General welding questions that dont fit in TIG, MIG, Stick, or Certification etc.
ESENTI
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hi does anyone used tig spot welding like resistance welding
VA-Sawyer
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Not sure what you are asking. Can you explain a little more?
No sense dying with unused welding rod, so light 'em up!
ESENTI
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this will help
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spot welding
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VA-Sawyer
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I have done some Tig welding using the Spot timer, and a standard torch. Not done as tacks, but intended as spot welds. They are still holding, so calling it a success.
I believe that I have that same book. As I recall the info is very dated. Think I will see if I can find it.
No sense dying with unused welding rod, so light 'em up!
ESENTI
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thank you , there is a difference in spot and tack welding im not sure about it . Spot welding is like using the electrodes in touch
with thin sheet metal and press the button of tig , spot timer stops current . It takes some practice. Tack is longer and manual.
The question is if an expensive tig machine will stand this sort of sort circuit .The book is welders guide it is a rather old book.
VA-Sawyer
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As I read the gun description, pulling the trigger advances the tungsten for a momentary contact, then retracts it about 1/16" to establish the arc. An adjustable timer ends the arc. I don't see this being any harder on a power supply, than scratch start.
Same picture, different book.
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ESENTI
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the procedure you describe is something different , if you know resistance welding two electrodes by force in sheet metal , spot welding in tig is similar no pressure but in constant touch then press the button and it melts the two pieces together like resistance welding the timer switches of the current . It is a sort circuit for bit .I reaped for thin metals only .
VA-Sawyer
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The tip of the gun is in contact with the first sheet during the entire weld process. It is electrically isolated from the tungsten, so no load on the welder except during the arc. Tips come in various shapes and sizes as shown in the picture.
No sense dying with unused welding rod, so light 'em up!
ESENTI
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no , you put a tungsten to the ground wire of tig , with the the torch tungsten touch the sheet metal
Simclardy
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Not sure i follow, but the end result is the same as burning through from one side.
The manual shows penetration from top only vs resistance weld shows penetration through out the joint. It even mentions adding filler metal.


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ESENTI
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correct but still something is missing try this go to my picture in forum then use save as ... jpg and then in paint you can read it
VA-Sawyer
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I did read it. You need to read it carefully yourself. The advantage of Tig spit is it requires access to only one side. There is only one Tungsten. The picture you posted shows a standard resistance spot welder setup, with one electrode on each side, and clamping pressure. The picture under the welder shows the result of a Tig spot. Heat comes in from top side only. There is only ONE Tungsten.
No sense dying with unused welding rod, so light 'em up!
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Poland308
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Is it just me or is that a book from 1957?
I have more questions than answers

Josh
ESENTI
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the way i figure it out is that the tungsten does not light arc and is in touch constantly .
the book of 57 the replay is : time is the moving picture of the unmovable eternity ,plato. you know that im greek i recon
Simclardy
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ESENTI wrote:the way i figure it out is that the tungsten does not light arc and is in touch constantly .
the book of 57 the replay is : time is the moving picture of the unmovable eternity ,plato. you know that im greek i recon
I read it again. It never mentions if the tungsten is in contact for the duration. It does mention adding filler metal. I just read up on spot welders. They use very high current to create heat in the metal.
We are talking thousands of amps.
A tig welder is running in the 50-250amp range and the voltage is less than 100v.
If you had 200amps @ 100 volts you would have 2 ohms in the circuit. 2 sheets of clean metal will not give you this resistance and if your welder does not have current limiting circuits will cook your machine.
I reserve the right to be wrong.
Cheers

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Poland308
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According to the first picture the tig spot weld gun does not contact both sides of the metal, IE it lists that as a benefit. Also it talks about setting up the high freq. tig tungsten will become contaminated as soon as the metal it’s touching becomes or is molten, tig tungsten is not capable of handling the heat load associated with contact welding. It’s designed/ formulated to handle carrying and sustaining an arc. IE GAP. It also mentions setting the tungsten according to the gun tip. I’d guess that the trigger on the gun not only starts the arc like a tig button but also advances the tungsten close enough to initiate the arc on a machine that doesn’t have high freq. then after it starts the arc it probably retracts a specific distance( probably an adjustable point of the gun) to maintain a good arc while the timer controls arc duration.
I have more questions than answers

Josh
VA-Sawyer
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Simclardy,
Don't forget that you are talking about the resistance of the whole circuit. Windings in the transformer (on older machines), cables, cable connections, etc. The manual on my old Lincoln tombstone said it could be used to thaw frozen water pipes at settings of 75 amps or less. Just directly connect the cables to the pipe at each end of the frozen section. No longer useful due to plastic plumbing.

ESENTI,
Here are 2 close up photos from my book describing the Airco Tig Spot welder.
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20200222_092759.jpg
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No sense dying with unused welding rod, so light 'em up!
Poland308
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https://youtu.be/BaiSKQQ5qKE

This is a single sided contact spot welding gun. Note the large copper contact tip, that’s what you need for handling the contact welding process.
I have more questions than answers

Josh
Poland308
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https://www.amazon.com/Weldtec-5505-25- ... uctDetails

Here is a tig spot weld gun.
Read the specs. Not for aluminum, or coated metals, needs high freq.
I have more questions than answers

Josh
VA-Sawyer
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Second photo
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No sense dying with unused welding rod, so light 'em up!
VA-Sawyer
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Looks like Poland 308 and I, are kinda stepping on each other. I totally agree with him.
The youtube video that Rick9345 listed earlier showed the modern equivalent of the old Airco head. It just takes advantage of HF start.
No sense dying with unused welding rod, so light 'em up!
Poland308
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No worries, when multiple people find multiple sources of information on the same topic. It’s always a good way to get an informed answer.
I have more questions than answers

Josh
Simclardy
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VA-Sawyer wrote:Simclardy,
Don't forget that you are talking about the resistance of the whole circuit. Windings in the transformer (on older machines), cables, cable connections, etc. The manual on my old Lincoln tombstone said it could be used to thaw frozen water pipes at settings of 75 amps or less. Just directly connect the cables to the pipe at each end of the frozen section. No longer useful due to plastic plumbing.

ESENTI,
Here are 2 close up photos from my book describing the Airco Tig Spot welder.
Yes i understand the internal resistance will limit the current. My plumber friend was telling me about that freeze thaw trick.
Pretty cool.... hot.
I think my point stands. The pipe never melted. I think my main point was this: the kind of amperage most tig welders produce are not suited for tack welding (resistance welding aka no gap welding), and if you do achieve good current you are burning up you machine.
I know you can heat metal with a CC machine. I do it all the time with 6010 rods when they stick. Lol




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Simclardy
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VA-Sawyer wrote:Second photo
Your photo answers the question of gap or no gap without the gymnastics.


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