Tig questions

[ChadRat]

I was reading a book last night on tig welding. It stated you could use 100% argon on steel, aluminum and stainless steel. It also talked about an argon helium mix for aluminum and ss. What kind of gas does everyone use on these metals? I could see a big advantage of having one tank for all three metals and just pick out the right filler rod. It would be a lot easier than switching tanks and spools.

Next question, The book did not have a recomendation on what shade of lens to use. It had a reference for some ANSI standard. I don't have a book of ANSI standards. What lens shade do you use when you tig?

Chad

[Scott V]

Argon,is really the best overall for tig,unless you are doing some real thick aluminum.I would grab my mig if I was welding stuff that was to big for a 300 amp ac/dc inverter.

Aaron,try setting your pulse on ac at one pulse per second when welding aluminum.You might be surprised at the difference in the look of the weld bead.

[Seldom]

Yes, the previous Repliers are correct, stick with straight argon. Helium is added or used straight to increase the heat at the arc. Helium is sometimes used when tig’ing Aluminum but I’ve encountered it far more when welding nickel-base alloys such as the nickels, hasteloys, inconels, etc. where due to a chronic “sluggish” puddle, the extra heat Helium provides at the arc increases wetting and penetration. Many qualified welding procedures are written using Helium for the nickel-based alloys I’ve mentioned.

A #10 is good.