Learning to TIG

[royesses]

Alrighty folks.
These are my first TIG beads that are worth showing.
1/8” plate
1/16” filler
Running about 100-102 amps
17cfm
#7 cup
3/32” tungsten

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That looks good for your first welds. It takes time and practice to get where the pros are. It is imperative that you learn to identify and focus on the puddle. Just keep on practicing and show us how your welds progress. I think you are the type who will become very skilled at welding. A quality welding hood makes a huge difference in what you see while welding. When my eyes went bad from cataracts I purchased a Lincoln 3350 4C hood because I was seeing multiple puddles, out of focus. With the 4C I think I'm looking at a high definition color photo.

Roy

 

[DavidR8]

That looks good for your first welds. It takes time and practice to get where the pros are. It is imperative that you learn to identify and focus on the puddle. Just keep on practicing and show us how your welds progress. I think you are the type who will become very skilled at welding. A quality welding hood makes a huge difference in what you see while welding. When my eyes went bad from cataracts I purchased a Lincoln 3350 4C hood because I was seeing multiple puddles, out of focus. With the 4C I think I'm looking at a high definition color photo.

Roy

Thank you Roy, I appreciate your positive feedback and encouragement, it is definitely a skill with a steep curve. But I want to be good at it so I will keep practising.
I have an ESAB auto dark. It's an older model but it seems to work well. My challenge is that it does not accept a magnifying lens. So I was wearing my safety glasses which have 2.0 magnification in the bottom of the lenses, like bifocals. It works ok but it's not ideal. I think I will just get some 2.0 cheaters for welding.

 

[royesses]

Thank you Roy, I appreciate the positive feedback and encouragement, it is definitely a skill with a steep curve. But I want to be good at it so I will keep practising.
I have an ESAB auto dark. It's an older model but it seems to work well. My challenge is that it does not accept a magnifying lens. So I was wearing my safety glasses which have 2.0 magnification in the bottom of the lenses, like bifocals. It works ok but it's not ideal. I think I will just get some 2.0 cheaters for welding.

Yes I have the same problem. I just wear my bifocals and try to have a 500 watt lamp shine on the weld area which helps a lot. I do have cheaters that fit into the lens but I prefer the bifocals. I use an elastic strap to keep the bifocals in place. With cataracts if there is enough light on the weld I don't need any magnification. Out in the sunlight I can easily read small print without glasses. Just keep on practicing. As you get better you will inspire yourself, that is when you really start getting good, from having confidence. Don't worry about stacking dimes. It is much more important to get good puddle control. I think that you will excel in anything you do judging by your posts. Just don't get discouraged. We all went through the learning curve.

Roy

 

[General Zod]

That looks good for your first welds. It takes time and practice to get where the pros are. It is imperative that you learn to identify and focus on the puddle. Just keep on practicing and show us how your welds progress. I think you are the type who will become very skilled at welding. A quality welding hood makes a huge difference in what you see while welding. When my eyes went bad from cataracts I purchased a Lincoln 3350 4C hood because I was seeing multiple puddles, out of focus. With the 4C I think I'm looking at a high definition color photo.

Roy

If you think the Lincoln 4C is good, don't try the Optrel Crystal 2.0. It's like looking through clear glass...

 

[DavidR8]

If you think the Lincoln 4C is good, don't try the Optrel Crystal 2.0. It's like looking through clear glass...

That's astounding!
My ESAB turns everyone into the Green Lantern

 

[francist]

I had an older Optrel Satellite, it was crazy nice to use even in low light conditions. The batteries gave out though and it was the early version with the sealed cassette so you couldn’t change them. I hardly weld anyway so couldn’t justify the replacement, but I sure did get spoiled with that helmet.

