Volts And Amps On DC Tig???

[rahtreelimbs]

Got an older welder where I work. We got to talking about welding thin material. He stated that you have to adjust your volts and amps accordingly so you don't burn through. Am I missing something here??? Any tig welder I ever used had amp adjustment only.

[Oscar]

You're not missing anything, but he might be missing a few bolts in the ol' noggin. Arc voltage is controlled by arc-length in both TIG and SMAW.

[Louie1961]

what kind of welder?

[rahtreelimbs]

what kind of welder?

The human kind......lol!!! You know I try to have an open mind since I am relatively new and inexperienced at welding. I try to learn what I can......but when I encounter info like this from people that think they have all the answers I think I am better off just moving on. I did reply that the tig welders he was using were old he replied that they were new machines. Go figure!!!

[Gamble]

Tight arc = lower voltage

[Louie1961]

actually humans are weldors. I was just wondering if you know the make/model of the welder.

[WNY_TomB]

Got an older welder where I work. We got to talking about welding thin material. He stated that you have to adjust your volts and amps accordingly so you don't burn through. Am I missing something here??? Any tig welder I ever used had amp adjustment only.

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many better welding machines have a arc force control (might be called voltage too or other names). with high arc force when stick welding as you shorten arc length the welding amps goes up which gives the appearance of high arc force, high penetration at short arcs, and helps to prevent rod sticking.
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with tig welding i normally turn arc force control down (some call arc force knob voltage) as with tig welding if you change arc length you do not normally want weld amps to change.
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many simpler welding machines have no arc force control knob but some have a tig / stick switch. when in tig mode it could control argon gas, high frequency start, etc in addition to arc force being turned down to tig mode. also voltage is often lowered too to limit long arc length. basically if you pull a 0.25" arc length tig arc it goes out fast. it can be annoying if you can long arc 1/2" or more and tig arc does not go out. with 6010 stick welding a long arc length ability many like but with tig welding it can actually be annoying when trying to break arc fast without creating oxidation / porosity especially if you have no foot pedal amp control
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basically a tig stick welder is mostly constant current but with various arc lengths can be slightly more welding current / amps with shorter arc length. some welding machines have a constant current/constant voltage switch to allow tig/stick or mig welding and some offer various ability to control how perfect it is constant current or constant voltage. with mig welding with high powered machines often there is a knob to limit maximum amps when short arc mig welding to help control spatter. technically many machines are not perfect constant current or constant voltage and the extra control knobs go by various names
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when a old timer tries to teach you something i would try to understand what he is trying to say. often welders are not exactly the best at speaking proper technical English. he may be not saying technically the correct terms or names for stuff but still be correct for trying to teach you something.
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i have worked with plenty of old timers that say nothing. whether you can figure out what they are doing and why with no spoken explanation they really do not care. old timer welders often do not want to teach. it is a job security thing and how well the feel their job is secure. in my opinion the welder trying to teach you sounds like he is very skilled and knowledgeable about welding.
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for welders who have never heard of arc force control or voltage control or tig/stick mode switch i could see that if they only used welding machines that had no extra control knob features. many welding machines keep the control knobs to a minimum amount
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[Louie1961]

On the older Lincoln engine drives and torpedo welders, you can change your voltage using the "fine" control. They set them up differently (different ranges and fine control settings) for 6010 and 7018, even in the same amp range. The idea being different voltages give differing levels of arc face or dig. I was wondering if the old timer was thinking of one of those machines.

[WNY_TomB]

On the older Lincoln engine drives and torpedo welders, you can change your voltage using the "fine" control. They set them up differently (different ranges and fine control settings) for 6010 and 7018, even in the same amp range. The idea being different voltages give differing levels of arc face or dig. I was wondering if the old timer was thinking of one of those machines.

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you have arc force or automatic amp increase with shorter arc length (tig welding you want less arc force or amp change with different arc lengths) AND there is the arc length when arc breaks or stops.
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there is a thing as too long a arc whether stick welding or TIG where bad weld quality or porosity happens. just cause you can maintain a long arc does not mean the weld is of high quality metal. with TIG in general it is not good to be able to pull a longer than 1/4" arc
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so welding machine manufacturers are dealing with 2 things. welder wants to be able to pull a long 6010 arc AND have a high quality weld where machine breaks arc automatically that is too long for high weld quality
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no welding machine yet made that says hey welder you are using too long of a weld arc length stop doing that. a true voltage control which controls arc length is debatable whether it is a good thing to have one on a welding machine