Sparks from TIG

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I fired up on some steel tonight for the first time w/ my machine. I've been working on aluminum up until now. WOW that smooth 60hz is like silence!! Anyhow went pretty well. I noticed a tiny amount of popping/bubbles around the edges, and it seemed like it was coming from the mill scale? Fair enough I know that needs cleaned off for actual work. Then I tacked a piece of round bar to a steel triangle stand (basically joining round bar together) that was not long enough. I cleaned the pieces but at 1 or 2 points I was just trying to butter the filler and base a little and was getting some sparks, a few hitting my helmet. Any ideas what this could be? Everything seemed smooth before this.I used ER70-S6Thoriated tungstenLast edited by dump; 01-20-2014 at 11:13 PM.
Reply:The only time I've seen the bubbling you describe was when welding zinc coated tubing with 70s6. I had cleaned off the outside but it was still coming up a bit from the bottom. The extra silicon in the s6 reacts really bad with the zinc. It caused both the bubbling and sparks. I switched to s2 and all was good. Various contamination has caused sparks for me as well. Better cleaning usually solves that.NickESAB CaddyTig 2200iPowermax 45MM140 (Sold)
Reply:Wait - are you saying you are using AC (60hz) to TIG weld steel?  Totally unnecessary - steel should be TIG welded with DC current, which does not have an appreciable frequency.  Typically, steel does not spark when TIG welding.  If it does, that's a good sign that you are causing porosity.  An occasional spark here or there is ok.  Anything more and something isn't right.  I'd make sure to sort out: cleaning issues first, gas coverage second, base metal issues third.Miller Dynasty 200 DXMiller CP-300 with 30A feederHypertherm Powermax 900Oxy-fuel w/Harris torchesScotchman Glide-in bandsawMonarch 10EE latheEmi-Mec Autoturn latheDeckel FP2NC milling machinePro-Tools 105 Bender
Reply:You're right. I was welding DC and I guess there would be no frequency since it's not AC!  Gas was about 18cfh on 7/16 cup
Reply:DCEP OR DCEN? Should be DCEN on Steel and I run 2% thoriated.. (red). Grind tungsten to a point and keep a tight arc.. Sometimes if you dip it in the pool you'll get some sparks to. Keep your tung out of the pool!! lol..
Reply:DCEN 2% thoriated. I'll fire up on some more steel soon and see what I can find out after I re-grind and clean.