Searching for a really good book on TIG welding

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In my attempt to improve my TIG welding after my eye sight became messed up as a rehab I drew lines on square grid paper then used basic storing motion. I quickly noted this wasn’t the real way to precision TIG weld so I reduced the action by making very small half circles both with a sharp soft lead pencil one representing the torch the other representing the filler rod . Maybe 1/32 arcs it’s really not the exact way to TIG weld except for larger heavy welds but I did develop some micro motions . It actually worked and after numerous pages of practice I was, am able to do some things. 1/16” and 3/32” aluminum sheet for fuel tanks became possible not as nice as I would like but passable. 1/16” steel was much better as heat build up was not as bad copper requires more speed as it gets hot very quickly I developed some heat sinks for his this thin stuff. Actually I dot think books are on to help much other than so basic machine set ups . Inthink watching video will be more productive. The new inverter machines take a lot of fiddling around to get correct settings. I really think a standard square wave is easier to get operational. If you wan pulse welding learn to use the pedal
 
Brian, I moved from oxy-acetylene to Tig and found the transition fairly easy and became much more proficient than I am with stick.

Important thing is to get really close so you can really see the weld pool.tungsten needs to be ground to a good point and stop if it gets contaminated. HF start is way better than scratch start, gas needs to be pure argon at a moderate flow rate and weld surfaces need to be really clean . Then get a load of practice in on mild steel so you get a feel then you can move on to more exotic metals.

I really approached it like gas welding but you have a much hotter and smaller pool to work with. I think this still impacts how I weld so probably get no points for style however it is a great process that is flexible and very effective. Slower than mig or stick but more satisfying to me as I can control it well and fix mistakes as I go.
 
Brian, I moved from oxy-acetylene to Tig and found the transition fairly easy and became much more proficient than I am with stick.

Important thing is to get really close so you can really see the weld pool.tungsten needs to be ground to a good point and stop if it gets contaminated. HF start is way better than scratch start, gas needs to be pure argon at a moderate flow rate and weld surfaces need to be really clean . Then get a load of practice in on mild steel so you get a feel then you can move on to more exotic metals.

I really approached it like gas welding but you have a much hotter and smaller pool to work with. I think this still impacts how I weld so probably get no points for style however it is a great process that is flexible and very effective. Slower than mig or stick but more satisfying to me as I can control it well and fix mistakes as I go.
Yes, I view it that way too. TIG is a very advanced form of acetylene. The one thing that one can do with acetylene that you cannot do with TIG is use it as a cutting torch. Acetylene can cut thru very thick metal while even plasma has a tough time cutting thru very thick stuff. I wouldn't even try to use TIG as a cutting tool, but it might cut thin stuff.
 
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Hi Brian. You specifically asked about books so I offer this, the James F. Lincoln Foundation offers many books on processes that are meant for trade schools at very reasonable prices. I bought quite a few when I was starting out many years ago and still have them all. Search for Lincoln Electric books for the link. Good luck.
 
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I have three welding books, ‘Weld like a pro”, “How to weld damn near anything” and ”Welder’s handbook”. Each only devotes a chapter to TIG, 20-30 pages. Each has some good tips but none alone would I suggest as a comprehensive study. I do car restoration, hence the automotive weld books.
Honestly, I too have found the videos the best. I have learned though, be specific, like how to grind tungsten, how to weld aluminum, which is better, normal or gas cup….
Also, the companies selling a machine tend to have the most professional videos, I just ignore the sales pitch.
Good luck.
 
Brian,
I too tried to teach myself TIG welding,
early success with stainless led me to believe I understood what I was doing,
then came aluminum, ooops !!!
too many different things can and will go wrong that you won't be able
to diagnose on your own, book or no book, youtube or no youtube,
take a community college course and have an instructor doing the diagnosing,

I finally mastered aluminum TIG because someone down the block from me
has been doing it his whole life, when ever I need to TIG some aluminum I just
take it over to his house !!! !!! !!!

