Just playing & trying to learn -

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I guess I'm man enough to get beat up a little bit.I bought a DC TIG welder in November & just now had a little bit of time to play with it. It's range is 10A to 165A, hottest I've used is 90A so far & no foot pedal. I'll be rectifying that in the near future (within 6 months).I originally wanted a TIG to do some exhaust headers. I've been looking for about 3 years now & finally found one in my price range. I don't plan on any aluminum, I have friends that can do that.This was listed here, the price was about half price of new, which allowed me to get a bottle of argon. I bought 3/32", 1/8" & 1/16" tungsten's, collet's, collet holders & 1/16" & 3/32" ER70S filler. Next purchase is to get some stainless filler, more than likely 3/32".I've been studying for several years, finally pulled the trigger on the welder. Girlfriend tells the kids "He's TIGGin" when the kids call.  The Miller book I have, have downloaded many YouTube video's, watched, listened, practiced the motions with my MIG gun a time or two. I'll get better or die trying.Oh yea, the nickle?  I'm no where near good enough to post a "dime" like Zap does.  A nickle was really all I could afford, cause I couldn't find a penny. LOL I'm a little hesitant to post pictures, because I think (I KNOW) I need more practice. Consistency is one problem, adding the filler & moving the torch is another problem and occasional dip of the tungsten. I've also hit the tungsten with the filler.The stainless wire I was using was .030 308L MIG wire. Pretty flimsy if ya ask me. I did notice with the stainless at 35A, it would form a puddle that was about the size of the wire & not very wide. I had to wait a bit & do a circle with the torch to widen the puddle. Then moving slowly I could dip & move. After about an inch I noticed the metal "boiling" which may indicate I have too much heat. The only adjustment for the heat is on the panel, hence I'll be rigging up a foot pedal soon.  Then the welds should look better. Attached ImagesMarkI haven't always been a nurse........Craftsman 12"x36" LatheEnco G-30B MillHobart Handler 175Lincoln WeldandPower 225 AC/DC G-7 CV/CCAdd a Foot Pedal to a Harbor Freight Chicago Electric 165A DC TIG PapaLion's Gate Build
Reply:More pictures.........Oh the horror............. I'm almost ashamed of posting these.  Mild steel was 3/16" & no gap.  The front side had no gap, used 3/32" ER70S filler.  Was running 85A for that one, but I think it's still cold.  Not much penetration on the backside.  The reverse side started with filler, middle part no filler, ending on the left (as you're looking at it) added filler.  I noticed also the crater at the end of the welds.  I've read here that if a person could ramp down the heat, the crater doesn't form.  I've tried a final dip of the filler, but that doesn't work either.  The stainless lap joint I tried the 308L wire on the right, did the left with ER70S 3/32" filler.  It's not pretty to say the least. Attached ImagesLast edited by MarkBall2; 01-05-2013 at 10:13 PM.MarkI haven't always been a nurse........Craftsman 12"x36" LatheEnco G-30B MillHobart Handler 175Lincoln WeldandPower 225 AC/DC G-7 CV/CCAdd a Foot Pedal to a Harbor Freight Chicago Electric 165A DC TIG PapaLion's Gate Build
Reply:you have the right idea.  just keep practicing.  as you can see with the lap joint,  u need more heat to fuse 2 pieces together than to run a stringer bead.      make a bunch of coupons and just run a bunch of 4 to 6" stringer beads then once you can duplicate one after another then you can try changing  1 thing at a time.  so even if you make 10 beads that are ropey and cold, if they all look the same then you are further ahead than 10 beads that all look different.  it also will make it easier for others to suggest improvements.   Get consistency before worrying about the actual appearance overall...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:That's what I was thinking too.  One of my problems is re-training my hands to move the torch, dip the filler.  I used to be pretty handy with O/A.  I welded many a mile of exhaust tubing and other tubing with the gas pipe.  