TIG welding question

[sled_dog]

On Pirate there was a company looking to hire, anyway one of their requirements was being able to "walk the cup" with a TIG. The method was explained later on as setting your electrode stick out just right and setting the cup on the base material. Thus allowing you to get a more consistent bead. Here is my question. How the hell do you do this? Anyway I think about it sounds like a bad idea to me.

When I TIG or MIG weld I try to push the heat and fill material forward. So I angle the TIG torch down the path of the weld and push the heat. Then I fill from the opposite side. Now if you set the cup on the weld area I can't see how it would work. You'd either have to drag the torch across the weld and then be heating back into the weld rather than melting the base material as you need to for filling. But if you push the weld you would be riding on top of your weld bead. If you wanted to swirl the torch you would just hit the weld bead all the time and be very inconsistent. Or you would constantly be pushing the torch through very hot if not still molten weld. Am I thinking wrong about this?

 

[AV8]

On steel I would sometimes drag the weld instead of pushing it like you said. Keeps the argon on the metal while it is hot to keep it from getting corroded. I assume this is what they mean. Basically drag the cup on the smooth metal and pull away from your bead.
We were taught to keep the cup pointed at the weld, not pointing it ahead like you mentioned.

 

[Zeus33rd]

If you don't know how to walk the cup, or even what it is....You're prolly not gonna get hired for that job. I don't mean to be rude, but it's the truth. Walking the cup is haarrrd to learn. It iinvolves setting your stick out just right like you said, placing the cup on/in the joint you're welding, and walking the cup and puddle up the joint with precise movements, while adding rod and working the pedal. A good welder using the walking the cup method can make a weld look robotic.

 

[Bushwhacker]

We have a guy at work who is probably the best welder the company has ever had. He's been doing it for a looong time. He makes the big $$$, and he makes walking the cup look almost like a robotic weld! That sucker is good. But doing work for Boeing, Nuke power plants etc, he has to be good. If your curious, this is what we do....www.flawtech.com BTW, we are hiring too!!

Clay

 

[sled_dog]

If you don't know how to walk the cup, or even what it is....You're prolly not gonna get hired for that job. I don't mean to be rude, but it's the truth. Walking the cup is haarrrd to learn. It iinvolves setting your stick out just right like you said, placing the cup on/in the joint you're welding, and walking the cup and puddle up the joint with precise movements, while adding rod and working the pedal. A good welder using the walking the cup method can make a weld look robotic.

thanks but that is exactly how it was described in the Pirate post so that doesn't help me....

I'm not actually looking at that job, just wondering abotu some hints on how the hell this process is done so the next time I practice with a TIG I can give it a shot.

 

[ntsqd]

A semi-decent pictoral on 'walking the cup":

http://www.weldinginspectionsvcs.com/WalkingTheCup.htm

I usually 'push' the heat as nothing I'm welding is super critical and needs one of those trailing cups. If I've got the settings right the bead is cool enough to not discolor by the time the Argon cloud leaves it.