How to Tig Weld

Welding is a process of melting two or more metals and joining them with the help of a filler. This is done with the help of an electric arc or a laser. One of them is TIG welding. This process is also referred to as gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW). TIG welding is an interesting process where Tungsten and an inert gas (like argon or helium) is used for the welding of reactive metals like aluminum and magnesium. This is used for both manual and high quality welding of stainless steel as well.

Technique to TIG Weld Aluminum

What you need:

• TIG Welder
• Welding Helmet
• Aluminum Welding rod (4043)
• Argon gas
• Stainless steel brush
• Welding gloves
• Clamps/Vise grips
• Metal bench

Instructions

• Before TIG welding aluminum, it is important to check if it is clean or not. First spray the aluminum with acetone and rinse it in water. Use the stainless steel brush to scrub the part to be welded, clean.
• Use the clamps to hold the aluminum in a heat sink. This is because, aluminum is an excellent conductor of heat. Using a heat sink will absorb most of the heat generated while welding and hence prevents warping.
• Preheating aluminum before the welding is not a regular practice with every welder. However, when thicker pieces of aluminum are to be welded, preheating is necessary. A recommended preheating temperature is 275 ºF - 500 ºF. 350 ºF is quite optimum temperature for preheating aluminum job.
• The TIG rod contains a tungsten electrode that is primarily used for welding aluminum. The shielding gas used in TIG welder is argon, which protects the part to be welded from atmospheric contamination. Also it is important to check the tungsten rod from time to time for any kind of atmospheric contamination.
• The TIG welder creates an arc between the aluminum job and the tungsten electrode. Once the weld is created by the arc, it is well protected by the argon gas that is fed to the arc.
• When starting the arc, it is important to understand the current settings in a TIG welder. Basically, there are two kinds of current settings: Direct Current (DC) and Alternating Current (AC). For aluminum and magnesium welding, AC setting is used. For instance, if you are welding an aluminum job which is less than 3/16 inches, about 15-180 ampere machine (like Syncrowave 180 SD) is used.

Many a time, a combination of argon and helium are used for gas shielding during TIG welding. There are many kinds of joints that can be designed using TIG welding. Some of them are butt joint, lap joint, corner joint and t-joint. Amongst these, a filler rod is required for the t-joint.

TIG Welding Stainless Steel

The welding procedure for stainless steel and aluminum is quite the same except that it differs in the current settings. DC (Direct current) is used for TIG welding of stainless steel. The welding procedure is as follows:

Turn on the welding torch and aim it at the place where the two metals are positioned to join. Place the TIG electrode close to the area to be welded and grind it against the job surface. A small bead connecting the metals is formed. Continue to do so, until the complete steel job is welded. Also when using the TIG welder, refer TIG welding manual for the appropriate current settings and arc angle settings. The manual will also shed more light on how much gas should be released during the welding.

Not to miss out on safety measures, one of the important TIG welding tips and techniques mandates is wearing the safety helmet and long sleeved cotton shirt throughout the welding process. After all, safety precedes work.