I started tig welding yesterday under the instruction of a friend that has taken a 5day tig course and been welding now for 2 years. I welded for about 30-45 minutes on mild steel. I forget what kind of welder it is but ill ask him tomorrow and post. I know it was red and black though.

The welds between the marks are his, showing me. And the rest is mine. The piece on the right is what I did last, i think it looks the best.

Sorry for the shitty picture quality, i couldnt get it to focus up close.

It took me a long time to get the speed of my hands down, and it seemed like i was trying to dip the rod in the pool too often. Also why are my welds not shiny? are they too hot? too cold? tell me what im doing wrong

 

Looks like you just need to work on relaxing and getting into a rythem. It would be very tough to get any kind of color out of mild steel that thin and in that small of a piece without having it on a heatsink. Either that or you need to go a little hotter and faster over shorter distances and let the piece cool down inbetween. Right now I would just work on the rythem of controlling the torch and adding filler. Try to get a puddle started and move along the joint with your torch while adding filler in a consistant rythem like stab stab stab stab stab and controlling the width of your weld with the pedal. make sure to concentrate on watching the puddle and not what your hands are doing.

practice practice practice.

 

Mpractice = practicex10^6th