[Al_Bundy]

Greetings everyone,

Just a new guy to TIG welding saying hello. I am just a hobbyist who is trying to learn how to weld stainless and aluminum for automotive reasons. I've been visiting the board many times before to learn about TIG, but finally registered to to learn more and hopefully be able to give back someday.

This may sounds stereotypical but my main interests are to be able to TIG up a stainless exhaust system along with the matching aluminum intercooler piping. I realized early on that I will need to learn how to TIG to pursue my ambitions with my automotive hobby, so I ended up buying a Primeweld TIG225X not too long ago to teach myself at the recommendation of my buddy.

My welds are sinful so I'll spare you guys the retina burns. Thank you for all the great info posted thus far.

[tweake]

welcome.
thats a decent tig to start out with.
no need to be shy with the pics. i do plenty of sinful welding, as long as it gets the job done. sometimes its simply not avoidable.

[cj737]

One thing to know early on is that you can always make welds look pretty after, but they have to be strong first.

A trick I used/use (even now occasionally) is to lay the first pass in, then let the weld cool, and run over it again a second time, no filler, with pulse only. It can help tidy up the weld and smooth out the inconsistencies.

If you haven’t yet learned, for stainless tubing two things are critical: fit-up and purging. The better the fit, the better the weld. I weld probably 90+% of all my stainless exhausts without filler and with pulse. But the fit has to be perfect. And with a solid purge and slightly higher CFH, it helps keep the weld “up” so when you fully penetrate, the weld (no filler) doesn’t create noticeable undercut. Never had a joint fail yet.

And for your ally->stainless connections, V bands are the ticket.

[tweake]

A trick I used/use (even now occasionally) is to lay the first pass in, then let the weld cool, and run over it again a second time, no filler, with pulse only. It can help tidy up the weld and smooth out the inconsistencies.

i've done that with repairs. added extra filler, ground it down to size, then run over it again to make it look good.

[Oscar]

My welds are sinful so I'll spare you guys the retina burns.

That's great! I love that line!

I too started welding/TIG'g for automotive hobby parts. Back in 2011-2012 I hacked up and customized two sets of Mustang longtube headers for 90's Thunderbirds/Cougars. One set I still have the other set I sold to a buddy and they are still on his car to this day. While it may not have been stainless, TIG welding up headers is quite the challenge, as will most other automotive style parts. Just keep on doing proper practice with proper prep, and things do get easier as you learn more and more about the process.

[Al_Bundy]

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome and suggestions. I'm certain I will be back in the near future with more pictures of the carnage as I make progressions with my project

Cheers!

[Al_Bundy]

My retina burning sinful welds While my main interests are in thin walled stainless (16-18 ga) and aluminum, I've found TIG to be fascinating in general and would like to eventually learn all if time permit. I have roughly around 1 hour per day to practice outside of my day job. I am about a month deep in this with serious and dedicated practice as much as I can. I would literally get home and weld for at least an hour in the garage before I actually go in.

Background. I have never welded anything up to this point and most of what I've learned have been through books, reading online, and youtube.

37 AMPS at 25CFH. 3/32" red with .035" 308L. 16 ga. Not 18 as the file name indicates.

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My 3rd attempt at outside corner at 37 AMPS and 25CFH.

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My first shot at 1/8" at 100 AMPS and 25CFH 3/32" red with 1/16" 308L

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My first 1/8" outside corner joint

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1/8" brushed just out of curiosity.

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I feel that I need to work on my travel speed, and accuracy with dabbing the filler rods relative to my amperage. I am here to learn and would welcome and appreciate your suggestions.

Edit: Furick #12 cup.

[cj737]

What size filler rod is that? It looks like you’re having to travel too slowly on the outside corners and as such are over cooking the material (this is why the weld is so flat).

For the flat beads, you’re dabbing too much filler into the weld. That created the ropey/wormy tall beads. Drop a filler size.

Also, to practice, scribe parallel lines on the flat plate. Make them 1/8” apart. Then as you weld, dip enough filler to make the bead exactly that wide only. Adjust your heat so you don’t camp out waiting to get the filler to fuse in and fill the track.

I’ve seen LOTS worse early attempts. You’re doing just fine!

[Al_Bundy]

What size filler rod is that? It looks like you’re having to travel too slowly on the outside corners and as such are over cooking the material (this is why the weld is so flat).

For the flat beads, you’re dabbing too much filler into the weld. That created the ropey/wormy tall beads. Drop a filler size.

Also, to practice, scribe parallel lines on the flat plate. Make them 1/8” apart. Then as you weld, dip enough filler to make the bead exactly that wide only. Adjust your heat so you don’t camp out waiting to get the filler to fuse in and fill the track.

