Random post, but I was thinking about what is the single-most important thing while TIG welding thin-walled tubing…and couldn’t come up with any. It’s like learning to do anything where your eyes need to focus on a pin tip. It’s hard. It takes practice. LOTS of practice. And you’ll likely have worse eyesight after you start welding if not from the accidental flashes but from squinting at the tip of the tungsten and tubes so intensely for so long!
But anyways, I digress.
I think the biggest things that I was told that has helped was this:
- Turn up the amps to much higher than you need (I’m at 64 amps almost always) and use the foot pedal to regulate the heat input.
- Get a puddle going (helps when you set it at higher amps obviously) and move the puddle a tiny bit before dipping in the filler rod for the first time and move at a somewhat quick, consistent/constant pace.
The tighter your miters, the better your TIG beads will be, no question. So spend lots of time on getting them tight with no light showing through if possible).
Ok, that’s a lot of tips, but to me these things are the most important.