But that was in high school..........................a lifetime ago.Funny thing, these are better than the first practice session I had 3 weeks ago.  That was done before I had any filler & they were ugly!  I didn't take pictures of those though.  Anyway, practice will come.  One problem I have is the different movements of the torch hand & the filler hand.  I can play a piano (barely, out of practice) so I've been going through the movements without power for about 30 minutes after work when I remember.  Kind of like dry firing a weapon at a target while you're sitting watching TV.I think once I get the motions, become more aware of the heat settings, get a foot pedal, everything will fall into place.   At least it did with my lathe & mill.Biggest problem is moving the torch steadily.  I rest my hand on the table, but it doesn't want to slide on the table.  I have a TIG finger, but I have to hold the torch like a pencil, which is too awkward with this torch.  It has a switch that turns on the HF start & energizes the torch/turns on the gas.  When I rig up a foot pedal, the switch will go away & I'll get a WP-17 torch.  Then I'll have to learn all over again.Moving a piece of tubing about the size of the -17 torch handle I can grasp it like a pencil.  This torch I have to hold like a serving spoon & use my thumb to hit the switch.  I'll keep at it, maybe I just need to train my hand to hold the larger torch handle.MarkI haven't always been a nurse........Craftsman 12"x36" LatheEnco G-30B MillHobart Handler 175Lincoln WeldandPower 225 AC/DC G-7 CV/CCAdd a Foot Pedal to a Harbor Freight Chicago Electric 165A DC TIG PapaLion's Gate Build
Reply:Mark since you don't have a foot pedal, stick with 3/32" to 1/8". Set your amps for 3/32" at roughly 80-90 amps, for 1/8", say 110-120 amps.Last pict shows a few sections that aren't too bad. I'd avoid but joints for now. Start with laps, then move on to T joints when you can get decent repeatable results on laps, then go to outside corners. With no pedal, you will have to play a bit to find the right amp range to set the machine in the rough areas suggested.Keep practicing, you aren't doing all that bad from what I can see so far..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:That's primarily what I was doing today, trying different settings to see how the weld looks.  This welder is the one Oscar had for sale a couple months ago, so I'll have to get the parts for a foot pedal & new torch.I'll keep practicing, upping the amps as I get thicker metal.  I might even have a couple pieces of 1/2" scrap I could play with.I was kind of surprised the stainless was actually easier than the mild steel.  I buffed the stainless & ground off the mill scale on the MS.  The MS still needs more heat though, I'm only going up in the amp settings about 10 amps at a time.  I'll try the higher settings tomorrow.MarkI haven't always been a nurse........Craftsman 12"x36" LatheEnco G-30B MillHobart Handler 175Lincoln WeldandPower 225 AC/DC G-7 CV/CCAdd a Foot Pedal to a Harbor Freight Chicago Electric 165A DC TIG PapaLion's Gate Build
Reply:1/2" is way too thick for the amps you have. Even 3/16" is too much if you max out that machine. 1/8" is probably the max practical thickness keeping duty cycle in mind. Granted you can run beads on thicker material, but you really don't have the amps to get a decent bond to the base material. Stainless does take less heat than mild steel. Use the basic 1 amp per .001" of base material as a good starting point for mild steel, and maybe 10% less for stainless to get you in the ball park. Miller has a tig calculator you can either access online, or you can buy the slide rule version. I have the slide rule in my desk that I use as a reference usually.Running beads on thicker plate won't really help you. You won't develop the skill at heat control if the materiel will simply soak up all the heat you can pump into it and then some..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:One of my reasons to use thinner metal, to learn how to control the heat put into the metal.  the .062 stainless was about perfect with 45A.  I did notice the puddle started to "boil" after about an inch of welding, but I had no way to turn the heat down, without stopping & turning the knob on the machine.MarkI haven't always been a nurse........Craftsman 12"x36" LatheEnco G-30B MillHobart Handler 175Lincoln WeldandPower 225 AC/DC G-7 CV/CCAdd a Foot Pedal to a Harbor Freight Chicago Electric 165A DC TIG PapaLion's Gate Build