I’ve seen LOTS worse early attempts. You’re doing just fine!

Filler rod was .035 308L for the stainless and 1/16" 308L for the carbon.

I will remember to apply your suggestions the next go. The too much and dabbing just enough makes sense as I'm sitting here staring at the piece . Heat adjustment. What you's saying makes sense. I'm so focus on the dabbing and traveling most of the time that I'm just hammering the throttle most of the time. I need to learn to chill before i spark it up.

[Al_Bundy]

Thank you everyone again for all the suggestions. Please keep them coming.

I had a second attempt at a 16 ga stainless T joint. The first one is just too atrocious to post.

Couldn’t find any 18 ga stainless so I bought some 18 ga cold rolled coupons to practice. Below is my 3rd attempts at 18 ga. Already got some 18 ga 304 SS tubing and dual regulator for purging to start practice with going around a tube.

I broke the weld into sections on the pieces to practice my tie-in, that’s why it looks all disjointed. I key-holed a few spots so i will need to practice my pedal work to finesse my taper.

At what amperage would you guys recommend I weld 18 ga stainless tubing?

Edit: I welded those without pulse since I haven’t explored that function yet.

[cj737]

Those look just fine. Just continue with the practice on your travel speed so the bead remains as uniformed as possible. Tie-ins look pretty OK. Perhaps back up into the last bead a bit farther before moving on so there is no gap in the bead. You’re doing really well for someone who claims “beginner” status!

[Al_Bundy]

Thank you for the tip CJ737! I will try backing up further into the last bead.

[Arno]

Nice dog!

Side-note.. Make sure the dog is not in the room when/where you are welding. They tend to look/stare at the arc and they get the same eye problems as we do without a helmet..

Or get him a set of auto-darken goggles

Bye, Arno.

[Al_Bundy]

Nice dog!

Side-note.. Make sure the dog is not in the room when/where you are welding. They tend to look/stare at the arc and they get the same eye problems as we do without a helmet..

Or get him a set of auto-darken goggles

Bye, Arno.

Will do!

[Al_Bundy]

I took a shot at 2.5” 18 ga stainless tubing. I was just running a bunch of beads to get used to the torch angle, dabbing, heat control and travel while going around a tube. A humbling process but still fun.

[Al_Bundy]

My first attempt at welding 3 pieces of 18 ga stainless tubing together. Wicked ugly but now I know what I will need to work on. Purged at 5 CFH.

[tweake]

good job. certainly getting there. the outside is better than some of mine and i've seen pro's do it worse.

thats really good fit up which makes things a lot easier. with those tacks i would increase the pre flow a bit so your not getting that black oxidized ring on the tacks. also i like to do a little swirl and drag metal across the gap/chamfer.
the purge could be better. one thing i like to do when welding short lengths is to make the gas exit holes around the outside of the tube. that way the gas flow is across the back of the metal not in the center of the tube. tin foil over the tube and poke holes around the edge, or a scrunched up ball of foil shoved in the end (yeah i'm that high tech).

[Al_Bundy]

good job. certainly getting there. the outside is better than some of mine and i've seen pro's do it worse.

thats really good fit up which makes things a lot easier. with those tacks i would increase the pre flow a bit so your not getting that black oxidized ring on the tacks. also i like to do a little swirl and drag metal across the gap/chamfer.
the purge could be better. one thing i like to do when welding short lengths is to make the gas exit holes around the outside of the tube. that way the gas flow is across the back of the metal not in the center of the tube. tin foil over the tube and poke holes around the edge, or a scrunched up ball of foil shoved in the end (yeah i'm that high tech).

Thank you, tweake! I will definitely apply your tips on the next run.

I spent hours watching Jody and a few other YouTube welders repeating the importance of good fit up and cleanliness. I figured those would be two less variables that I can eliminate to be able to focus on just the welding part.

[tweake]

I figured those would be two less variables that I can eliminate to be able to focus on just the welding part.

i so wish other people would learn that.
the key to learning most things is to reduce the variables at play, which makes it easier to learn.

[Al_Bundy]

Played around a bit with the aluminum and decided to take a stab at 16 ga @ 40 amps.

[cj737]

The only critique I'd make about the 18ga stainless is to use thinnner filler wire. It will help reduce how much heat, how much weld profile you generate. Since your fit-up appears to be good, you shouldnt need much wire; just enough to prevent undercut on the outside surface.

Another trick you could do, is using the same wire currently, intentionally gap the butt joint by 0.030 (use some pieces of MIG wire off cuts to pack the joint). Do your tacks, pull the MIG wire, then run your beads with the ends capped and tape around the butt joint on the opposite half. As you progress around the circumference, pull the tape and acetone wipe any residue before welding. And be patient on 2.5" tubing and allow some cooling off time between runs (or upsize the cup, and crank up the volume on the Argon!). Stainless requires patience to avoid overheating and warping. Set all your gaps, make all your tacks, then tape everything up. Let the tube get full or argon before striking the arc. You'll get really good results this way.

You should get a nice, flush weld inside and out. With a small gap, its important that your travel speed is up to snuff so the weld doesn't sag inward. I use a slghtly higher purge CFM to help "push" the weld outward to avoid this.

One trick about purging: always weld nearest the "Argon-in" end. Have your vent holes up (even a slight angle matters). Argon is heavier than oxygen, so you want all oxygen pushed out and up to eliminate any presence near your weld.

For your aluminum welds, just a bit more heat to help flatten out the weld. Your a bit too low on amps or a bit too heavy on your filler dipping. Less wire or more amps. Your travel strokes look really good overall and you're certainly putting in productive practice!!!

[Al_Bundy]

The only critique I'd make about the 18ga stainless is to use thinnner filler wire. It will help reduce how much heat, how much weld profile you generate. Since your fit-up appears to be good, you shouldnt need much wire; just enough to prevent undercut on the outside surface.

Another trick you could do, is using the same wire currently, intentionally gap the butt joint by 0.030 (use some pieces of MIG wire off cuts to pack the joint). Do your tacks, pull the MIG wire, then run your beads with the ends capped and tape around the butt joint on the opposite half. As you progress around the circumference, pull the tape and acetone wipe any residue before welding. And be patient on 2.5" tubing and allow some cooling off time between runs (or upsize the cup, and crank up the volume on the Argon!). Stainless requires patience to avoid overheating and warping. Set all your gaps, make all your tacks, then tape everything up. Let the tube get full or argon before striking the arc. You'll get really good results this way.

You should get a nice, flush weld inside and out. With a small gap, its important that your travel speed is up to snuff so the weld doesn't sag inward. I use a slghtly higher purge CFM to help "push" the weld outward to avoid this.

One trick about purging: always weld nearest the "Argon-in" end. Have your vent holes up (even a slight angle matters). Argon is heavier than oxygen, so you want all oxygen pushed out and up to eliminate any presence near your weld.

For your aluminum welds, just a bit more heat to help flatten out the weld. Your a bit too low on amps or a bit too heavy on your filler dipping. Less wire or more amps. Your travel strokes look really good overall and you're certainly putting in productive practice!!!

Thank you, CJ. I already ordered some 030 and some hight temp tape for my next stainless effort. Will definitely apply your suggestion.

I didn’t catch your reply before I went at the aluminum again. This time a 1/16” butt joint @ 68 amps, #5 cup with 15 CFH, 3/32 blue and 1/16 ER4043.

Left to right. First attempt on the left. I popped a tack on the third try, lost my concentration and put a couple holes through the piece

I have a lot to learn and practice with aluminum ahead compared to stainless.

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[cj737]

Thin aluminum is very tricky. You need to start backing off the amps as you approach the end to avoid the heat soaked material from burning back on you. Another trick is to add a larger tack at the end, weld to it, then back step to bring some of the tack into the weld.

68 amps is also tricky. It’s too much once you get going, it’s probably a bit low to start. If you have a pedal, set the machine to 80 so you get a puddle a bit faster, then as you go, start backing down the heat with your foot. You will get much better control with varying the heat than with a static setting.

Overall, pretty OK work!

[Al_Bundy]

Thin aluminum is very tricky. You need to start backing off the amps as you approach the end to avoid the heat soaked material from burning back on you. Another trick is to add a larger tack at the end, weld to it, then back step to bring some of the tack into the weld.

68 amps is also tricky. It’s too much once you get going, it’s probably a bit low to start. If you have a pedal, set the machine to 80 so you get a puddle a bit faster, then as you go, start backing down the heat with your foot. You will get much better control with varying the heat than with a static setting.

Overall, pretty OK work!

Got it! I’m terrible at tacking aluminum. I’m on a pedal and going to crank it up to 80 as soon as I get back home later.

[Al_Bundy]

@Cj737

I couldn’t edit the earlier post from today but here’s the result.

Padded a few beads at 80 amps, ~35-45% balance and ~120 Hz then tried another butt joint.

Feels much more fluid and controllable @ 80 amps but I definitely need to practice running beads to nail down my puddle width and tie-ins. I’m sure there are other things that my amateur eyes can’t see.

I broke the weld into two beads to practice my restart as well.