AC TIG Theory

[@jackmatthews777]

I have been a Paid welder since 1983, (Retiring in 2024). This is the most accurate and best informational video I have ever seen on the internet. FWIW. Excellent.

[@bubblesnz4816]

I've never come across such a in depth, yet easy to understand explanation of AC welding. Thanks Justin.

[@charleslagrandeiii9083]

Justin your a true COMMENSURATE PROFESSIONAL, A true asset to the welding community ,Thankyou Brilliant...Your the person the top want to emulate, hard to do.

[@joell439]

Absolutely GENIUS….. thank you Justin. Best 30 minutes of Welding Aluminum 101 on the internet. 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@victorserra2209]

I have to agree with others in the comments, this is the best explanation for Aluminum TIG welding. As a person who learned to TIG weld at one of the oldest Aluminum Boat manufacturers in the US, using very old machines Miller Dialarc 350, at 60 hertz was a challenge. I got fairly good, and then my machine broke. The loaner machine was an inverter Miller Syncwave 200, it was amazing the difference in frequency and wave control. The size and current requirements made the machine so much better. I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule to make all your videos. I've been following you quite a while on TFS. Keep up the great work! 👍

[@laferriere6]

For sure, but I just watched the wraith from back in the day and i swore this guy was a dead ringer for a family member of skank. Any relation? I had to ask

[@sleyeborgrobot6843]

My uncle told me this guy don't know jack squat

[@franklinreedy5149]

@@sleyeborgrobot6843 as someone who’s gone to welding school for 2 years, read the text books and used many different machines… he knows his stuff. Arguably more insightful than Jody from “weldingtipsandtricks” I honestly think that this channel may have some the best info and video formatting of many of the welding channel out there.

[@mikesalm5053]

As someone just getting back into tig welding after 15 years of not welding, this is the best explanation I've ever heard

[@calvinbrady-jj2dt]

This is the best explanation of this process I’ve ever heard. Great job Justin! Thanks again!

[@MikeOchtman]

Electrical engineer here - That soft square wave makes a LOT of sense to me. The sharper the edges (technically the shorter rise and fall times) are, the more extreme high frequency energy will be produced. I mean high frequencies into the kilo- or even megahertz. Your cables and workpieces are antennas so you will radiate those high frequencies out. The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) puts limits on the amount of radiant power your devices can produce. You've seen the FCCID stickers on your electronic devices - It's that FCC. Rounding the edges of the square wave will be gentler on your electronic switching elements as they won't have to deal with high frequency noise, and your neighbours will be happy as you won't be interfering with their radios and cellphones.

[@OwenMyhill]

Came to say this (Electrical/Electronic Engineer). The HF spikes will also run into very high voltages and can degrade insulation, though on a welder it won't be as bad as a large industrial motor. But definitely agree with you that the soft square doesn't seem to me as being just a sales pitch.

[@HarveySmith-f6t]

Some people just have that natural ability to teach, as Justin does. I am sitting here learning what I thought was impossible to learn. Great job Justin, keep feeding us the info.

[@ArewonsRescue-2024]

August 14, 2024 - I am going to echo many other comments already posted here. This is a Master Class of information! I know the effort of what it takes to put together a video; usually one minute of content took an hour of work to create. To support your work, and the excellent content that you share with the welding community, today I created an account on "Weld Metals Online", and I placed my first order. Thank you for all that you do!

[@phillipchambers8487]

I’ve been Welding for 20+ years, went to an AWS Accredited Welding School back in the day that was very in depth. They even taught Metallurgy in a very deep sense, and this is still the absolute Best Explanation I’ve ever heard anyone give on A/C Theory as it relates to Welding. You explain this stuff in a way that everyone (at least anyone with a moderate amount of common sense) can understand. You would make a World Class Welding Instructor! Well, actually you are already, because you’re here Teaching everyone for Free, which is very commendable. I have followed your TFS Channel for years, and I must say this new Channel is Perfect for people that want to learn to Weld, and people that need to re-learn, because they just got lil snippets of info from various KZbin channels. I have people asking me to teach them to Weld all the time, I will send them here, and to your Website, which I’m getting ready to head over and checkout right now. Just want to say Thank You for what you are doing for our Industry. It’s badly needed. Keep up the Great Work!

