Practised grinding tonight

[Papa Charlie]

It is a balance act between heat and wire feed. You have a starting point now. Take a piece of scrap and stay at the speed you have but increase the heat and see what you get. Then try reducing the speed and see what that produces.
Every machine is different and of course the speed at which you advance. I like a much hotter puddle to ensure I am getting good penetration. After that I just adjust the wire speed to fit my welding style.
You are well on your way. Repetition is the key. You will know by the looks of the bead when you are dialed in. Once you get that, everything is an adjustment from those settings to fit the material.
And don't forget, have some fun with it. For me, I try to make every weld look like it was welded by a machine. Don't always get it but that is my goal.

 

[DavidR8]

After a bunch of reading about wire speed and watching some videos last night, I put in a bit of practice this morning.
All I can say is wow, thank you @Papa Charlie for the advice on reducing wire speed. That made all the difference.
I was at 50 or 300 IPM.
This morning I kept the same voltage setting but reduced the wire speed to 20 or 150, basically in half.
Here are the results

Inside of the above weld showing penetration.

The little divots below are from where I dragged the nozzle across the weld pool.

Struggling with going straight. But I'm not blowing through!!!!

 

[Papa Charlie]

Now that looks much better. You can see the penetration that you are getting now, especially on the first image.

Just keep practicing. You are doing great. Continue to work on your motion too. The first image is what they all should look like. Also, if your welder permits, don't pull the gun away when you finish, most welders have a time delay on the gas flow to allow the weld puddle to cool with the protection of the gas shield.

Like anything, practice, practice, practice.

 

[lis2323]

Also, if your welder permits, don't pull the gun away when you finish, most welders have a time delay on the gas flow to allow the weld puddle to cool with the protection of the gas shield.

.

^^^THIS. And agreed. Looking much better.

 

[DavidR8]

Now that looks much better. You can see the penetration that you are getting now, especially on the first image.

Just keep practicing. You are doing great. Continue to work on your motion too. The first image is what they all should look like. Also, if your welder permits, don't pull the gun away when you finish, most welders have a time delay on the gas flow to allow the weld puddle to cool with the protection of the gas shield.

Like anything, practice, practice, practice.

^^^THIS. And agreed. Looking much better.

Thanks gents! I cannot tell you how satisfying it is to be able to lay down a reasonable bead...well you probably already know
I'm guessing that crater at the end of the first weld is from withdrawing the gun to quickly?

 

[pontiac428]

Oh yeah, if you are welding or cutting, keep a fire extinguisher (or two!) handy.

Wobbly, is that two gallon cans of white gas on the shelf within arm's reach of your welding table? One thing I've learned about life is that **** happens, even when the chance seems remote.

 

[Papa Charlie]

This is a mag base light I can move around...Quasar bright

May I ask where you got that light. It has good lighting and I like the mag base.

 

[lis2323]

May I ask where you got that light. It has good lighting and I like the mag base.

YES. I like that!

 

[rwm]

Wobbly, is that two gallon cans of white gas on the shelf within arm's reach of your welding table? One thing I've learned about life is that **** happens, even when the chance seems remote.

This is always an issue with TIG and Acetone.
R

 

[Aukai]

WoodTurnersWonders has several lights, mine is on the pricey side...This was a site Mikey suggested

Lamps

Our lamps are heavy duty, high quality LED bright, energy efficient lighting. They provide illumination for up to 50,000 hours. Switchable magnetic bases make make our LED lighting ideal for a wide range of industrial applications, including machine lighting, enclosure illumination and closeup...

woodturnerswonders.com