So, I wasn't able to find a syncrowave 180 but this square wave 175 pro just happened to become available for cheap, and includes the glorious welding cart (everyone wants the cart)

it seems to be a great welder, hopefully i'll hookup the power tommorow for the high voltage and practice, I look forward to learning a lot from you guys and have been doing a lot of reading, I just finished reading the welders handbook by richard finch and I would suggest it to anyone that is starting out

pics tommorow hopefully of some beads, for now here is a picture of the unit




Modified by SequenceGarage at 12:56 AM 12/31/2006


Modified by SequenceGarage at 7:26 AM 2/7/2007

 

The Lincoln is a pretty solid machine. I have used it and it worked just fine. Currently I have a Miller. Can't go wrong with either one.

Gabe

 

here are my first welds, please give me some advise guys. here are my questions/concerns

a) when welding stainless the weld comes out very dull and flaky looking as if it is not getting propor sheilding. when i finish a weld and hold the torch in position and let the gas afterflow go the weld stays shiny and does not turn out dull or flaky. this lead me to believe the weld was not getting proper gas coverage?

b) i was having a hard time adding filler / knowing how much filler to add. i can go through an entire stick in an 8" bead or i can use only a couple inches of filler in the same 8" bead without the weld looking much different. what is the best way to keep the weld from undercutting so much? I found that if i really backed out of the heat it was possible to have the filler sit at what seems to be a normal level, but then the weld is very narrow.

any other advice from the pictures would be great guys thanks

my first ever tig welds on mild steel. the weld on the left was using the wrong DC polarity which i noticed right away its hotttttttttt



some practice on stainless, notice how it looks flaky and dirty and is very flat



some more practice on stainless. notice how when i keep the puddle narrower it looks more like a normal weld (to me anyways) and when it is wider with more heat the weld looks very flat and flaky, no matter how much filler i add or dont use



first practice on welding 2 pipes together, weld seems undercut and flaky again, doesnt look like a normal weld and im not sure why entirely.



thanks for taking the time to help guys, i'll be sure to return the favour in any way i can

 

It just seems like it is too hot.
Maybe your tungsten isn't tapered enough.
Make sure you sharpen the tungsten against the point
for best arc stability.
The puddle should be rather narrow. Have you tried a
gas lens yet? Seems to be the ticket for stainless.
Can you tell us what amperage you used?
What tungsten, and post a pic of it?
That might help a bit.
All in all not bad, just too hot, and like you said it
seems like poor shielding.

 

As stated, it seems your just using too much heat. Gas coverage could be part of it as well on the stainless. You usually run more gas when doing stainless just because it is so tempermental.
As for how much filler to add, your usually not adding much. Its called "dabbing" for a reason...not saying theres not times when you melt alot more, but on a common weld, with proper prep and metal fitup, you should be getting a puddle started, dab it, move forward, dab it, etc. You dont USUALLY sit in one spot and melt a bunch of wire.
It will all come to you with practice. I know everyone says that, but thats just the truth. Keep it up and good luck!
Kyle

 

Mm tasty TIG haha

 

thanks for the advice guys!

I was welding at a max of 75A give or take on those welds

i did grind my tungsten against the tip but not to a fine point, there was still a small flat spot on the end, i will make sure to make a nice fine point tommorow.

also i gave the stainless a good sand and clean and the welds came out looking a fair bit cleaner, however the weld still looks much shinier and more poilshed when i leave it under the gas for longer

i wonder if i had another tank of argon running to some sort of gas spraying cup and i had a helper spray the weld as it cooled with more sheilding gas if that would do it. im sure theres a more proper way haha

i'll practice more and check on the type of rod tommorow

thanks again for the help and happy new year

 

Hey man. I found this quick little video, thats actually an advertisement, but it shows the process of adding filler. This is on aluminum, but its pretty similar for mild steel and SS. Realistically, you have to learn to watch around the weld puddle to see if your filling in everything your melting with filler rod. It just comes with practice. Heres the video: http://weldpro.us/images/20sec2.wmv
Its actually an advertisement for the video to help you weld...$100...but it may be of interest to you. As for the SS looking better where you stop. Thats because it is getting better gas coverage than the rest. As stated, when welding SS, turn your gas way up, and use the biggest cup you can get. Ive seen some guys use what they call "monster cups", which are like 1.5" in diameter and have like a number 10 or 12 opening on them(1" inch or more). Try to turn your gas way up and use the biggest cup you have.
GOOD LUCK!
Kyle
I knew I had some more somewhere! Heres a couple more videos:
http://www.putfile.com/scott1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...earch=


HOPE THEY HELP!