Reply:Practice today, using 1/8" material, 90A and 3/32" filler. I started with 15 flow of argon, bumped it up to 20 after the first couple beads.I did a 5 count outloud (like a slow cpr count), which seemed to help the consistency. I also switched my grip to a "pencil hold" with the TIG finger. The TIG finger allows my hand to slide on the welding table.Captions say it all. The Tee & butt joints will need more practice.  I may have to make a trip to Mass for some expert learnin............ Attached ImagesLast edited by MarkBall2; 01-06-2013 at 02:21 PM.MarkI haven't always been a nurse........Craftsman 12"x36" LatheEnco G-30B MillHobart Handler 175Lincoln WeldandPower 225 AC/DC G-7 CV/CCAdd a Foot Pedal to a Harbor Freight Chicago Electric 165A DC TIG PapaLion's Gate Build
Reply:Bead #2 and #4 look pretty nice. #4 being the nicer of the two. I'd like to see something just in between the two. #2 being a bit on the cold side, and #4 being just a bit to hot and washed out. T joint looks a bit too hot. But joint with filler looks too cold. Also note all the orange "dust" on the left 1/2 of that joint. You dipped the tungsten or fouled it with filler and didn't stop to regrind.Keep practicing. looks like you are getting it dialed in well. I'd probably bump up the amps just slightly so you can speed up just a bit. I'm wondering if going too slow is why your T joint looks baked to me..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:Your doing Great Mark, Like everyone says Practice makes perfect. Just keep on doing it, playing around with the settings, get a feel what the machine can do and when this happens you'll find that you will be able to control your welds that much better.At work i often see new welders who have never used the machines start of on a low setting and play around all day trying to get a decent weld Thats not my way, i crank it up full  and see how it goes and then adjust from there.but the secret is you need to know what your machine is capable of doing and then you need to get comfortable with your set.I can see your heading in the right direction, keep at it and one day you'll surprise yourself
Reply:The tungsten takes on a blue color after I've run it.  I also had the tungsten out a bit farther on the Tee joint.The one butt joint with no filler, there was no gap, but the weld is actually concave.  Almost an undercut.I didn't wait to let things cool off much between passes either.  I'm sure the rest of the welds would have looked like #3 if I let the coupons cool a bit longer.   In front of the Tee joint, I didn't use filler, just moved the torch along the coupon.  The right one, I moved fast, the left one I moved slow.  I used 3/32" filler at 90A on the Tee joint.MarkI haven't always been a nurse........Craftsman 12"x36" LatheEnco G-30B MillHobart Handler 175Lincoln WeldandPower 225 AC/DC G-7 CV/CCAdd a Foot Pedal to a Harbor Freight Chicago Electric 165A DC TIG PapaLion's Gate Build
Reply:I have only tigged in college over 13 years ago so my knowledge is very limited. I was wondering of an elbow rest would be better. You still could rest part of the weight of your hand on the table but with an elbow rest I think it would help with a more consistent movement. Maybe the pros could chime in on this.Millermatic 200Hobart Handler 120Victor O/A & Ramco BandsawLincoln 225 ACSnapOn AD HoodMiller XMT304/22AHypertherm Powermax 1650 G3Lincoln Idealarc DC600 w/Extreme 12 VSMiller Digital Elite "Joker"
Reply:Well, when I stick or MIG I use two hands to steady the arc.  With TIG, I don't think I could get into position to use my elbow.  The side of my hand resting on the table helps tremendously.  I think I need to relax a bit & have a more "flowing" movement.Tai Chi to TIG?MarkI haven't always been a nurse........Craftsman 12"x36" LatheEnco G-30B MillHobart Handler 175Lincoln WeldandPower 225 AC/DC G-7 CV/CCAdd a Foot Pedal to a Harbor Freight Chicago Electric 165A DC TIG PapaLion's Gate Build