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Walking the cup is a tig welding technique where the tig cup is rested on the weld and either wiggled or walked as if you were walking a 55 gallon drum across the shop floor where you roll it one way, then tilt, and roll the other way to progress.
It works great and I am the first to say that when nothing is in the way, it’s a great way to get a pretty weld.
But sometimes walking the cup is not the best technique to use.
Like when the part has a machined or polished surface that is part of the acceptance criteria. In that case, all those little scratches left behind by the hard ceramic or alumina cup look like fido’s butt.
That is when free handing is better. Only problem is it cooks your knuckles.
That is why a Tig Finger helps so much.
Oh heck, the video makes the point so let me shut up and just let you watch the video.
But first , for your benefit, here are the tig welder settings I used:
- DCEN ( direct current electrode negative)
- 130 amps with no foot control…just a torch switch
- 3/32″ (2.4mm) 2% thoriated electrode (but I usually use 2% lanthanated for everything)
- 1/8″ er308L stainless rod (3.4mm)
- 20 cfh argon flow using a #7 gas lens cup
And here are some general tips for tig welding stainless steel:
- Always either keep the hot tip of filler rod shielded by the argon till it cools, or dyke it off before restarting….and keep it in the argon shield while welding too.
- use only stainless steel wire brushes that have only touched stainless steel.
- on multipass welds, try to keep the temperature low enough between passes that you always see some colors in the weld bead. avoid dull gray and black welds. ( they sometimes rust later )
- as a rule use about 20% -25% less amps than you would on carbon steel
- get a puddle going quickly and get moving to outrun heat
- a gas lens cup and collet body help a lot
Oh, and I forgot the most important thing….
( As always, feel free to visit us at our sister site, WeldingTipsAndTricks.com. )
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May 16, 2020 at 1:41 AM
Wow 🙂
This is an incredible collection of ideas!
Waiting for more helpful pieces.
You would amazing to read a similar one here-
Besttoolsbrand
October 13, 2015 at 9:36 AM
GOOD MORNING,
I HAVE A MULTIMATIC 200 MILLER WELDER I WANTED TO KNOW IF I COULD LEARN HOW TO WALK THE CUP WITH A FOOT PEDAL TORCH INSTEAD OF A SCRATCH START TORCH OR WOULD I BE BETTER OF WITH A WP-17V TORCH AND CAN I USE THE SCRATCH START METHOD WITH THE MULTIMATIC 200 TORCH.?
June 15, 2013 at 1:12 PM
Ref, my other comment., I am now 81, this last year I was involved with a new project at the Physics Dept, at a University Local to me. apart from doing some of the welding I taught the support staff TIG welding on Cryogenic applications. I think most of your readers were not born when I first used the Technique which you now call “Walking the Cup”
J Cook MAWTE MCEI now retired.
June 15, 2013 at 12:55 PM
I find it quite strange that welders are now using this technique for welding with the TIG process. During my time with UKAEA in the UK in 1960 I was working on a large fabrication in Monel 400 that had about 30 fillet welds on flanges. It seemed the most simple way to produce a fillet weld was to retract the tungsten so as not to produce tungsten inclusions in the weld deposit by touch downs. Then I found that if I angled the torch and held the angle with the ceramic in contact with the joint with the torch handle moving up and down the weld progressed producing a very neat even leg length weld proflile. I had 6 welders on my section who I taught the technique to. Also at another company, 4 of them later worked for Browm & Root both offshore and in Asia. so it must have spread around.
September 29, 2012 at 11:53 PM
Hi Gonzalo. Watching Jody then trying the same thing myself shows just how much talent he has. He’s truly “the master.” Anyway those torches are made by CK Worldwide and can be found at ArcZone.com. They have an absolutely huge selection of welding supplies and special application items, including those large gas lense cups and complete gas lense kits that Jody is always using. Hope this helps
September 27, 2012 at 10:25 PM
You are amazing, thanks for share your skills with us, Great welding video and your Tig fingers too !!!…I already have some of it.
I would like to ask you where I could find that kind of Tig torch, I´m from Chile , and here it´s no easy to find it. I would appreciate a lot if you can tell me the name of the store or place to buy it.
Thanks a lot !!