TIG Welder Set Up

Setup is covered in more detail in the TIG FAQ. The basic information on this page should be a good starting
point apart from for specific joints where alternative set up is detailed in the relevant tutorial page.

Tungsten
For welding steel the tungsten should be ground to a long point with the taper length about 2 or 3 times the
diameter of the tungsten. See DC Electrode Preparation. The long taper and sharp tip improve arc stability.
For a butt weld or open corner weld the stick out would be about 5-6mm. Setting the tungsten stick out for fillet
welds is covered on the fillet weld page.

Gas Shrouds
For general purpose work on steel a number 7 shroud is a good compromise. A smaller number 4 shroud would
be more suitable for fillet welds, and larger shrouds might be used for aluminium. As a rule the larger the shroud
the better the gas coverage.

Shielding Gas
Pure Argon is normally used as a TIG shielding gas and is suitable for both steel and aluminium welding. The
shielding gas must be completely inert - MIG shielding gasses cannot be used as the CO2 would cause the
tungsten to oxidise.

Flow Rate
Flow rate will generally be 6 to 7L/min. The rate might be increased slightly to compensate for drafty
conditions. TIG uses a lot of shielding gas so it pays to set up the gas flow accurately. A flow meter attached to
the regulator will give a more accurate flow reading than the gauge on the regulator (see the regulator page for
the set up), or a peashooter type flow meter can be used to measure flow at the torch (see the photo to the right).

Post-Flow Time

Postflow protects the tungsten and the weld as they cool. The tungsten will take longer to cool from higher
amps, and a rough rule of thumb is to increase post flow time by 1 second for every 10 amps. We've used about
4-5 seconds post flow for everything shown in the tutorial.

Polarity
DC TIG Welding is carried out with the torch negative and the work positive. That is also known as DCEN (DC
electrode negative) or "straight" polarity for those with older welders.
About two thirds of the heat goes to the positive side or the arc. For TIG the negative torch helps avoid
overheating the tungsten.

TIG Calculator
The TIG calculator is intended as a print out reference for DIY TIG welders but is only
intended as a starting point. Once you get the hang of TIG welding you might find you prefer
to weld at higher or lower amps depending on technique and travel speed. Complete
beginners might prefer to run maybe 10% lower amps to compensate for slower speed, but if
you find you need to reduce amps much more then your arc gap is probably too long.
We've only covered up to 3mm in the chart. Beyond that thickness (apart from for specialist
applications) you would tend to do multiple runs or just use TIG for the root weld and use
Arc or MIG for filling in the remainder of the joint.

Mild Steel
Steel
Thickne
ss
(mm)

Fille
r
Rod
(mm
)

Tungste
n
(mm)
Practice beads
Fillet joint
Closed root butt
joint

Open root butt

joint (gap is half
of
material
thicknesss)

Lap joint

Outside

corner

joint

Amps

Amps

Amps

0.8

1.0

1.0
or
1.6 1

25

30

20

1.0

1.0

1.0
1.6 1

30

35

25

1.2

1.0

1.6

35

45

30

1.5

1.0

1.6

45

55

40

2.0

1.0
or
1.6 2

1.6

60

75

55

3.0

1.6

1.6

90

110

80

or

A 1.6mm tungsten is OK down to about 30 amps. It can be used on thinner material if the tip
is kept very sharp. Reduce the amps a little if using a 1.0mm tungsten.
2

2mm is the transition between 1.0mm and 1.6mm filler rod. The larger filler rod cools the
weld pool more than the smaller rod so you might add about 5 amps if using 1.6mm filler rod.

Stainless Steel
Stainless is less thermally conductive than mild steel, so heat does not flow away from the
weld quite so quickly. The amps required to weld stainless are about 10% lower than the
amps used for mild steel. Beginners might find the stainless chart handy for mild steel - the
lower amps will compensate for a slower travel speed.
Steel
Thickne
ss
(mm)

Fille
r
Rod
(mm
)

Tungste
n
(mm)
Practice beads
Fillet joint

Open root butt

joint (gap is half
of
material

thicknesss)

Lap joint

Closed root butt

joint

Outside
joint

Amps

Amps

Amps

0.8

1.0

1.0
or
1.6 1

20

25

20

1.0

1.0

1.0
1.6 1

25

35

25

1.2

1.0

1.6

35

40

30

1.5

1.0

1.6

40

50

35

2.0

1.0
or
1.6 2

1.6

55

70

50

3.0

1.6

1.6

80

100

75

or

corner

A 1.6mm tungsten is OK down to about 30 amps. It can be used on thinner material if the tip
is kept very sharp. Reduce the amps a little if using a 1.0mm tungsten.
2

2mm is the transition between 1.0mm and 1.6mm filler rod. The larger filler rod cools the
weld pool more than the smaller rod so you might add about 5 amps if using 1.6mm filler rod.

