Carbon Steel Fillet Welds and a Back to Basics Video for TIg Welding Carbon Steel

Low carbon steel also known as mild steel is often the very first metal you weld when you are first learning to TIG weld.

Mild Steel is relatively cheap compared to stainless steel and is great for learning.

The basics of TIG welding don't change

Clean your metal prior to welding. For carbon steel, this sometimes means grinding or sanding mill scale. Cold rolled steel does not have a thick mill scale and can be welded without much sanding but even cold rolled welds better if sanded to clean bright metal.

Use a clean sharp tungsten. I prefer 2% lanthanated, CK LayZr, or E3

A gas lens is not always needed but does allow for a longer electrode extension which is helpful in being able to see the tip of the tungsten and the puddle.

Arc length is the distance between the tip of the tungsten and the weld puddle and should be equal or less than the tungsten diameter.

Torch angle should be limited to around 20 degrees but is very forgiving provided arc length is correct.

Lastly, remember the 3 main mistakes beginners make ...

1. too lang an arc length
2. too much torch angle
3. not keeping the hot tip of the filler rod in the argon