[FoxCNC1]

Hi guys,

I am sure I that with practice, patience and some youtube I can get the basics down, but I have an important concern.
being that you have to set amperes and at times I have seen clamp the machine to the (steel) table to ground it, is there a risk of getting electrocuted?

Can someone please take a moment to break down the typical setup scenario?

Thank you

[awerby]

If there's a community college near you, I'd suggest you sign up for a welding class. While YouTube is a lot of fun and all, it's not the place to learn about things that are dangerous, like welding and metal casting. You really need some hands-on instruction by people who actually know what they're doing, not just someone who is new and enthusiastic about something they really have no clue about.

TIG welding is great for some things, such as tricky welds in odd metals like bronze and aluminum, but for putting together pieces of steel, which is most of what most people want to do you should concentrate on regular arc welding or MIG. It's okay to clamp the ground to a steel table and clamp the piece you're welding to it, but if you've got one hand on the table and you touch the live "stinger" to some part of your body, then yes - electrocution is a definite possibility.

[FoxCNC1]

yeah, they have full semesters.. I need like a one day seminar or so.

[KH0UJ]

Well if you have a unit to practice with on your home might as well as give it a try, dont be afraid of electrocution, it`s part of learning, it`s not that painful either, an ant`s bite is more painful than a tig sting on my opinion, the main technique on tig welding is your melting point, too much it will drip, not enough it will stick, by the way I`ved learn how to use it all in under one hour, from principles all the way down to operating it im quite good at electric welding and it`s almost the same, tig is more easier than electric on my opinion

[FoxCNC1]

I just don't want to die electrocuted..
What is the part the can electrocute you the torch point?

[KH0UJ]

If you touch the ground wire at the same time touching the tip with wet bare hands, for me I can even lick at the tip using my tongue while touching the ground and it does`nt kill me, think of it this way if the guy can weld TIG and he`s good at it, what`s the difference between him and you? he did`nt die on it right? fear sometimes hinders you from learning new things. practice makes you perfect, so if you inject FEAR on the scenario, you would`nt even feel touching the torch, how can you learn if that`s the case right? now beat my record bro, under one hour

[FoxCNC1]

hahaha!

I guess the question is, what do I need to be be careful not touching, or avoid

[KH0UJ]

hahaha!

I guess the question is, what do I need to be be careful not touching, or avoid

The tip on it bro, but the control switch is in your hands, if your not pressing it you can lick at it all day and nothing happens , you cant really avoid the sting specially if your welding on it for hours, it`s just a sting bro it does`nt kill you, you experience ant bite right? the level of pain on that is bigger than a TIG sting, FYI there`s one ship manufacturer here in our place that hire "female TIG welders" because according to them ladies got a steady hand statistically, not all men have a steady hand but most ladies has it, so now are you telling me that you are just beaten by an 18 year old girl? on my opinion though there are NO girls that beats me and that`s for sure

[awerby]

I think the "TIG sting" Khouj is talking about is a light current used to establish the arc; it's not the full 240v 30 amp current that will definitely kill you if it passes through your body. If you took a regular arc welder, touched the grounded table with your sweaty hand, and stuck yourself in the leg with the live electrode, you could definitely die - it has nothing to do with how macho you are.

Take the class - when you decide you know enough to go off on your own and start welding, you can always drop out. But they should at least tell you all the safety information you need to consider before you do that. There's a lot to welding you don't know about; that's why the class lasts that long. If you want to be a certified welder (which is often necessary if you're doing critical work) the classes last a lot longer.