Peter.
 
there are a few books but instead of endless beads on a plate repeating the same mistakes over and over, it might be better look at some good welds by others a good example is automotive built up aluminum valve covers often an auto parts store will have a display . A really gear find would be a fabricated intake manifold. It takes good talent to do this . Granted the fixturing may be a cnc positioning table. But even though you might have speed control you have to have perfection in work Just the visual thing is what I’m asking . You get to see the correct width ripples starts and finishes . Granted the welding machines are top of the line it’s set up for optimum welding . I’ve worked on these production lines and been involved in set ups . They take real knowledge of each adjustable s feature another thing would be to set up and weld smaller exhaust tubing it’s pretty cheap and you gain how to make perfect fits . I did a lot of this early on gas welding . It’s the same process you just have more focused heat . Much of auto par fabrication has to do with appearance , a perfect weld is pretty and a good sales point . Sadly function is sometimes function is secondary . Early on I’d recommend getting a dual flow control system you will need this for stainless steel I often used mine for back purging both steel and aluminum . Especially fuel tanks look at how different thickness parts are welded . What effect does the his do to the process , what does the weld look like looks often are a good judge. Stainless especially thin stuff needs perfect welding and purge gas on the backside or the weld is junk as it will eventually crack or fail completely. I practiced making custom AN. Fittings yup see these occasionally in auto race positions. A very even fillet weld i with proper penetration is needed . I cut countless fittings to check this. Welding a set of headers is a big challenge lots of hard to get at spots that you still need a good weld . Mainly just observing good welds is the target here . A great big overheated weld is no good nor is a tiny cold weld . As a beginner you need to be use the foot control in any position with any part of your body . All the fancy pulse variable slope stuff can come later . There is a whole bother process here they are for modifying the process , learn the basics dirt .
Brian,
I too tried to teach myself TIG welding,
early success with stainless led me to believe I understood what I was doing,
then came aluminum, ooops !!!
too many different things can and will go wrong that you won't be able
to diagnose on your own, book or no book, youtube or no youtube,
take a community college course and have an instructor doing the diagnosing,

I finally mastered aluminum TIG because someone down the block from me
has been doing it his whole life, when ever I need to TIG some aluminum I just
take it over to his house !!! !!! !!!

Peter.
I have three welding books, ‘Weld like a pro”, “How to weld damn near anything” and ”Welder’s handbook”. Each only devotes a chapter to TIG, 20-30 pages. Each has some good tips but none alone would I suggest as a comprehensive study. I do car restoration, hence the automotive weld books.
Honestly, I too have found the videos the best. I have learned though, be specific, like how to grind tungsten, how to weld aluminum, which is better, normal or gas cup….
Also, the companies selling a machine tend to have the most professional videos, I just ignore the sales pitch.
Good luck.
Mr Brian - - - I am assuming that you were taught how to weld using oxy/acetylene.

Exactly the same process for TIG!
Now if you want to get into ALL the variables - - - - this is where things get kinky as TIG welding with top grade equipment has more controllable variables than a 3 week old carcass has maggots in the middle of summer - - - - seriously.

Met one guy - - - - his calling card was 2 pop cans welded at 90 degrees to each other - - - for aluminum welding.
He was hired by the shop I worked for to build up worn areas in high volume high pressure pumps - - - that boy was an artist!!
 
Miller has some pretty good online resources. Go to "millerwelds.com", click on resources, then welding guides...
 
Stainless steel is not the best material to learn on but you can learn heat control with it if you know what to look for you really nes purge gas from a second flow meter or you SS weld will be surgery on the back side snd will eventually crack . Aluminum is not bad try and se 6061 as there ar un weld able series like 7075 and 2024 bot can be re heat treated but aren’t recommended for general welding 3000 and 5000 series can be welded nicely . Most AN fittings are 6061 but high strength one will be higher alloys Thick aluminum plate and castings can be welded if pre heated in oven or on barbecue just keep it clean . I usually preheated thick stuff to 350 -400 deg f I used a 175 amp welder .
 
Brain has been pretty quiet about the suggestions. I wonder if he found a book he likes or watched any of the recommended videos?
 
