Finally getting it!

Another week of the welding course, and as I said in the last entry, revisiting the other forms of welding was a revelation.

Within minutes I was laying down perfect welds using the mig welder, everything I ave practiced just came together, balance, speed, the whole caboodle.

I took another set of the tubes for the smaller frame in with me to practice on, and to ask Greg's advice. He reckoned it was a perfect exercise for the tig welder.

So we set the TIG up to run with the hand control rather than the foot pedal, and off I went. 2-3 cm of practice bead, then into the framework. External corners are so easy, no filler rod required. Butt joints are really easy, the trick is the amount of filler rod that is needed, and the gap between the parts. Inside corners are a bit more difficult, and I need more practice on them. Perhaps I should stick to arc for those.

The look of the work is amazing, I'll post a photograph later, but it looks really good. I did some more mig practice afterwards using similar sized tubing, and its just as easy, but nothing like as good looking. Talking with Greg the tutor, he reckons some of these cheaper TIG machines ($500+) are really worthwhile, and as they do arc too, are really good value. I'll have to rethink my ideas again!