[@TradeWorks_Construction]

If I had the ability to force change in the Field of Welding I would make this video: THE INDUSTRY STANDARD Have manufacturer manuals and packaging include a QR codes that link to this. Make this a 2 part video: “Introduction to Welding Aluminum: AC TIG (Part 1 of 2 - Theory)” & “Introduction to Welding Aluminum: AC TIG (Part 2 of 2 - Application)” A fantastic job, you break down normally tough to explain subject theory and cut to the heart of things. Outside the actual content what really impressed me was the professional editing that made the transitions seamless. A raised glass in recognition cheers 🍻.

[@wodsonheleno]

Thanks for sharing all that! As an electronics engineer learning how to tig, i would not remove a word of your explanation. Really simple and accurate even for the folks without a background. You described every struggle im having. Thank you.

[@lloydprunier4415]

This is the best information ever. I am almost 80 years old and started trying to weld aluminum with oxy acetylene. I had an old friend at the time who could do it easily! Not me so I bought a high frequency box for my sears cracker box and had a little success and a lot of failures. I now have an Everlast machine and it has all the functions I will ever need, but I have been wandering around trying to find good instructions. This will help me more than anything I have found. The explanation about the pedal use is the thing I believe will help me and my shaky limbs the most. Thank you for sharing and wish you steady hands and good health!

[@bdugh]

I learned as a scratch and burn tig welder and once I got my inverter all the settings had me baffled. This is the best breakdown I've seen and it will help a lot.

[@TMCmakes]

This is the single most comprehensive, easy to follow, useful video on TIG I have ever seen. Thank you and the team for putting this program together. 🤘

[@melbice9906]

Thanks so much, this is the best explanation of AC I’ve ever witnessed. WOW, just so impressed how clearly you broke all this information down and even explaining why we’ve always considered Aluminium (🇦🇺) welders the veritable “gods” of the craft. 👏👏👏

[@johnjelinek-g7b]

This video is essentially EVERY thing aluminum Welding parameters Justin . I thought you others were great, but this was about everything combined .

[@3400Modified]

This is the best AC TIG explanation I have seen on KZbin. Thank you for the deep dive on this. You're not afraid to tell people how this stuff works and that's the sign of a great teacher.

[@topgunm]

Too bad I didn't find this when I first started welding. This was amazing! Can we get more of these type of videos on different subjects in welding?

[@wheelspinner20]

great explanation! I've seen and know the AC frequency and had a grasp of what was happening. I've seen the square wave illustrated on machines and in literature. But you are the first one to successfully pound into my head what the difference is and why it's important in the oxide cleaning function! When you said the part about the time at the peak current, it finally hit home and now I get it! Thanks.

[@mrvector257]

This was such a good explanation behind the theory. Can't wait to see more videos like this.

[@rodgerlogan]

Excellent, lucid, detailed and, most importantly, understandable presentation! Thank you.

[@mistermac4118]

I’ve been a self taught welder for over 30 years and recently picked up an inverter machine. Wow! Your video explained more information in a few minutes than I gained looking at other sources for weeks, thank you!

[@c4k3t0otz6]

I came hoping I could weld aluminum with my cheap DC tig machine with some balloon time helium and stayed for the excellent info

[@IR-74]

You are really a good speaker and teacher. You have all the good ideas. You explained your ideas and supported them with illustrative examples in a smooth way. I really enjoyed that I did not miss any sentence you said. Your follower from UAE. Thank you and forward my friend Justin. With the utmost respect and appreciation ..

[@fred933]

I’ve mig welded for 18 years(auto body) I’ve been tig welding for about 2 hours of practice time. My new boss is teaching me after work. This is the third time I’ve watched the video and I’ve gotten something out of it each time. I will be back. 🤘

[@mattncvideo2844]

The clearest explanation I’ve ever heard on TIG aluminum

[@michaelbarnett2077]

Thank you so much for this video! I've recently started tig welding Aluminium & have fumbled my way through some projects, slowly getting better. This has been the best explanation of the settings I've come across. I will be watching this again once I've let it settle in for a while.

[@firescfiresc]

I have been following you with interest for a long time. each time the content was about 50% about information and 50% about how good you are at welding. today I saw the most complete and best material of all the welding content on the net. thank you so much. it is the best material not only of you but of the whole spectrum about welding on the net. I hug you with love. thank you.

[@sweden_ove2074]

❤ You are a really good teacher. Great pedagogue. I loved this video. I haven't Tig:ed since the 1980's, and despite I was pretty good at gas and Tig welding, now when I ordered a new modern Tig machine, Your theory teaching have been marvelous. And I remember so much hehe😅. Now I will be confident cwelding thin aluminum again. So fun. I loved Tig so much back then. (Been fighter aircraft technician and teacher since then, but I just ended that career this fall). Now welding, mechanics and excavator digging will be my new life. 😂❤

[@craigwilhelm7335]

No shit.. it's finally happening!! Good deal justin.. youre classes gave me a career

[@ButBigger42]

That's so awesome to hear.

[@switchgearw66]

Been welding for years and haven't had it explained like that. Keep up the awesome videos mate

[@joseywales3789]

Brilliant Justin..... Expertly Describes the whole of A/C welding, what's happening, how it's happening and why it's happening... This is one of those videos that I will keep coming back to, keep revisiting, learning and understanding. I thought that I understood A/C welding but I'd only just scratched the surface. Brilliant teaching and it's certainly made a lot more sense to me. Thanks 👍😁

[@BlackwaterDSM]

I’ve been following you on TFS for yearssssss and just now found this channel. This is hands down the BEST and most informational video on Aluminum welding I’ve ever seen. Well done, man! You are the one I always seek out when I need to know something about a process. You break it down for us normies that don’t know the actual “theory” behind the stuff we’re doing. It’s like playing guitar like a champ, and then finally learning how to read music notation. Whole new ball game. Shit, whole new ARENA. Thanks for always helping us out! You’re the bestest! 😂

[@uranium_beaver]

I’ve never even touched welding machine but I think I got idea which tells you’re good teacher. Thanks for not forgetting about metric folks.

[@FMunixxx]

Thanks! It's awesome to see the AC TIG parameters so clearly summarized.

[@keecatlin8706]

Best explanation alot of detail but still simplified for beginners aswell must see even for experienced welders to recap

[@arnomaas6452]

That has been the best short introductory video on the complicated matter of aluminium welding I have ever watched , amazing !

[@rosslewis631]

This was very informative, I originally done my first aluminium TIG weld on a welding machine off the Ark it was a 3 phase machine the size of a small fridge with knife blade current switches and a built in high frequency unit. It was a stick weld machine with a water cooled tig hand piece. The workshop I was at used it for cylinder head repairs around corroded water galleries. This was in the early 90’s and it was a hand full, no foot pedal just what you set. I have not used tig since leaving that shop in mid 90’s but with what I’ve just seen on this video that the new machines though they look complex with all the adjustments are easer to use and will give a better finish. I just thought that these young blokes with these modern toys are magicians. You sir have sparked my interest to tig welding again.

[@dolphincliffs8864]

Miller Goldstar?

[@rosslewis631]

@@dolphincliffs8864 To be honest I don’t even recall seeing a name tag on it. Was very old and used but still operated fine.

[@thomasollinger7922]

As someone with no formal weld education or training, but is learning to weld thin aluminum, this video was very helpful.

[@lespertzel7055]

This is one of the best explanations of how to set yourself up to begin Aluminium welding. Understanding the theory behind the controls enables you to work out the settings that suit you, your machine and the job. Nice work

[@E_Hun_Dun]

The fact that he flawlessly wrote this entire presentation upside down showcases a lot of talent

[@stormbytes]

Awesome recap Justin. Love how you tie everything together. Very helpful.

