i made this shitty battery tray at my welding class over at the local tech school i attend. im taking the plama cutting class this quater but i got done with that and i had some spare time so i talked my instructor into letting me try TIG. it took me about 3 days. but i could only work on it like 2 hours a day. and i wasnt really in a rush.


sorry for the dog turd beads. lol


the back of the tray.


the inside of it, where the battery sits, the decent looking beads are my instructors welds. hes a beast. haha


the whole tray

 

Well it looks like you're getting the hang of it.

My only advice, keep your tungsten nice and fresh at all times, (even if you don't dip or contaminate, a layer is formed which hinders clean starts and stability). Also make sure you clean all surfaces to be welded as well as possible. Material prep becomes somewhat of an art aswell.

Good luck!

 

Yeah, a couple sections looks like you had it. Then there are the big gaps, yet have some weird consistency...not sure what was happening there...that was all you. Only way to get good is to weld like crazy so...keep it goin...make something else.

 

he said the descent beads were his instructors.

you are moving all over the place. keep that tungsten close to the material and dont move it out of the joint!

 

keep practicing. I would lay some beads on a piece of plate first until you get the hang of it, then move on to welding joints.

 

Whoops...haha. In that case...yeah. your all over the place. Keep it close, move, feed, move, feed, move, feed. When you move forward, just point the tungsten point half way into the circle in front. Practice man...you'll get it.

 

I'm sorry but you have to get the puddle first.
After maybe 1 or 2 hours, the only issues should be size, colour, and sugaring.
You have to get a puddle before you do anything else. Otherwise, it's just a coincidence if something good happens.
Fuse the metal first. Create a puddle. If fitment sucks, add filler to create the puddle, then advance it.
Autogenous welding should always come first. Do some of that.
When you can create and maintain a puddle while advancing, then add filler into practice.

 

9Bells, you have any instructional videos? I know you have mentioned in other posts that you are an instructor.

thanks,
Joshua