Although I have done some limited MIG welding for years on my own projects I have never picked up a TIG torch until today. Took a couple hour lesson today and I can't thank the teacher enough. He pretty much cut my learning curve down to next to nothing. All I need to do id practice with the techniques he showed me. These are my first ever TIG welds.

 

That's awesome! A few of the hardcore fab guys over on GBF had picked up the Primeweld TIG machines off A-zon, and are very happy with them. I'm in the same boat as you, experience-wise. I have a friend that used to teach welding at the community college. He said you should really start with stick, then TIG, then MIG when learning. It takes longer, but looks so much better.

 

When you get the hang of doing the "stack of dimes" weld, you can call yourself a TIG welder. I learned to weld as a young teen but still cannot do the stack of dimes.

 

Good for you👍

 

Once you go TIG it is hard to go back to MIG.
Do yourself a favor and buy the expensive dedicated tip grinder. A sharp tip with zero contaminates makes a huge difference.

 

Nice job. I took a general welding class at the local community college a couple of years ago and it was well worth the $50 enrollment fee. Very little class time and probably 80hrs of hands on in the shop learning stick, MIG and TIG. Stick is pretty crude and tricky to do well. Blunt force instrument. I agree 100% with the comment above about getting one of the Tungsten tip grinding tools. That seriously does make a whole lot of difference between crap and good (at least as good as your skills allow!).

 

It’s been 25 years since I held a TIG torch, I learned a little about it at a job I had at the time. I took a vocational welding class probably 30 years ago, I’m fairly comfortable with MIG.

My son is pretty sure he wants to enroll in the welding program at his high school next year. If so, I’ll probably invest in a TIG machine. Then he can teach his old man the tricks!!

 

I welded for a living back in the early 80’s, building oil field high pressure treeters etc. all coded and exrayed work. This was 90% stick, mig on long tank seams. The tig was used for small high pressure 1” and 1.5” pipe coils. Its a tedius type welding, I was not interested in it. Stick welding was my specialty..now wanting to get a mig for thin body work. Basically spot welding with a mig in different places until its a full weld. Your not running a bead on 18-20 guage with a mig. Cool stuff to learn

 

Elon Musk tig welds all his rockets

 

Somebody welds his rockets, not him.

 

There has always been something therapeutic about tig welding.