Hallo, everyone this is nice day, I finally got my first tig machine, waited one month for it The only bad news for me was, that the helmet which was there for me was sold to somebody else, and I will get my helmet maybe next week And I dont have my argon bottle here too, I will get it maybe tomorow... dont know jet

This is GYS(France) HF DC Pulss 137(130amps), I think it will be good machine for learning it has many nice features This machine was 750$, with binzel sr9 air cooled torch, ground clamp, electrode clamp, hose for gas line, and few accesories, it comes with 2 year warranty As I'm in Europe, there's not many options here for budget HF TIG





P.S. I can't wait until I get started welding And when I will, I will try to take some pictures, and then post them up here, so you could maybe give me some advices

 

Looks like you got a nice bit of a kit

I'm from Europe too (Malta), getting a really good quality machine is very hard!!

Don't forget to buy some welding gloves.

 

Yeah, I have gloves pretty nice gloves bought them for 40$ Tomorow will start to practice

And yes, the kit seems nice for learning

 

Today I had time to do some welding, as I'm a begginer, I would really appriciate all the pro guys out there to give some advices and point out my mistakes

As I haven't gone to welding schools or something, I just had a basic 4h theory+6h practice welding course, I'm not really sure as how I should go on with welding practices, so I started out by putting beads without filler rod on ~.157"(4mm) flat mild steel plate with machine set to 100amps, pre-gas set to 0.1, up-slope 0, downslope ~4sec, post-gas 10sec.



I did only this one plate, cause in my opinion it was ok, so I moved further with introducing filler rod

Next one was the same ~.157"(4mm) flat plate with machine set to the same settings, ~.078"(2mm) mild steel filler, 1/16 rare earth(gray) tungsten electrode(please, some inputs on using this electrode, if this is no good, I also have 2% thoriated)


So, after this I took one more plate which was ~.118" with same filler rod, I think 80amps, same pre flow, up slope, down slope, post gas 8sec.

This was a bit better in my opinion



I know, that I need to work on my travel speed... I use TIG Finger from weldingtipsandtricks and it works flawless, but every once in a while, on my work table, it hitches... it's cause I dont have a good table ;( but I will try to overcome that

P.S. This is not my first time TIG welding, I have welded with lift/scratch tig for ~10h(seat time), and 1h with lincoln ac/dc at course.

 

Looking pretty good bro, try some smaller filler as well as a little less heat. Also, invest into a gas lens. If your can't buy them there ill gladly ship ya one. Keep it up buddy

 

Thanks for replay mate I have only ~.078 filler rods now, cause in my local shop I cant get 1/16 mild steel rods, for 1/16 mild steel applications I need to buy MIG wire, they only have SS 1/16 rods I will try to apply little less heat, when I'll be practicing today.

As for gas lens, I already ordered one, through the same shop, cause they dont have sr9 gas lenses in stock, as pretty much no one uses sr9 torches here I will be calling them in thusday, and then I will know, if they can or cannot get me gas lens, of course I hope that they will be able to help me out But if not, I would really appriciate you helping me out with getting me one

Once more, thanks for replaying

 

Ohhh, I got a question about down-slope setting, when I used 90/100amps, I had down-slope ~5sec, but as you all see, I still have some craters in the end of a bead... so, how many seconds should be used in every application? Like - rule of thumb(as far as I know) you set your postflow 1sec for every 10amps, right? So, is there same style rule of thumb when talking about down-slope?

Thanks

 

I had a bit of time to practice today, will see, maybe I will practice even more today at evening, but for now, wanted to show how my tungsten looks when it's prepared



As far as welding progress, I wouldn't say I've made huge improvements, but I'm getting there today I felt much more confident diping the rod, and started to feel a little bit of control in my hands

This is the last plate I've welded so far



Its also .118"(3mm) mild steel plate, with ~.079" filler, 85amps, 0.1 pre flow, no up-slope, 5sec downslope, 8.5sec post flow and the same 1/16 rare earth tungstenl, oh, and 6 size cup... I also have 4 size, but honestly, I do know whats the difference and when I should use one or another... so, if someone could explain it to me it would be cool

P.S. When I will be buying a cup for gas lens, what size should I get?

 

Also today I spent some time welding, and after the day, I think I've improved my skill a bit I started to find rhythm when dipping rod, and felt some improvements at travel speed and hand shaking

Here is the final plate I did(did 5 today), it's 3mm(~0.118"), 0.079"(2mm) filler rod, I think 90amps for almost everything there. Pretty much all settings untouched...



And as I mentioned before, it would be great if someone could explain to me what I'm doing wrong with down-slope setting, cause I just can't get good end of a bead...

Thanks

 

I've been practicing everyday for few last days, and yesterday I tried other technique, tried to get biger and more spaced ripples, as I got some results, I think I like that look much better

Settings pretty much the same, 85amps, .118" flat mild steel plate, .079" filler, 1/16 tungsten, and as far as I'm concerned, craters are one of my biggest problems, I'm not able to solve...





