I was working on a terrarium heating system last night and I needed a custom length K thermocouple. I had some TC wire, paired and jacketed, about
26 gauge. I stripped the insulation back about
1/2", twisted the conductors together a couple of turns and clamped them between 2 small copper bars with about 1/8" showing.
I got out the TIG welder, set it for DC and 10 amperes. I positioned the torch over the conductors, tapped the pedal a couple of times to flood the area with argon, and then held an arc for about one second. I got a perfect bead first try.