TIG Welding Entry Level

Two Types of TIG Machines

-Water Cooled

-Air-Cooled

TIG Machines can be complicated but to start you need to know just a couple of things.

1. Look for On/Off Switch

2. Turn on Welding gas

3. Make sure Ground Clamp is connected to Bare metal

4. TIG torch set up with sharp Tungsten

5. Machine is set on DC (direct current) for welding steels and stainless

6. Change Amperage (heat) setting for desired metal thickness.

4. Weld, Weld, Weld!!

Tungsten electrodes are a very hard, brittle, and conductive metal used to transfer the arc on to the work piece.

Having a clean sharpened tungsten is essential to having a clean and stable arc.

Tungsten Sizes vary from 1/16", 3/32", 1/8"  are the most common. we will be using 3/32" as a great all around tungsten.

Changing tungsten sizes is important for the amount of amperage you're running and the size weld arc cone you want. More amperage = Thicker Tungsten

Tungsten also comes in different compositions and each differs in the metals it welds best. For this course having 2% Ceriated Tungsten will work great on both AC and DC.

Sharpening your Tungsten

Step1:

Place Tungsten electrode in Drill chuck and tighten

Step 2:

Use belt sander to sharpen a 15-20 degree point

Step 3:

Use buffing wheel to polish to a sharp pointed tip

Step 4:

Install tungsten back into TIG Torch

Tungsten Electrodes come in 7" lengths and then can be cut down into thirds or half's. There are a few reasons I do this the main reason is to have multiple pieces of tungsten sharp and ready.