Dakota's TIG Journey!

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Some of you may have seen my other thread about taking up my teacher on his offer to jump right into TIG. I decided to go ahead and buy the torch kit and take him up on it. Boy, am I glad I did!! Seems I have a knack for TIG welding, or maybe I'm just delusional. But, my teacher says I'm doing amazing too, so there's that. HahahahaAnyways, onto the pictures! These are all from today, Oct. 19th,2013:My first handful of welds with TIG.Ran stringers on both sides of the plate down to about halfwayLearning what NOT to do, and also trying a weave with the last bit of filler. Think I'm starting to get it down. ~Lincoln PrecisionTIG 375, 3/32 Ceriated Tungsten, 3/32 filler rod, ~3/16 mild steel. I have done maybe 5 welds before this, well over a year ago. Comments, critiques, tell me how much I suck, etc. are all welcome. EDIT: sorry for the ****ty quality. Phone's camera is on its last leg. Weld on!Last edited by Weldakota; 10-19-2013 at 02:20 PM."I fully know my place in life, and it's behind a welding helmet...." - Jesse JamesIG: @weldakota
Reply:Hard to give any constructive suggestions because of the poor picts, but in general they don't look all that bad. Last bead looks like the near side toes could have washed in better, but if it's laid over other beads with filler vs just running puddles with no filler, that might explain some of what I can see.Keep at it. Looks like you are doing well..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Looks good from the house. The PrecisionTIG machines are nice.When you start doing aluminum and stainless it will weld much easier than mild steel. I'm not sure if that's just my opinion or what.Stainless gave me a headache for the first few days, though.And personally you should ditch the high frequency and tig weld pipe
Reply:Agree with akabadnews. Alum and SS will be easier and put you into another dimension for advancement. All in all your welds look very good to me. Adding rod makes for better welds.Weld like a "WELDOR", not a wel-"DERR" MillerDynasty700DX,Dynasty350DX4ea,Dynasty200DX,Li  ncolnSW200-2ea.,MillerMatic350P,MillerMatic200w/spoolgun,MKCobraMig260,Lincoln SP-170T,PlasmaCam/Hypertherm1250,HFProTig2ea,MigMax1ea.
Reply:It doesn't sound like we mess around with either of those much since "the certification test is in mild steel", but I will push to play with them as much as I can. Questions: Would using different Tungsten (Ceriated right now) make a difference in weld quality? Is weaving acceptable for testing/real life welds? Teacher insists I can only weld stringers- no start/stop, step-back, weave, etc. I cannot seem to get more than one weld in a row to have a straight toe- the puddle seems to jump randomly, almost as if the gas is pushing it out. Would a gas lens help? Tips?Weld on!"I fully know my place in life, and it's behind a welding helmet...." - Jesse JamesIG: @weldakota
Reply:Yes. A gas lens is a must for this sort of thing. Tungsten won't necessarily have an effect on weld quality. I started with ceriated, then thoriated, and now 2% lanthanated. The last two are definitely my go-to. I've never used tri-mix or cryo so I couldn't tell you. Get some thoriated (red) or lanthanated (blue or gold I think) and try it out. It's kind of costly but it's always good to have some.Jody has a video on this.. I haven't watched it in a while so I don't remember how in depth it is. Video hereAs far as weaving or not, it depends on the weld and/or WPS. Your best bet is to wait for test day and ask. I've only weaved on a socket weld when I couldn't walk the cup. I haven't taken a test like this though, so someone else should have a better answer.Last edited by akabadnews; 10-20-2013 at 08:07 PM.
