51 replies to this topic

[nicklouse]

I have watched them already. missed the bit about the different electrode materials. He really should organize them a bit better.

 

and then the grinding.

[nicklouse]

its a bit taller than i expected.

[Tupers]

I use 2% Lanthanated (blue) in 2.4mm for my stainless work which is mostly 1.5-2mm wall tube. They’ll also work on 3mm thick aluminium and up.
I use the same grade tungsten in 1.6mm for 1mm steel on car bodywork and thinner aluminium.

You don’t want to use too thick of a tungsten on thin material as you can suffer with the arc wandering at low amps because it’s struggling to get through the electrode.
Generally speaking on mild and stainless the thinner the metal the the longer the point on the tungsten. This is also to do with stability of the arc.

For a 2.4mm tungsten on aluminium I’ll grind the tip that’s about 5mm from tip to shoulder and let it ball it’s self when the arc strikes. For stainless I’ll stretch it out to 8mm.


These are just the things I’ve learned along the way doing motorcycle and car fabrication work. I’m sure almost every welder will have their own favourite setting and gear but hopefully it’ll give you somewhere to start.

[nicklouse]

nice one. currently i will be sticking to 2mm and maybe 1mm sheet alloy. and some thin steel and some 1.5mm steel

 

anything else will be much later stainless and other exotics i have no need at the moment.

[l_jonez]

As above 2% lanthanated tungsten in 1.6 or 2.4 will cover you for pretty much anything you will need

[mini13]

yep, 1.6 and 2.4's, you'll only need the 3.2's if your doing thick plate, like 5mm+

 

I found that for most ally work 2.4's work best, as with the cleaning action you get more heat in the tungsten and the 1.6's cant handle it, maybe that just me.

 

Also for stainless work i get on better with 1.6's, thats on 1.5mm tube for manifolds,

 

get a couple of packs of tungstens, and sharpen them all, to start with you will be dipping the tip and swapping them out a lot, especially on ally, on steel you can get a way with a little dip, on ally/AC it just turns straight to a black mess....

 

there are handy settings apps for phones too, Ive got the Miller app on my phione, gives a good ball park setup to get started from.

[nicklouse]

interesting my local welding supplier does not have 2% lanthanated  (blue) only 1.5% lanthanated (gold) might look further at other places to see if it is the same.

[nicklouse]

got to love Ebay. a selection of filler rods ordered and two sizes of Electrode ordered. why two length of electrodes though. had to go out an measure. came with 150 but 175mm will easily fit in the long holder.

 

whats the deal with the torch "sizes"?  (not the shrouds i get them).

[mini13]

the electrode length are for torch varients, normally you have the "long" cap on the back that the electrod extends into, buit for tight spaces you might want to swap this for a short/flush cap and shrt electrode,

 

toprches are generally for fifferent ampages, the Wp17 is the most common, and fine for most useages, if your doing fine work then somthinng like a wp9, or if your doing heavy stuff a wp26, theres probably sizes in between too. also theres flex head torches for really contorted spaces.

 

electode wise, theres been a move away from thoriated tungstens as they are midly radioactive, and grinding them has health concerns. apart from that its a topic of much discussion, and really its best to just get some of each and see what you like best. its been a while since ive welded, and cant remember what i was using now.

[nicklouse]

Well had a day playing with thin sheet steel 1mm as I had it around and it was not going to be used for anything.

 

really quite interesting.

 

will be playing with some alloy tomorrow.

[nicklouse]

Mmmm too many knobs to really get my head around it today with alloy welding.

 

fusing corners together with no filler early looks great and looks ok with quite some depth on the inside. Going to take some time this alloy stuff. But dropped the torch and snapped the long rear cap. So a rest day tomorrow.

[stoneface]

If you just snapped the back off fill the hole with epoxy putty and use it as a short cap for confined spaces.

 

Break and electrode to length and off you go again.

 

Did you get a foot pedal with your kit?

[nicklouse]

Yep. But not bothering with it just yet. Got a short cap already. Really just trying to workout how things work and what they do.

[stoneface]

You'll get there... the foot pedal will give you so much more control.

[Tupers]

I’d second getting the foot pedal hooked up.

I always have my amps set slightly higher than I’m going to weld at so that I can spike the amps and melt a spot quickly to get a tack in.
It’ll also allow you to ease off as your work piece heats up.