TIG Welding supplies!

[wilbo666]

Hi all,

Well my new welder is in my hands!

And now I need a number of bits to make it work of course

I plan on most of my Tig welding to be smaller stuff, pipe and sheet mainly, but was hoping to do some inlet manifold mods in alloy etc...

I need (I think )...btw pretty sure my torch is a WP17 copy.

Tungsten, from my quick welding (haven't made it to a welding shop as yet...) some Ceriated tungsten should be good for Alu, and I should get some Thoriated for my general steel stuff (Inc stainless)...?

What size Tungsten should I be after? 1.6?, 2?, 2.4? How far will 1.6mm take me? Should I get some 1.6 and some 2.4?

Filler rods....what sizes are most useful / practical?
Alloy:
ER4043?
ER5356?

Mild Steel:
ER70S-? ?

Stainless
ER308L?
ER312?
ER347?


I guess I'm looking for a decent steer in the right direction as to what works for what and yeah! I'm 100% new to this TIG game...also if anyone can recommend some decent places in Bris to get the above from then that would be apples!

Cheers
Wilbo

[blacktop]

I think RiceburnerGTV has something to do with welding, maybe ask him to point you in the right direction

[joecoolmk2]

are you sure you've got a TIG capable of aluminium? you can't just use any old tig, you have to have AC? i think.

anyhow, i've used a few different tip shrouds for aluminium, and the ones with a gauze filter in them shit all over non filtered ones.

and i assume you know you need argon gas, not argoshield, for aluminium.

also handy to have preflow and post flow on a tig, to keep the aluminium clean.

1.6mm does most stuff, unless you're doing 10mm plate

[JP]

I get my stuff from Peal Welding supplies on Moss St in Slacks Creek.

I use red tungsten for mild and stainless, gold for alloy/stainless/mild. The lanthanated gold tipped tungsten's aren't as bad for you as the red tipped thoriated when you're grinding the tips. The miller welding site has some good info on tungsten preparation and sharpening.

If you get a "gas lens" for your torch it helps to direct the argon where you're working. The Gas lens is the meshed setup with the larger cup that goes over it. From memory I use #5 and #6 cups, and mainly 1.6mm tungsten's for the pipework. I use 2.4mm for heavy brackets and alloy.

A guide for alloy is here: http://www.artsautomotive.com/HowToWeldAluminum.htm

Miller tips and tricks: http://www.millerwelds.com/education...ints_tips.html

Miller TIG handbook: http://www.millerwelds.com/education/TIGhandbook/

Another handy tip for doing thin stainless is to use 1mm MIG wire (not flux core) for filler, I think my MIG roll is 316, I find it a lot easier than using regular stainless TIG filler.

[big wad]

all your answers have been very good ,just a couple of other things ,with the size or your tungsten electrodes you can use any size for any application ,within reason, it will just increase the width of your weld.with panel steel go the 1.6 so you end up with a narrower heat affected zone.with the aluminium filler rod ,go with a sillicone type ,they are a real good gp rod , mag wheels and cast esp and argon for all.a/c only for aluminium. then just practice practice. just remember ,as soon as you touch your tip on the job , she,s stuffed. sharpen all your tips to a point ,aluminium likes a balled tip but as soon as you strike an arc it balls up anyway.there is allways paint colours on the end or the tips ,eg white for aluminium and red just about does anything else. phew! too much typing , must rest now. cheers bigwad

[The Real Roadrunner]

aluminium likes a balled tip but as soon as you strike an arc it balls up anyway.there is allways paint colours on the end or the tips ,eg white for aluminium and red just about does anything else. phew! too much typing , must rest now. cheers bigwad

bigwad is on the money, i find putting 160+ amps into a block of brass is the best way to clean and prep the tungsten for alloy. (not sure if you do this bigwad but it saves a shiteload of time if you "dip the tip" accidently)

when sharpening the steel tips try to make the point 2.5x the dia of the tungsten ie: 1.6 has a 4mm point and only in the direction of the tungsten.

cheers
linden

wilbo call me if you need further explaination

[big wad]

go the roadrunner. pos rep 4u cheers bigwad

[Ben Wilson]

Here's a hint - Try using the red tip tungstens for alloy, if you grind them carefully they work fine and the tip doesn't ball. It gives you a lot more control of the arc.

Any imperfections when you grind the tip will result in small molten balls forming on the edges, but I still prefer them to the 'exotic' tungstens.

[wilbo666]

Excellent responses guys! Super stuff!

Hopefully I'll gear up soon and can post some example of bad welding and get some better pointers!

Cheers
Wilbo

[-Totenkopf-]

I don't guess any of you Brisbane guys would be available to do a little aluminium tig welding for me over the next week or so. I'll make payment of course, in booze or cash. I need to replace the two barbed bungs on the below pictures radiator with a couple of earls aluminium -12 weldon fittings I have here. Also have an aluminium water reservoir for my w2a intercooelr system that the fabricators never pressure tested (and thus has two pin hole leaks) and also requires a couple of brackets welded onto the bottom for mounting purposes.

I dropped them at a shop the other day and was going to hand over a handsome amount of dosh to get it done, then my mate contacts me and says his brother can do it for me this weekend. Well, couple of days later he tells me he may not be able to do it anymore, and im quite desperate. These parts need done before I can reassemble my car, which comes before refitting of engine. This MR2 has been off the road for over 10 months, I need to get it back together

Any help is appreciated, or if you can point me in the direction of some fab places that have decent rates (shouldn't be more then an hours worth of work or so total) and are open saturdays. Getting to anywhere during the week is near impossible for me due to work commitments.

Thanks guys!

EDIT: Oh, the picture - the two little barbed bungs need to cut off (I can get access to a band saw to take these off if necessary) and 2 -12 fittings I have (aluminium weld on type) need putting in there place.