Weekend of welding - Intro to Tig - 1/13-15/22

Metal Shop
#1

Learn the basic techniques of welding and the science behind that blinding light and showers of sparks with this course!

You’ll be learning the basic techniques of GTAW welding and the science behind the machine so you will know how to lay a bead that both looks good and you can be proud of.

This class will cover the basics of setup, terminology, 1F position, 2F position and what to look for in a weld.

This class will have both a classroom portion and a welding portion.

NOTE: for those attending this class, please wear closed toed shoes (preferably steel toed), and natural fibers (long sleeves preferred)

Cost is $150 payable via Cash Only at the start of the class.

Class times are as follows:
Fri Jan 13 3pm — 8pm
Sat Jan 14 12pm — 5pm
Sun Jan 15 12pm — 5pm

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#2

After this class, I managed to get some time on January 23rd to see what I could do on my own. I did change up a few things. I got the really short haircut I intended to before the class, but work had gotten in the way. So the helmet headband was closer to comfortable. I set up with a slightly shorter stool. And probably most important, I chose footwear with less ankle support, for more/easier ankle motion.

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1 Like
#3

And I managed to spend more time today, though I probably went past the point of diminishing returns.

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After I filled out the first 3, I welded 2 of them together to make a 4x4 inch piece, and started padding beads 90 degrees to the original passes, then started a second layer on the remaining one, and started two fresh.

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#4

Not bad. Work on your consistency and heat control. Try with thicker material and then work your way down. You’re overheating your plate before your puddle is hot enough to melt, hence why your heat affected zone is so large. Either that or you’re moving too slow. You might want to try increasing your amperage by 10-15 just to see if it’s a little easier.

Pick one thing and work on that. Don’t try to fix all of it at once. When it clicks, you’ll be able to get it. A metronome app, or just music with a steady beat can help with consistency quite a bit.

Also it looks like you’re quenching your plates in order to cool them down quickly. I believe I may have recommended that for practice in class. But when you’ve got plenty of practice material to work with there’s really no reason to do so. Let it cool down naturally over 30ish minutes while you weld on other coupons. By quenching it you’re putting all the contamination that’s in the water onto the base metal.

Keep it up!