Welding Tips and Tricks

Im new to TIG welding and have questions on best practices. i work in a production facility to time is an issue. my coworkers welds are made using what i understand to be a lay wire technique. this method seems to be a quicker way then dabbing the filler metal and moving. the material is carbon steel, joint type is a groove half V from tubing being slid onto solid rod machined to be inserts into tubing. I am looking to find out if there is any difference in penetration between the two practices.

slynch,
I would say if you guys are walking the cup that the laywire is probably the better method. As to penetration, I would say that has to do as much with torch angle as it does with how you're feeding the wire. It's probably easier to see if your getting down into the bottom of the joint if you dip the wire but you can put a little pressure on the filler while keeping it to the leading edge of the puddle and let it take what it needs with a laywire technique.

I would think that you could weld either way at about the same speed though. I know if I was getting paid by the piece that I would try both ways and find out for myself.

Jody has at least one video doing a weld just like you're taking about if I'm picturing it right.

Len

Welcome to the forum.

thank you Mike.

Braehill-
appologize for the delay in replying, life is crazy. thank you for the reply. not walking the cup, pretty much just feeding the wire in as i move the torch around the joint. the joint itself is, id say it is between 5 and 10 mm wide at a depth of around 3 mm. the thought is that it is easier/ faster to fill the joint via lay wire than dipping. I have tried both ways, i prefer dipping looks more like what i like to see, but this is a new part and process for my employer and they have screwed the pooch and are behind with the customer, so they wnt it yesterday, everyday. im just trying to deliver and maintain a quality weld.

10mm is fairly wide for a single pass with a TIG unless your pushing a lot of amps and material. Like Len I use both methods, as long as your reading the puddle and pushing material in laywire works just fine. I only started using laywire about 4 years ago, I almost always dabbed. I think learning the dab method first allows you to learn how to read the puddle...laywire can give you a false impression if your settings arnt right..

What thickness materials are you welding? What's your settings? Have you tried walking the cup on that joint, sounds like a good app for it.

Rick_H -

the width of the joint is dependent on our benders being able to properly bend and cut the piece. the material thickness of the male part is solid round stock 3/4 " thick, the female part is 1/8th-3/16th wall thickness 1 1/4" tubing. my settings are 160 amps full peddle ( normally not running full peddle), gass @ 20 chf, 1/8th purple tungston, 1/8th filler rod. i am able to fill the joint most time in one pass some time more depending on the width. my main go to is to dab.

I am pretty new to TIG. I have, for the bulk of my career used MIG and Stick. I have only been TIGing since March of this year so any advice/ suggestions are welcome as I am always looking to improve my skills