Tig Welding Socket Welds

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This weekly welding video is about socket welds.

I needed to hang a chinup bar in my basement so I figured instead of using threaded pipe and fittings,...Why not just use socket  fittings?

It might even make for a decent tig welding video.

I have done my share of these welds...Like a whole crap load of them. But it has been almost 25 years, So I had to shake off a little rust.

Here is the setup I used for these 1 inch pipe and socket welds

125 amps dcen
#5 cup
3/32" 2% lanth electrode ( 2.4mm)
15 cfh argon
ER70S-6 filler rod  3/32" (2.4mm) for root, and 1/8" (3.2mm) for second pass

I used a lift arc tig machine set to 1 second upslope and 3 seconds downslope.  That allows for a low amperage arc start that takes only one second to ramp up to 125 amps.  And 3 seconds to taper off.

In the field, on construction sites, its still pretty common to use a scratch start tig welder.  It works well but you do have to file and brush the stop where you whip or trail out. Lift arc with upslope/downslope is better than scratch start. adn high freq start is better still.

Walking the cup is a good way to go on socket fittings if they are one inch or bigger.

Some welders walk the cup on pipe all the way down to 1/4" but personally, I would rather use the freehand technique on the small stuff.

But today, the pipe and socket weld fittings I am working with  is 1" schedule 40 . Which is  1.315" on the OD.   Plenty big enough to walk the cup.

Some tips for walking the cup...

for the root pass, choose a cup size that lets you easily wiggle the cup without having to rock the cup on the ledge of the socket weld fitting.

for later passes, you are not actually wiggling the cup but walking it like you would walk a 55 gallon barrel across the shop floor.

Watch the video and you will see what I am talking about.
see more tig welding videos

If you are interested in seeing tig welding on some open butt 2inch pipe, go here