Technical Can we have a thread all about tig welding early ford sheet metal

so the common or garden collet sizes are 1/16, 3/32 and 1/8
1.6, 2.4 and 3.2 in the mm
if you buy a kit like this
31x TIG Welding Stubby Gas Lens #12 Glass Cup Kit For Tig WP-17/18/26 Torch UK | eBay




so i want red 1/16 1.6mm
great, so thats the tungsten and collet size sorted
so what size rods am i getting?

ooh pre ground red 1/16 1.6mm i favor?

 

I didn't buy it, but I have used the HF 3 in 1 machine or whatever it is...I was surprised by how well it works.

Damn thing welds better than my Miller!

 

Funny huh? What was the best 30 years ago, doesn’t compare to much of the import stuff now. How long will the import stuff last? Who knows, but if you had to replace it every 6-10 years, you’d probably still save $$ or at least spread the payments out

 

That is nice to hear

 

erm, talking of the new fangles
one I am 'just' about to pull the trigger on has a 'cold' feature or setting
i gather that it you pull the triggery thing and it zaps it and cuts it, almost for tacking?
still can pulse
200a
gas adjust
something something

if you have a 1/16 tungsten, shirley there is a tube with an internal diameter of slightly bigger than that - that you can slide the tungsten into and put in a battery drill, and spin it upon a diamond encrusted grinding wheel in a grinder clamped to the bench?

 

Might like to consider a wp9 torch instead of (as well as) the wp17 size. More like using a fat pen than a something the size of a mig torch. Much nice when doing finer work. No parts interchangeability though other than tungstens. Wp9 doesn't handle the higher amperages well for too long.

Chris

 

I'll throw some fuel on the fire. Foot control OR Thumbwheel? I have tried both but not enough to have a favorite.

 

i didn't know you could get a smaller torch
just bought them wp-17 kit
stubby lense pyrex for the beginner
i think the torch on this
200AMP Cold TIG Welding Machine 4 in 1 Pulse TIG HF TIG Spot TIG ARC MMA Welder | eBay
lets you up the juice on the trigger - i dont know what that means though.

 

mr happy daze
the er70s - 2
does that translate over here to a15
or is a15 simply the er70-s and the -2 bit is significant somehow?

 

You need both. It is hard to work a pedal when you are on your back under a car although working a pedal with your elbow is an option.

 

We used .040 tungsten and filler rod at work in my pro days.
I use 1/16th at home only because that’s the smallest my supplier sells, I plan to order the .040 stuff cause I liked it better on sheet metal.
Ive tiged with mig wire.
we used miller dynasty’s at work. I have a 200 synchro wave at home.
As far as all those fancy numbers and settings I can’t tell ya.

I cut it on, it has the tungsten for steel, a steel filler rod and go.

 

Elbow, knee etc......

 

so you can get pre ground tungstens at 1.5inches long, or 38mm
ground each end.
so
is it 1.5 inches fits the torch for you to use the short end cap,
as the two videos i have watched of the pro's seem to use the short end cap.
does the whole tungsten 'long' glow hot inside the back cap thing

 

My old boss would build a shield behind a weld, hook argon to it, and purge the backside.
Nicest sheet metal welds Ive ever seen.
Metal finish and DA with 80grit paper. No grinding.

 

Thats how bicycles are done, especially titanium

 

ER70 was mentioned for rod. RG45 is much better if you are going to work the metal any amount while it is
still hot. (hammer welding)
If you are using Bondo, it won't matter.

 

That’s where the rebar tie wire comes in.
It’s 1006 or 1008 steel with 40-60 tensile strength. 16,19,21 gauge. Just plain Black annealed not PVC coated Stuff.

3lbs of rg45
3.5 19ga tie wire
The stuff on the spool is for rebar tie guns and is rated to meet engineering specs.
The stuff without the spool is a little bit looser on quality of wire specs.
If you’re going to do a lot of sheet metal welding in shorter runs, maybe saving $30 ain’t worth it and you want the sticks. Maybe you’re tripping over some rolls

 

Yup, good info. As I recall coat hangers were 1006 also but I never tried it. I do know several muffler shops near here used coat hangers to gas weld exhaust pipe in the cars.

 

I'm loving this thread, @nobby !
And everybody!
Very timely for me, too.
Excellent real world info.
Keep it coming, fellas.
Anything you can think of.
Thank you!

 

@31Vicky with a hemi

Now I've heard of some guys using tie wire for welding sheet metal.... so this really is a thing that you guys use?! I thought it was just an old tale !!

Never tried it but sounds really interesting and I may just have to make a stop at home depot one night....

..

 

Coat hangers today aren’t what they used to be.

 

so far.......
start with a WP-9 tig torch
-as its smaller, and 1mm collets and gas diffusers or lenses are more readilly available for them
use the 1mm red tungsten
the designation F after the WP-9F means it has a flexible head.
- so from the top

WP-9F flexible head tig torch
FIT WITH
'STUBBY' 1mm one millimeter gas lens


collect left to right
1mm 1.6mm 2.4,, 3.2mm
gas lens or gas diffuser from left to right
1mm 1.6mm 2.4mm 3.2mm

 

pre grind you tungstens

they come 6 inch long
they want to be 1.5'' long, grind bothe ends
buy a diamond disc and simply spin the 1.5'' lengths in the drill on the disc.
battery drill do it outside.

 

run the short end cap
the number 10 pyrex
the torch wants a switch only
buy any tig welding machine with a cold setting
use the cold setting to tack weld
Super Steel ER 70S-2 (A15 triple deoxidised) Tig Welding Filler Rods | eBay
buy 1mm 300mm long
er70s-2 1mm rods

 

Our welding rep once mentioned that you should have a dedicated setup to grind your tungsten. Your bench grinder could have who knows what for contaminates.

I have a couple pals that swear by using a gas lens also.

 

I posted this in one of my build threads:

sneaking a little tip in here,
when tig welding body sheet metal I typically use .035 mig wire.
to make it a little easier to handle and feed,
I unwind a couple coils from the spool,
stick one end of the wire in a cordless drill
and the other end in a vice,
give it a spin under tension
and voila, nice straight easy to feed .035 welding rod

 

When it comes to cars and welding equipment it's all the same, different preferences for different people.

Before you go spending a bunch of money on all the different accessories, buy the welder first, learn how to use it then start playing with all the different cups, heads, etc.

You may find out that what one person prefers is different than what you prefer.

.

 

Chemsharp is an alternate to grinding. Don't breath the vapor though.
https://www.dynaflux.com/product/product-600-6-chem-sharp/
I use it when I do a whole box. Playing with fire.
Ditto on the recommendation to learn gas welding.
There are new autodark helmets that sense the electric field of the arc. No more arc flash from a blocked photosensor.
If you can't weld good, weld lots.

 

Thanks for that tip Paul. I use a lot of mig wire on thin metal myself, and never thought of a good way to straighten it.

 

True Color Solar Auto Darkening Welding Helmet Mask Grinding MIG Welder 100*80MM | eBay

talking of helmets
viewing window
i gather you cannot get one that is larger than 4 by 3 3/8
or 100mm by 80mm?

what does it mean by true colour?