[HELP] Learning Tig Welding

[Harryw]

Hello,

I'm in Toronto. I learnt Mig welding and started working in a sheet metal fabrication company here. I have a friend working in a car modification company. I wish to shift there, but the new job will require skills in Tig welding. I searched for a welding school in Toronto and found out about Weldtech training. ( http://weldtechtraining.com/) . It looks like a good school. 
I need advice on whether to join there.

[pepi]

TIG welding is best described as GAS welding done electrically, exactly the same concept. However with much greater control, the biggest stumbling block for me was dipping the tungsten. Did not answer the question, trying to give you away to view the process.

All the best, a suggestion I can offer is to go to: http://weldingweb.com

Good information, with folks that know.

Greg

[f350ca]

Hi Harry, and welcome to the forum,
Tig welding is an art form, I've had a tig welder for 10 or 12 years now and am by no means an artist. I can stick pieces together and expect them to stay but it usually isn't pretty and thats probably what the custom place wants, pretty that is. There's no question an instructor could help me but would I need a 37 1/2 hour course, then another 37 1/2 hours for aluminum? If you've been mig welding for some time a few hours with someone who knows how to tig weld then hours of practice might serve you better.
Out of curiosity did you get a cost for the courses.

[Dr Stan]

My advise is to go to the welding school.  No matter how good a welder a friend or acquaintance may be it's more important the instructor know how to teach and not not everyone with a high level of skill can teach their craft.  Yes it is also an art form.

BTW, my first teaching gig was at a vocational-technical school and one of the first things I had to learn was no not everyone knows "X".

Think about teaching tying ones shoes.  We don't think about it and just do it.  Break it down into the multiple steps in the correct order and then you could teach it.

[Roadracer_Al]

One of the benefits of going to a vocational school is certifications in the area of study, and, that many offer job placement services, as well. I'm a pretty fair welder, but self-taught. If I wanted to work professionally, I'd have to get certified.

I will say that the only way to achieve cosmetically beautiful welding is investing time in practice practice practice. In that vein, be as greedy as possible with practice time at school: if they offer "open shop sessions", do every single one you can do... you're paying for them to supply you with materials and power, USE IT. Even though I've been TIG welding for 20+ years, the look of my welds gets better when I do a lot of welding.

Here's something to shoot for:

https://www.instagram.com/weldporn/?hl=en

[TomG]

Welding is about 25% knowledge and 75% technique. As Al pointed out, to be a good welder requires constant practice. I used to gas and TIG weld complex 4130 structures for airborne equipment, but now I can barely patch my muffler because I rarely practice. A school will provide you with the basic knowledge to start, but then you will have to apply it to become a good welder and the best place to get that experience is a job.

I'm surprised no one mentioned the Welding Tips and Tricks website. It's one of the best places to learn welding technique that I know, and Jody is very responsive if you have questions.

Tom

[Roadracer_Al]

I'd also point out that truly professional TIG welders are part metalurgist. They will understand the composition and uses of the various rods. In a production setting, the blueprints will (or ought to) have the welds engineered (fillet sizes called out, prep processes specified, pre- and post-heat protocol, rods specified, etc.), but a "job shop" type environment may rely on the knowledge and experience of the welder to choose appropriate processes and materials.

[Harryw]

Thank you very much for all the advice and support. I will anyway go to a school to get trained well.

[rleete]

Places that sell welding equipment and gas often have training classes. They have a vested interest in getting you to learn to weld, as that means they gain another customer.

[ieezitin]

Harry

being involved in welding for 35 years I can say with confidence there are three things you need to know and understand before you pick up a rig, metals theory and chemistry, the importance of being clean and techniques of applying the weld via all welding methods IE.. SMAW TIG MIG gas-flame etc.

Theory: metals need to be in a liquid state to be fused and mixed together to make the joint, I analogize it to baking bread, the mix (dough being pliable or fluid) has to be blended with flour, milk, salt and seasoning etc all have to be compatible with each-other and the blends need to be just right to get the desired result, a nice crusty outside while the texture on the inside, if your materials are no compatible with each-other your weld will not be successful, it may be too hard and crack, contaminated etc knowing your metals and alloys dictates your method and technique.  

Being clean: I cannot stress enough about being clean, your work piece and filler material needs to be free from mill scale, surface oxidation, oils, dust etc, most people weld stuff together and it looks like pigeon snot little did they realize it was the contamination that made it fail. All metals to be welded need an oxygen free environment, oxygen is contamination, your gases or flux need to be clean and applied in a manner where they cannot be contaminated by oils or dust, just because your working in a dingy fab shop there no reason why your work station cant be clean, dust free and tidy.

One refinery i worked in paid over $1.5 million in overage charges due to welds failing inspection on a Chrome-Molly reactor, I and others were buddy welding the shell with TIG with an argon purge for 8 weeks and all welds failed repeatedly with sugar in the root, we finally figured out that the purge gas was picking up grinding dust within the shell itself, this was a case of not paying attention to proper clean purge practices.

Techniques: A little woman from Louisiana kicked my ass on one job TIG welding stainless pipe, she was quicker, she burned thicker wire than i did so that meant more heat or (Amps) and her cap looked like it was made by a submerged arc set up (machine welder) the reason for this is women are more dexterous than men with there hands, also she had small hands which allowed her better access and flexibility in hard awkward places, 

Have you ever watched a old lady crochet or knit this takes dexterity and superb hand eye coordination, this applies to welding using the stinger, gun or rig. one tip from me is always watch your weld-pool or (puddle) this is your instant feed-back on what the weld is doing, how hot you are, how deep your penetrating, how clean it is.... also sound plays a role yet this, its hard to explain until you have weld time under the hood.

I am very suspect of votech  schools because the teachers don't have the vast experience in all welding techniques in real word environment but its better than nothing, dont get me wrong any knowledge is power.

Jody's site is by far the best learning on the web to be found, he goes into detail visually and written like no other, this guy truly has nailed the art of welding. 

If your going into the pipe welding trade hit me up on here and i will explain the legal cheats to pass a 6-G test 

To sum up... Patrice, paying attention to detail, being clean, practice, don't give up, and finally practice will make you a welder, this is the only blue-collar trade where you can make more money than a lawyer 

Hope this helps.... and sorry for the long thread

Anthony.