Wig welding and handling question on welding

[oldwelderman]

Hi folks,

I have a mig/mag welding machine and use shielding gas of a 85% Ar and 15% CO2 mix bottle.
My question: I know, for WIG welding, 100% Ar is used, but what would happen with the weld
and/or the welding gear when you use the 85/15% mix I mentioned above instead?

Other question: in a standard setup for indoor-welding, a steel welding table is used (I don't
have one).
The to-be-welded items are laid on that table and the table is earthed (or using the + in wig).
How do these welders prevent their workpiece is welded onto the table (as a byproduct of the
actual welding the item)?

Thanks for your answer,
oldwelderman

[Louie1961]

The answer to your last question is sometimes they don't. If the piece arcs against the table, it can get stuck there. You need to prevent arcing between the table and the weldment to prevent welding to the table.

But what the heck is wig welding? Do you mean TIG welding?

[Munkul]

Tungsten is also known as Wolfram, and it's in some languages called Wolfram rather than Tungsten. Its atomic symbol is W.

[chuckt62]

Hi folks,

I have a mig/mag welding machine and use shielding gas of a 85% Ar and 15% CO2 mix bottle.
My question: I know, for WIG welding, 100% Ar is used, but what would happen with the weld
and/or the welding gear when you use the 85/15% mix I mentioned above instead?

Other question: in a standard setup for indoor-welding, a steel welding table is used (I don't
have one).
The to-be-welded items are laid on that table and the table is earthed (or using the + in wig).
How do these welders prevent their workpiece is welded onto the table (as a byproduct of the
actual welding the item)?

Thanks for your answer,
oldwelderman

As I understand it, CO2 isn't used for WIG/TIG because it can cause an inconstant arc, which is bad for TIG. It is used a lot with MIG though. Ar/He is a good mix for TIG.

The weld happens at the arc, so the part being connected by clamping or simple contact with the table will not arc.

[oldwelderman]

Thank you!
I should have called it TIG (a.k.a. Wolfram in other parts of the globe).

@chuckt62: 'can cause' differs from 'will cause'..
Is there a chance I will produce satisfying welds on non-critical welds (I will not build atomic submarines) using the Ar/CO2-mix?

I believe to understand your 'stick-to-table' info. Thanks!

oldwelderman

Edit: Louie1961 cleared this in his post while I was writing.Thank you Louie!

[Louie1961]

Using any argon CO2 mix for TIG welding leads to porosity and contamination. You must use 100% inert gases (argon, helium, etc.). CO2 is an active gas, which is bad for TIG

[albrightree]

with 85/15 shielding gas for WIG/TIG welding :

WIG/TIG mild steel DC - welds are dull grey, lack of wetting, porosity of unknown amount, possibly carbon embrittlement. If no other option was available it could work. I would rather stick a 3/32" piece of 6013/7014 in the tig torch collet almost every time.

WIG/TIG stainless steel DC - same issues as above, but worse. Might be able to gob something together to get yourself out of the Desert where you might be stranded , and have not any other possibilities. I would still rather use stick than try using this gas.

WIG/TIG aluminum AC w/ HF - I had it happen once, and it was not pretty, almost the same as not turning the gas on at all. Not only do you have a bubbly oxidized greyish mass of very brittle aluminum, If you hung in long enough you probably will have made an awful mess with your torch (cup, wolfram, nozzle, collet). This may require a great deal of sorting before your next use. In all honesty in what I used wasn't 85/15 AR/CO2, but 75/25, but I'm guessing even stick aluminum would be a better choice.

Like I mentioned before, this is just what I've observed with 75/25 gas, your experience may differ from mine. Not that I purposely used this as a shielding gas, but usually happens when switching the wrong bottle by accident. I myself wouldn't find these welds to have "Operator Appeal" as they say in the welding ads/info, or gain you fame on Instagram. Your welcome to try it and post some pic's up, maybe it will work for you.

cheers

PS Where are you located ?

[ttoks]

Thank you!
I should have called it TIG (a.k.a. Wolfram in other parts of the globe).

@chuckt62: 'can cause' differs from 'will cause'..
Is there a chance I will produce satisfying welds on non-critical welds (I will not build atomic submarines) using the Ar/CO2-mix?

I believe to understand your 'stick-to-table' info. Thanks!

oldwelderman

Edit: Louie1961 cleared this in his post while I was writing.Thank you Louie!

I can't say I've ever tried TIG with At/CO2 mix, but I do know that a welder on a gas plant I worked on once accidentally welded a carbon steel 2" pipe with C25 and it failed X-ray for what looked on the film to be slag inclusions, so I don't think I will be trying it any time soon

[oldwelderman]

@albrightree,

Thank you very much for your extensive information and the kind invitation.

Because there is very much and very deep water between our locations, I -sadly- can't come over to New Jersey.

oldwelderman