[@jeffeilenberger5856]

Justin, you have a winner here; awesome transition. Best of luck with this much needed endeavor. And as usual, great content.

[@TheDustyShed]

I've been doing NDT for a living for 28 years and just recently decided to learn to weld for home / hobby uses. This video explains some things I've heard before but in a way much easier to digest. This is gold.

[@truckladders4104]

Great Video I know I will watch this a couple times!

[@wrstew1272]

Yer probably tired of it, but this is wonderful! Tried TIG back around 83 when the airport facility got a new Miller. Welded two Coke cans together and that’s the only time I have had access to a TIG. Burned thousands of pounds of rod, and countless rolls of wire, but this complex material you made look simple. Bravo!😊

[@jirijanda4137]

The best training I've seen on the internet. The teacher explains complex things simply and perfectly, and I feel that I would be able to use them immediately after watching the video for the first time. Most importantly, I now understand what each variable is related to.👍

[@bricola0]

Thanks Justin, I'm an electromechanic and I work with the current every day. Now I got a TIG welder to do repairs on aluminum pieces. This video really clarified what the parameters means.

[@BreakerBreaker1320]

Subscribed and saved. This is the best introduction to tig. You gotta start here and understand it before you even buy a machine and think you are Zeus with a trident on aluminum.

[@Dr.CandanEsin]

Huge respect! You are a 'just' person, in education, in profession, in science, in presentation and probably as a person. Thank you for being with us.

[@BurntNSalty]

This is an absolute masterpiece. Everyone wanting to learn to weld Aluminum needs to see this. 💯💯💯

[@normdickson2438]

I was taught once that to master a craft you would have to be able to teach it where people would understand it easily. You have mastered your craft.

[@ivankovacevic5687]

Fuck mate A+ could be the single most useful video on tig welding for beginners I've ever encountered. I think that the most scariest thing for beginners is not actually understanding the basics of the controls and the theory behind them. Well done mate.

[@joeland7967]

Wow what a great video !!! I’ve been TIG welding aluminum for 20 years and I’m a huge aluminum fan boy . I thought I was an expert but I learned a lot in this short video .I thank you truly and I’d like to pass some information back to you . Some fun facts that most people don’t know about aluminum are as follows. Aluminum is made up of over 170 common elements and only exists in rare and small quantities . Typically it’s found around lightning strikes and volcanos and is prized by royalty for its blueish hue. Aluminum is also found at UFO crash sites . Small components as heavy as iron where found and examined. They found that all the microscopic crystals were perfectly aligned creating the hardness and density.

[@hvymax]

This is definitely one of the best most comprehensive explanations I have seen.

[@jamescannon7267]

This episode has filled in most of the blanks for me, its foundational. Thanks for the education. My background, pipe fitter on Nuclear Submarines which was very disciplined work environment. I’m retired but I still work with metal but in an artistic mode….

[@TheJForbes24]

Great video man, super easy to follow. Way better than any class I took while learning. Thank you!

[@Intotheunknown44]

Wow thanks my welding has gone from zero to hero my confidence and workmanship has gone through the roof really great vid has filled in the grey areas no one else had the answers I was looking for . Thanks so much👍😎

[@danielevanhunt]

The audio edit at 22:14 was amazingly well done.

[@steffore1]

This is the best explanation I’ve heard in a long time 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@sg34qw]

bar none the absolute best and most thorough explanation video on AC tig i've seen so far.

[@bficful]

You made it simple to explain and even easier to understand. Now I know what the settings on my machine mean. Tyou !

[@AerialLensVideo]

Wow. THIS is UNreal - IN A GOOD WAY! THANK you so much! Well done! In just a very potent few VERY POTENT minutes, you have made muddy water crystal clear. This has helped both me and my son (and probably several thousand other new aluminum welders) tremendously.

[@sagittariussurge5565]

You are be best teacher Sir, all the way from Africa, I have been following you for a while now and you video helps me a lot.. thanks very much

[@mikeZL3XD7029]

Thanks Justin, Especially for the metric references. Triangular waves are usually called saw-tooth waves in the electrical industry. Awesome video and a really good watch.

