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  #11  
Old 04-10-2010, 09:47 AM
John Buchtenkirch John Buchtenkirch is offline
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SUPERB, that is exactly what I am always trying to achieve but rarely do. If you can pull that off with a fair amount of consistency I have to tip my hat to you for being a better welder than myself . ~ John Buchtenkirch

P.S. If your not ready to add rod what do you do for the occasional pinhole that may show up
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  #12  
Old 04-10-2010, 11:06 AM
TheRodDoc TheRodDoc is offline
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As long as the fit up is completely tight the whole length then there is no need for the filler rod. there isn't any under cut on the welded side either. The back side is very slightly low in the center of the weld. Hollowed very slightly. Do not bevel the edges of the sheet.

The under cut comes from too much heat burning away some of the metal.
You don't want to cook the weld. Use the travel speed to correct the amount of heat needed. go fast.

My welder amperage is set as high as the tungsten can stand. Right under where it will melt. And you will do this for what ever size tungsten you are using. And if that is way too hot for the metal thickness then you will have to go to a smaller dia. tungsten. If I was to travel much slower I would have to use the next size smaller tungsten.

The tungsten carries the current best at this amperage. (just before it melts)
And thats why you use different size tungstens for different thickness of sheet metal.

I tack the panel together first. Start at one end and work to the other a tack at a time. The tacks are with no filler and very small. So small that they do not shrink the metal at all. You can't even hardly see them.
So no need to hammer them. A lot of the tacks don't even turn blue at all.

Then when done just weld from one end to the other.
So no clamps per say. A couple are used to help hold the panel together to start with though.

making tacks without filler is as old as the invention of the tig welder.
Most all old welding books show using this method.


If there were to be a bad spot in the weld you can see it happen so you will know it is there. If it didn't interrupt the weld then you will fix it when done with the long weld. I don't normally get any pin holes for I have not stopped the weld anywhere.

The 18 ga. steel I last bought is thinner then the standard and that is what I used for this door. But even if I were using 20 ga. the welding process is the same. Just a smaller tungsten most likely. that would be .040.
I use a .020 tungsten for real thin stuff.
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Last edited by TheRodDoc; 04-10-2010 at 11:58 AM.
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  #13  
Old 04-12-2010, 02:08 PM
mikebarg mikebarg is offline
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Default great job

Very nice work. I' m always glad to see a car saved from being parted. I like the old buicks. I had a 49 for a while. And being a convertable, it is worth the effort to save.
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  #14  
Old 04-13-2010, 12:10 AM
TheRodDoc TheRodDoc is offline
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I forgot to say that you won't be using the pedal to control the amperage.
it is just clear down to start the arc and gas and it stays that way till done with the weld. Remember I said the amps are set at the welder panel to where the tungsten can just stand it. You now control the heat needed by the speed at which you move the torch. Can't move that fast? then use the next size smaller tungsten and again set the amps to where it will just about melt and now you will be moving slower when you weld.

If the tungsten size you choose is too small you won't be able to penatrate the steel at any speed.

I sometimes set a weight on the pedal then weld and then kick the weight off when to the end of my weld. This is done when making long welds like the door skin. This way you can move your whole body along as you weld and don't have to have a foot on the pedal.

I have a tig torch with a hand switch on it that turns on the current and gas instead of the pedal which works great but I was using a different torch for this.
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Last edited by TheRodDoc; 04-13-2010 at 12:16 AM.
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  #15  
Old 04-13-2010, 09:49 AM
John Buchtenkirch John Buchtenkirch is offline
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Richard, I know every tig welder is going to be slightly different but could you give us the maximum amps settings you use for the .062, .040 & .020 tungstens to at least get us in the ball park so to speak ? Einar asked you about your 2 handed technique in post #7, I would also like to hear your input on that. Are you grabbing the torch with both hands or grabbing your wrist with your second hand ? Finally you mentioned you rarely get any pin holes , do you have any cleaning tricks we should know about or do you think it’s strictly your welding technique ? I don’t have a lot of porosity problems but I’m always looking for improvement. ~ John Buchtenkirch
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  #16  
Old 04-13-2010, 03:43 PM
TheRodDoc TheRodDoc is offline
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John,

My off hand which is not resting on anything, is under my torch holding hand helping pull that hand along. I think maybe I hold onto my wrist instead of my hand. I don't really think about it I guess.

Here is a list of top max amp settings for each tungsten size.


.020 max- 20 amps
.040 max- 70 amps
.062 max- 140 amps This is what about what I used for the door.
3/32 max- 210 amps
1/8 max- 310 amps
5/32 max- 500 amps If using this setting I would guess you would be welding 18 ga. at about 300 inches/minute.
And there would hardly be a heat affected zone showing.

If you can't control the torch at the speed I used for the door then you would have to use the .040 setting which will let you travel a little slower. You will get a little wider heat affected area too.

Holes don't normally form in the weld if you don't stop and are moving fast enough. There is no cooking or boiling of the metal. Any impuritys seem to just float to the top.

I don't clean that well. Just a power single row twisted wire brush and weld. New sheetmetal gets nothing. (steel that is)
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Last edited by TheRodDoc; 04-13-2010 at 04:11 PM.
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  #17  
Old 04-13-2010, 07:29 PM
John Buchtenkirch John Buchtenkirch is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheRodDoc View Post
John,

My off hand which is not resting on anything, is under my torch holding hand helping pull that hand along. I think maybe I hold onto my wrist instead of my hand. I don't really think about it I guess.

Here is a list of top max amp settings for each tungsten size.


.020 max- 20 amps
.040 max- 70 amps
.062 max- 140 amps This is what about what I used for the door.
3/32 max- 210 amps
1/8 max- 310 amps
5/32 max- 500 amps If using this setting I would guess you would be welding 18 ga. at about 300 inches/minute.
And there would hardly be a heat affected zone showing.

If you can't control the torch at the speed I used for the door then you would have to use the .040 setting which will let you travel a little slower. You will get a little wider heat affected area too.

Holes don't normally form in the weld if you don't stop and are moving fast enough. There is no cooking or boiling of the metal. Any impuritys seem to just float to the top.

I don't clean that well. Just a power single row twisted wire brush and weld. New sheetmetal gets nothing. (steel that is)
WOW ---- Fay had told me to crank the amps & speed to get results like him but I guess I just never figured quite that high . I guess I’m back to practicing some more. THANKS for the information . ~ John Buchtenkirch
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  #18  
Old 04-13-2010, 07:52 PM
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Kerry Pinkerton Kerry Pinkerton is offline
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I saw Jay Pagnelli do this on my roadster hood at Oblong a couple years back. He took Uncle Johnny's Dynasty, set it at 200A and just blasted along. Its an aluminum hood and I think he used a little filler but it was FASSSSSST.
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  #19  
Old 04-14-2010, 09:35 AM
ShawnMarsh ShawnMarsh is offline
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140 amps on sheet metal? Holy crap, I think I use 30...
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  #20  
Old 04-14-2010, 09:51 AM
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Marty Comstock Marty Comstock is offline
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I weld super hot myself, but I am going to give this a shot. I thought I was a good welder....

Marty
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