No action taken in terms of finding a good tig welding book. I haven't found any local college classes and I've watched a dozen youtube videos, but I've been very busy with other aspects of my life. ---Brian
 
Echoing what others have said above, some key points in my experience as a hobby welder:

1) Really seeing the puddle is crucial. For those of us of a certain age, figuring out how to compensate for presbyopia is essential. I finally figured out that I do much better by taking my glasses off and getting my head closer to the puddle. Others have talked about using lenses in the helmet, but that has not worked for me.

2) Aluminum is an order of magnitude harder than mild steel, at least from what I can tell.

3) Jody at Welding Tips and Tricks has been an invaluable teacher for me.
 
Jody was the one I was looking for ive watched lots of his videos . I liked ow he explains what he was doing or going to do he showed how to tack or spot weld thin aluminum on fuel water tanks . I practiced this quite a bit before I got it down but it made race car fuel and oil tanks so much easier and faster
 
Awake,

I'm fighting the vision issue as well, but I have been making progress with care: the main thing is that I have to get all the lenses (eyes, eyeglasses, helmet) lined up at the proper distances to see what I want and that basically means I am limited in how many awkward positions I can weld now.

The bigger issue is that I am beginning to develop cataracts and I am told UV light (like from welding arcs) is to be minimized. So I limit welding now. I would like to be where Brian is and get a TIG system and really practice and learn, but maybe not to be.

If anyone else is worried about growing cataracts and welding I would like to know how you are dealing with it.

--ShopShoe
 
Even with being educated on all the proper techniques the need for lots of practice cannot be over emphasized. I had did a little TIG and that was many years before I bought my new rig a couple years ago. When I got it my first tries were just as ugly as what Brian is experiencing. I watched videos AND practiced for probably a couple hours daily for a good month. The majority of my practice was on aluminum so I find that the easiest, gee no surprise there !
 
Brian:

Pretty much agree with all of the above. If you are dead-set on a book of some type then visit you local community college/trade school that offers welding classes. See what they use for books and buy what they recommend. They might even have some used books you could get.

"Welding Tips and Tricks" is also a good suggestion, although I'm partial to "The Fabrication series" myself.

Don
 
I have been stick welding for over 50 years with an A.C. stick welder. I have been welding for over 20 years with a mig welder. I have been welding and brazing for over 50 years with oxy-acetylene. Last year I bought a tig welder from Solidweld, and I am totally lost with it. I am trying to find a really good book on how to TIG weld, with a lot of information on getting me started and proficient at tig welding. Can anybody recommend a really good book on TIG welding for me. It has to be something that is still in print and is available.---Thank You---Brian Rupnow
It is very close to torch welding.
TIG is great for thin gauge aluminum welding because you can very the heat to start the weld.
The good news it is a fun type of welding
It is not hard to learn.

Dave
 
For thin sheetmetal welding that was out of my league, we would go to our local ace. We had to inspect both the work and the process, so it worked out well and wasn't awkward. A lot of good welders are introverted but there are some out there that are like an open book.

We had a project that required two thin pieces of differing curvature to be welded. Weld had to go all the way through, heat had to be at an absolute minimum to reduce distortion, and grinding was a no-no. We couldn't afford to over-work harden the material after welding, so the margins were tight. I provided two fixtured sets and he naturally knocked both out of the park. There was some pretzelling but compared to my attempts there was no comparison. How he managed the bead to push and pull the material was very interesting.
Waco.JPG
 
Nice work.

I don’t think there are many good books the Jody guy has some of the best videos he walks you right through the subjects . There apparently enough experienced people right here that could critique some pictures of your progress . The internet is full of material properties When doing thin sheet of aluminum you can use heat sinks. There is a bagged stuff just for this I don’t remember it’s name I’ll look around . Also a quick way to work with aluminum is to blacken one side with acetylene black snd use a brutal flame to burn it off yo don’t need a lot of heat . This usually anneals aluminum so you can shape it easier those that can gas weld aluminum do this a lot . I was never able to gas weld aluminum . During the war guys were taught Lise the military way. I’d guess with the DI standing over you it could be learned in a day by the end of day two you would be expert .
 
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