Category:Welding Shop

The welding station

Safety First

Welding is a great way to join and form metal. Welding use comes at some risk. Let's be careful out there.

• Eye protection. You must protect your eyes from the bright welding light. If you are TIG, MIG or Arc welding you should be wearing a welding helmet. If you are using oxygen/acetylene welding then you should be wearing a pair of gas welding goggles or the dark face shield.

• Consider the eye protection of others around you. Will they get flashed by your welding arc? Use the welding safety screens to protect others in the shop.

• Proper clothing. Shorts and T-shirt won't do. Arc welding gives off extremely bright UV light, and you will become badly sunburned in no time. Best is long sleeve cotton clothing and long cotton pants (tight knit lightweight wool is actually the "best", but hard to find). Polyester clothing will melt easily and should never be worn by anyone welding.

• Proper footwear. Leather closed toe shoes should be worn. It doesn't take long for a small hot bead of metal to burn right through the top of your canvas tennis shoes. Also consider wearing boots instead of low cut shoes. Think what will happen if a drop of molten metal gets inside your shoe. Ouch.

• Wear welding gloves to protect your hands. Mechanics' gloves tend to have plastic or rubber which will melt while welding.

• Don't forget that it takes time for hot welded metal to cool. Use pliers to lift work off of the table. Don't leave hot work where an innocent bystander could become burned. If you aren't sure about the temperature of a piece, assume it's hot until proven otherwise.

• Quick.. where is the nearest fire extinguisher?

Equipment

• P&H TIG Welder
• Lincoln Weld-Pak 100 MIG Welder
• Oxy-Acetylene Torch
• Lincoln Wire Welder
• Plasma Cutter

Consumables

• Welding Shop Consumables

Let's Learn to TIG Weld!

References:

• Miller TIG Tips and Hints

• Miller TIG handbook (Free in downloadable PDF format)

• P&H Welder Manual

• This document in .doc format, suitable for printing.

Machine settings: What material are you welding?

• Steel? If you are using steel, set the Polarity Selector Switch (large three position switch on the right hand lower area) to the full clockwise position, Direct Current Straight Polarity (DC Electrode Negative). You should be using the red tungstens (2% Thoriated) for DC TIG welding. The "High Frequency" selector can be on "Start" or "Continuous", but "Continuous" will mess up nearby radios and wear out the machine faster.

• Aluminum? If you are using aluminum, set the Polarity Selector Switch to the full counterclockwise position, Alternating Current (AC). You should be using the green tungstens (pure tungsten).for AC TIG welding. Switch the "High Frequency" selector to "Continuous".