can you learn TIG by yourself on your own???

[mcostello]

I have a Miller HF 250 that I use for TIG. Steel was no problem. I have been around some very good welders n my time. I had an idea how things went and were supposed to look like. The machine truly does not seem to have a duty cycle. I have around 16 hours time on Aluminum, 2 X 330 cf Argon tanks, assuming 12 hours usage on each tank. I think I am starting to get the hang of Aluminum, but every now and then it seems to kick my butt any time it wants too. Hardest part for me seems to be depth perception and gagging the tungsten. Everything seems to be getting better just not really fast. I don't get to use the TIG everyday and it shows. The best advice I could give a less experienced welder would be, Put the filler in the front of the puddle, and cleanliness is really that important. Hard to wet out the metal through an oily spot. Keep practicing.

[snowbird]

I'm surprised no-one wrote about welding inside a house and worse, a condo.

If the guy next door in a condo that i own was welding i definately wouldn't be happy and i suppose other neighborgs , fire dept, owners syndicate and your local authorities wouldn't approve.

what have you forseen against noise, smoke, sparks, grinding dust from what you weld and from sharpening your tungsten, argon ventilation.

It's possible to eat and sleep in a well vented fire proofed and clean welding shop.

It's not advisable to practice welding where you eat and sleep.

just my .02 good luck

[Phewzer]

I'm surprised no-one wrote about welding inside a house and worse, a condo.

THIS^ very bad idea.

Everyone is different but to do this successfully on your own you will need 3 things.
1. ALOT of money.
2. ALOT of time.
3. ALOT of patience.
oh and some prayer will be helpful also.

[WillieB]

I'm surprised no-one wrote about welding inside a house and worse, a condo.

If the guy next door in a condo that i own was welding i definately wouldn't be happy and i suppose other neighborgs , fire dept, owners syndicate and your local authorities wouldn't approve.

what have you forseen against noise, smoke, sparks, grinding dust from what you weld and from sharpening your tungsten, argon ventilation.

It's possible to eat and sleep in a well vented fire proofed and clean welding shop.

It's not advisable to practice welding where you eat and sleep.

just my .02 good luck

It is my hope that the weld in your condo types all have spouses or someone else with more sense! Any who don't have guardian angels.
That being said, I TIG in my cellar all winter. Precautions must be taken! You need ventilation. All combustible dust must be removed, all easily ignited materials such as paper and volitile chemicals removed. Plural fire extinguishers mounted at each doorway, and near table. I have a short garden hose close. My stop welding procedure is lengthy, turn off the gas, tidy up, turn off the helmet, turn off power to the welder. Turn off the lights, look around, leave. Ten minutes later come back to be sure nothing is amiss.

[H80N]

Does your condo have a garage suitable for welding? I wouldn't start welding in your living room

I am kinda hoping that the OP was looking at the garage option...

not some of the sillier dangerous ones...

inside the living space would be one of the more dangerous/unsuitable options as many have pointed out...


Can you say "911".....???

[Burnt hands]

welder00.


Yes, you can learn to tig on your own but it's going to be tough.
If you can, find a mentor or someone who can show you some tricks and buy him/her dinner..
I was lucky and my mentor showed me in 2 minutes what would have taken me 2 hours to learn by trial and error.

My suggestions,

1 - See if a local vo-tech or adult evening school offers a welding class.

2 - Find a local welding shop who may allow you to "look and learn."
Insurance and legal issues for the shop may not allow this but it doesn't hurt to ask.

3 - I probably shouldn't say this but....if your budget is truly tight, you could buy this Harbor Freight 80 Amp Inverter Arc Welder - Item # 91110 for $149.99 and put the remaining $150 toward a good tig torch and regulator. Then as your budget and expertise grows, you can upgrade to Blue.

( I will admit to being a traitor to Miller as I have one of these myself. Bought it several years ago for $99.00) as I needed to do a small 10 minute stainless tig job where there was only 120 volts available. Couldn't justify a Maxstar 150. I now loan it out to friends who want to try learning stick welding and I consider this a "consumable" welder much like 6010 electrodes. If it fries, it fries.)

Be aware that you get what you pay for.

4 - Finally - if you have a chance to use high quality equipment,
I believe you will see the difference and it will make the learning experience much easier.


Here are 2 links to previous threads which may be useful.

http://www.millerwelds.com/resources...ghlight=mentor


http://www.millerwelds.com/resources...ht=burnt+hands

Good luck

[H80N]

I am sure that there are a bunch of us here that are self taught...

the downside is that we also taught ourselves a bunch of bad habits that later had to be unlearned because we just did not know any better... and had nobody looking over our shoulder giving advice/critique....I know I sure did.

back when I learned in the late 1960's the only textbook/learning aid was the Lincoln welding book... and it had all of about 10 pages on TIG..(or Heli Arc as it was popularly called)

These days there is an incredible amount of free resources...

fer instance..

Here is a collection of 200 TIG videos that will bathe you in enough TIG info to make your head explode...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5m9-...CbdVnrg-f3p3kT

you will still have to Practice.. Practice.. Practice..

and study.... but you should find good examples and info..

[Osar]

can you learn TIG by yourself on your own???

Yes it's possible, but you will do so much better with a mentor to help you with some basics. The GTAW process is the most difficult to learn, takes a lot of hours to be proficient at, and decades to master. If you want to learn, fist buy a brand name machine, you get what you pay for. Next, weld anything and everything you can get your hands on. Read books, watch videos, find others to watch you weld and give you pointers. Remember, only weld with adequate ventilation in an area not susceptible to fire or damage able by smoke or sparks.

[WillieB]

I am sure that there are a bunch of us here that are self taught...

the downside is that we also taught ourselves a bunch of bad habits that later had to be unlearned because we just did not know any better... and had nobody looking over our shoulder giving advice/critique....I know I sure did.

back when I learned in the late 1960's the only textbook/learning aid was the Lincoln welding book... and it had all of about 10 pages on TIG..(or Heli Arc as it was popularly called)

These days there is an incredible amount of free resources...

fer instance..

Here is a collection of 200 TIG videos that will bathe you in enough TIG info to make your head explode...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5m9-...CbdVnrg-f3p3kT

you will still have to Practice.. Practice.. Practice..

and study.... but you should find good examples and info..

I have the Lincoln Book "Metals And How To Weld Them". While it refers to MIG and TIG as processes too expensive for ferrous metals, it is invaluable as a reference resource. Last night someone had a problem welding copper, out came the book. A 60 year old book able to provide information is a rare thing.