New to Welding, starting with TIG.

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Thanks to everyone that has provided all the historical beginner TIG information on the forum.  I've been reading through it all for over two weeks, while I decided to learn how to TIG.  I have no previous welding experience, so I know it will take some time.  I've seen my Dad SMAW a bit, decades ago.  I regret not learning this with him when I was a teenager.  No chance of that now.I've also watched tons of good YouTube videos from WeldingTipsandTricks, Kevin Caron and ChuckE2009.  It seemed pretty silly, but I visualized the welding process as I practiced with a 1/8" steel rod "filler" this week, while working at the computer.Anyhow, today I picked up my Argon and tried this TIG thing out.  I set the max power to 90 and got my gear on.  3/32" 1.5% Lanthanated with around 20 CFH of gas.  Using 1/8" 4043 filler.  Pushed down on the pedal and it felt like trying to catch a Tiger by the tail.  I started on 1/8" wall 1" Square 6061, as this is the first thing I need to weld to fix some really bad Spool Gun MIG welds someone did for me.It puddled pretty good and I started adding filler, then I couldn't add it fast enough.  Man this was getting hot and flowing.  I had to be doing something wrong, because my Tungsten was balled like this after one 1.4" pass.What the heck?  This is nuts.  I laid 4 beads along the piece.  No matter what I did with the pedal, it seems like nothing changed.  I had to control the weld with filler and speed.  It really didn't look like the tapering off of the arc I had seen.  Here was the result of those passes.  I started on the right edge and did 4 passes downward.  Ended the last with a nice tungsten strike with the filler.So, is this just how hard aluminum is to weld?  Let me try steel.  I had some 1" square 1/16" wall.  So I changed to DC (after a balled up tungsten reminded me that AC on steel might not be the best idea.)  That thin metal got orange FAST.  I moved fast and tapping filler.  Hearing a pop each time, like ChuckE2009 talked about.  That was cool.  Then I moved a little further to the left and started a short bead.  Stopped.  Tried to start again and my helmet didn't darken, so I flashed myself as I blew a hole through the tubing, then continued to weld.  Didn't see the puddle real well, because it was blue.  Probably should have stopped that one, but things were happening so fast that I didn't realize what had happened until it was over.So I have yet to see a change of the arc with the foot pedal.  Something has to be wrong.  So I get multimeter and check the resistance of the pins with changes.  0.5k to 9.8k with movement...  Well that seems right.I take a break.  My gas lens stubby 17 setup comes in the mail.  I go out to try again.  Guess what I find when I go over the machine and check all the settings that I am sure are right?  Switch was on torch mode, not foot pedal mode.  Explains everything.  I was running full on 90 amps on everything I did.  That explains a whole lot.I tried another bead on steel.  Oh my goodness, control.  Awesome.  I laid down what looked pretty good of a bead to me, except for the very end (top in image below right to left).  Then I did another bead right below it left to right.  I dipped sometime around the start, but didn't realize it until I see the quality of the weld.  Also I was filling from behind the travel direction, which probably wasn't right.I switched back to AC and the 6061 and laid a bead at the edge that looked really nice.  Then I tried a bead part way across before dipping.  Then I tried to start at the top and nailed the tungsten with the filler.  Trying the other beads, the arc was wondering all over the place.  Looks like lightning strikes all around.  Not sure if that is from the balling.  Doesn't seem like the tungsten should ball as fast as it is.  Wonder if I'm dunking it when I don't realize.After 3 hours and a large portion of learning, I'm much less frustrated then when I was driving the unrelenting 90 Amp sports car.      This made me laugh, looking back on today.  But being inexperienced and just stupid, makes things much harder than they need to be.Hopefully I can have some welds soon that actually look like welds.  But I had enough fun for today.  Kinda reminds me of when I learned to fly.  So many things going on at once that you concentrate too much on one and totally mess up the others.
Reply:Excellent attitude and well written!Remember: "visualization" is a key to success in any realm. "But being inexperienced and just stupid, makes things much harder than they need to be." Love that quote, but nobody's born knowing how to tig.I think you're doing pretty dambed good, try using different tungsten, maybe 2% lanthanated.Lincoln SA 200Esab Caddy 160Thermal Arc 201TSMiller Dialarc HFI don't like making plans for the day because then the word "premeditated" gets thrown around the courtroom....
