learning to tig, what am i doing wrong?

[Rockmonton]

did up one side of the mounts for the PV today since i don't have a collet for the smaller electrodes, and wanted to practise. made a tight (~.3-.5mm) fitup and used probably two dips of filler and fusion welded it as i would with an oxy-torch at about 110A on DCEN after tacking. The sheet is 1/8" mild steel. using a 1/8" yellow-tipped (ceriated or lanthanated?) electrode.

Not quite enough penetration, and i think the current could have been a tad higher, and i could use a smaller electrode.

But, it looks kinda ugly, and i see a few little pinholes (where i moved too fast?). Any tips? I pulled backwards a small amount at a time and let it puddle then come together before moving. Is this just technique?

[hammermill]

practice technique the old statement of makeing things look like a stack of dimes on edge ,

you may also benefit by using a rod to support your tourch hand to steady it allowing smother moves.
also try not to feed filler rod so fast or use smaller rod so it doeseng gob up as you work


good luck and keep trying it will all come together

[Rockmonton]

that one was actually done with no filler rod except to wet the first puddle across the sheets when i got started. Should i be pushing the cup along or pulling it? I was pushing but the bakelite cup started smoking earlier today, but ended up pulling it back for these welds. (I'm using a 1960s? Airco Heliarc welder and torch that i picked up for a song).

[steamin10]

Not the final word here, but I rely on my torch work with brazing to mimic the puddle control. Simply stated, you make and then work the puddle to use the surface tenson of the steel , and get your penetration. The tilt on the head and resulting angle force the puddle material to the end of the 'dig', and you cool the puddle with filler to move along some more, all the while pushing a bit of material out of the puddle as you move along. How long you pause and overall speed will control how wide and deep you melt in. Rather fussy, but if you can relax and figure out the 1-2-3 shuffle of it, your puddle edges will freeze into a nice row of coinage.

[hammermill]

i know this may be a lot to read but it contains several helpful tips

on the torch yes they do get hot and heavey industrial units are liquid cooled.

also check gas flow and work distance from the base metals moving too far from the weld area while the puddle is still melted will cause the bubble pits you see, the shielding gas is to keep oxygen away.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_tungsten_arc_welding

the photos here show good welds

[GlennW]

You push the torch, but be careful not to drag the back edge of the cup through the weld.

Use AC and pure tungsten (green stripe) for thinner aluminum and I usually keep just the ball end extended past the end of the torch to keep from burning/melting the cup. You can use DC straight for heavier stuff if you use Helium.

I also use a fairly large cup, about 1/2 to 5/8 dia with a 1/16 or 3/32" tungsten, but both depend on the thickness of the metal being welded.

If the ball is trying to drip or wobble around, go larger on the tungsten.

I usually flow around 15 to 20 cfh on the Argon, but I use a HW20 small water cooled torch.

Most of the stuff I weld is .030" to .125" thick though.

Can't give any amperage recommendations as I have always used a foot operated rheostat to control that. Just mash the pedal till I get what I want.

Usually a 10 lens for the thickness metal I work with.

Kinda hard to explain as I go by what is happening, not any set rules.

Don't weld near as much as I used to and my eyes got a bit older, so my stuff isn't a pretty as it used to be...

Dunno if any of that helps or not!

[GlennW]

I can see you got the tungsten in the weld a few times there as well.

A contaminated tungsten will not work very well and will discolor the weld.

It will usually contaminate up to the collet, so removing it and tapping it on the edge of the table will ususlly break off the bad part, as it gets brittle after contamination.

Watch out for any breeze as well, as it will blow away the shielding gas and give you a funky weld.

That's all I know, so I'll shut up now!

[Rockmonton]

found a 3/32" lanthanated electrode and collet in the junk drawer at school, so took it home and ground it up and tried a little lap-weld before getting back to my paper..... it's a little nicer this time,

[Rockmonton]

and played with a bunch of stainless after getting fed up with said report, ran out of tungsten, of course... so used a crusty balled up one and it seemed to help me get the idea of how to hold arc length and angles a bit better, i figure this is gonna take 10-15hrs of actual seat time to get the hang of decently...

[mcostello]

Torch angle should be about 10 degrees. I hold a pencil about 20 degrees, so half of that. It makes the puddle smaller and easier to control. Hobart, Miller, Welding Web, and Mig Welding forums are great places to spend time learning.

[mechanicalmagic]

... so used a crusty balled up one...

A ball on Tungsten is used for Aluminum, not steel alloys.
You should have a sharp point.

Dave J.

[hammermill]

slow down your puddles look like you are racing your self
cut back the current by about 25% so you arent worried about melting thru

be verrrrry carefull of the dust from grinding eletrodes. wear a dust mask the stuff is bad if inhaled.

get a textbook or go to the miller or other sites to get a little toutoring.

we have all been there