[@jjmanic8783]

That is not exactly correct. Triangle waves rise and fall in the shape of a triangle, with the up angle being the opposite of the down angle, creating a triangle shape. Saw-tooth waves are asymmetrical.... it's kind of like a triangle going steadily up on the rising edge (on the left hand side of the graph), but then severely dropping down at the trailing edge (on the right hand side of the graph) in the same way a square wave immediately drops down (the difference is that the square wave ALSO immediately shoots up on each following rising edge). This might make more sense if I could include a sketch. Triangle = steadily build up, build up, build up... peak.... then steadily fall away, fall away, fall away. Repeat... Saw-tooth = steadily build up, build up, build up... peak... then DROP IMMEDIATELY... build up, build up, build up... etc... Both types of waves have straight-line rise-times that increase up to a peak (which is a sharp point), but they are different after the peak. I can't say whether the author of this video mix-matched the names of the wave-forms, or maybe the welder company literature does so... but there is DEFINITELY a difference between Triangle waves and Saw-tooth waves. Especially in audio electronics. And also those waves will definitely be different for the amount of energy in each type of wave (and also different from a sine wave and a square wave), AND ALSO will definitely be different in the TIMING of how that energy will transfer to melting the metal (in a similar way as to how it was described in the video about how the sine wave and the square wave have different timings on how they convert the electric energy into heat energy to melt the metal)

[@Carlo.]

Sono italiano, mi sto affacciando ora alla saldatura a TIG, mi sto documentando parecchio, fai delle lezioni straordinarie, peccato che parli molto velocemente e riesco a comprendere solo una parte di ciò che dici... Comunque ti ringrazio tantissimo. 💪🏻😎❤️

[@waynesardullo2482]

OMG. While I am only a Hobbyist Welder, got most of my knowledge from my dad who was a Pipefitter from the old school. There has always been a clash in my understanding of AC HF Welding on TIG. We have an Older Gas Miller (Stick/Mig/TIG w/HF AC box) machine and I had so wanted to get into AL welding. Every attempt caused me to go into a Rage. I had thought that it being an old machine maybe something was wrong but everything in your video Explains some of the missing parts to me. I do not want to claim totally ignorance in knowing the difference between Old Sin and Square wave. The explanation of this made me realize all the issues I was experiencing was based from Sin not Square wave. This was compounded by the machine we have being just outside of the flexibility of the newer boxes in comparison to what we have. It just never really occurred to me to go into a deeper dive on the machine to verify if it was a sin/sq. THANKS!

[@DarkLordAres]

This is easily the best explained video I've ever seen on ac, and tig welding in general. Every point made sense and definitely helped me understand the waves significantly better. Great series here, just watched them all

[@mtking2196]

Very well said, Google has been trying to force this video on me for two weeks & I finally gave in. I'm glad I did. You earned a subscribe.

[@doublegg6863]

Great job Justin, Old school guy, I was taught on a Lindy transformer machine it was huge. Now have a Miller Dynasty. Great machine, but there are many great machines more affordable for most of us.

[@charleshartlaub3725]

Been struggling with aluminum for a long time, excited to rewatch this next time I have an aluminum project. Best expenation ever. thank you.

[@Le10White]

This is one of the best owner manuals on youtube

[@OFFICIALUND]

I've never even touched a welder, and I watched all of this. Fascinating and well presented.

[@warrenjones744]

I weld on 60 Cycles, because my old Esab square wave 352 does not have frequency controls. It does have ac balance and pulse which is handy at times. A new fancy Miller would be cool but there is no need to change. The machine works great, I don't Tig weld aluminum much, and was inexpensive when I bought it nearly new in the late 90's. Nevertheless this presentation is (like nearly everything you dive into Justin) probably the best explanation of AC wave frequency have ever seen. Cheers

[@mikemakuh5319]

Thanks! I did not pay enough attention to my teachers when I had the opportunity. Till now I just winged it, but now I will weld with better knowledge why I choose my settings.