The look of ripples I would like to get, is like 2nd bead, more to the end of the bead, from right in second picture(second from upside in first pic)

As for some news, two days ago I got my gas lens, with 6 and 8 size cups, and got my own welding helmet, the same company GYS, 9-13 darkness regulations. Will try to take some pics later

P.S. please some inputs guys

 

Look very good... Good job..

 

Today spent about an hour welding, and, seem's again, I'm doing a bit better, at leaste I think so

Also took a picture of my new welding helmet, it was 170$ for me,



and a picture of my work area thats one of rooms in my house, I've been using it for stuff like this almost 3 years now, cause I dont have a garage (and yes, I have fire extinguisher)



And here are pictures of my best welds today, as you can see in first picture, what I'm aiming for is second bead from right, all day long (second from upside in 2nd picture)





Settings were pretty much as usually, about 80-90amps, .079" filler, the same tungsten, gas lens.

Hope to get some advices

 

Very nice, keep at it

 

for craters, let off the gas slowly at the end.

 

I have a post-gas setting, I set 1 second for each 10amps... so if I'm welding at 90amps, I set post-flow(post-gas) to 9sec...

And I have down-slope setting, which is time from set amperage to end(till arc quits)... as far as I know, this is setting to eliminate craters... but I just can't get it right... don't know why.

 

Today, again, had some time to practice, and understood one thing until this day, I welded in 4t mode, so basiclly, when welding, I was holding torch between two fingers, and of course, it shaked a bit everytime... So today I started to weld in 2t mode, it gave me a chance to hold torch with three fingers, and that really was an advantige

Overall I wouldn't say I've improved a lot, but with each time practicing I start to get more and more confident Oh, and yeah, today I switched to red tungsten(2% thoriated), 1/16 also.

Here are last two plates i did, both .118"(3mm), .079"(2mm) filler, 80-90amps, 0.2 pre flow, ~2-3sec down slope, 8-9sec post flow... used my gas lens with 6 size cup.





Hopefully tomorow I'll do better

 

Today I spent some time just laying some beads on last 4 plates I had left, and when I had done that, tought, that maybe this is the time to move on to actually welding some plates together and so I did Took hand/angle grinder and tried to make some bevels on those plates, nothing fancy, but something that was better then nothing

So here it goes

This was the first weld I did:



and finished:



there was ~85% penetration This was beveled, without a gap...

here goes second, beveled, with gap:


backside


this is best that I've done so far, in my opinion.

Finished:




here goes third:




unfortunately, not that good penitration...

Fourth:




Those all were .118"(3mm) plates with little bevel and a gap, exept 1st was without a gap, all welded with 1/16 filler rod, 1/16 2% thoriated(red) tungsten 60-65amps, gas lens with 6 size cup

Hope I'll get more plates this week, cause I have no materials left to practice on(ok, I have some tubes, but those I really want to leave for later, when I'll be ok with plates), but for next time and until I get stable results, I'll be practicing 1G position on plates(butt joints) and then will move to plate 2G position and so on

 

Your material is heating up as you weld. You might try slowly letting off the pedal and practice heat control a little bit. Looking good though.

 

I know that it is heating up The problem is, I dont have a pedal, no remote amperage control on this welding machine, but what I try to do, is to move a bit faster when it comes to end, when I feel it starts to get hotter... I just try to go on bit faster

 

Can you buy a pedal for it? I don't know what I would do without one.

 

No, I cant the only thing possible, I could make DIY pedal for switching on/off, like the button I have right now on torch, but on this machine, there is no possibility for remote amperage control... remember, this machine really did cost ~730$ with accesories and two year warranty, and I'm in Europe, where all prices are 2x like in USA...

 

Looking good bro!! Have to agree with that, looks like too much heat is going on there. Since you have no remote control, try 50-60 amps. How did you find the gas lens over the normal non gas lens collet? I just ordered mine with a couple of different sizes cups. can't wait to try it out, hopefully it will give some color to the welds.

 

Thanks

If you're referring to the last post, then those were welded with 60-65 amps, started at 55amps, and that wasn't enough to melt the base metal, so, went up to 60

About the gas lens - for me as a beginner, it's hard to say, cause, I've been welding only mild steel to this day, and as far as gas coverage, it was ok with standart collet too, just bought it when found it, as I found it in only one shop in my city... so, until I try stainless steel, or a place where I need to extend further tungsten, I think, I wont note any difference

 

Yes I know what you mean. Europe sucks for welding supplies I had to order mine from the states, no one has any in stock where I live! You should try some stainless now and post up some pics!

 

Yeah I would like to try some but don't have any stainless now as my father owns one of 3 best companies in our country, that make stairs, I get many scrap mild steel plates and tubes for free, stainless steel is very rare