Sorry for the slow follow up. I should have offered this detail in my drawing, but keep in mind that these parts are a small disc that nestles inside of a larger disc, so there is no way fort he edges to pull apart while welding. The smaller piece is clamped down to the bigger, so lift isnt an issue...

sadly that wont be possible. by the time i made this thread i had done all the welding I had to do, and on friday I sent the parts out for someone to fix my attempt at welding :/

i dont see how it's a chance of something being trapped. the parts were thoroughly cleaned with acetone before welding

by preheat, what do you mean - as in heat in an oven? if so what sort of temp should I be using?

Thanks!

sorry for my poor artistic skills, but hopefully this will clarify the question of what the weld is. this is a cross section mind you. the two different colors are the two different pieces, with black the weld bead. it will be monday before I can look at the cup. this is a maxstar sth I did notice t...

i guess it's a hybrid between a lap joint and a butt joint. there is one plate of stainless .125 thick that sits in a machined recess in a thicker block of stainless. the top surface of the .125 plate and the thicker block at the weld is level. in the one photo the problem spot was near a drilled ho...

the part is spec'ed as 304 this is a container but it is not closed, there is plenty of room for trapped gasses or moisture to escape there have been times where I have varied the current but these problem areas arent associated with messing with the torch settings, at least not initially. FWIW when...

the gap in the crack is a result of the bead going haywire on me. the arts are machined so that they fit within a few thousandths. I initially didnt use any filler. After I had the problem I tried using filler and it just was sucked up by every surface BUT where I wanted it to go. everything was cle...

my tungsten is .090 forgot to measure the cup. see two attached images. the first shows a good weld. please ignore the obviously not perfectly steady hand. what is important is that the bead from both sides of the weld quickly and easily ran together and i got a nice smooth surface with no voids. i ...

cleaning prior to welding? the parts are as machined, but deburred. All surfaces are brights and shiny and clean.

no magnets. I use a deep throat vicegrips to clamp the workpiece to the table.

the miller site says 11 scfh for argon and 80-120 amps, so I have the welder set for a max od 120 amps and I would guess the fine current control on the torch is right about the 80amp mark when I get a good bead, although even current higher than 120 amps doesnt seem to do the trick. the parts are c...

Trevor, Thanks for the reply. I have had a tip that was anywhere from a fairly rounded, blunt tip to a virtual spear point that hurts if you press your fingertip against. I have tried multiple techniques for making a tip and spinning the tip against a cutoff wheel on the angle grinder seems to give ...

Howdy all. New poster and new TIG welder here.... Before I get to my question I just wanted to say thanks for having such a big pool of information on the web for all to use... I imagine I'll spend a good bit of time browsing old threads. Now for my question. I have been butt welding .125 304 stainl...