Reply:I think you're making a mistake by Starting with Alum....One of the obstacles in welding Aluminum is that as you approach overheating you get little or no indication from the puddle. It's hard to "read" at first.Steel, on the other hand,  goes thru a range of colors that correspond with temperature. Get started with that first, get the "rhythm" - the coordination - timing - and most importantly the "look" of what you made and how it changes.You Know, by all the Great stuff you can find on the net, what it's supposed to do. Now you have to find-out for yourself how to do-it! And that just takes experimentation and practice
Reply:Your amps are way low for 1/8" alum. You need to be up to at least 150 amps, if not higher to weld 1/8" alum well. You need that power because alum is such a good heat sink. You floor the pedal to get the arc to form fast and then fly to out run the piece heating up. At 90 amps the material is sucking the heat away from where the puddle will form faster than you are putting it in, so the puddle takes forever to form. When it does form, such a large area is almost at melting point, if the piece doesn't simply collapse, it's impossible to control the bead. It's worse f you don't clean the oxide layer off the alum 1st as alum oxide melts at a higher temp than the bare alum in the center.The thing that gets most new alum tig guys is that when you are having puddle issues with alum, the answer is usually to ADD more heat and move faster, not slow down and back off the amps like you can with steel. It's sort of like driving into one of those single lane cattle chutes on the highway when they weave back and forth, and traffic is barreling down the road behind you at 70. You pretty much have to trust to instinct to do everything that needs to get done. Problem is most new guys haven't learned enough of the basics yet to operate on instict, so they crash and burn when alum gets out of control..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:I received 2% Lanthanated in the mail today.  I wish I hadn't payed LWS prices for my 1.5% earlier today.  I didn't expect them till Tuesday.  Oh, well.  I'll work with that tomorrow.Aluminum just seems a little different.  There isn't a color change, but you can see the shiny puddle and see it fall just a bit and tap filler to cool it.  The first bead has about 1/16" droop on the bottom side and 1/16" raised on the top side.  While I got too much total heat into the piece, I don't think Aluminum will be that much harder.  Just different.DSW, you are exactly right on amperage.  I knew that this morning and my pedal problem and frustration got me stupid.    I have the amperage limited to 90 so I am safe on my 20A 120V circuit for now.  When I started today, I worked on a piece of 1/16" aluminum first, as I figured that it would be about the max I needed for that.  However, with the switch mode, rather than pedal mode, I jumped almost immediately from molten puddle to vaporized aluminum when unknowingly locked at 90 A.  This is what got me to the 1/8".  But when you mention the amperage recommendations and heat transfer, it jogs my memory about reading that before.  I had gotten a 200A capable machine to be able to do 1/8" aluminum, knowing I would need near the high end.  This also explains why it seemed like my later beads actually leveled out the previous ones.  The heat from that piece was intense when I got done.  It was a good way for head knowledge to become experiencing the thing.  I will be doing steel for a while, as I get the 220V going.  Practicing not dipping the tip is the same with either.  That should work better with my current limited amperage.  It is amazing how clean TIG is compared to Stick or Flux MIG.  I really like the elegance of it.  Even the crude way I'm doing it.  Last edited by sacherjj; 11-14-2014 at 09:41 PM.
Reply:Originally Posted by sacherjjPracticing not dipping the tip is the same with either.
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWOne other thin to remember with alum. Most alum is heat treated. As soon as you over heat the piece, it anneals it and it goes dead soft, loosing all that extra strength. Some alloys anneal at temps as low as 300 deg F. That's why it's so important not to over heat the piece. The filler metal can help combat strength loss in the weld, but the bigger the HAZ is, the larger the weak area is.
Reply:Partially. The big thing is the additional additives in the filler rod that add strength to the weld making up partially for the loss of strength in the base material in that area..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:Just got back from getting a "Mister TIG Approved" tattoo on my torch hand.  I believe that should solve all my problems.  I'll find out tomorrow.
Reply:Originally Posted by sacherjjJust got back from getting a "Mister TIG Approved" tattoo on my torch hand.  I believe that should solve all my problems.  I'll find out tomorrow.