Reply:Originally Posted by akabadnewsYes. A gas lens is a must for this sort of thing. Tungsten won't necessarily have an effect on weld quality. I started with ceriated, then thoriated, and now 2% lanthanated. The last two are definitely my go-to. I've never used tri-mix or cryo so I couldn't tell you. Get some thoriated (red) or lanthanated (blue or gold I think) and try it out. It's kind of costly but it's always good to have some.Jody has a video on this.. I haven't watched it in a while so I don't remember how in depth it is. Video hereAs far as weaving or not, it depends on the weld and/or WPS. Your best bet is to wait for test day and ask. I've only weaved on a socket weld when I couldn't walk the cup. I haven't taken a test like this though, so someone else should have a better answer.
Reply:I believe the thoriated tungsten holds current better, and less erosion. Something like that. It'll seem like it's welding hotter, or more concentrated at the tip than ceriated. The weld, as far as walking the cup anyway, seems to flow better. Lanthanated sort of feels like an upgraded version of ceriated. All around good, just better. Keep in mind that isn't a technically accurate description. Just how I see it under the hood. Keep in mind you don't ball the tungsten for steel welding. I did that at first before I was corrected. I also believe a shorter cone shaped tip works better than a longer tapered tip.
Reply:Originally Posted by akabadnewsI believe the thoriated tungsten holds current better, and less erosion. Something like that. It'll seem like it's welding hotter, or more concentrated at the tip than ceriated. The weld, as far as walking the cup anyway, seems to flow better. Lanthanated sort of feels like an upgraded version of ceriated. All around good, just better. Keep in mind that isn't a technically accurate description. Just how I see it under the hood. Keep in mind you don't ball the tungsten for steel welding. I did that at first before I was corrected. I also believe a shorter cone shaped tip works better than a longer tapered tip.
Reply:Ive got one of those in my box.Works well, but you need a ton of argon to run it.  Thats the reason its still in my box.I runa  standard lens with a large cup (#8)  not the large diameter stuff....
Reply:Haven't posted updates in a while. Been grinding away at it, and went it on Wednesday to get a few hours extra practice. Got to talk to my teacher's teacher who does a lot of TIG work, so that was nice. Hopefully you can see that better than the last ones. Started running 8" beads instead of 3" beads. And now, I'm back at square one. Had a guy show me what I was doing wrong to not get the stack of dimes look. So I'm working on getting that down, as I prefer that look much better. Weld on!"I fully know my place in life, and it's behind a welding helmet...." - Jesse JamesIG: @weldakota
Reply:To get a better stack I tend to hold the filler in the puddle a little longer and slow down while it melts. If that makes sense. That's on aluminum though. Looks good. You could start working on lap and tee joints if you want some variation.
Reply:Originally Posted by akabadnewsTo get a better stack I tend to hold the filler in the puddle a little longer and slow down while it melts. If that makes sense. That's on aluminum though. Looks good. You could start working on lap and tee joints if you want some variation.
Reply:Ok guys, I'm back. Haven't been posting much lately, as I've had nothing good to show. Teacher wanted me to step up to vertical, and if I filling up one plate, I decided to go back to flat to PERFECT my beads and get down my "signature" look to aim for in the other positions.Here's my "stack of dimes" I've been aiming for, getting closer and closer and closer to my ideal bead. I've been running jump and pause-  I'll pull the puddle forward 1/16",pause,fill, repeat. Is this an a-okay way to form a bead?1/16" tungsten, 1/16" filler, ~110 ampsEdit: Got a new phone so hopefully the pics are clearer  Attached Images"I fully know my place in life, and it's behind a welding helmet...." - Jesse JamesIG: @weldakota
Reply:Bottom bead looks like you need to dip the filler more often. The problem with those big "dimes" is that too many times you get spots along the edges that don't blend together well and cause areas where cracks can start to form. You want a nice straight smooth line down the line of the toe of the weld, not that fish scale look I'm seeing.If you are making beads just for looks, that's one thing, but if you want good strong solid welds, what you are doing won't cut it. 1st learn to make good welds and the aesthetics usually will take care of itself once you have enough hood time in..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWBottom bead looks like you need to dip the filler more often. The problem with those big "dimes" is that too many times you get spots along the edges that don't blend together well and cause areas where cracks can start to form. You want a nice straight smooth line down the line of the toe of the weld, not that fish scale look I'm seeing.If you are making beads just for looks, that's one thing, but if you want good strong solid welds, what you are doing won't cut it. 1st learn to make good welds and the aesthetics usually will take care of itself once you have enough hood time in.
