[Charlie337]

Hello folks I'm Charlie..I work in the oil field and have been wanting to get into welding as a career later on..so I went out and bought a miller 252 ..of course a tig machine is next..so I bought a Lincoln squarewave 200..anyway I've been welding GMAW and SMAW for about 4 months and dove into tig..these are my first attempts ..these are without filler rod just getting muscle memory to get straight beads and such..just wanted to introduce myself as I've been lurking for a while. .Edit: I know crappy but gotta start somewhere..1/8 cold rolled..quenched in between runs so it rusted a tad but I had cleaned it..running 125 amps.

[dirtmidget33]

Welcome, no such thing as a crappy practice weld. The whole purpose is to practice and learn which means each weld you learn a little more what to improve on.

[entity-unknown]

Hey Charlie!
We've got the same table with the bad grounding burns from not clamping your part and all Can't resist posting now!

I'm gonna take a crack at this but I think the mongers will tell you that you're running too cold. If you're running a pedal, crank it up to about 180-200A without riding all the way to the floor except maybe to start and if you're running a switch maybe 130-150A. The one thing you have really going for you is your profile and consistency in width.
Wire wheel that piece up really good and shiny and then start running some more. Don't forget with TIG, clean, Clean, CLEAN! If you let it cool by air you'll almost never need to clean once you get things good.
Scotch brite that filler lightly too!

Personally I think you might just progress faster than I did

You might want to post your tungsten type, size, and whether or not you're using a gas lens. If you don't have a gas lens, get one. It'll last you a long time and as you contaminate the screen in the lens from n00bin', just wire brush it off and you'll be good if you can blow a heavy flow of air through the back side.
You might even post a pic of the front of your machine since that means you won't have to type out some of your settings

Good job and better advice will come along!

[Poland308]

WELCOME Charlie. On 1/8 without filler or even with it 120-130 is going to be pretty close. Looks like you are keeping things straight. Try some lap joints that way even without filler you can get a feel for how things melt togeather.

[Charlie337]

Thanks folks for the reply..I apologize for the lack of info..I'm using 3/32 2% lanthenated, 125 amps, I have a stubby gas kit on it with a #8, stick out is about 3/8 of an inch about 20cfh of flow on 100% argon..heck I thought I was running kind of hot but thanks!..as some of the tips I've saw I'm flooring the pedal forming a puddle..letting off a bit as I move about an 1/8th inch over and feathering the pedal to widen the puddle..and so on..I won't bore you guys with asking since there is so much info on this site and many others..but I'm all ears if you do..thanks again..also I built a cart almost based on Jodies first cart welded in GMAW that I'll be posting up..thanks!

[Charlie337]

The first few I did adding 3/32 er70s2 filler rod..I did not shine em up so yall could see how they looked..I'm getting somewhat used to feeding rod but have stuck it a few times..I'm getting a little better at letting it meter in..I'm also working on the crater ends..remembering to feed a little more rod ..I would like to make the beads more defined..what do you guys think..thanks much...again I'm using 1/8th inch cold rolled at about 125 amps..flooring it till I get a shiny puddle going feathering off about to 2/3 extending the flame adding rod and coming back down with the torch and adding full pedal and advance..

[exnailpounder]

Your getting there. All it takes is time.

[Poland308]

Try to run a pass useing the lay wire technique. It's where the rod never really leaves the puddle. It may help a bit in getting a feel for what the puddle needs to look like when you stop. There is a balance at the end between leaving the wire stuck in the puddle and getting a nice clean finish without a divot.

[Oscar]

extending the flame adding rod and coming back down with the torch

Stop doing that.

Also, it's not a flame. It's an electric arc.

But seriously, stop changing your arc length. It's a bad habit to get into for steel. It can be acceptable for aluminum, but even then it's the exception, not the rule. You need to build up your muscle memory to be steady and consistent, not to pretend you're a sewing machine.

[motox]

listen to Oscar,
if you want to move the tungsten, step back a bit not up.
craig

[Charlie337]

Thanks for the response guys I appreciate the help...I hope all have a great memorial day!..I'll post more pictures as I progress I suppose..I've watched hours of videos my self but have questions at least one..is it normal to have to floor the pedal to have to widen the puddle a bit to maintain a consistent width and back off in between adding filler and then once you add rod add amperage to spread it out? Or am I just using to little amperage from the get go? I'm apologize for the newb questions and thanks again.

[exnailpounder]

Thanks for the response guys I appreciate the help...I hope all have a great memorial day!..I'll post more pictures as I progress I suppose..I've watched hours of videos my self but have questions at least one..is it normal to have to floor the pedal to have to widen the puddle a bit to maintain a consistent width and back off in between adding filler and then once you add rod add amperage to spread it out? Or am I just using to little amperage from the get go? I'm apologize for the newb questions and thanks again.