 

ive used both lincoln and miller and with lincoln you have to keep the gas on longer and more of a lense coverage is needed also turn that heat down oh and like everyone will say practice

 

Nice vids!

 

thanks very much for the advice guys!

the videos were awesome, i'll go back and practice some more today and update

thanks again

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by uselesshuman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ive used both lincoln and miller and with lincoln you have to keep the gas on longer and more of a lense coverage is needed also turn that heat down oh and like everyone will say practice</TD></TR></TABLE>

Oh boy...now Millers use gas more wisely. Gimme a break dude, torches share parts, if they have a gas lense then it isn't gonna know what welder it's connected to.

Honda-tech and the Miller hype...I need to buy one because they must stroke your c*ck while you weld since everyone jocks them so hard.

O.P.....get a gas lense...#1 priority

man, that dude in that youtube.com vid you posted BlueOval, is funny...lol. Not bad, but I mean pulling the filler way out of the shield, dabbing all sloppy...hahahaa.


Modified by RC000E at 6:52 PM 1/1/2007


Modified by RC000E at 6:52 PM 1/1/2007

 

Im not using lenses right now...

Doenst mean I dont want to

i just broke a cup yesterday and I tend to meltdown lenses when doing aluminum and then doing stainless afterward...not sure why :-P

OP: Too much heat! work on your fitment of your pipes. Clean your metal.

 

Practice on flat joints before you try tubing or pipe. Way to much heat on your stainless welds.

 

thanks guys. here are some updates from todays practice

first try on aluminum, top weld went well, the one below it too much heat (right?) and the others were poor filler control i was sorta all over the place trying different things



stainless, the 2 long beads are todays welds. the one on top looks a little cold is that right?



and off topic, how the race car is coming along:



thanks again for the help, i'll practice other kinds of joints more before doing anymore pipe work, and pickup a gas lense asap and update

 

Your obviously starting to get the concept, just keep practicing. And yes that top stainless weld is too cold, the long one below it is starting to look pretty decent, how much gas are you using? Your welds are looking a bit contaminated, make sure your filler rod and base material is super clean before you weld and one common mistake when learning tig is how to dip your filler, when you pull the filler out of the puddle make sure the tip of the filler rod (that just melted {HOT END}) stays in the gas coverage, otherwise you will be introducing contaminants into your weld puddle next time you dip. A gas lens will definately help you out on the color, but don't go too crazt about color yet, learn the technique really well first, than get finicky and focus on good penetration and color.

 

From my understanding with aluminum, you need to grind and clean your weld area first. (I don't see any grinding marks in your pic)
Even with the new "cleaning action" of the tigs, you still need a semi-clean work surface to start with.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mrlegoman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">From my understanding with aluminum, you need to grind and clean your weld area first. (I don't see any grinding marks in your pic)
Even with the new "cleaning action" of the tigs, you still need a semi-clean work surface to start with. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I disagree. It depends on the material and the condition. I don't brush the 1/16 6061 that I use to make catch cans and it comes out just fine. I do, however, clean it with acetone before I weld it up.

 

I was using that too, best thing i've found so far.

I haven't had much time to practice, but I finally got back to it when I had to make a downpipe for a friends 300zx TT. I'm making the second one today, but here is the first one. Unfortunatly I couldn't keep my welds consistent. A few places I lay down a REALLY nice bead, but when I try to reproduce it i cant get into a rythem with a nice puddle and just the right heat and distance etc. Oh well.. practice practice







design critisism is welcome as is welding critisim, although i know my welding wasn't that great. The previous exhaust hung too low and scraped a lot, so we tried to tuck the piping up closer to the tranny where the floor isnt as low. While this will put a bit more heat into the tranny, i dont think it will be that bad if the downpipe is header wrapped. The flexpipe was put as far forward as possible, and a resonator was put in because the exhaust is too loud (so he says - i love it). There is about half inch all around the exhaust to the frame / tranny crossmember so the exhaust doesnt hit the floor / crossmember with engine torque and vibration (it torques up on this side)

 

both downpipes done:

 

Looks good.
Just wondering about the 3 welds in the middle of the p/s tube???

 

I believe those would be mid-pipes not down pipes

They look good though.

I wish my 300zx was a twin turbo

 

Looks like the same lift I have.

 

it looks like you are getting the hang of it and jumping into small projects already! Goodluck and i am sure you will be learning as you continue practicing. Once you learn the machine and make a rythm for youself you will only get better.

 

What size cup are you useing? You don't necessarily wan't to up the gas above 20, that can cause turbulance in an already unstable gas flow (standard cup)....which will result in less coverage. That fab looks good on the 300zx so keep up the good work and practice.

Gas lenses I feal should be used once you get used to proper heat control with a standard cup or when tungsten stick out is longer.