TIG welding some 18 gauge....
Posted: Sun May 30, 2021 9:31 pm
Hey guys, new to the forum but have been lurking for years when it comes to learning information. However, I have reached a problem that I cant seem to do any research and find out the answer.....so I have now had to reach out to the knowledgeable people that are part of this forum.
I am going to be needing to TIG weld some exhaust tubing that is 18 gauge 304 stainless. I am borrowing a friends AHP AlphaTig and when I went to practice today, it appears as if I am VERY good at overcooking the weld....constantly.
I have tried adjusting the amperage from 30-70 amps, I have tried different sized cups with different flows of Argon, I have tried pulsing and not pulsing...and every variable of pulse. I will say that I feel that I have tried everything but I am obviously wrong. I did, however, make one change at a time so that I could somewhat judge whether each change would improve the weld or not BUT I never got to where I should be.
Below are some pictures of examples that I did. I will try and explain each.
Also, notice how many 'beads' I did! When I say that I was making changes and watching to see if it improved, I was. The longest bead that I ever ran in one go was less than 1 inch. I usually stopped at 8 dips of filler rod in attempt to stay shielded and to keep heat as low as possible.
so hardware is:
AHP AlphaTig
#10 cup
100% Argon at 30CFH
1/16 filler rod
3/32 Tungsten
I cleaned material with acetone and scotchbrite
I did NOT backpurge this....I am just trying to get the machine/technique down before I do the exhaust and that I will backpurge.
Goal:
My goal is to have welds that dont take away from the anti-corrosion characteristics of 304. I am after straw colored welds....but I cant even get blue!
![Image](https://i.imgur.com/1odVAnGh.jpg)
The right set of welds are just tacks that were jolted on at 115amps. These were/are the only welds that I have been able to do without any appearance of cooking the metal....thats sad
The middle set of welds are a pulsing 45amps. I changed speed of my torch in attempt to assist the metal from heating up too much.
![Image](https://i.imgur.com/NsndjTfh.jpg)
The right weld is no pulse on machine, 40amps, no filler, 30cfh of Argon, and manually pulsing with the pedal from 100% to 50%.
The left weld is the same, except I used 308 filler rod.
The middle is 30 amps, manually working pedal from 100% to 50%, no filler. The material was cool to the touch at the start and I could grab without gloves shortly after...not much heat
Thanks guys! Any help will be greatly appreciated!
I am going to be needing to TIG weld some exhaust tubing that is 18 gauge 304 stainless. I am borrowing a friends AHP AlphaTig and when I went to practice today, it appears as if I am VERY good at overcooking the weld....constantly.
I have tried adjusting the amperage from 30-70 amps, I have tried different sized cups with different flows of Argon, I have tried pulsing and not pulsing...and every variable of pulse. I will say that I feel that I have tried everything but I am obviously wrong. I did, however, make one change at a time so that I could somewhat judge whether each change would improve the weld or not BUT I never got to where I should be.
Below are some pictures of examples that I did. I will try and explain each.
Also, notice how many 'beads' I did! When I say that I was making changes and watching to see if it improved, I was. The longest bead that I ever ran in one go was less than 1 inch. I usually stopped at 8 dips of filler rod in attempt to stay shielded and to keep heat as low as possible.
so hardware is:
AHP AlphaTig
#10 cup
100% Argon at 30CFH
1/16 filler rod
3/32 Tungsten
I cleaned material with acetone and scotchbrite
I did NOT backpurge this....I am just trying to get the machine/technique down before I do the exhaust and that I will backpurge.
Goal:
My goal is to have welds that dont take away from the anti-corrosion characteristics of 304. I am after straw colored welds....but I cant even get blue!
![Image](https://i.imgur.com/1odVAnGh.jpg)
The right set of welds are just tacks that were jolted on at 115amps. These were/are the only welds that I have been able to do without any appearance of cooking the metal....thats sad
The middle set of welds are a pulsing 45amps. I changed speed of my torch in attempt to assist the metal from heating up too much.
![Image](https://i.imgur.com/NsndjTfh.jpg)
The right weld is no pulse on machine, 40amps, no filler, 30cfh of Argon, and manually pulsing with the pedal from 100% to 50%.
The left weld is the same, except I used 308 filler rod.
The middle is 30 amps, manually working pedal from 100% to 50%, no filler. The material was cool to the touch at the start and I could grab without gloves shortly after...not much heat
Thanks guys! Any help will be greatly appreciated!