-frank

 

[7milesup]

Alrighty folks.
These are my first TIG beads that are worth showing.
1/8” plate
1/16” filler
Running about 100-102 amps
17cfm
#7 cup
3/32” tungsten

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So, to me it looks like your welds are too hot. Your temperature (amps) is pretty close but maybe bump it up to 115. Too hot of welds can come from too high of amperage, or ironically, too low of amperage and/or too long of an arc length.
If your amps are too low, you will spend extra time trying to get your weld puddle to form. While getting your weld puddle to form you are dumping heat into your metal, that is why the heat affected zone is so large. If you are holding the tungsten to far back and have too long of an arc, that will take more time to heat your puddle up and again, too much heat.
You want your torch to be moving. If you are sitting still, something is not right. Also, don't be afraid to just do some butt joints with no filler. They are easy to do and build confidence.
If you go to aluminum, make sure you clean it with a STAINLESS steel brush. If you don't do that, it will be a disaster. Also, clean with laquer thinner or acetone after brushing. Do not use brake cleaner as some YT channels suggest, because the stuff gives off noxious fumes.

I disagree about not using pulse. Using pulse can help you find that sweet spot that you are looking for. You can always turn it off, but without using all of the controls on the machine, you don't know what they can do for you.

Get a set of CK wedge collets instead of the craptastic split collets. You can thank me later.
1/2 cup size for gas flow. Size 7 cup = 14cfm. Your 17cfm is close enough. 3/32 tungsten is perfect IMHO. Lanthanated is what i use.

The first picture is from a land plane I built for my tractor. No filler rod and about 185 amps. Second picture is of a 9ft finial that I built for our church. All aluminum. Took me a month.
I would post some more pictures but am tired. Almost lost my life on Sunday and still recovering with multiple injuries.

 

[DavidR8]

So, to me it looks like your welds are too hot. Your temperature (amps) is pretty close but maybe bump it up to 115. Too hot of welds can come from too high of amperage, or ironically, too low of amperage and/or too long of an arc length.
If your amps are too low, you will spend extra time trying to get your weld puddle to form. While getting your weld puddle to form you are dumping heat into your metal, that is why the heat affected zone is so large. If you are holding the tungsten to far back and have too long of an arc, that will take more time to heat your puddle up and again, too much heat.
You want your torch to be moving. If you are sitting still, something is not right. Also, don't be afraid to just do some butt joints with no filler. They are easy to do and build confidence.
If you go to aluminum, make sure you clean it with a STAINLESS steel brush. If you don't do that, it will be a disaster. Also, clean with laquer thinner or acetone after brushing. Do not use brake cleaner as some YT channels suggest, because the stuff gives off noxious fumes.

I disagree about not using pulse. Using pulse can help you find that sweet spot that you are looking for. You can always turn it off, but without using all of the controls on the machine, you don't know what they can do for you.

Get a set of CK wedge collets instead of the craptastic split collets. You can thank me later.
1/2 cup size for gas flow. Size 7 cup = 14cfm. Your 17cfm is close enough. 3/32 tungsten is perfect IMHO. Lanthanated is what i use.

The first picture is from a land plane I built for my tractor. No filler rod and about 185 amps. Second picture is of a 9ft finial that I built for our church. All aluminum. Took me a month.
I would post some more pictures but am tired. Almost lost my life on Sunday and still recovering with multiple injuries.

First off, heal fast! I have no idea what happened but obviously it was very bad.
Second, thank you so much for your detailed post, very helpful.
I'm still trying to find a good sitting position where I'm not putting too much pressure on my hands and restricting my movement.

Definitely hear you on not enough amperage. I watched Jody Collier do a demo of four different amp settings on a lap joint, maybe 115 to 165 amps and by increasing travel speed he was able to reduce the heat affected zone at the higher amperage levels. Counter-intuitive but also completely logical.
I have a stubby kit and gas lens with wedge collets on its way which is good because alrady the split collets are deforming.

I have not tried pulse yet but will give it a go.

 

[DavidR8]

Here’s a butt joint.
#7 cup, 20 cfm , 1/16 filler. 85’ish amps.
Felt a bit cold as the puddle took a bit to form and it’s not wetted in.
Wire brushed afterwards.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[7milesup]

I think you are correct in your assessment Dave. The last bit of the weld on the left side is very close to what you want. Keep it up!