Completed the first day of the EAA SportAir Workshop for TIG welding. A fella learns a lot about himself when stuck behind a darkened mask for eight hours. This course had previously been taught at Lincoln Electric in Griffin, GA, but has been moved to Oshkosh.

Taught by Mr TIG himself, Wyatt Swaim, a wealth of information was distributed by the man who is probably the leading expert on the technology. Best thing is that he’s approachable, loves to tell stories about his own welding experiences, and a joy to be around. If you’ve watched the EAA TIG Welding video, or watched TIG Time on YouTube, that’s the guy.

We did the usual stuff, like creating tacks, doing weld runs, etc. Then lap welds, butt welds, T joints, and the other routines that humble you in a hurry. Then had some fun with tubing.

They plan to create an advanced class that centers more around fabrication, as this course is meant to cover the basics. That should be fun when it comes about. But I just took matters into my own hands toward the end of the day as I simulated a strap hinge and did some other fun things that I’d learned from Earl Luce during gas welding workshops.

Saturday was mild steel and chromoly tubing. Sunday will be aluminum and stainless.

I can see why folks are fans of building with this technique. The amount of control is pretty spectacular. Now I just have to figure out the right combination of shade darkness and reading glass magnification to see well.














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