I'll agree it's too hot to be outside much.
Here's a butt weld from today.

I just watched one of Jody's videos (on tungsten grind angles) and his torch angle was not anywhere close to straight up. He was pointing into the lap at about a 45-degree angle.

I did about a dozen of these today.

Lincoln Precision Tig 225.

So I'm doing a lap joint and I start a puddle on the lower piece. I can get the puddle started just fine, my question is how do I get the top piece involved in the puddle?

The learning curve, it is steep!

I ramp up quickly right after getting an arc started. Then move along at full throttle for an inch or so then start backing off to maintain bead width. At least that's my plan.

Thank you

cj737 Thank you for your input. That was very constructive advice.
I'll give those things a try.
I can't take credit for being "self-taught," I did take an evening class at the vo-tech and the teacher still gives me advice.

That one looked a little cold so I tried 95 & 100 amps.

Back to my normal place to improve from.

Found this on the inside.

I finally remembered what I changed on my power supply. I wanted to play with the cleaning balance and moved it toward more penetration. The result was not enough cleaning to see what was going on.
The good news is I'm back to my normal skill level.

I'm on a pedal. Don't have 2T or 4T. When you stop your car you lighten up on the brakes just before you stop to prevent that lurch when the wheels stop but the cars still moving a bit. When I weld I do the same and dab a bit extra filler before the pool cools. The thin aluminum is my toughest prob...

This thread is a great idea! I'm also soon to be a hobby welder, so it's nice with a thread like this to learn from others that's just starting. Which size tungsten and filler? How many amps do you set on the machine? I'm glad to see someone likes it. I'm welding 1/8 inch Al with a 3/32 Tungsten an...

There I was minding my own business when this wasp attacked me. Well, not exactly me but the arc! All I knew was that the arc went funky just as I started. When I looked, there was a wasp laying right there.

Had another practice session today.
I'm working on watching the key-hole and dabbing on the top.

I'm on a pedal. Don't have 2T or 4T.

I'm working on keeping the filler rod close to the puddle and making even ripples.

Here is a full size cropped area of the bottom weld. I need to see if I can get the picture to post of a close-up.

Today's practice felt like it went well.

While there are many here better qualified to answer your post, I think we all agree aluminum is harder to weld than steel. Practice regularly and it will improve both Al and Fe welding. As to transformer or inverter machine, I say to use the machine you have. People weld with both.

The metal has been welded and cut several times, I do that practicing. The partial weld along the right side of the spot may be from a previous weld.

This happened on the second pass. i.e. All the ugly welding along the long end was already cool. I was starting a weld on the short side when this happened.

Let me try to maximize the spot.