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Up Topic Welding Industry / General Welding Discussion / TIG and mild steel
- - By rugg (*) Date 07-22-2004 00:27
would welcome experiences with TIGing mild steel. my focus is primarily cosmetic, making invisible joints, or at least, pleasing to the eye. i have fair experience with MIG and oxy/acet. i have read as much as i can on the TIG process ect.., but i have not found anything published pertaining specifically to mild and steel alloys, other than stainless. i "blacksmith"; there are often designs and effects that would make forge welding difficult, if not impossible, even if a was good at it which i am not. it is becoming popular for artist/blacksmiths create pieces that combine forged elements and traditional joinery with precision fabrication. the concentration of heat and precision that TIG allows is a perfect match. all of the efforts of forging can easily be spoiled by sloppy welding. i and ready to pull the trigger on getting an invertec 205; the DC only unit is not that much less expensive. all comments/advice very much appreciated!!
Parent - By pjseaman (**) Date 07-22-2004 01:06
Check out Millers Dynasty 200DX it is an inverter type machine and check pricing at www.brwelder.com . These are very capable machines and you will enjoy it. As far as technique it is very similar to oxy/acet welding. And I would say you have the skills you just need the machine and practice time.

Peace,
pjseaman
Parent - - By stever (**) Date 07-22-2004 01:44
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Parent - - By rugg (*) Date 07-22-2004 15:11
thanks for the replies. for some reason, TIG as it is used for "smithin' ", is a quiet practice. one of the cool things about smithin' is that there is a general sharing of techniques at all levels. maybe because it is a relatively new application. the joint can be undectable; it will take practice. after the joint is welded, i would return it to the forge and forge out whatever evidence there may be. post some mild steel experiences with TIG; much appreciated!
Parent - - By stever (**) Date 07-22-2004 19:23
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Parent - By backpurge (*) Date 07-23-2004 09:22
One thing to bear in mind when TIG welding carbon steels is unless you use the correct grade filler (triple de-oxidised) and use enough of it there can be a tendency to get porosity in the weld.
Unlike when welding ally and stainless you can create yourself a whole heap of problems trying to weld carbon steels autogeneously

Cheers - Bob
Parent - By rugg (*) Date 07-23-2004 16:36
A36 is considered mild. i think you are forging the weld out at too low temp. do you have a forge? i will try it at a yellow heat, around 2000F. i will also "upset" the joint first to end up with the desired mass. forging the "weld out" will thin the material to some degree. good to know the mild does not autogenous weld well. lincoln produces triple deoxidized filler, will give that i try. will keep y'all posted and thanks for the input. i think there will be adequate penetration with the TIG, more than MIG?? thanks
Parent - By rugg (*) Date 07-23-2004 16:38
any mild grade. hot or cold rolled, usually 1018, 1020. i try to stay away from A36, but it is cheaper...
Parent - - By billvanderhoof (****) Date 07-24-2004 04:59
Just curious- why TIG. If you dress it after you weld it it seems most any process would be fine.
Bill
Parent - - By rugg (*) Date 07-26-2004 22:16
bill, precision and control. i think that TIG will penetrate better vs MIG. i am not after strength, but if i forge the joint, i might be happier with the outcome. i used a friends TIG this w/e and tested it on some pieces that i forged and a test piece for a gate frame. i was very happy with how well it worked. it was exactly was i am looking for. with the foot pedal, to vary the current and use the filler as i wanted was i big plus for me vs MIG. even though it is a slower process (for me at least), i think the clean up and finnish that would be required if MIGed would be more time consuming. i am not a MIG expert by any stretch. in my hands, TIG creates a great joint with minimal impact on the parent material. the appearance is also much better. for pieces that are not painted, in particular, TIG cant be beat. i always appreciate comments and advice, negative or positive.
Parent - - By 49DegreesNorth (**) Date 08-16-2004 18:42

I have an Invertec V-205T and like it a lot. You could spend a lot more money on a Dynasty but why bother for what you will be doing. The control you get with TIG is very sweet -- you can be darn sure that your welds have proper penetration.

I typically do as you say -- fabricate the piece and then grind the welds to non-existence. Although lately I have been leaving one hidden TIG weld as-is just to show how it was done. I think they're pretty welds but they don't generally go with the "forged" look.

I agree with Bill that you could use a MIG -- most fabricators do and you could save a lot of money. But if you want better control and you don't mind going slowly then the TIG is the thing for you. The only two things lacking on the 205 are a squarewave output for aluminum and a "fan on demand" -- the fan is noisy and runs constantly while the device is on.

Cheers,
Chris
Parent - - By rugg (*) Date 08-18-2004 23:04
chris, i looked at the V205; i thought square wave, triangular, sinusiodal , and variable frequency are standard features. the part # is K1855-1. the other perc with TIG vs MIG, for what i do, is the weld is "flat", flat enough that i can put a collar on without grinding. i agree that any method of welding can be made to look invisible, but at what time and material cost (abrasives) expense? i think it is more efficient, cosmetically, to use TIG. i am still in the early stages, but i think that this is what i am after. i am not working with aluminum yet, so i dont have any experience with the wave options. D/C electrode neg for now. if you do anything cool with mild steel, share...thanks
Parent - - By Mike W (**) Date 08-19-2004 08:54
When using DC on steel, what advantage does an inverter offer except lower input current requirements?
Parent - - By rugg (*) Date 08-19-2004 15:07
portability; big difference in weight, cost similar i think.
Parent - By 49DegreesNorth (**) Date 08-24-2004 23:04

Wow -- you're right about the V205; I'm going to have to go read my manual again! I almost never do aluminum so I have not had occasion to try out the square wave.

And with regard to abrasives, etc. I still think that if you are fabricating a piece of a reasonable size that you would be faster MIGing and grinding than you would with a TIG -- you'll want to grind, anyway. But I really like the control of TIG so I'm not trying to talk you out of it. It is without a doubt slower than MIG, though.

And I think that inverter units are as a rule going to cost a LOT more than the transformer ones. But you can take them where it would be hard to take a big unit.

Cheers,
Chris
Up Topic Welding Industry / General Welding Discussion / TIG and mild steel

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