lkailburn

Hey guys, finally got my tank and was able to try out some tig welding last night. First time beads here. Definitely looks like i need better control of my filler rod.

What do you guys think?

this was on some scrap mild steel sheet and pipe using some .035 mig wire to practice with 100% argon.








Comments appreciated

-Luke


Modified by lkailburn at 8:02 PM 1/5/2007

Bjorn

problem: heat control
solution: practice, practice, pratice

expect to spend a few dozen hours getting your pedal/puddle relationship right - sorry I'm not more in-depth, but after awhile you'll realize there's no substitute for just practicing for hours on end

dave@passenger

I would say one of your large issues here is prep, you need to sand the scale off of the mild steel before you weld it. Once the metal is prepped than start playing with heat and filler, welding is more prep than welding, and a good welder often is better by part of how well they prep.

F20Cteg

Some of the problem is from the metal not being clean. Tig needs very clean surfaces and the underside as well if you penetrate all the way through.


Also, practive. Just keep practicing and you will get it. You might get frustrated, but keep at it. Practice makes perfect.

lkailburn

cool guys i appreciate the comments.

like i said these were my very first times out so i was more trying to just get a sense of feel of what the hell is going on in front of me. thats why i didn't stress cleaning the metals as much. i will next time, but for the first run out i just wanted to jump in.

so you guys think its heat control? i was thinking maybe a tad less heat, a touch slower and better control of my filler rod.

oh, and hows penetration? am i in the ballpark?

i appreciate the constructive comments very much!!

-Luke

F20Cteg

Try working on torch control and filler control. That will help a bunch.


I swear I shook like a dog shittin razor blades the first time I tigged, but a couple days later, my beads started looking good.

Clean, clean, clean. You will get a better understanding of the puddle if there are no impurities to mess up the puddle.


Good luck,

gabepari

Just to echo some of the others, CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN. Not only clean, but you need to remove the scale from the plate, you need to grind it away, scotchbrite won't cut it.

Also, start by laying beads without filler metal. You will learn puddle control much better.

Try getting some .060" square tubing (like 1.5" or something). Once you can make a nice little line in the field, that is consistent in width and color, without filler rod. Then cut up some pieces, and fuse (welding with no filler rod) them back together. The weld will be undercut, but will teach you not to go too hot. Then try some with the filler rod.

Like anything else, it takes time to learn this stuff. And all the book smarts in the world won't help if you don't practice, practice...

Good Luck

Gabe

lkailburn

i appreciate the help guys. i will go out and clean up the metal the next time i sit with the torch.

Oh and also, this setup is just a scratch start tig. i don't have a pedal or anything. the welder is a small compact portable stick welder by Forney welding and i got a tig kit for it.

-Luke

Bjorn

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by lkailburn &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i appreciate the help guys. i will go out and clean up the metal the next time i sit with the torch.

Oh and also, this setup is just a scratch start tig. i don't have a pedal or anything. the welder is a small compact portable stick welder by Forney welding and i got a tig kit for it.

-Luke</TD></TR></TABLE>

you're gonna have to control heat by arc length then - longer arc = hotter, just like gapping a spark plug
practice on keeping a steady hand to keep a constant arc length
since you're starting, minimize your variables - start with no filler and practice only on a single gauge to familiarize yourself with the length/heat/puddle relationship
when you master that, add variables like filler, T joints, etc.

bart2546

Man everyone got these things around this time. Awsomeness

lkailburn

did some new welds the other day. torch only no filler rod. i ground down the surface of the metal and wiped it but it looks like there still might have been som contaminants





backside:




comments please!

-Luke

dmotoguy

looking a lot better !
I'm learning too.. but looks like a huge difference between the first ones you posted.

lkailburn

yah cleaning made a big difference. looks like i could still clean it a little more. im getting a better feeling of torch control but there are two things i think i need to work on:

i think im angleing the torch too much making the "dimes" more like stretched ovals
i need to fix how i end the arc, maybe pull away faster? seems i always leave a mark where i end the bead.

-Luke