r/metalworking • u/cloakfwish • 1d ago

Tig welding: help?

Hello! I am a student at a high school trade\ college welding program. I had never welded before, but I think I'm doing pretty good. I have done mig and stick welding, and It's going great with those.

However, I have just started tig welding. I'm doing decent with that, but it's a lot hotter than I'm used to and harder to manipulate all the stuff you have to manipulate. I literally electrocuted myself three times. I was just wondering if anyone had any tips ar anything?

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4

u/Red_Chicken1907 1d ago

Have you done any gas welding? (Oxy - acetylene). Imagine the Tig torch is the welding tip. Follow closely to the material but don't let it touch.

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u/cloakfwish 15h ago

Thank you!

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u/basswelder 12h ago

It’s the way I learned for sure

2

u/Volundr33 1d ago

If you get electrocuted, it's just that you haven't grounded it correctly.

1

u/cloakfwish 15h ago

The teacher told me it was because I was touching the filler rod to the tungsten, but I wouldn't be surprised if that was a factor too. All the schools equipment is kind of janky.

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1

u/12345NoNamesLeft 23h ago

Youtube Welding tips and tricks

Get a Tig Finger XL

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u/cloakfwish 15h ago

Thank you! I was going to look up YouTube videos as well, I did want to get advice from experienced welders though.

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u/spire-32 19h ago

Throttle the foot pedal slolwly until you establish the puddle. Hold pedal there and add filler rod and start advancing the puddle slowly. Tig is a slower process than the others.

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u/cloakfwish 11h ago

That's what I'm learning, I don't think I'm having much trouble with the speed though. I was having trouble start the arc a little bit though, so thank you for the advice!

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u/VirginiaPeninsula 14h ago

I found that I did better with the filler in my dominant hand and the torch in the other. It is also a completely different process between a trigger and a foot pedal which allows you to control the heat like a throttle

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u/cloakfwish 11h ago

Thank you. That's helpful. I've been using the filler rod in my non-dominant hand, so that will be something to try.

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u/basswelder 12h ago

Using high frequency to start the arc? That feels like a shock, but it’s not. Open circuit voltage should be overcome with gloves. Use gloves and get used to it, it will save you trouble down the road.

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u/cloakfwish 11h ago

Thank you for the advice. Getting used to the heat is probably just want I need to do. I have been using one machine for both stick and mig, I'm now using an entirely different machine for tig. I don't know much but the basic about it right now. The amps were set near 150? I think.

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u/basswelder 11h ago

It depends on the situation. 150A is pretty hot, but if it’s a 3/32” tungsten, that’s OK.

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u/basswelder 8h ago

Is there a pedal? Many TIG Rigs have a pedal to control the heat and high frequency generators to start the arc without touching the metal, which is very important when welding aluminum.

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u/Smooth-Abalone-7651 10h ago

I did TIG only for about 6 years before I started arc welding. The hardest part of learning to arc weld was I now had to push the electrode into the weld.