TIG practice: mild steel

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So after having my new Tig welder for over a month now I finally got to use it last night. I bought a 36" long piece of 3" wide mild steel from tractor supply just to run some beads on for practice. The steel is about 1/8" thick maybe a smidge less. Material welded with my Eastwood TIG 2001.5% Lanthanated and 2% thoriated tungsten used. 3/32"100% argon flowing at about 15cfh.ER70S-6 FillerI used my gas lense with a #7 cup.I used different amperage settings throughout the night just to experiment but most of these welds were done with about 90-100 ampsso heres some pics! Please critique. Thanks!Top five beads were just heat. Bottom 2 using fillerA little straighter would be nicethe 9th bead from the top is a butt weldThis is a corner joint on a little 3"x3"x3" box that I made out of the 1/8" steel. In my opinion this is my best looking one. But just cuz it looks ok don't mean it's a good weld right?I'm gonna practice some more tonight so any pointers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for stopping by.Eastwood TIG 200NAPA 83-315 MIG
Reply:clean off the mill scale first and try againnice bright and shiny metal then run your beadsMiller Xmt 350Lincoln Ln-25Ahp 200xSmith Gas Mixer AR/HTig is my Kung FuThrowing down dimes and weaving aboutInstagram http://instagram.com/[email protected]
Reply:absolutely clean off mill scale.  I see absolutely no evidence of "swirl marks" of a grinding disk or flap disk on any of those metal pieces.  And don't polish the millscale shiny with a wire wheel;  it won't do anything to it.
Reply:Originally Posted by emeraldbisonThis is a corner joint on a little 3"x3"x3" box that I made out of the 1/8" steel. In my opinion this is my best looking one. But just cuz it looks ok don't mean it's a good weld right?
Reply:What are your settings on the eastwood?You should go 110-125 amps. Set the pre flow to .2 and post flow to 1sec and the clearance to -3  and leave it at that. Good base settings that you shouldn't have to touch for practice 1/8" steel.Are you using the foot pedal?Torchmate 2x2 CNC with Flashcut CNC controlsHypertherm Powermax45 Esab ET220i Razorweld 195 MigRazorweld 200ac/dc TigTormach 770, Tormach xstechRazorweld, Vipercut/Vipermig, SSC Foot Pedal Dealer
Reply:Originally Posted by GambleWhat are your settings on the eastwood?You should go 110-125 amps. Set the pre flow to .2 and post flow to 1sec and the clearance to -3  and leave it at that. Good base settings that you shouldn't have to touch for practice 1/8" steel.Are you using the foot pedal?
Reply:Originally Posted by Donoharmfor 125 A at least 5 sec postflow
Reply:Originally Posted by GambleI would strongly disagree so he can save gas and it's not like he is welding anything that is load bearing. So in my opinion it won't help any. Maybe if he was doing stainless then sure.
Reply:Originally Posted by Donoharmlol ...the less you know the more you give...Your opinions about welding are priceless.
Reply:Originally Posted by GambleSo you are saying more post flow to help him learn torch angle, torch speed etc..
Reply:Well I guess he will figure it out on his own then.Torchmate 2x2 CNC with Flashcut CNC controlsHypertherm Powermax45 Esab ET220i Razorweld 195 MigRazorweld 200ac/dc TigTormach 770, Tormach xstechRazorweld, Vipercut/Vipermig, SSC Foot Pedal Dealer
Reply:Originally Posted by GambleWhat are your settings on the eastwood?You should go 110-125 amps. Set the pre flow to .2 and post flow to 1sec and the clearance to -3  and leave it at that. Good base settings that you shouldn't have to touch for practice 1/8" steel.Are you using the foot pedal?
Reply:Originally Posted by soutthpawNo clearance on DC TIG.  That's AC only feature
Reply:Im pretty sure I read in the manual that the clearance effect only works on AC. As far as gas goes I'm not paying for it so I'm gonna continue to keep my post flow at about 5s to 5 1/2s. I'm still on my first 154cf bottle and I got it JAN 4th. Granted I only welded the weekend of JAN 4th and lastnight. But I still have about half the bottle left. I'm gonna have to strongly agree with Donoharn. If I had only had 1sec of postflow on 125 A I would be swapping out my tungstens after every bead. Gamble: yes I am using the peddle. I think it's actually a pretty decent peddle too.Thanks weldermick. That was my last bead of the night so I was as "warmed up" as I could be.I'll have to admit Im a little embarrassed about not knowing to grind the millscale off  I'll do that tonight though!Eastwood TIG 200NAPA 83-315 MIG
Reply:The only thing I hate about that pedal is that it keeps sliding around.Torchmate 2x2 CNC with Flashcut CNC controlsHypertherm Powermax45 Esab ET220i Razorweld 195 MigRazorweld 200ac/dc TigTormach 770, Tormach xstechRazorweld, Vipercut/Vipermig, SSC Foot Pedal Dealer
Reply:Originally Posted by GambleThe only thing I hate about that pedal is that it keeps sliding around.
