TIG welding patch panels. New to it and need a few pointers.

I have been welding a few patches into the body of my 55 olds with my newly aquired TIG welder from Eastwood and I jumped right in, butt welding all of my pieces. The quality of my welds are ok and im getting better everytime I do it. The problem I am having is that I am warping the panels by either moving too quickly, having the settings wrong on the welder, or both.

Is it better to turn the amperage on the welder higher and move quicker, or turn it down and take your time more? Should I weld the whole piece in 1 tack at a time? I found I was blowing through the panels with higher power but it allowed me to keep the heat from spreading throughout the panel and warping it if I moved quick enough. I have the gas flow set between 6-8, using 1/16 filler rod, power set at about 50, torch cup size 1/4". I hope I dont sound too stupid here I use the thumb switch rather than the foot pedal also.

Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app

 

General rules: about 1 amp per .001" inch your welding. That will get you into the ball park. So if you're welding 1/16 or .625 you can use up to 60 amps. Slowly tack weld in a pattern accross from your previous tack until you've stitched it all together. Also, you need a hammer and dolly so that when it start to shrink you can tap it flat again, and it will help with warping. Just take your time. You'll get the hang of it.

 

.0625

 

I run 1/16 tungsten, #8 cup and around 17-20cfm set my welder at 70amps and only use enough pedal to get a puddle formed. I use 1/16 ER-70S rod or .030 mig wire if the gap is tight.

I'll tack ever inch or so then go back to where I started and start welding once it's all welded go back and grind the top of the weld down before I hammer and dollie.

 

Tack every no more than an inch and back step your welds!

 

Great tips guys thank you. Should I just tack a spot at a time until its all welded? I found that if I try to "connect the dots" the heat gets out of hand and I get warp city. Sounds like I just need to take my time more. My settings are right in the ballpark with what you guys use.

Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app

 

Back step from tack to tack. Back step= start in an inch from left side then weld to end then move in an inch from where you started and weld to there and repeat untill you are all the way to the right.

 

What if your left handed?

 

On 18 gauge I use 1/6 tungsten, #5 cup, 20 cfh, 60 amps, .045 wire. Fit of the panel is most important. once the panel fits tack about 3"-4" apart. Hammer the tacks to get the panel flat again then add another set of tacks and hammer. When you have the tacks 1"-1 1/2" and the panel flat start at one end and weld to the other end in one pass controlling the heat with a foot pedal. Move quickly and keep an even heat affected zone. The panel will move as you weld and then shrink as it cools. By keeping an even heat affect zone the expansion and contraction will be uniform. Grind the top of the weld then work it with a hammer and dolly to stretch out the unevenness. The foot pedal will give you faster heat correction with out fumbling with the control on the torch, use it like a throttle pedal to control your puddle.

 

You should be able to swap the torch and filler rod and use either foot on the pedal. Sometimes the tight place requires it so you should be comfortable either way.

 

For starters, gaps as tight as I can get them. Then I like 1/16" tungsten sharpened to a point, .035 filler rod, 10-12cfm, 90-110amps and control it with the foot pedal. I like the amperage that high so I can tack and weld without filler if the gap is tight enough.

Tack weld every inch then weld from tack to tack usually. If it's a panel I'm worried about warping I'll tack weld the whole thing.

 

You will get a hundred different answers and none are all wrong just different.
So here is my take.
Use .040 tungsten a and a gas lens cup and collet.you can use 10 cfm or a little less,saves a lot on gas and gives great coverage.
Set yourself up a auxellery hose,tee off your regulator for a backup.use gas behind the part or in a tank for a complete weld on both sides. A search will show some good examples.
I tend to run my amperage pretty high and use the footpeadle or thumb wheel to control the heat.
If you get in.a corner where you have two to three times material thickness you need heat to penetrate thicker stuff.
I was taught to tack,tack and more tacks.the heat circles should overlap each other before you even think about connecting the dots.
Use er70s-2 not -6 ,grinds easier and is not as nearly as brittle when you hammer and dolly it.
Last but not least join welding tips and tricks .com great info and straight forward.
Hope this helps,Gary

 

Gary,

What do you do with the end on your .040 tungsten? Sharpen? Blunt?

 

And this guy can weld.

 

Here lies a personal preference. I use to get a lot of undercut with a sharp long point(I am a belt sander guy no fancy piraña sharpener) so a instructor suggested just whisp off the sharp tip and less undercut was had.
So sharp but blunted. Try it it works well on thick stuff as well.
Get in close with and hot.when your real close you won't need excessive heat put it in the weld not the part. Hope this helps, Gary

 

Almost as good as my daughter,thanks Joey.

 

Cool, will give it a try. Thanks for the info Gary.

 

Everything these guys have said.. Plus to control heat after I've tacked a few spots before the panel gets to hot I sit back and let it cool until I can touch it with my bare hand .. Some times i lay down a few tacks and go do something else or work on a different side of the car where the heat will not reach each other.. This May take longer but it keeps the heat from building up and prevents warpage ... John


Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad

 

I think if you are happy with your welds, you might be doing OK.
The problem is the warpage? You will get that with any method of welding, more so with TIG, and even more with gas. This is inevitable, you can't change it. Whenever you heat metal, it will shrink.
The answer is to stretch the welds with a hammer on dolly technique. This will stretch the seam back to it's original dimension and thickness. You should do it as you tack together the panel, then either do it as you fill in the gaps, or, as you get better, do it all in the end.
If your welds aren't good enough, you'll find out when the hammer hits them!

 

And what if you can't get behind it with the dolly?

 

MY opinion, is that the outside sheet metal is the most important thing. So cutting away any inner supports, to be able to get to the backside of a panel to do a better repair is always the best bet. You can just MIG the inners back together when you're done.
If it is in a spot that's completely inaccessible (say... an A pillar when doing a chop) then you either use more filler, or break out the MIG and get less warpage.

Others will disagree.

 

Thanks a milion for that sharpening tip - I get a faint witness mark when the weld is fully finished and i suspect it's a form of undercut. I'll be trying this idea. Thanks again.

Another vote for .035 rod here. Tried .06mm mig wire (too fidly, consumed too quickly, left depression despite good panel fit) and 1.6mm rod (cools puddle excessively requiring more heat and the extra trouble that brings plus an excess of weld bead requiring removal). The.035 rod is perfect for me. Good penetration, minimal excess bead so easy finishing. Got to work pretty quickly though, but that's no bad thing.

Chris