there are a few books but instead of endless beads on a plate repeating the same mistakes over and over, it might be better look at some good welds by others a good example is automotive built up aluminum valve covers often an auto parts store will have a display . A really gear find would be a fabricated intake manifold. It takes good talent to do this . Granted the fixturing may be a cnc positioning table. But even though you might have speed control you have to have perfection in work Just the visual thing is what I’m asking . You get to see the correct width ripples starts and finishes . Granted the welding machines are top of the line it’s set up for optimum welding . I’ve worked on these production lines and been involved in set ups . They take real knowledge of each adjustable s feature another thing would be to set up and weld smaller exhaust tubing it’s pretty cheap and you gain how to make perfect fits . I did a lot of this early on gas welding . It’s the same process you just have more focused heat . Much of auto par fabrication has to do with appearance , a perfect weld is pretty and a good sales point . Sadly function is sometimes function is secondary . Early on I’d recommend getting a dual flow control system you will need this for stainless steel I often used mine for back purging both steel and aluminum . Especially fuel tanks look at how different thickness parts are welded . What effect does the his do to the process , what does the weld look like looks often are a good judge. Stainless especially thin stuff needs perfect welding and purge gas on the backside or the weld is junk as it will eventually crack or fail completely. I practiced making custom AN. Fittings yup see these occasionally in auto race positions. A very even fillet weld i with proper penetration is needed . I cut countless fittings to check this. Welding a set of headers is a big challenge lots of hard to get at spots that you still need a good weld . Mainly just observing good welds is the target here . A great big overheated weld is no good nor is a tiny cold weld . As a beginner you need to be use the foot control in any position with any part of your body . All the fancy pulse variable slope stuff can come later . There is a whole bother process here they are for modifying the process , learn the basics dirt .
Brian,
I too tried to teach myself TIG welding,
early success with stainless led me to believe I understood what I was doing,
then came aluminum, ooops !!!
too many different things can and will go wrong that you won't be able
to diagnose on your own, book or no book, youtube or no youtube,
take a community college course and have an instructor doing the diagnosing,
I finally mastered aluminum TIG because someone down the block from me
has been doing it his whole life, when ever I need to TIG some aluminum I just
take it over to his house !!! !!! !!!
Peter.