You should NOT be flooring the pedal at all. The rule of thumb is 1 amp for every thousandth of an inch of thickness. So 1/8" steel is .125 thickness so I would set my amps to around 135 or so with a pedal and 125 or so with a torch switch. You need to be watching your bead and it will tell you when to give it a little more oomph or back off the power a bit. If you watch an experienced tig welders foot on the pedal, he will floor it to get a puddle and then watch his puddle to determine where to keep his amps so you will see his foot make tiny adjustments while welding. If you have the pedal floored all the time, you might as well be using a torch switch as you are not using the fine tuning of the pedal. You shouldn't be flooring it and backing off between adding filler. You should be watching your puddle and keeping your amps pretty consistent. You will need to back off the power when you get to the end of a piece of metal as the heat has nowhere to go and builds up and then you start to taper off the power. I hope I explained it correctly.

[Charlie337]

Again I appreciate the help everyone I'm sure you get tired of us newbies, but yours and Jodies help and information is invaluable to us..these are some beads I ran today practicing..sometimes it's hard getting in practice if it isn't your job but I'm trying to get in all I can..this time it's on some 1/4 hot rolled so I could get a little more hood time..running about 185 amps probably with the pedal 160 or so maybe..3/32 er70s2 and a 3/32 2% lanthenated ..I attached pics of front and back..thanks again.

[entity-unknown]

Well hot damn! THAT is a wonderful progression You're on point and where you need to be from this n00b's view. I'm very curious as to what our experts here have to say about where you're at now...

[Rick_H]

Looking pretty good, Id suggest moving the torch less or not as far inbetween dabs, or dab quicker (what ever works for you), progression is very good. Practice makes perfect...

[exnailpounder]

Wow! That is good! As Rick said move a little less and you don't want those titties at the end of your welds. Let the power down slowly and circle the arc to flatten those out. You don't want a crater either so maybe an extra dab of filler before you circle the arc. Other than that WOW!

[Charlie337]

Thanks all..certainly has been a few frustrating moments for sure..

[Charlie337]

Well day 1 of aluminum tig..settings were about 100hz/ AC balance was about 90% En and 155 on the amperage..is 5051 1/8 using 2% lanthenated 3/32 electrode with 4043 3/32 filler rod..I've noticed the char marks are about where I tapped the electrode with the filler rod or dipped it all together..unlike that mild steel I started on this aluminum flows a lot better..so obviously my filler rod hand was trying to keep up even though I've been some what practicing feeding rod..I even got on the very edges and tried not to burn the edges ..I was happy I didnt..but anyway..the journey continues..hah.

[Charlie337]

Well after 3 weeks I finally got home from work and engagements to practice a little tig..after 3 weeks as soon as I lit up it felt awkward..oh what a little time it takes...I felt I did a lot better on heat control on the edges..2% 3/32 lanthenated, 3/32 4043, 1/8th" aluminum set to 150 volts about 3/4 pedal to maintain or sometimes less...back side is shown also..a little cold you guys think? I'm running about 65% En and 90 on the frequency..now maybe to get a little mig time to not get in a lull with it...I just got off lay off so I've been working extra to make a hand..hope everyone is well

[exnailpounder]

Is your plate dirty? It looks like you wire brushed it but it also looks like it is still dirty. Any contamination in aluminum will cause problems with your welds. Hard to tell from the pics. Welding dirty/contaminated aluminum is a hard road uphill just like trying to weld through millscale on mild. Aluminum is like a sponge for crud. Again, hard to tell from the pics.

[Charlie337]

Yeah I wire brushed and wiped it down with some acetone it's 5052 if that helps any maybe I need to be more liberal with the acetone..but I did not clean it after the weld and it was on a freshly ground electrode part of the way..I did notice a lot of scum in the puddle at the beginning of the Weld puddle forming..I was just happy I didn't dip the electrode or maybe at least I thought I didnt..I notice the puddle wanting to swim and chase me down some times and I backed it off and it got better thEn the rod wanted to ball up so I had to increase a bit..felt like I was chasing it or it was chasing me at times.

[exnailpounder]

Where is your metal from? Was it outside or in a scrap pile? Those dark stains indicate contamination. You should be using the best you can get. Wire brushing will break up the oxide layer but does nothing for porous contamination. Acetone will only remove surface oils so be aware that if your metal has absorbed anything, you are going to have a tough time welding. The chasing you describe could be several things. Too long of an arc will throw in more heat and flatten your puddle as will standing on the pedal. You're not doing too bad. Just remember, you have to be doing everything right on aluminum or it will let you know right quick when you don't and you can't ever get your metal too clean for tig work. Metal prep is VERY important.

[Charlie337]

I appreciate your help along the way...yeah the aluminum came from a supply house near me I need to do a better job of cleaning it for sure..thanks again for the feedback .

[Charlie337]

So I was toying around with the booze bottle cage idea for a Christmas present idea for my brother...had just got home from work after a month of not being home and first time messing with silicon bronze..was just trying to add my own little touch and trying different positions..fit up wasn't the best..45s were free handed with a swag offroad stand and portable band saw..running DC, 90 amps 3/32 lanthenated, 3/32 filler about 15 cfh of argon..somewhat cleaned up hot rolled..

[Poland308]

If that was an empty bottle you wouldn't need to cage it up.