Reply:I don't see the plate thickness listed, so I can't say. Amps sound about right for 1/8", though on the upper end of what I'd expect to see used. 110-125 is typically what I have most of my students use for beads on flat plate with 1/8".I see plenty of nicer beads at the top of your practice piece. I see plenty of nice tightly stacked "dimes" in that silvery part at the top of the plate. Your dips are inconsistent, in that you can't seem to get the dips even, but that simply takes practice. Keep in mind that beads on steel will look different than beads on alum. Alum beads usually will have that big dime look, while beads on steel or stainless, typically are much tighter.I see way too many guys who are worried about what beads look like. Typically the average person wouldn't know a good weld if it bit them. I've seen guys rave about the look of "dimes" on a piece and think it looked great. I look at it and think I've seen better welds from students just starting out... The dime thing is way overrated, especially with mig. The dimes are a by product of the dip and move process of tig. How fast you dip and move changes the beads appearance. If you make good strong welds correctly, you will get that "dime" look. What separates the true craftsman from the average welder is the ability to understand what changing the variables does to the weld puddle. Guys like ZT can make beautiful welds, not because of any certain motion that they do, but because they truly can read the puddle and manipulate it to get the desired aesthetic look while making a strong bead. It takes quite a bit of hood time to develop this, and some guys simply never get it.Playing with the puddle like you are doing will help you develop this, assuming you really are paying close attention to what you are actually doing and how it changes what the puddle does vs just trying to find a motion or pattern that makes "pretty welds"..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWI don't see the plate thickness listed, so I can't say. Amps sound about right for 1/8", though on the upper end of what I'd expect to see used. 110-125 is typically what I have most of my students use for beads on flat plate with 1/8".I see plenty of nicer beads at the top of your practice piece. I see plenty of nice tightly stacked "dimes" in that silvery part at the top of the plate. Your dips are inconsistent, in that you can't seem to get the dips even, but that simply takes practice. Keep in mind that beads on steel will look different than beads on alum. Alum beads usually will have that big dime look, while beads on steel or stainless, typically are much tighter.I see way too many guys who are worried about what beads look like. Typically the average person wouldn't know a good weld if it bit them. I've seen guys rave about the look of "dimes" on a piece and think it looked great. I look at it and think I've seen better welds from students just starting out... The dime thing is way overrated, especially with mig. The dimes are a by product of the dip and move process of tig. How fast you dip and move changes the beads appearance. If you make good strong welds correctly, you will get that "dime" look. What separates the true craftsman from the average welder is the ability to understand what changing the variables does to the weld puddle. Guys like ZT can make beautiful welds, not because of any certain motion that they do, but because they truly can read the puddle and manipulate it to get the desired aesthetic look while making a strong bead. It takes quite a bit of hood time to develop this, and some guys simply never get it.Playing with the puddle like you are doing will help you develop this, assuming you really are paying close attention to what you are actually doing and how it changes what the puddle does vs just trying to find a motion or pattern that makes "pretty welds".
Reply:I'm back!! Feels good to taste some Argon again. Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk Attached Images"I fully know my place in life, and it's behind a welding helmet...." - Jesse JamesIG: @weldakota
Reply:Don't get in fights with grinders. You WILL lose.  is a lot deeper than it looks through the camera. Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk Attached Images"I fully know my place in life, and it's behind a welding helmet...." - Jesse JamesIG: @weldakota
Reply:Originally Posted by WeldakotaDon't get in fights with grinders. You WILL lose.  is a lot deeper than it looks through the camera. Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk
Reply:Originally Posted by Showdog75That's not to bad. I did this a couple of years ago.