Since magnets are taboo........

I'd be very interested to see what your "must have" and frequent use clamps and positioning tools are.

ANYTHING THAT WORKS.... weights... clamps.... anything and everything that you can use to hold it long enough to get a couple tacks laid on.... and then you can reposition - or re-clamp the larger piece.

Sometimes I've welded on pieces so that I can clamp a larger "piece" -- then grind them off...

You really just need to be very flexible and very imaginative!


I also keep a nice piece of copper -- about a 1' long - 2" wide - 1/2" thick... it's not only good for a "weight" it also acts like a good ground conductor from the metal table to the piece.


WHAT DO THE REST OF YOU DO????

And a potential heat sink.

Alright, I searched for the TIG 101 thread and couldn't find it. So tell me what is best to clean metal with before welding. Thanks,

HEEP

My understanding of proper cleaning protocol is: Wipe down with a dry cloth, then BEFORE sanding with Scotchbrite, etc. clean with denatured alcohol or NON-CHLORINATED brake cleaner.

It's been my experience that you cannot get the metal too clean. This applies to the backside or inside of tubing also as it appears contaminates on the backside manage to get wicked into the puddle.

The OP will certainly :bitchslap: me if I'm wrong. :D

Acetone works well too... but the NON chlorinated brake clean is cheap and hand in a spray can... Just be certain it is NON chlorinated! There's a sticky in the welding thread about this.

When we say CLEAN --- it's means free of mill scale... so in other words if it's mild steel -- use a 3M disc etc to get down to bare metal. I used to do this on aluminum as well - but now just clean it with non chlorinated brake cleaner and with the A/C of the TIG it cleans the oxide off as you go. Doesn't hurt to hit it with the 3M disc or similar method. But if you're going to polish the piece then you don't want that deep scratch.

STAINLESS STEEL --- I hit with a Fine SS wire brush (like a toothbrush sized version) to clean the oxide off of it - all sides to be welded.... as well as degrease. If it's a bigger job - then I use a new 3M disc... because it's faster and easier. You just need to clean off the edge back even a half inch to an inch. Just don't forget to clean both sides of all pieces - and the edges too if they're not fresh cuts.

I don't know -- anyone else have anything to add????? Any particular methods??

Thanks, That makes alot of sense. I need to make sure that step does not get missed. I get in a hurry sometimes.

HEEP

I fought contamination issues quite a big learning how to TIG so now I'm pretty particular about cleaning.

I got a small squeeze bottle I keep with Acetone for cleaning anything I TIG. I buy a gallon can and refill the bottle as needed.
I've got separate SS toothbrush sized wire brushes for aluminum and steel. For aluminum I've got scotchbrite pads that I will douse in acetone and give the weld areas a quick scrub down- front and back.
For steel I will give the weld area a quick zip with a 50grit roloc pad to remove any rust, scale, paint, etc.
I bought a HTP Tungsten sharpener for under $250- and it is just a huge time saver. http://www.ebay.com/itm/TIG-Welder-T...-/140451757157
I started storing my TIG welder away from the workbench because this was where I would do dirty work and since I was still randomly fighting contamination I figured it couldn't hurt.

The final thing I figured out that has cured 99% of my contamination issues was switching to a smaller cone on the hand piece. The welder came with a 7 and I switched to a 6 that focused the sheilding gas more. I must have been leaving the tungsten out too far and was loosing the sheilding gas. I'm still not a rockstar but the results have markedly more consistent.

Good info! Thanks for sharing!

:ttiwop: