TIG Noob - first welds with Lincoln 355

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I fired up the big Lincoln 355 and after about 30 minutes of TIG practice here's what I came up with. Welded right to left(right handed), in the flat position. Stuck the tungsten a few times, re sharpened. First top 5 passes are without filler rod, next 6 are with filler rod. First 3 pics are of the front of the plate, next 4 pics are of the back. Check out the pics and feel free to critique away, go easy on me, I'm a complete TIG NOOB!!!0.063 Red tungsten - sharp point0.062 Filler rod ER70S-20.070 thick mild steel plate72 amps -  foot pedal to the floorArgon 10 CFH 100 % argonAC balance at # 6 (not sure about this feature-see pic)# 5 cupSR - 20 water cooled torchAll mill scale ground offDC negativeGood ground clamp Attached Images
Reply:Few more pics of back of plate..... Attached Images
Reply:If you  are just learning, I'd go with 1/8" rather than what you are using for material. 1/8" is thin enough you still need some heat control, but is thick enough that you don't instantly blow holes in the material and it gives you some "fudge" with your heat control. If you go with thin  material like you have, be sure you grind the scale off both sides. You will easily pull the contamination right thru if you over heat the material.I've covered this many times before. When starting out, you want to eliminate as many variables as possible. Get comfortable and set your self up so you can maintain a consistent arc length and travel speed, just adjusting the puddle with the pedal. Then do the same drills again, but keep the amperage the same and control the heat with either arc length or travel speed. Then move on to adding filler.With filler I like to teach lay wire 1st as it's the simplest way to do welds. Start a puddle and move it over to the filler. Remember you melt the filler with the puddle, not the arc. Later you can work on dipping or tapping in the filler once you get the basic eye hand coordination down..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:ZZWELDDo you have an air compressor, if so how many CFM.Opus
Reply:Im pretty sure that the AC Balance should be set at "3" (highlighted) for DCEN welding. It appears that you are pausing to make a puddle then moving and pausing again by the heat print on the back of the plate.  That should ideally look like a straight thick line with possibly some slightly scalloped edges where the filler was added or not.  Scribing a straight line on the workpiece helps you get a straight bead.  You kinda have to move your right hand at a relatively constant speed while watching the puddle and dipping filler with the left hand.  You can pull back the arc and pause a bit when you dip, but I've personally found that constant right hand movement makes the best looking beads for me.I'd also turn the heat up and use your pedal more.  It's nice to have immediate heat available when you floor the pedal.  I find it frustrating to have to wait when you need more heat cause he max amps are too low. I like the peddle at 3/4 for the calculated welding amps, so the machine set at 200 for a 150 amp weld.  Just my opinion as a hobby garage welder.  Take it with a grain of salt.Your welds are a thousand times better than mine were when I started out.Last edited by Drf255; 12-04-2012 at 06:20 AM.TA Arcmaster 300CM3XMT 304S22P12 suitcase feederX-Treme 12VSOptima pulserTA161SMaxstar 150STLHypertherm PM45OP setupStihl 020AVP, 039, 066 Magnum
Reply:I use that same machine, bought it new 17 years ago.  Your practicing on too small a piece of scrap.  Whats happening is it heats up to the point that the 4th or 5th  weld will already be too hot for the piece of scrap material. As mentioned try a thicker larger piece to practice on or cool it off in between welds.....Also your post weld setting is too short, try 10 or 12 seconds....The wave balance only affects AC so don't worry about that knob on DC- other than that you have the idea just change that practice scrap or have a couple so they don't over heat.....  Miller Dynasty 350Twenty Six HammersThree Crow BarsBig Rock
Reply:Thanks all for the replys...@dsw-good point, I would have never thought to grind the scale off other side of the metal.I'll go with thicker metal on the next practice round, increase post weld setting, try the lay wire method and gring both sides of the metal. I was thinking of picking up some thick copper plates to use as a heat sink under the work piece. I can see that patience is going to play a big part in tig welding. I'm just used to firing up the stick/mig welder and going to town. TIG is a whole new world. Thanks again for the help....will post more pics later today.
Reply:Did a few welding projects(even some tig welding)since last post. Back to basics. Kind of getting the hang of tig welding. It's a lot harder than I thought. Ran the first 1-6 welds down the right side. Welding from right to left(right handed). Let the pc. cool, flipped it 180 degrees and ran #'s 7-12. Three different pics of the same plate. Let me know what you think...Thank's again.3/32 Red tungsten - sharp point3/32 Filler rod ER70S-20.160 thick mild steel plate125 amps - foot pedal to the floorArgon 10 CFH 100 % argon# 6 cupSR - 20 water cooled torchAll mill scale ground offDC negative Attached Images
Reply:Not to bad. You could use some more amps though. General rule of thumb for tig on steel is 1 amp per .001", so you want to be up around 160 amps roughly for that material..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:On your last set of pictures I would have used the same stuff you did, except about 180-200 amps on the machine and a tad more argon...tackleexperts.comwww.necessityjigs.comhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/mach...dingequipment/