Welding Tips and Tricks

I was shown a Tig pen for the first time today, has anyone every used one and do they work, I would like to see a video of Jody welding with one if he has one.
Jay

TIg pens are not used by experienced welders, only beginners or those who can't master rod feed by hand for whatever reason.
Once a beginner gets a bit of experience the first thing lost is the tig pen therefore I don't think it's a big ticket item.
I suspect Jody might be more interested in seeing the beginner practice feeding rod by hand in front of the tv to develop muscle memory than relying on a pen crutch.

I think Jody did a review on it, but like Coldman mentioned, not practical in the real world... Learn how to feed the rod, take a piece of filler and do it while you sit on the couch, it will become effortless...which is what you want. Practice both hands, you'll need it.

I had a shot with one quite awhile ago and didn't particularly get along with it.

I found that the little roller doodad was quite difficult to manipulate with my gloves on. I tried it without wearing a glove and it was a little better but...welding without a glove? That's not going anywhere good.

Was fairly open-minded about it as a rank beginner but have to say that I had already picked up just enough skill in normal rod feeding not to want a second try with the pen. And yeah...I'd lose the thing when I needed it most, for sure!



Kym

If you want a mechanical device to feed filler rod just use a MIG

Jody's comments on the TIG pen (as I recall, without digging up the video/commentary) were along the lines above... Not practical for most fully able welders. He felt it's place might lie with someone with mobility limitations where traditional feeding is challenging or impossible.

Steve S

Never tried one but the fact ESAB still have them tells there is a market demand.

AndersK wrote:Never tried one but the fact ESAB still have them tells there is a market demand.

And alot of welders are hobbyists with small machines that would hit the duty cycle before they could burn a whole rod and/or not have a project big enough to have long welds. In the "real world" starts and stops are a reality. I can sit and practice feeding rod all day long when I'm not welding and it's not a problem but feeding rod while I am welding and not having it stay steady so I can get it in the puddle is also a reality. Feeding rod is a great skill to have but IMO it's not the most important one to have and you can work around it. Try working around the other skills you must have to tig weld correctly and that Fido's butt phrase will be ringing in your head. The tig pen has a legitimate place IMO.

Ebay has them much cheaper when you buy one from the UK. Or maybe a good project for your new lathe?