How To Tig Weld

“Take a piece of iron and a piece of bronze. Join them together in happy union to form brown gold”. From times immemorial, architects and engineers have joined metal together to enhance their usage. Welding is one of the first things you need to learn to be able to understand how materials can be physically manipulated to achieve the desired results. The Egyptians mastered this art over 3000 years ago, and we rediscovered it with the discovery of acetylene in 1862. Using high temperature, produced by an electric arc, metals are joined together through fusion, a process called as arc welding. Of all the different methods of arc welding, tungsten inert gas welding is commonly used. The uniqueness of this form of arc welding lies in the usage of a shielding gas, mostly an inert gas such as argon and a filler metal for protection of the weld area from contamination. An inert gas, as the very name suggests, is a non reactive gas and hence, protects the welded area, after the welding process. This process is not simple and certain tips need to be followed procedurally to get the welding right. Read on to know all about tig welding!

Tig Welding

The first step involved in tig welding is determining the electrode you want to work with. You can either use consumable electrodes or non consumable electrodes. The direction of current also plays a very important role, for instance negatively charged electrodes produce shallow welds, while positively charged electrodes produce deeper welds. However, if you are finding it hard to rack your brains on what kind of electrode to use, fret not! Use the one provided by the kit. In tig welding, a variety of tungsten alloys are mainly used as electrodes.
After the selection of the electrode, grind the electrode, or in this case a tungsten rod to a point. The tip becomes rounded due to excessive heat generation.
Insert the electrode on to the electrode holder. After this, set the electricity option to aluminum from the 3 main electricity options in a tig rig. Adjust the cleaning or penetrating setting to penetration mode. Similarly, there is an air setting. Set it on around 5 seconds. This air refers to the time the gas is retained, after the stoppage of the arc, which will prevent the oxidization or rusting of your weld. If there is an option to set the amperes, set it to maximum.
The next step is to turn the gas on. If it is aluminum you are welding, use argon. However, if it is steel, use a mixture of argon and carbon dioxide. The gas works as a shield against corrosion.
It is essential that you have a large metallic surface so that there is easy flow of electricity. A welding table or a large, flat piece of sheet metal is usually used. Make sure that you spray down your melting table with anti-spatter, so that the metal doesn’t stick during welding. In certain cases, you might have to clamp the metal on to the surface while welding.
Lastly, check the electrode thoroughly. In your dominant hand, hold the electrode and confirm if it can move uninhabited, as an unhampered cord.
Another important aspect that needs to be given high priority is what you wear during welding. Any clothing is fine as long as you are wearing leather welding gloves, closed toe shoes and most importantly, the welding mask. To avoid burns you could also use a welding jacket.
Welding is a complex procedure and not very easy to perform. In spite of reading this, if you are still low on confidence hire a professional to do the welding processes. Safety is of utmost importance and welding is not done properly it can lead to burn injuries.

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