[@myl5483]

Your the Man!! You have made understanding so much simpler than any book or teacher has done for me!!Thank you Justin!

[@BeeLineFab]

I worked at a government job, tig welding aluminum with a25/a50 with advance setting..and let me tell ya, those were fun time figuring out my setting! This is such a nice refresher

[@diegorodriguez4549]

Bro you are a PHD in aluminum welding coaching. Thank you very much I have a much clear idea of what is going on now. Greetings from Bolivia. Once again Thank you!!!

[@timtarran8124]

This is THE most helpful video I have watched for getting started in tig welding aluminium.

[@JST4CYL]

Just wanted to thank you for the most comprehensive explanation that I've found thus far! It hits on all the necessary information and doesn't complicate it with other information that isn't explained here!

[@Alwr400]

A.C welding theory made easy. You have an awesome ability to break things down and simplify them. I’m a qualified sparky so I understand ac theory, your way of applying it to welding is great for those who have trouble understanding waveforms.👍

[@Jeremy_EvoX]

As a beginner, I’ve watched so many of your videos on TFS and I love how you made everything made sense to me in this video, now I can go back to the other channel and feel like I know what you were talking about now. I feel motivated to pick up the torch and start learning again. 🙏🏼🙏🏼 Awesome work Justin!

[@jesseparkhurst3037]

Good explanation. I have very little tig experience and almost no experience with aluminum, this is a great video to watch before making globs on coupons. Thanks for this type of content

[@patrickschliesing1294]

Watching this made me hop over to Weldcoach website and get on the waitlist. I bought a PrimWeld TIG machine based on TheFabricationSeries a couple years ago and ...well....I need a coach lol. Loving this kind of material.

[@etwenty-eight]

Awesome video, have never had it explained so simply before. Very helpful information

[@golfr59]

Man.... that was very clear. I wish this kind of explanation was around 10 years ago. I knew all of this and still watched the entire video. Awesome

[@GroundedConceptsLLC]

Been watching this guys videos for years. Such a great teacher!

[@robot7611]

The only video that I found so far to explain this and make it understandable. Thank you!

[@cleanmachine08]

Thank you for this. I taught myself to TIG weld based on books and video resources. Then I put in the hood time to be 'ok' at anything DCEN. Aluminium became a huge frustration, so I put in on pause until I had time to get professional training. This video has filled in some key gaps & motivated me to try again. P.S. I have personally seen very early heliarc welds uses in aerospace application. We are so lucky to have the technology now available.

[@stuartkorte1642]

Awesome, thanks. Didn’t realize the difference in the core and oxide layers. Explaining the benefits of square wave was helpful also.

[@paulnewton943]

I have watched heaps and heaps of videos on this topic and always take something away, but this would have to be the best information I have ever been given. Clear and precise, but the way you answerd my questions as we rolled along😳 Thanks Justin. Oh thanks for the metric too its a big help, no need to pause and convert.

[@slysky6520]

Excellent AAA+++ I've been following you on TFS and now here also, love your priceless information. I been welding for more than a decade although just starting with tig. You have inspired me so i bit the bullet and got myself a tig and ready to start practising. Big ThankYou from Aus. Thanks Justin 🙏

[@Raggzzaug11]

Wow, best video I have seen explaining theory on aluminum welding! You should have more subs than you have.

[@musclecardadwa9239]

loved this Vid, all stuff I've heard before on various channels but presented in such a way that just makes it sound basic instead of bamboozling!

[@JustinPaul1st]

New to the channel and as a guy who doesnt know how to weld I hink its the most informative tutorial ...Great stuff

[@desertriderukverun1002]

I learned to TIG aluminum with an old Hobart transformer welder in the late 80’s in college. It wasn’t impossible, but definitely a challenge. Can’t wait to get a modern inverter when I out together my retirement fab shop.

[@kellycoe1787]

Great explanation. I get these questions all the time. This eliminates the “brain fart” when you explaining it to someone.. thank you

[@Bigdaddyweldz]

Great explanation. Been tig welding 15 plus years still learned a lot.