Reply:Never thought of it like that. This thing just sliders backwards a lot, I have to make some feet for mine.Torchmate 2x2 CNC with Flashcut CNC controlsHypertherm Powermax45 Esab ET220i Razorweld 195 MigRazorweld 200ac/dc TigTormach 770, Tormach xstechRazorweld, Vipercut/Vipermig, SSC Foot Pedal Dealer
Reply:Mine hasn't slid at all that I can remember. Since it's just a little plate to push down instead of the rocking pedal I keep the pedal perpendicular to my foot and apply pressure from the side of my foot rather than straight on with the toe. This technique is a product of welding on a table that you can't fit your legs under. I wish I had a rocking pedal so I could just rest my whole foot on it.Eastwood TIG 200NAPA 83-315 MIG
Reply:Originally Posted by emeraldbison...
Reply:Originally Posted by GambleNo they say it works on DC too. It controls the heat in the tungsten vs the work piece.
Reply:Originally Posted by OscarThey call it clearance effect, but its really just ac balance control.  How can you have ac balance on a dc output?!?!?  You can't.Also, post flow is an integral part of tig welding.  If someone needs critique, they're getting the whole 9 yards, not some mickey-mouse kindergarten treatment.  Gotta do a lot of both rod burning and gas using when learning at first.
Reply:You don't have to get back to me on this.  I have the same machine, Eastwood TIG200 AC/DC, and the "clearance effect" aka AC balance control has absolutely no effect on DC welding.  There, saved you some time.
Reply:haha thanks buddy Torchmate 2x2 CNC with Flashcut CNC controlsHypertherm Powermax45 Esab ET220i Razorweld 195 MigRazorweld 200ac/dc TigTormach 770, Tormach xstechRazorweld, Vipercut/Vipermig, SSC Foot Pedal Dealer
Reply:Originally Posted by GambleIt was on kevincarons video; I'll have to read my manual or test it out and get back to you on this. Now you have my second guessing myself and what I read.
Reply:Originally Posted by DonoharmI guess you have a better understanding of the process then other newbies .Try to follow this, 1 make coupons, clean the sides to be welded about 10mm and make a V 2 tack the coupons at the ends, no gap3 start welding at a lower amp (you don't need to worry about penetration right now) puddle should form in about 1-2 sec, add filler when it starts to sink then move forward and repeat.4 arc length very important to keep constant and short, electrode stick-out 4-6mm 5 torch angle 15-30 degrees not the most important thing right now.6 filler in short(er) pieces.. just cut them in halfremember the puddle follows the arc with a small delay, no side to side zig-zag or circles , just control the puddle and feed ... practice only on coupons, running beads with no weld joint it's mostly uselesstry 20-30 coupons, post the best and worst then we go from thereI ground the beads off one of my pieces of steel and tried again. Same settings as before.Another angleEastwood TIG 200NAPA 83-315 MIG
Reply:Your technique is fine. Did you clean those welds after they cooled? They look a bit too clean.Leave them dirty and let us look.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:Originally Posted by shovelonYour technique is fine. Did you clean those welds after they cooled? They look a bit too clean.Leave them dirty and let us look.
Reply:Originally Posted by shovelonYour technique is fine. Did you clean those welds after they cooled? They look a bit too clean.Leave them dirty and let us look.
Reply:Best thing to do is be able to make a consistent weld bead.  Consistently wrong is easier to fix than inconsistently right.   :thumbup:Tiger Sales:  AHP Distributor    www.tigersalesco.comAHP200x; AHP 160ST; MM350P,  Spoolmatic 30A; Everlast PowerTig 185; Thermal Dynamics 60i plasma.  For Sale:  Cobra Mig 250 w/ Push-pull gun.  Lincoln Wirematic 250
Reply:good, yo're past running beads, now make some coupons and try some weld joints--------------------------------------------------------------www.becmotors.nlyup, I quit welding.. joined welder anonymous