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Hi!I'm a 18 year old guy from Norway that just started as a practice student at Eureka Pumps as a TIG welder.Eureka Pumps assembles and test diesel gensets so it's alot of brackets and pipes that are to be welded so I think I fit pretty well in there.They weld superduplex, titan, stainless steel, black steel and alot of other special materials.I'm pretty new to welding, only been welding at school for 2 years.When I was brand new at welding I heard about those welding competitions and thought I could give it a shot even though I didnt think I was good enough at all. I managed to win the first competition, so I got invited to alot more competitions.I have participated in several welding competitions (about five) and my goal is to participate in the world championship for practice students.I'm invited to participate in a norwegian championship in 2014 and need a lot of practice to win the competition, so I came here for some help and tips One of my colleagues teached me "Walking the cup" last week, and I'm interested in tips from you that can improve my welding technique.I've been practicing this technique for three days, what do you think? What can I do to improve?black with joint:stainless without joint:
Reply:Those look pretty dang good. Oh to have the eyes of an 18-year old again! For me it is having the right size cup for the bevel, and gap. I also grind a small bevel on my cups.Don’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:Thanks! I've been using a number 8 cup (would you recommend another?) and about 2mm gap, it's just for practice so I dont really know what's most normal to weld I could try to grind the cup to see if it helps, what kind of effect will this give?Thanks for the tips
Reply:For my root, and hot pass I use a # 7 cup. Then for the fill I use a # 9. Then I free hand for the cap.You really shouldn't listen to me, I'm no Tig welder! There are guys here who have forgotten more about Tig welding than I'll ever know. Attached ImagesDon’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:Thanks man, I appreciate any advices
Reply:Have you seen this? Don’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:Here is another one of Jody's videos that helped me a lot when I welded on axle flanges on a 12 bolt rear for my friend. kidtigger24  They think I’m crazy, but I know better. It is not I who am crazy. It is I who am MAD!
Reply:Thanks for the videos!The only thing I saw different in the first video from what I've learnt is that he kept dipping the filler material instead of keeping it in the pool all the time. What is the difference between these two?Last edited by Erlend; 10-04-2013 at 05:44 PM.
Reply:I typically cut/grind the pipe to a 30 degree bevel on each side. Start with a 5 cup and move up. For the cap I always use a number 8. It allows me to walk it faster. I like to turn up the heat and GO. Nothing wrong with a number 8. I recommend thoriated tungsten.  On your steel pics you aren't doing very bad at all. A little inconsistent with the bead width but the more you do it the better you will be at seeing the edges behind the cup and keeping it all straight. You can work on the tie ins a bit too. I'm not sure how you do it, but I tend to start about a quarter of an inch back from where I stopped, get the metal hot again and rewalk that last bit.. start the filler rod right over the edge of where I stopped about 1/8" and go from there. That way the puddle is already hot when you hit the stop point so it comes out looking like you never stopped at all. On stainless, since you brushed the bead it's hard to tell if you're doing anything wrong. Looks just fine though. I assume you weren't trying to keep a straight line so I won't say that. Maybe make your steps a little bigger/wider. Make sure you pivot on the top and bottom of your bead, pointing the tungsten to the edges. Usually if you just roll the tungsten up and down you'll get a sort of cold lap look to your beads instead of it looking blended or feathered in.This is all personal preference mind you. You're doing good.. just practice more.
Reply:Originally Posted by akabadnewsI typically cut/grind the pipe to a 30 degree bevel on each side. Start with a 5 cup and move up. For the cap I always use a number 8. It allows me to walk it faster. I like to turn up the heat and GO. Nothing wrong with a number 8. I recommend thoriated tungsten.  On your steel pics you aren't doing very bad at all. A little inconsistent with the bead width but the more you do it the better you will be at seeing the edges behind the cup and keeping it all straight. You can work on the tie ins a bit too. I'm not sure how you do it, but I tend to start about a quarter of an inch back from where I stopped, get the metal hot again and rewalk that last bit.. start the filler rod right over the edge of where I stopped about 1/8" and go from there. That way the puddle is already hot when you hit the stop point so it comes out looking like you never stopped at all. On stainless, since you brushed the bead it's hard to tell if you're doing anything wrong. Looks just fine though. I assume you weren't trying to keep a straight line so I won't say that. Maybe make your steps a little bigger/wider. Make sure you pivot on the top and bottom of your bead, pointing the tungsten to the edges. Usually if you just roll the tungsten up and down you'll get a sort of cold lap look to your beads instead of it looking blended or feathered in.This is all personal preference mind you. You're doing good.. just practice more.
Reply:You may be going a little too slow and overheating the stainless. Speed up your travel speed or turn the amps down a bit.As long as you have decent gas coverage through the nozzle too. In a few days I'll try and snag some SS and take some more pictures.
Reply:Do you have or can you acquire a gas lense cup?Some kind of Big Blue constant current welding machineAnother smaller yet, Blue machine (it's got wire in it)
Reply:Erlend you ask what grinding the cup will do for you.  When use a cup that has not been ground the cup from time to time gets "hung up".  Perhaps a bit of an exaggeration:  it is like walking down a side walk and you slam into a brick wall.  Your cup "freezes" (not literally of course).  But if you grind the edge of the cup down down, it does not get hung up.  See the cup in the 1st video above, it has the edges on the end of it ground down.Hey your doing great for just a few weeks experience keep it up! Erlend take a look a your black joint image above.  You see on the left side of the image you are almost flush with the top of the joint bevel?  And on the right side of the same image you are a lot lower.  To avoid this:   Just keep in mind what ever you lay down (starting with your root pass) is ultimately going to effect your cap pass.  What I do as the joint is being filled up (on each pass- not so much do I pay attention to this on the root pass as there is already enough to pay attention to - lol) I watch the top edge of the weld bevel as I am welding along and make sure my last pass, before I cap is uniform.  That way I know in my brain when I cap off all I have to do is keep the same forward motion/movement and add filler at the same pace and all should be beautiful with the cap.  No high or low spots.  I don't have to be concerned about really cramming in a lot of wire to fill a low spot or adding a little if it is high already.  It is a trivial thing but it will throw your rhythm off when walking the cup.  Kind of like walkin down a road and you hit a hole, you have to get back in step to get that rhythm of a nice steady stride going.Great comments above, put those into practice.Some kind of Big Blue constant current welding machineAnother smaller yet, Blue machine (it's got wire in it)
Reply:I've learnt pretty much from you guys, here's some progress. I havent tried to grind the cup yet, but i will try next time. Now i understand why you grind the cup atleast
Reply:Looking good bud! And AKABADNEWS nice work man! I hate being bi-polar it's awsomeMy Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys