Learning to TIG Weld? Having Trouble Feeding Wire? Check This Out!

Agreed. Learn puddle control, speed/angle/torch height before adding wire. Don't want to have too many variables going while learning.
 
GunsOfNavarone said:
Anybody familiar with the Kane Rush's style of Kung-fu/crane style of wire feeding? He's a great welder, got himself a captains seat welder on Diesel Brothers... I met him at Fabtech last year, and it's really his style of feeding wire that got him noticed. Tried it, I think it would take me a decade to be able t pull it off.
KidKane
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The absolute best style of feeding tig rod is the one that feels good/comfortable/flexible for you. For example, with the CK EZ Dab'er, once you get to the end of the rod, or to a certain joint inside a structure like a small box/inside corner, it becomes a hindrance. When the rod is brand new 36" it's all good. Wait until it's 3-4" long. :) Also, he doesn't always use that Kung-fu feeding style. Sometimes he just holds the filler pinched and dabs with his hand as well.
 
Yeah, I have about 4 pair of thoroughly roasted finger tips..I get down to an inch of rod left baby! You get in the zone and your like, "just a couple more dabs...just a couple more dabs...." Feeding with your finger nails, there is no good technique for that!
 
GunsOfNavarone said:
Yeah, I have about 4 pair of thoroughly roasted finger tips..I get down to an inch of rod left baby! You get in the zone and your like, "just a couple more dabs...just a couple more dabs...." Feeding with your finger nails, there is no good technique for that!
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Long needle nose pliers :)
 
Haha, there's nothing quite like that feeling of super hot leather shrinking tightly around your index finger!

For a while, my buddy and I were welding some aluminum parts at the manufacturing job I used to work. When the filler rods got too short to comfortably hold, maybe 6", we'd stop and melt the stub onto a new length of filler and keep going. Zero waste!
 
Seems like KidKane uses a lot of preset pulsed TIG. I have not really gotten into that. I often pulse with the pedal (especially on AL sheet) but maybe I should try dialing in the parameters? I basically never use high frequency pulse. I know it can tighten the arc but I am not sure if and when I should be considering it.
Can any of you TIG masters comment on pulse TIG and how you use it?
Robert

" In fact, Pulse tig welding at ranges of 10-12 has been known to make preachers cuss, monks break vows of silence, and perfectly good tig welders walk off the job and become florists. "
Jodi
 
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rwm said:
Seems like KidKane uses a lot of preset pulsed TIG. I have not really gotten into that. I often pulse with the pedal (especially on AL sheet) but maybe I should try dialing in the parameters? I basically never use high frequency pulse. I know it can tighten the arc but I am not sure if and when I should be considering it.
Can any of you TIG masters comment on pulse TIG and how you use it?
Robert

" In fact, Pulse tig welding at ranges of 10-12 has been known to make preachers cuss, monks break vows of silence, and perfectly good tig welders walk off the job and become florists. "
Jodi
Click to expand...

I don't use it much, but high speed pulse where you have high peak amperage and a low background amperage helps to "stiffen" the arc and makes it less prone to wandering especially when you are at/near edges
 
Also, running any sort of pulse setting lessens total heat input. It could be helpful for thin sheet and delicate sections. Like Zod just mentioned you can have a higher than normal peak current and a much lower than normal background current. Even if the background current is only "on" for say 10% of the weld time, it's still about 10% less heat input in total.

I've played around with pulse a little but haven't ever devoted much research or practice to it.
 
There is an interesting video by Justin (the fabrication series) on youtube. He purchased one of these "cold welding" units from China. At the end of the day, He was duplicating the results with high amps, short pulses very little background amps. Ultimately you can keep down lower by using high amps for less time. I use pulse on AC and have only played with it on DC. I think it has its time and place and you should experiment with it. If you get everything done that you need to w/o using pulse, there maybe no reason to use it, but you don't know what you don't know. I plan on running a bunch of coupons trying to replicate the cold welder...see what happens.
"cold welding"
 
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