Alright so I have been welding for about a month and a half, just been practicing mostly, and doing mild steel and aluminum. I got some scrap ss to practice on and i cannot for the life of me get my welds to have color. No matter what amps i set it at, even if i run the weld cold, still no color.

It is 304 16g ss pipe

cfm:15

amps @35

filler: 309L or 308L













I think some of them are too hot, but even when i try using less amps they look the same color wise, at least to me, and using any less amps than i'm using and its alot more difficult to keep the puddle moving.

I need some suggestions cause i'm getting frusturated

 

You need a gas lense to get color, it's mostly about gas coverage.

 

Thanks for the quick response.

So w/out a gas lense they will always have a similar result as to what I posted?

 

Your weld seems its a bit contaminated. Not enough gas coverage. I found using the correct torch angle helps with gas coverage and providing a better weld.

 

how far is your tungsten hanging out?... is there any oil on the pipe or dirt? try prepping the material and or check the hang on your tungsten.

also for that matter... what tungsten?

 

This, and when not using a lens be sure and keep your filler tucked in close while you move to keep it in the gas coverage...this seems to help a bit.

 

I clean the outside with a flap wheel then wipe it down with acetone, outside seems to get pretty clean, inside is kinda dirty but i clean it as good as i can.
Any tips on cleaning the inside of pipes?

I am using 2% thiorated tungston and I have it about 1/4" out. Also I hold the torch at about 80 degrees.

I cracked the biggest cup I had, #6, so I think I am going to go ahead and order a gas lense. Any recommendations? I have a CK17 torch, I was looking at these 2 kits.

http://www.arc-zone.com/index.php?ma...oducts_id=5030

or

http://www.arc-zone.com/index.php?ma...oducts_id=3586

Is it worth it to go with the larger diameter lense? exibit meh....

http://www.arc-zone.com/index.php?ma...oducts_id=5032

I'm not sure if that ^^ would get in the way but I would assume larger is better due to being able to stick the tungston out alot more.

 

Are you using 1/16" filler? If so you need to get some smaller filler.

 

Don't listen to that.

You don't NEED a gas lens. Yes, it's ideal and helps a lot. But it is NOT NEEDED.

Colour is a misconception. SS should have very little colour. It should look shiny. Like a silver colour. Or a little bit of a gold/straw colour. A slight pinkish colour is ok as well.

Colour is part of the air born contamination. After the weld is out of the sheilding gas. The air contaminates it. Giving it bluish purply colours.

So you issue isn't necessarily gas coverage. It could be your speed. You're moving over your welds to fast. Not giving them time to cool down enough.

A gas lens will help significantly. But it's NOT a requirement. It's just much much better.

Try fusing first. You seem to have a lot of filler in there.

 

i had the same problem at first also that ugly gray color. I realized that the pipe was getting to hot so i wouldnt get no color i usually weld ss between 60-80amps. Looks like your moving to slow.. try welding about an inch at a time and cover it with the torch. Also try using the thinner filler it might help. Good luck

 

o yeah also make sure your welding arm is stable... dont free hand

 

this would be my guess

 

You are moving way to slow and heatsoaking the material. . Run some passes without filler at 50 amps. Just keep moving faster until you get some color. You will notive the faster you move the closer your color will get to clear silver which is the ulitimate goal although these are not sanitary tubes so you can get away with anything between dark blue/purple to silver.

 

Definitely contaminated. Like Pig said, heatsoaked for one. Also, its likely that the material is still too hot by the time the shield is gone and you've moved forward. A gas lense does go a long way. I had similar problems as this when I started and a gas lense fixed me right up.

If you search some of my old threads in this forum I posted gas lense parts and the stuff i bought, and also where I got it all from. It set me straight.

 

cup size is a big factor in your color.. the bigger the cup, the more gas you need flowing but, it covers more of the HAZ..

keep in mind, as you are welding, if your cup isnt covering the beginning of the weld because of how far you have moved since, there is a chance for the grey/burnt look.

from the looks of your pics, looks like you are moving 1.5 - 2 inches at a time... try moving 1/2 an inch... and letting the post flow cool down the HAZ before starting the weld again..

 

Listen to this guy.

You need to turn up the amps and turn up the speed. Your moving way to slow to over heat and have that poor gas coverage on 16g.

I set my machine at 60 amps and work the pedel by leting off when needed to control heat as the tube gets heat soaked. I use .35 filler and just go pretty quick and stop often to let the tube cool.

 

I use 35-39 amps and get good results.





I use the filler to get the penetration, not the heat. Either way works.
I think his big problem is filler rod size. I assume 1/16" is being used?
This is far too big, and it requires way too much energy to melt that size, with most of the heat going into the material, and ruining it. You will for sure have to go with the heat suggested for that size of filler rod(60-70amps), and move quick. Add as little filler rod as you can on every dip to keep that fluid puddle moving along.

 

hmm ok thanks for all the replies, I ordered a gas lense anyways and it gets here tomorrow so I will go at it and post up my results and then go from there, I have a manifold I made for my car that i've been anxiously waiting to weld haha.

 

well heres some from today, have a gas lense now and a #8 cup, using 1/16 filler, i'm going to try smaller filler but my local airgas doesnt have anything in stock atm.





I then tried not sticking the tungston out as far and angling the torch a little more and I think it got a little better.


tried adding some filler and they turned out more shiny silver than burnt, however this was moving at a pace i'm not used too so I def need some more practice.




what do you guys think?

 

you dont have any flat plate/sheet to practice on? that seems like a waste ^

 

nah i don't, but that is all extra pieces from making my manifold that I don't really have a need for. The only plate I have is mild, which is what im going to use now to try to get my pace a little faster.

 

I dunno why i set my settings at 10cfm and 25amps and i use .035 308SS filler and i get beautiful welds.

 

No matter what anyone says, you DO NEED a gas lens if you want nice clean stainless welds. NO, you do not NEED a gas lens to weld with GTAW, but regular cups / collets do not give you the clean gas coverage you need for clean stainless / titanium work done in a garage environment.

Ideally, your stainless welds should be the same color as the base material, but some color is acceptable.

There is something not right in your setup if you're still getting grey/dull welds. (You're using pure argon right?) But then again, with a #8 cup, you're going to have difficulty getting good coverage on round surfaces (such as tubing).

I use a large diameter gas lens with a #12 cup for all tubing, and use 20 CFH of gas. With the #8 cup, I use about 12 cfh.

Good luck!

 

Is that manifold for a Z32?

I use a #8 cup for most things unless it doesn't fit in tight spots, no big problems with gas coverage, you just learn to use it... but then again my welds don't look even close to Markku's!

 

Well, you can still get okay coverage with a #8, but it will never be super clean on something like 3.0" thin-wall tubing.