First o/a attempt at welding

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So this is my first post as well as my first attempt at gas welding. Been lurking for quite some time. I have mig and arc welded in the past (won't quit my day job), but I wanted something I could use at my house that was versatile, without spending several thousand dollars to get setup correctly.  So after some consideration I purchased a uniflame kit online (71 series torch, 0 and 2 weld/braze tips and cutting attachment, hoses regs). Bought 2 new tanks from my lws both 80cf (they won't sell any bigger around here) and the welders handbook 2nd edition by Linde.Read the book, read posts here, and watched a bunch of vids (some good and some eh).  I pushed the puddle around for a couple evenings on 16ga until I was sorta confident I knew what I was doing. Now I need some good honest critiquing and advice.Today's goal was to weld what I thought were two 1/2 X1 1/16th channel together to make a 1x1 tube.  Problem is I had a brainfart and the channel was 1/8th. But anywho.  Gas at 4-5 ( adjusted while torch was lit), and oxy at 5 ( or close, I need better guages those regs for burglar sets are really hard to set at such low pressures) adjusted for neutral flame. #2 tip.  I had to turn the valves on the torch up rather high to get the metal to start to melt, I believe a #3 tip would have been easier to heat up.  Question is how loud should a torch be when it is the correct "zone"?  This one was turned high enough that it was quite loud. The manual says this tip should be ok for 1/8  but I felt that it might have been pushing it.  As the pics show, I got ok penetration on the one side (it had a 1/16 gap to start) but the side I tried to tack first (flush on starting point, 1/16 gap on other end) looked like it got good penetration, except when it cooled it cracked, and when I cut it there was virtually no penetration.  Do I need more heat?  No filler, because as I stated I thought it was 1/16.  Also I had the best luck making a somewhat consistent bead/puddle when I ran the weld directly away from me as opposed to sideways. Seemed I could control the puddle better.Any tips and all constructive criticisms welcome.  Btw my lws looked at me like i had lost my marbles when I told him I wanted to try to o/a weld (though I may well have lol).  ThanksJustinSent using smoke signals
Reply:Be nice if I could include pics huh.Sent using smoke signals
Reply:Makoman1860 here is probably one of the better guys on OA welding. Hopefully he'll chime in with a few tips at some point. ( If not you can always PM him.)You need to work on consistency. I see some areas in the 2nd pict that aren't too bad for where you are at.Nothing wrong with OA. True it's not used i industry as much today as it was in the past, but if I could only have one method of welding, OA would probably be at the top of my list. While there are certainly "better" ways to do certain things, especially from a business point of view where time is money, you can't beat the versatility of OA to be able to weld a wide variety of materials, cut and heat as well as braze and solder..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:Hi....so you like renting and filling bottles of Oxygen and acetylene........if you tried a certain plasma welder you'd be welding like oxy/acc on steroids.Ian.
Reply:Originally Posted by rmbln68Gas at 4-5 ( adjusted while torch was lit), and oxy at 5 ( or close, I need better guages those regs for burglar sets are really hard to set at such low pressures) adjusted for neutral flame. #2 tip.  I had to turn the valves on the torch up rather high to get the metal to start to melt, I believe a #3 tip would have been easier to heat up.  Question is how loud should a torch be when it is the correct "zone"?  This one was turned high enough that it was quite loud. The manual says this tip should be ok for 1/8  but I felt that it might have been pushing it. .  ThanksJustin
Reply:I'm not surprised it cracked.  The c-channel is thin where you welded relative to the rest of the section.  Without filler and adequate penetration, there's no reinforcement right there.  Shrinkage on cooling can cause it to crack."USMCPOP" First-born son: KIA  Iraq 1/26/05Syncrowave 250 w/ Coolmate 3Dialarc 250, Idealarc 250SP-175 +Firepower TIG 160S (gave the TA 161 STL to the son)Lincwelder AC180C (1952)Victor & Smith O/A torchesMiller spot welder
Reply:4sfed, thanks for the article. I tried adjusting the torch according to the article.  Holy cow! I was way to lite on the gas flow.  Pressure was right but I didn't have the torch valves close to where they needed to be. Before I was trying to weld that channel on the lowest acceptable setting for that tip, or lower.  Set it this evening and it was night and day. Heated a puddle right up. I'll try to do some samples (with filler this time) after a few more non filler runs on plate.  Need to get my puddle more consistent. Thank you all for the input, I have a feeling it's gonna save me a lot of frustration.ThanksJustinSent using smoke signals
Reply:Originally Posted by rmbln68Sent using smoke signals
Reply:I feel like I learned to weld w/OA. I bought a torch set from Airco in the 70's and took Thurs Night "lessons" there The "Flash Back"  that I occasionally got I cured by lowering my 02 pressure (at the regulator) just enough to maintain the Neutral flame.Later, when I purchased a TIG welder, I picked it up immediately. It was just all so familiar....
Reply:Practice feeding your filler wire with the gloves you use.  It can even be done while perusing the web, or other mundane tasks.  I hold it betweenmy pinky and ring finger and squeeze with my thumb to feed.  This should be subconscious and practice until it is.you definitely need more filler material, try the next size up on the tip too.  A rule of thumb for oaw is to get to the point where you are blowing through on the practice piece and dial back from there.  That's with proper pressure of course!  Most tables prescribe too much, l use a different method but the one above is sound.  I never look at the guages to adjust the regulators.good luck!
Reply:Thanks to all the replies.  No 2 uniweld tip on 1/8" pressure set according to above post.  1/16" rg45 rod. Still got a long ways to go, need some serious torch control, but I feel like I have a little grasp on what needs to be done to improve.  Now I need to go melt some more rod.ThanksJustinSent using smoke signals
Reply:Sent using smoke signals
Reply:Try running just some puddles on any piece of steel, a flat sheet will give you more room but I used to teach people off of an old bike frame I found in the alley and would just grind clean after practice.Just make your puddle and move it along in a straight line, no filler needed until you get the control and pace down.  After that you can get the rhythm of dipping filler into the puddle.  Practicing dry helps too, just get used to holding the torch and moving it across while maintaining angle and distance to the workpiece.