Reply:It has been a while, but too many things above taking time in the garage learning.  I decided to learn as I build something I need, a front rack for my truck.  I have a front Class 3, 2" hitch.  I am building a cantilevered T style rack that will augment my two racks in the back for long stock.I have some 1" x 2" x 1/8" tubing.  I started making a 2" x 2" piece that will go into the hitch.  I cut a slot to weld in the vertical piece later, when I figure out how long it needs to be.  This is how the rack vertical will mount.Using ER70S-6 1/16"  (Seems a little too small for this, but what I had.)  Full pedal set to 120A.  Gas at 20 CFH.This is one full weld length, but done as two rows. A - Went over this twice, because I had bad undercut and needed to add more filler.D - (This is the same on top and bottom, where the images line up.)  Found myself going too cold I think, and zig zagging a little to melt both sides back into the puddle.  I've found that I'm letting up on the peddle more than I should at times.Not sure exactly what I did different from E-G, but obviously something.You can see the part I cut too much in the first picture in this post.  I controlled the heat and added filler to try to build this back out and fill the gap.  This is a shot from the back side.I had some pretty porous bead for the first try.  I think this might have been shielding gas flowing through the gap and off the edge.  Should have turned up gas I think.  I ground that down and them was able to lay another bead on decently.  I forgot to take a shot of the top side before I ground it down and finished flap disking this part.Things I learned today:I need to get bigger filling rod so I can run higher amperage and keep up.  The best looking welds I got today were running pedal down at full 120A (probably could have gone higher) and throwing in filler like mad.  It didn't help that I was trying to fill in the gap of the two edge radii.I made a Dryer to 6-50 adapter cord and the welder feels much better at 220V.  This will work for a while, but I want to put in a separate 50A circuit sometime this winter.I can REALLY understand water torches now.  I was almost glad when I dumped a tungsten, as I got a chance to let everything cool down.  That torch can really get hot after a couple inches of weld.  Is this something that a 26 would help with over a 17?I finally really saw the puddle and played with it.  Having the gap in the middle made it easy to see if I melted one side more than the other, because the torch was angled.I really had a ball with this.  I wanted to learn how to TIG, just because of the things it can let me do.  I didn't expect it to be this much fun.Comments on the welds and things I can improve are welcome.Last edited by sacherjj; 11-21-2014 at 09:53 PM.
Reply:It just takes practice! You can read about stuff all day long but nothing beats experience. The only way to get good is by dropping the hood and putting in the time! The most important part is that your enjoying it, after a few weeks of practice everything you read will make better sense and you will be able to get more from it because you will probably have seen exactly what someone else is describing!Normally if I'm teaching someone who has no prior welding experience (smaw specifically) I won't let them use a foot petal for the first few hours or even days. The reason being... If you have no stick welding experience than you need to learn the absolute basics of how to control heat and the bead by solely controlling your speed and puddle manipulation.This will teach you how to "read" the puddle and will help you work on rhythm and speed. After you can lay a decent bead without remote amp control your ready to start running beads with the pedal.  Normally I only use the pedal to gun it at the start of a bead and to taper off at the end, other than that I use my speed to control the heat in the puddle and leave the amps set flat for my whole run.I hope this can help you out some! So far your on the right track! keep it up and enjoy the wonderful world of metal fabrication!Real welders know how to penetrate!(Equipment)Whatever can be used to beat my opponent into submission!
Reply:I think that section "C" looks the best, and shows some promise. Overall, looks like you could use more heat & a little bit more filler too. I would have set the amperage to 150 or so personally, and just used the pedal to back off if needed. Thicker filler might have helped, but there's nothing wrong with 1/16" either.Give me fuel, give me fire, give me that which I desire.
Reply:Last pict tells the real story. You aren't breaking down the root of the joint on the one side at all. Left hand side you got inconsistent penetration, but it never transitioned over to the right side. The thinner bevel on the left probably is why you had that side penetrate, but had issues with the right where it was thicker.Man I wished I'd seen this before I went to class on Thursday. I had a perfect example of an outside corner I did for a student in class that went in the scrap bin. He was having issues both with penetration as well as poor fill on the top of the joint. I left his machine alone, grabbed 2 new pieces of 1/8" and did one quick pass with good fill and perfect penetration showing on the back. Your joint is actually a bit easier to do than his was. All done at between 120-130 amps ( I can't remember the exact setting) and 1/16" filler.Practice, practice, practice.... Bevel buts are some of the hardest joints to do well. You need enough heat to penetrate well, yet not so much you blow large holes in it. This is why it's the last of the joints we have guys work on. Outside corners teach you the mechanics of bevel buts You have a root to penetrate 100% consistently, and thin edges at the top to protect and learn heat control..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 for the feedback, all.  This was a mostly cosmetic weld, as the parts are held together in the 2" hitch holder, so it seemed like a good practice piece.  I think the C section is where I just held the pedal all the way down and tried to keep up.  If I had added more filler, I would have been able to go slower but still get the penetration.  With this, I was trying to stay about even with the surface.  I wound up being under by thinking like that.  I went back and filled in some low places.  I ran two beads on one side.  This is ground down to get a tight fit in the hitch.  Should have almost no side to side play.  I laid beads on the top surface, but haven't ground down and fit those yet.