TIG Welding Technique

Complete beginners to TIG should begin on 2mm or 3mm steel. The weld pool is larger and
easier to control on thicker steel which makes it easier to develop technique - trying to learn

on thinner material will be more frustrating. We've used 2mm steel for this tutorial. The
welder was set to 50 amps, and the tungsten and filler rod were both 1.6mm.
Setting up the machine and tungsten grinding and stickout are covered on the TIG set up
page. Advice on power settings for different steel thicknesses can be found on the TIG Amp
chart.
Find a Steady Position

When TIG welding you need to be able to control the distance between the tungsten and the
work to within about 1mm. This is only possible with a good welding position. In the photos
the welder has used a few tricks:

Just to confuse you we've photographed a left handed welder. If you are
right handed hold the torch in your right hand.

The welder is sitting down and working on a bench. His upper body weight
is not supported by the bench - the bench is only used for positioning.

In the photo a flexible torch head (very handy) is being used to maintain
the angle of the torch with the hand resting lightly on the bench. The hand
would need to rest on a piece of wood for the correct angle with a
standard torch.

The torch lead is wrapped around his arm. This takes the weight of the
lead away from the torch and reduces the chance of the lead snagging as
the weld progresses.

The head is positioned to the side for a good view of the weld pool. It is
very common for beginners to hide the weld behind the gas shroud.

The lighting is from the side as well as overhead - it allows the welder to
see the tungsten position before starting the weld.

The torch would move in the direction of the red arrow in the photograph
(that one isn't really a trick but is worth a mention while the photo is
there).

Relaxed muscles will aid control of the torch - try not to TIG weld directly after hammering
or other physical activity, and ensure the workshop is at a comfortable temperature.
The red dot in the photograph just below the torch shows the area the welder will be looking
at while welding. It's a tiny area, so for a good view his eyes need to be close to the weld. It's
very common for people to discover they need glasses when they first take up TIG welding.

Torch Angle and Movement

The video demonstrates torch angle, position and movement. Above all it shows what a
delicate process TIG is. The torch movement is steady in the video and briefly stops while the
filler material is added.
The torch is held at about 20 degrees from vertical, tilted so the tungsten points in the
direction of the weld. The tilt encourages the weld pool to form ahead of the torch making it
easier to add filler rod.
The gap between the tungsten and the work should be maintained at between 1x and 1.5x the
diameter of the tungsten. We're using a 1.6mm tungsten so the gap is about 2mm.
It is good practice to move the torch across the work as a dry run before welding to make sure
the torch angle and distance to the work can be maintained naturally, and that there isn't
anything that will impede movement.
Learning to TIG Weld

Begin by starting the arc on steel. Get a feel of the arc and the weld puddle.
Next try welding on the surface of some sheet without using filler rod. This will help you get
a feel for how the puddle moves, and practice in maintaining a tight arc length. Finally move
on to adding filler wire as in the video below.
We've used 1.6mm filler rod, but it would have been much easier to feed 1.0mm filler rod
into the pool.

