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Here are some advices on welding equipment and how to make the best purchase picks. Flat-Position Welding Increases Welding Speed : It’s common knowledge that welding in a horizontal position will be the easiest and fastest way to weld. A flat position is not as taxing to maintain and the welding puddle will stay in place. Take some time to evaluate each project before beginning in order to make sure the majority of welds can be completed in this position. If a job calls for vertical welding, see this article about vertical welding. Core Wire Feeder Increases TIG Welding Speed: For professional welders hoping to speed up TIG welding, a core wire feeder will add filler metal through an automated process. Watch this video on how it works. This enables welders to work with both hands and to maintain a constant flow of wire into the welding puddle. Ed Craig at the Frabricator writes about the wire feeder process first developed in Europe, saying it is “suitable for all-position welding on materials of any thickness, the process addresses traditional GTAW limitations and can enhance both manual and automated TIG weld quality and productivity.”

TIG Welding / Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) — TIG welding is an arc welding process that uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode to produce the weld. The weld area is protected from atmospheric contamination by a shielding gas (usually argon) and a filler metal, though some welds, known as autogenous welds, do not require it. A constant-current welding power supply produces energy that is conducted across the arc through a column of highly ionized gas and metal vapors known as plasma. TIG welding is most commonly used to weld thin sections of alloy steel, stainless steel and nonferrous metals such as aluminum, magnesium and copper alloys. The process grants the operator greater control over the weld than other welding processes, allowing for strong, high-quality welds. TIG welding is comparatively more complex and difficult to master than other processes and is significantly slower.

One of the “cardinal sins” that almost every shop commits is over-welding. This means that if the drawing calls for a 1/4″ fillet weld, most shops will put down a 5/16″ weld. The reasons? Either they don’t have a fillet gauge and are not exactly sure of the size of the weld they are producing or they put in some extra to “cover” themselves and make sure there is enough weld metal in place. But, over-welding leads to tremendous consumable waste. Let’s look again at our example. For a 1/4″ fillet weld, the typical operator will use .129 lbs. per foot of weld metal. The 5/16″ weld requires .201 lbs. per foot of weld metal – a 56 percent increase in weld volume compared to what is really needed. Plus, you must take into account the additional labor necessary to put down a larger weld. Not only is the company paying for extra, wasted consumable material, a weld with more weld metal is more likely to have warpage and distortion because of the added heat input. It is recommended that every operator be given a fillet gauge to accurately produce the weld specified – and nothing more. In addition, changes in wire diameter may be used to eliminate over-welding. Searching for the best Welding Supplies? We recommend Welding Supplies Direct & associated company TWS Direct Ltd is an online distributor of a wide variety of welding supplies, welding equipment and welding machine. We supply plasma cutters, MIG, TIG, ARC welding machines and support consumables to the UK, Europe and North America.

So pay attention to the way you grind your tungsten. You have probably read that Tungsten electrodes should only be ground longitudinally, not sideways or the world will come to an end and dogs and cats will start sleeping together. Take it from someone who has been TIG welding for over 30 years and has sharpened electrodes every way imaginable including using a cutting torch. That’s right I said cutting torch. It does matter how you grind tungsten electrodes. There is a big difference between a tungsten electrode ground sideways on a 36 grit stone to one ground properly on a fine diamond wheel. But there is not much difference between a tungsten ground sideways on a fine wheel and one that has been ground longitudinally on the same wheel… Unless you are welding razor blades or at extremely low amperages. or doing automatic low amperage orbital welding. A lot of people will argue this point with me. I dont care. I cant make myself say that tungsten grinders make a lot of difference when I dont really believe it.

Best welding tips: how to become a better welder and how to choose the top welding equipment. 2% thoriated tungsten electrodes are mildly radioactive: Word on the street is that 2% thoriated tungsten electrodes are mildly radioactive. They say deer meat is too. No one gets out alive. Good news though…and it’s not just that I saved a bundle on my car insurance by switching to GEICO.. I have learned through testing a bunch of arc starts and by welding on all different metals that 2% lanthanated electrodes are about as good as the 2% thoriated. I even like the lanthanated a little better for some applications. So if you are scared of thoriated tungsten but you are even more scared of crappy electrodes that don’t work as well, use 2% lanthanated…they are colored blue. One word to the wise here. The blue ones are not brittle like 2% thoriated electrodes. And they splinter if you try to break them or snip with dykes. You have to cut or score with a grinder in order to cut to size or cut off a bib blob of metal you don’t want to sand off.

Keep in mind that heavy-duty MIG welding often produces a lot of heat, sparks and spatter, and requires a lower degree of dexterity than some other forms of welding. Therefore, using thick, stiff leather gloves that provide a higher level of protection is smart. Similarly, choose leather footwear that covers your entire foot and leaves as little room as possible for spatter to fall along your ankle line. High-top leather shoes and work boots often provide the best protection. Finally, always be sure you have adequate ventilation per OSHA recommendations and check material safety data sheets (MSDS) for each metal being welded and filler metal being used. Use a respirator whenever required by the MSDS.

Look for ways to support your hands. Having good support for your hands or arms is crucial for moving the torch with precise control. I do my best welding when the base of my hands or my wrists is supported in some way. Often you can rest your wrists on the part being welded. I keep an assortment of wood and metal blocks near my welding bench, and I often can get better support by positioning a block to rest my torch hand on. There are occasions where I rest my forearms, or even my elbows, on something for support. Many welders set up special support bars, positioned parallel to the joint being welded, and they slide their torch hand along the bar to help follow the joint with fine control. For some out-of-position work, I’ve had to rely on resting only my shoulder on something, and while not ideal, it’s better than having no support at all. Even placing my hip against something stationary can offer a bit of support, but I can’t weld very well when standing ‘free,’ with no support at all. Source: https://www.weldingsuppliesdirect.co.uk/.