New to Tig Welding with Questions

**norcalvp** · 09-23-2011, 10:52 AM

I have been Mig Welding for about 15 years, but recently picked up a nice new toy (Weldall 160PI) I was welding a bit this last weekend and ended up with some flash burn on Sunday.

The welding helmet I was using is a Hobart non-Adjustable Auto Darkening helmet (I've been using it for MIG Welding for years) but I'm guessing that it doesn't get dark enough for Tig Welding... What kind of shade should I be looking at for Tig Welding? Any suggestions?

Also I bought a few Lanthated sets of Tungsten (I couldn't pass up the price) and I'm wondering if I'm using the correct size of tungsten and if I should be using a smaller filler rod. Is there a guide for which size of tungsten to use, and what kind/size of filler rod to use? Right now I'm welding sheetmetal (~16-18 gauge) and also had a little problem with warping. (I ended up finishing with a MIG)

It also looks like the torch has tubes for water cooling, How/When should I be using a cooler for the torch? I've got the post flow set at about 5 seconds, but am Wondering if this is enough.

There is also a knob on the foot pedal. Where should this knob be set?

Thanks for the help
Steve

**Gadget** · 09-23-2011, 12:19 PM

Hi Steve and welcome to the forum. We like pictures here so be sure to include some showing your work. Also, keep an eye out for the next contest here. The odds of winning a great new Longevity machine are very good.
I set my helmet on 9 which is the lowest setting when I'm TIG welding and have no problems. For sheet metal I would use a 1/16th tungsten and filler rod. That way you'll have less chance of burning through. For anything thicker than sheet metal I use a 3/32 tungsten. I still prefer the 1/16 filler unless I'm welding some pretty thick material but that's just my preference. A 5 second post flow should do fine with your unit. I believe it does come with a water cooled torch. You should be able to use it without water cooling if you just don't let it get too hot. I never set the foot pedal knob below 7, it just doesn't want to work well below that. If you're welding sheet metal 7 would be a good starting point. On 1/8 and higher metal just set the knob all the way up to 10.

Dan

**SICFabrications** · 09-23-2011, 03:23 PM

the risk of a nuclear sunburn from tig is much higher than that of mig or stick.... this is why.... stick has flux which partially shields the light, mig (in short circuit transfer) the arc is in the puddle which partially shields the light.... tig.... there is nothing to partially shield the light, nothing.... a lighter shade lens is sometimes required for low amperage tig, but ive had spec jobs in the past that have required tig welds that were in excess of 500 amps<------- needed a shade 14 lens for that one.... the rule of thumb for lens shade is amperage... higher amperage, the higher the shade, regardless of the process used....

**Gadget** · 09-23-2011, 05:03 PM

That makes sense Stan. I usually weld with low amperage on thinner stock. That's probably why a 9 works well for me.

**SAS Company** · 09-25-2011, 03:33 AM

Steve, what shade is your hood? For 18-16 sheet metal you will probably end up running 30-50 amp which a 9 or 10 shade is adequate. If you got flashed it was more likely that the hood is not sensitive enough or a sensor was blocked and therefore not darkening.
.040 or 1/16 ceriated, lanthanated or thoriated tungsten sharpened properly. .045 -1/16 filler. Skip the foot pedal, set your base current at 35 and turn your downslope just past the next mark after 0. Make sure high frequency is on, switches set to DC and 2t. Hold the tungsten within 1/8 from the material then hold the trigger on your torch, start making small circles with your torch until a puddle forms, then start running your bead and adding filler. The downslope will gradually decrease the current and shut off after you let go of the trigger. The flowmeter that came with the machine should read around 7. All these setting are intended as a starting point.
To combat the warping tack maybe an inch apart.
Going from mig to tig you need to slow way down. Everything can happen much slower and with more control, just takes time to get used to. Use a chunk of scrap to run beads. Run a bead, quench, wire brush, repeat as necessary.
The torch you have is water cooled, call LONGEVITY tech support and ask them if it is okay to run with no water.

**norcalvp** · 09-27-2011, 06:17 PM

To be honest, I'm not sure what shade it is. I had been using my dad's old welding helmet with a #9 shade in it before and my mother in law got this auto darkening helmet for me for christmas a few years ago. I've been looking into some nicer helmets, and will hopefully be picking up one with adjustable shade here in the near future. My first project was to modify my Harbor Freight welder cart to hold both the 160PI and my Lincoln Mig (I think it's a 155 but not sure) and both tanks. It's a tight fit, but everything fits on the cart except my gloves, and extra Mig Spools. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out! I'll try to post up some pictures of it.

SAS, I am planning on doing a bit of sheetmetal work, and am wondering if the Tig would be a better choice over the MIG, but am not too sure. When I was welding the cart, I found that there was a bit of warping, and possibly that may be because I'm very new to the TIG. I've been using MIG for quite a while, and for Sheetmetal I usually just tack Weld about 3 inches apart, let cool, repeat. Untiil the seam is welded. Should I be using the same technique for Tig? I'll give the technique you described above a try as soon as I find a new helmet that won't flash me.

I'm going to be transplanting a transmission tunnel from a 2006 Pontiac GTO into a 1970 Chevelle. Just want to be able to do it the best I can without warping the crap out of anything.

**SAS Company** · 09-28-2011, 03:19 AM

Steve,
I am by no means an expert at tig yet. Maybe an experienced novice. For the transmission tunnel I would mig. I ran beads along 36" of an 18ga to 7 ga joint with the LONGEVITY ArcMate 160D skip welding and got very little warpage. Really you don't even need the whole seam to be welded. Weld the tunnel in place enough to be structurally sound and caulk the rest with some butyl calk from an RV place or some other sealer if you are worried about warp.
Doing that much tig out of position inside of a car with metals of various ages and types of paint will likely be immensely frustrating even for an experienced welder.
Tig a bunch of clean scrap until you get a feel for it. Maybe try tigging some chunks from the donor car and replaced tunnel to see. I would bet on lots of porosity.

-Jon

**junes** · 10-27-2011, 08:12 PM

Originally Posted by SICFabrications

the risk of a nuclear sunburn from tig is much higher than that of mig or stick.... this is why.... stick has flux which partially shields the light, mig (in short circuit transfer) the arc is in the puddle which partially shields the light.... tig.... there is nothing to partially shield the light, nothing.... a lighter shade lens is sometimes required for low amperage tig, but ive had spec jobs in the past that have required tig welds that were in excess of 500 amps<------- needed a shade 14 lens for that one.... the rule of thumb for lens shade is amperage... higher amperage, the higher the shade, regardless of the process used....

So for the 500 amps you use a wp-12 torch?

---------- Post added at 10:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:08 PM ----------

also never ever use i water cooled torch without the water!!!