try an open butt weld with the amps turned way down just for kicks. Have also switched over to a #6 gas cup and feel it works better than the #5. Also tried an open butt weld with a slight gap and it went well. I started one where it was small and kind of cheated by building off of the last tack and then started one on the gap by just adding lots of rod and often. That is something I will practice more on...cause I'm not good enough at fabbing to make perfect gaps every time. I'll be wasting a lot of metal.

[ozi jim]

When you are the welder you will become a better fabricator.

jim

[John Buchtenkirch]

Many excellent tips here from experienced welders that may have forgotten the most basic tip because they were beginners so so long ago. That is start out by just running beads on a sheet, if you can’t run a nice consistent bead there’s no sense in even trying to join 2 pieces together…… that only adds a bunch more difficulty for the beginner.

Keep in mind that we are welding sheet metal here (not roll bars or the Alaska pipeline) so you want to try to weld adding as little rod as possible or even consider doing fusion welds as your skill grows. Working / thinking in that direction will minimize your grinding & cleanup time plus material costs as you get better with the tig . ~ John Buchtenkirch

[Gareth Davies]

Lots of good replies and I can only think of adding a couple of other tips, which are purely down to personal preference. As you become more proficient, don't be scared of running higher amps and going back to 1/16" filler rod as the thicker wire has more of a cooling effect than a thinner one and you can use this as another means of weld pool control. Secondly, before you start a weld, get as comfortable as possible with how you stand, how you hold the torch etc and ensure you can complete as much of the weld from one position. It seems like a small detail but, if you are not comfortable, it really affects the quality of your welds.