Butt/Lap/T joints on 1/8" steel

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Had no ideas of what to make tonight so I figured back to the basics since I had some 1/8" steel. I cut them on the bandsaw but they didn't come out straight. Not sure if it's the saw or the blade going bad. Time for a new blade anyhow.93 amps, 16cfh1/16th filler and switched between red and blue tungsten all 3/32With the lap joint I am still getting some undercut. With the last pic of the tjoint I was moving the torch from one piece to the next.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:sorry to go off topic, but did you ever figure out why you were getting flashed with that performance helmet? i have been having the same issue with the same helmet-commented on an older post(i just now noticed yours), but no responses yet about whether its a common thing or not
Reply:Nope, but it only happened that one time. I just changed out the front cover so maybe some crap on there was blocking a sensor?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:ok..mine was doing it at least every other day or so-the fixture i've been using has one pretty small opening you have to look through to see the bead..i was thinking blocked sensor as well. but then again, the much cheaper huntsman that i was using never gave me trouble. miller sent a new cartridge, no questions asked(just got it today-havent used it yet) we'll see if it works
Reply:oh, on your welds, are you using a pedal?
Reply:Outside corner looks fairly decent. The yellow area is exactly what you want. The red area You needed to add filler more frequently.Again the yellow area is real close to what you want. It might need a bit more filler. Hard to tell from this pict though. Red area is starting to get too hot. Blue area is too hot and you are starting to melt down the upper plate. I'd need to see you weld, but my guess is that you might have shifted the torch too much onto the upper plate as well as getting it too hot.Yellow area is probably the best weld I've seen you do to date. Remember exactly what that looked like as you did it, and keep repeating it over and over. 1st real sign of consistency I've seen in your welds. Now just do it over the whole length. Red part in the lap joint is fair. I don't like the "slumped" look to the bead there. Blue area is way too cold. Don't see where you think you are getting under cut here. The very end just past the blue area starts to look like it might have had promise if you'd continued and added filler a bit more frequently. It's really too short to give you much credit however. You want this bead to look exactly like what you did in the outside corner just above this one.But joint is fair. Looks like you overheated a good part of this. I'd like to see the back and know if you gapped this or not and if so how much. Yellow area isn't too bad from what I can see, but I'd like to see filler added more frequently again. Red area shows signs that the heat is getting out of control. A wide gap here might explain some of what I see in the red area.Any other beads are just too ugly to comment on. Over all I see signs you are improving some. Keep at it and try and visualize exactly what you saw and what you did in the "good" areas so you can try and repeat them.Last edited by DSW; 04-05-2012 at 12:03 AM..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:Thanks Doug that helps a lot!!!Now I have a question, with the T joint and the lap joint can it be done keeping the torch in one place or should they be moved from one piece to the next? I feel like I have more control and the heat is more spread out when moving the torch from piece to piece. I'm going to cut up some more and try again.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:I do a very small  C shaped oscillation on 1/8" with a lap joint, but I can do it without any motion also. Usually just enough to see the top edge of the plate melt and I'm back down on the lower plate. For the most part I'm pushing the puddle around with the arc. At most the motion total is maybe 1/16"-1/32". T joints I usually do a C shaped motion with the torch. Again simply to push the puddle where I want it to go, but again I can do the same  joint without any motion..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:Once you get the welding down we will work on the art of the "Back Dip" to eliminate the mess at the start of the butt..Can I type that?...zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:I haven't posted any of my welds on here, but I sure hope that I get some of the same great constructive criticism that the OP got.
Reply:Originally Posted by matty23sorry to go off topic, but did you ever figure out why you were getting flashed with that performance helmet? i have been having the same issue with the same helmet-commented on an older post(i just now noticed yours), but no responses yet about whether its a common thing or not