ShopTalk Forums | Aircooled VW Tech & Restoration Help

Just rattle can it black and stick it in the back of the shop....

The five beads to the upper right were my first attempts at pushing the puddle around (no filler rod). Bottom center and angled top beads are my first attempts with filler rod. I'v got a long way to go, but I think I like tig welding.

Did a few more straight beads and each looked better than the last. So thought I'd try some tube. Cut a little piece of 1.5" .095 walled mild, set it on the plate and tried to weld it in place. My efforts were met with disastrous results. I manged all of two decent puddles. The tube looks like a French drain now. Back to studying and a lot more practice before I attempt that again.

That first picture was very promising. I'm sure after that the tube failure was disheartening. Keep us updated on your plight. I may be in your shoes someday soon.

Looks good... when you start, everyone runs too hot and dwells too long... you can see that by the rough - dull appearance of the bead and the widening of the heat zone. NO WORRIES, it's just a matter of practice to find that zone where your speed matches needed heat. Jumping into tubing early just amplifies that since you are rotating while welding. Keep at it... after ALOT of practice, it will just 'click' and you will see the wizard behind the curtain... that usually happens right after you feel like throwing the whole thing in the trash.

Thanks DG! Yup, you are spot-on. I was about 50 amps over when I made that first bead. I've got a long way to go, but I'm liking it.

Be careful... it gets addicting!

A common mistake, in the beginning, is to think "if I bump up the heat, it will be easier to push my puddle around". That is a trap many will get into and will be a bad habit you will need to break later. TIG is just a balance between heat and speed. You can tell by the pic above - you understand the mechanics... now it's just a matter of finesse with the heat/speed balance. Speed will increase with practice. Use the recommended heat settings for the material thickness and learn to work within that, as a starting point. Good job!

When I looked into TIG welling I was told several times that for AL it takes about 80 hours of practice, slightly less for steel and CRES. Have fun!

Welder? What welder?

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-KVHN ... oad_-1.jpg

I am the master of disguise.

Honda Modified ECU and harness in my hands. Other than that, nothing new to report.

DeMinimis wrote:The five beads to the upper right were my first attempts at pushing the puddle around (no filler rod). Bottom center and angled top beads are my first attempts with filler rod. I'v got a long way to go, but I think I like tig welding.

Looking good dude

keep them updates coming in!

bajaherbie wrote:keep them updates coming in!

Just like Pink Floyd albums, few and far between.

Going to have to change the title of this EIGHT YEAR build tread. Picking up this DD:



I'll post the Chenowth chassis combined with the car-specific items (beam, trailing arms, combos, rack, thru rods, bushings, torsion conversion, etc) for sale when the time comes (Cheno is titled and plated (tags expired), by the way).

Who are you again? lol