Small TIG Welds

[RHschecter]

I'm a media blaster and I see a lot of differn't size and types of welds. I also own a Syncrowave 200. I see welds on things like piper cub planes and a lot of stainless steal food machinery that are realy small maybe 1.5-3mm across. Today I took home a stainless sink out of the scrap bin and cut it up, and The smallest weld I can make on it is ~4mm. How are these small welds made? I'm trying to do this on a Fillet T-joint.

[fun4now]

with a smaller tung. and cup, or with a inverter and a smaller torch, or an O/A setup with a small torch. it realy all depends on the situation and the welder doing the weld.
i think the syncrowave came with a W17 torch, replace that with a wp50 or mt 125 micro torch, like in the link or the pic posted.
http://www.arc-zone.com/catalog/web_...=6892375_53099
turn down the amps and go for it. its all about the right tool for the job.
the syncrowave is a great TIG unit but as its a transformer it will have a little larger arc than an inverter but can still produce some fine welds, but with a 3/32" tung. you can only get so small. you might try going down to a 1/16" tung. i dont know what came with the syncro200 but you can always get smaller tung. and cups as well as a smaller torch if the job calls for it.

[fun4now]

almost forgot, welcome to the board

[youngwelder_154]

I wish I could help you with your question but unfortunately I'm not very knowledgeable with TIG welding, But as fun4now said welcome to the bord I really hope you enjoy your time on this site. I know the guys on here have made my time on this site enjoyable and everytime I leave this site I know a little more then before I signed on

[RHschecter]

Thanks. That mini torch is interesting. I was using a 1/16th, The Sycro200 comes with 3/32nd. Thanks for clearing things up for me.

[tsalagi]

hey, don't forget the filler rod size. i've seen razor blades welded together at a lincoln seminar. it looked like the filler rod was smaller than a strand of hair. one of the coolest things i ever seen.

[Danny]

I have a tiny little flex head torch,rated for under 100 amps, and run a 1/16" tungston. I still use 1/16" filler but have heard of guys using mig wire as was discussed a few weeks back. I know you probably did this, but make sure you have a really good clean sharp point and a small cup that will allow you to get in close and personal.

[fun4now]

they bring up an exilent point about the filler wire. some things can be welded without any but always remember to use filler when doing aluminum. the heat of welding burns out some of the chemical make up of the aluminum and without filler it will not hold. magneaseum and silicone burn out fast and need to be replaced. filler wire is higher in thease 2 components to insure a good suply to feed the starter metal. 4XXX series is higher in silicone and 5XXX is higher in magneseum.
i have used MIG wire for filler befor with good results. i dont know what the $$ breakdown would be as fare as witch is cheaper in the long run to use, probly MIG wire, but if you run out of filler you can always grab a few ft. of mig wire to finish up, so keep that in the back of your head incase you need it. nothing worse than running out of filler with only a few inches left to weld.

[JonnyTIG]

The only aluminum alloy I ever welded successfully without filler was 3003. Aluminum Manganese alloy. Many high end truck tool boxes are fusion welded when using 3000 series material. Other than that specifically, I've never had success with other aluminum alloys. Thanks for the info Fun4now.

When I worked at Rocky Mountain Bicycles we used 0.035 ER70S-6 wire to weld the Cr-Mo frames. I've used .023 gmaw wire for making super small welds, 1.5 -2mm in width.

[etonline]

I use 040 red tung. on thin SS you can get collets that small for the 17 series torches from Arc zone