[dmv]

I'm a new welder just practicing running the torch with no filler. There are 3 runs in the picture. The two on the outside were done first, then it cooled for a bit and I did the one in the middle. What happened to the middle one? What causes those swirl looking holes? This seems to happen every once in a while and it's confusing me.

I'm trying to determine if it's my gear, settings, or more likely something I did differently. The third one should have been the same as the others including amps/pedal position but maybe I accidentally spun a knob or changed my travel speed. Normally I can look this stuff up myself but I haven't been able to figure it out.

This is 1/8" mild steel and I'm using a crappy cheap stubby gas lens, 5 cup, 12 CFH.

[tweake]

first thing i would do is to increase the cup size to an 8.
also bump the pre flow up a bit.
do not use cheap unknown quality consumables when learning. stick to good well known brands. poor performing cheap stuff will have you going around in circles questioning everything. the less variables the better. i'm a CK fan but there is others that are good.
your not going to go through enough consumables to worry about cost.

also very important you clean the material. grind all the mills scale off. it needs to be nice bright and shiny metal. as jody says the 3 c's of tig welding, clean clean clean.

[dmv]

Thanks. I think I'm making some progress. I went back over the holes and it seems to be some sort of surface tension in the puddle (like a bubble). I imagine that could be for a number of reasons and I will have to try numerous things to see what the core problem is. It seems impossible to close the holes without agitating the pool but I can't see any contamination (time to break out the microscope). The metal is always pristine clean before I do anything. I'm a new welder but I'm not new to welding if that makes sense. It's something I have been interested in since I was a kid 40+ years ago but never had the money to do anything.

Anyway, I will be getting a better lens. I was waiting until I had some experience before jumping on different things. For example I want to know exactly WHY the cheap lenses don't work as well as the expensive ones, to the point I could make my own lens. I'm purposefully using a small 5 cup for practice in different situations but yes, I should have tried a larger cup to see if it makes a difference. I will do that too.

And if it seems I'm a bit OCD it's because I'm autistic and require a ridiculously deep level of understanding in anything I do (test gear, microscopes, video, weld cuts, I will be doing all that ).

[cj737]

There’s virtually no benefit to using a “gas lens” for a cup smaller than a #6. If you are using a #5, switch over the standard collet body and drop your gas flow to 8cfh. It’s quite possible that the holes are being caused by heat soaked material with a turbulence from the cheap lens. (Hard as it is to believe…)

[dmv]

There’s virtually no benefit to using a “gas lens” for a cup smaller than a #6. If you are using a #5, switch over the standard collet body and drop your gas flow to 8cfh. It’s quite possible that the holes are being caused by heat soaked material with a turbulence from the cheap lens. (Hard as it is to believe…)

Thanks! I will take that in to account. It makes sense because a #5 is much narrower than the lens which I'm sure can cause turbulence.

I finally captured video of one of the holes being formed. It's a (possibly) green cloud trailing behind (color might be distorted in the camera). At the far rear edge that cloud whips around and spits those holes. It seems to be caused by having the electrode too far away? I'm still learning to keep my hands steady and level.

[cj737]

I finally captured video of one of the holes being formed. It's a (possibly) green cloud trailing behind (color might be distorted in the camera). At the far rear edge that cloud whips around and spits those holes. It seems to be caused by having the electrode too far away? I'm still learning to keep my hands steady and level.

Torch distance to your work is usually equal the diameter of the filler you’re using. Since you are not using any filler for this practice, your tungsten should be about 1/16” away from touching the metal.

Green cloud sounds like you’ve got some contamination on your tungsten. Can you list the diameter and color of the tungsten you’re using?

[tweake]

Thanks. I think I'm making some progress. I went back over the holes and it seems to be some sort of surface tension in the puddle (like a bubble). I imagine that could be for a number of reasons and I will have to try numerous things to see what the core problem is. It seems impossible to close the holes without agitating the pool but I can't see any contamination (time to break out the microscope). The metal is always pristine clean before I do anything. I'm a new welder but I'm not new to welding if that makes sense. It's something I have been interested in since I was a kid 40+ years ago but never had the money to do anything.

Anyway, I will be getting a better lens. I was waiting until I had some experience before jumping on different things. For example I want to know exactly WHY the cheap lenses don't work as well as the expensive ones, to the point I could make my own lens. I'm purposefully using a small 5 cup for practice in different situations but yes, I should have tried a larger cup to see if it makes a difference. I will do that too.

And if it seems I'm a bit OCD it's because I'm autistic and require a ridiculously deep level of understanding in anything I do (test gear, microscopes, video, weld cuts, I will be doing all that ).

how was the metal cleaned? i don't see any grind marks.

it could simply be air from cup size, or your cup/gas lens/back cap is not sealing properly and its sucking air in.
i've seen pics of cheap lens cut open and had undersized gas ports. but there could be quite a few reasons it fails. however thats not really the point. you want good known gear to start with otherwise you end up running around in circles chasing your tail.
even just switching back to a standard cup that most machines come with will work just fine.

i can appreciate wanting to dive into it all, but before you get into chasing details, you need to be welding.

[tweake]

also tungsten stick out. with 5 cup its really short and really hard to see. bigger cup means you can poke it out some more and it can be easier to see. if stick out is to long, your going to get contaminated welds.

[dmv]

Thanks. Once I figured out why the holes were there I'm able to continue training. I switched back to the old standard collet instead of a gas lens.

There are no grind marks because I polish new pieces the first time I use them. On future uses they are ground.

I'm not exactly working with an optimal setup, haha. My welding table is an old computer case clamped to some old flammable stools. I just now started using a thick steel backing plate which allows me to turn up the amps. This seems to more closely match the setup I see people learning on.

[tweake]

don't worry about the table, we all start somewhere.
i started on the ground with a couple of bricks. got a cheap little foldable table now and done a lot of stuff on that.

[cj737]

DMV - your profile states you’re using a PrimeWeld 225. If so, while you are practicing torch motion, a really good trick is to continue without filler, but turn on PULSE. Set the pulse to 1.2PPS, 50% peak and 25% background. The pulse will be very noticeable and allow you to develop a movement of “move, pause, (feed filler), move, pause, etc.

Also, using pulse you will create very explicit “dabs” in your weld bead because the different amperage’s between peak and background create different heat events.

I use pulse a lot especially with stainless or Ti tubing, some furniture pieces, and when working with thin sheet. Here’s an example of what you can produce for understanding (fusion weld, pulse).

[77cruiser]

When I first tried my hand at TIG I was using oxy/acetylene welding rod & it looked a bit like that.