TIG filler wire size?

[Pipewelder01]

When I tig pipe first I look at the gap usually I'm running 1/8 inch wire for the root and then I use 3/32 the rest of the way out, but it's what you're most comfortable with.

[xryan]

But you're not melting pipes together?? Boxes, flats, nice straight lines, etc. Why make it harder on yourself and more work to do all those chamfers?

[Andrew J 649]

Thanks for the reply posts ryanjones2150, xryan, Elcon, ASKANDY, HAWK, NorthernLights. The illustration and the beautiful weld sample are very helpful. Im sure having corners like this would have been a far superior method for strength, and if the boxes needed to be water tight (or air tight, as it looks like that construction would like likely provide!!!. amazing). There were just too many boxes and runs too long to do as continuous weld for what was required. At least in my opinion it would have been a lot of extra time, gas, and power that didn't seem warranted. Of course they might not make it through a winter cycle of freeze/thaw up on that terrace they are on, in which case i'll be kicking myself to say the least.

[Olivero]

I am agreeing with the Ryans, especially the showoff part

But back to the topic, I would choose whatever you find to fit, on steel, I tend to go smaller as I like those smaller welds unless its taking a lot of weight, I will keep it as big as the metal I am welding is fat. But for Aluminum, oversizing tends to work as you are feeding the rod at a pretty fast pace otherwise whereas using the bigger rod allows you to control it much better, takes practice but much easier and less money in the long run.

[ryanjones2150]

Been a while....you didn't mention that you weren't welding the whole joint, so I see why you did it that way. Maybe you did mention it and I missed it. Doesn't matter. I just assumed it would be welded out. Looks good.

[Andrew J 649]

I forgot to bring things back around to filler size. On these planter boxes i was using 3/32" on the filled bevel welds, and 1/8" on the bottom panel welds. The material thicknesses were 1/4" to 1/4" and 1/4" to 3/16". Using the 1/8" rod was easier to control as the feed rate is slower, but the smaller rod does feel like it allows you to fill from the deepest part of the joint more accurately while also maintaining a narrow bead, though the feed was harder to keep up with for sure.

[ryanjones2150]

At least your welds weren't very long, didn't have to motor on too far.

[Oldgrandad]

The Ryan's are right that edge detail is an easier way to get a good solid weld on corners . However there are lots of times when that is just not dimensionally possible on the parts your building. The majority of the assemblies we put together require the bevels. Back to the topic of filler rod size, it is a question of personal preference. The rod size charts are a great starting point, with steel and stainless I prefer the smaller choices but on aluminum the lager sizes work better for me. At our shop we do mostly sch 10 stainless pipe, I use 1/16 for root and cover pass when free hand welding. When walking the cup I find it better to use 1/16 for the root and 3/32 for the cover pass. The other guys here use 3/32 for root and cover and our welds all look similar.

[tarry99]

Usually the tungsten size will be equal to the filler material..........as tungsten size goes up for material thickness and also amperage then so should the filler........3/32" Tungsten is a pretty much an all around size for 1/8"to 5/16" Mild steel and aluminum.

[Oldgrandad]

Good point on tungsten and I agree 3/32" is my go to size but i'll go all the way down to .035 material before going down in tungsten. On the .035 material I do grind a longer taper on the tungsten. When under .035 I'll switch to 1/16" tungsten. Going up with aluminum at 1/4" I'll put 1/8" tungsten. A couple of years back we tried several different types of tungsten and after Orange, Gold and even Brown (least favorite) settled on Purple. That's E-3 it's got Lanthanum, Zirconium, and Yttrium mixed with tungsten. I feel it holds a tip really well on DC and maintains a stable ball on AC.

[Olivero]

I use E3 for everything as well, much easier to keep 1 type of tungsten on hand then 2 or 3 different ones. I just keep my Steel and aluminum ones seperated so I don't accidentally mix.