Things to watch for in the video:

The tungsten is positioned about 2mm from the steel. the position can be checked by tapping
the tungsten against the work before starting the weld. There is a short pre-flow of gas and
then the arc starts using HF (high frequency start).
The torch is kept stationary for a few seconds to allow a weld pool to form. The size of the
initial weld pool sets up the width of the weld. A large pool will tend to result in a wide weld
with a lot of penetration, and a small pool in a narrower weld with less penetration.
You can see the tip of the tungsten reflected in the weld pool. The arc length can be judged by
the distance between the end of the tungsten and the reflection in the pool. As you become
more familiar with TIG it becomes easier to judge the arc length by the width and height of
the arc itself.
The filler rod is added to the very front of the weld pool - it is the weld pool that melts the
filler rod not the arc. Adding filler rod will cool the weld pool.
The filler rod is kept low - too high and the arc would ball it back. If the arc length is too long
the filler wire will tend to melt back before it reaches the puddle.
The filler rod is kept under the gas shroud at all times. This keeps it close to the arc to keep it
warm and make it easier to melt, and also prevents it from oxidising.
At the end of the weld the torch is brought back a little and switched off. The torch is held in
position until the post flow gas has stopped. The post flow protects the tungsten and the end
of the weld pool.
It's not going to go well at the first attempt - there are so many things going on at the same
time that you'll tend to focus on one while the others go astray. It's best to start with getting
the arc gap right. After some practice it will become natural and you can focus on the weld
pool and adding the filler rod. Once that's there look at how wide the weld pool is and adjust
speed of travel to control penetration. Only when all of that is in place will you start to
achieve the neat welds that TIG is capable of.
Arc Length

Arc length controls the amount of heat in the weld. TIG is a constant current process (the
amps you set on the machine are the amps you get), but increasing the arc length will increase
the voltage which in turn puts more heat into the weld.
Beginners will tend to have their arc length too long for fear of contaminating the tungsten. It
should be maintained at between 1 and 1.5 times the diameter of the tungsten (that's between
1.6mm and 2.4mm arc length for the 1.6mm tungsten we are using).

Excessive arc length will make the arc difficult to control, and it will also make the tungsten
very hot so if you do touch down into the weld pool the tungsten will suck up a fair bit of
steel. That's what happened to the tungstens in the photo and it's a major frustration for
beginners. With a tight arc the tungsten stays cool and touching down hardly even takes the
point off the tungsten.

Size and Speed

The videos and photos do not give a sense of scale. The weld in the video is only 4mm wide
which is perhaps half the width of a MIG or Arc bead for the same material thickness.
The travel speed was about 1mm per second, again much slower than MIG or Arc, but faster
than you might imagine while you are distracted by all the other things involved in learning
to TIG weld.
The weld is quite flat - less than 0.5mm tall. An ideal for a joint would be to have the
reinforcing thickness of weld above the work about 10% of the material thickness.

Our weld has not penetrated through the bottom of the 2mm sheet. We're not aiming for
penetration here, just some practice in laying beads.
If your bead penetrates through the rear of the steel before you get the hang of laying a nice
bead it is likely that your travel speed is too slow.
The travel speed can be judged by the width of the heat affected zone around the weld (the
discoloured part). In the photograph it is quite narrow, maybe 15mm edge to edge.
If the weld had been done at lower amps and a slower travel speed to compensate the heat
affected zone would have been much wider. A slow travel speed actually puts more heat into
the weld as heat is conducted away from the weld pool before the weld pool is established.

Feeding TIG Filler Rods

There is so much going on with TIG welding that it's probably best not to feed the wire for
the first few practice beads. Just hold onto the wire and stop adding it before your fingers
burn.
Once all the other things are in order feeding the filler rod happens naturally. The wire can be
fed in whichever way feels comfortable to you, but here's a video of an easy way.
You only need to feed the wire to maintain the distance between your fingers and the arc - the
feed rate is much slower than shown in the video.
The filler rods are quite long. They are much easier to work with if you cut them in half.
Struggling?

You did start off on 2 or 3mm steel didn't you? It really is a lot easier than the thin stuff.
The two welds in the photo on the right were made by a beginner TIG welder. In the first
photo the welder was struggling to control the weld pool, and was having trouble adding the
filler rod.
The second weld was made immediately afterwards with no further training. The only
difference is the thickness of the steel (and the amps adjusted to suit). The increased thickness
means the weld pool is larger and easier to control, which makes it much easier to add the
filler rod.
The plate in the second photo hasn't been prepared properly - the steel needs to be completely
shiny and free of rust or mill scale else the weld will spit steel back at the tungsten and
contaminate it as soon as you start the weld.
The ease of welding thicker material makes it easier to understand and develop the technique.
Also it provides a big confidence boost. Once you have the technique it is easily transferred
to thinner material.