TIG Welding

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l5foye

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Hello- does anyone do TIG welding at their home? I need to weld stainless steel and very thin mild steel and have been told that a Tig welder is the best job. What is the best value for money for such a welder? I am looking a reliable one to run on 1ph.
I have Mig and Arc welders though I am not sure if that info is relevant.
Thanks in advance.
 
tig welding for stainless and mild just needs a DC TIG set - in fact exactly the same as the arc set you have - but reversed (+ve to work, -ve to torch) - but simple sets are 'scratch start' (as you are used to with arc...)

save your money - buy a TIG torch and a argon bottle / regulator and plug it into your arc set.. thats how i learnt..

if money isnt a problem - buty a proper set with spark start. or just pay someone else to do it.
 
And if you are going to weld Mild Steel to Stainless Steel you must use a 29/9 welding rod (29%chrome / 9% Nickel) Look for elongation at about 28% (written on the packet)

Ian
(ex military Master Welder, Lloyds Coded (expired))
 
Another thing to look out for when welding at home is that the "HF start" or "spark start" causes havok with any elecrical equipment near by (computers,radios and Tvs to mention a few all get zapped)You can but an arc inverter I think its called for about £300 that plugs into your arc welder,Or a proper unit will cost around £1k
 
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If you are going to use an invertor make sure that your battery and altenator are disconected. Sort of fries the diodes a little.
 
Thank you all for the advice and the warnings. Maybe DIY tig welding requires further consideration !
 
Ian is right (im sure ;) ) about having to use the right tip for welding mild to SS - but in reality, unless its a pressure vessel / critical application, the 'general purpose' tip will be fine - (?5% boron?? ) I used a scratch start basic set, and could weld 0.8mm stainless tubes toghter that when polished you couldnt tell they were cut. in my basement. with no formal training whatsoever.... The best I did was to weld two coke cans together (at the lids) (when coke cans were steel) right through to welding two sprockets together for my custom bike i was building at the time.

TIG produces a beautiful weld, unlike MIG which is just plain ugly.
 
a 5% Boron Electrode will do just fine. What I was refering to was the filler wire. Ok you can use Mild steel but it will crystalise after some time and crack. Not what you want. The elongation factor I was relating to was the amount of movement in the welded joint before any deformation will occur. (In plain speak, how much movement the weld will tollerate before stressing). If a 29/9 filler rod is out of your finantial reach (they can be expensive) then go for the next best option a 316 stainless steel wire. Might be worth a trip to a local engineering company and asking them if they could give you a couple of rods, or contact a manufacturer and ask for either a demonstration (get them to do the job :D ) or a sample to try out. I (when in sales) got caught this way quite a few times :eek: :eek:
 
Ian B Walker said:
. If a 29/9 filler rod is out of your finantial reach (they can be expensive) then go for the next best option a 316 stainless steel wire. o


ah - my 316L rod was OK then ;)

(i still have two packs of 3.? mm and 1.? mm 316L rod kicking about if you need just a few rods...
 

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