New to TIG - practice beads - advice?

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Hey guys, Ive been playing around with my Miller Maxstar 150 for about a month running a lot of practice beads. I feel like I am getting the hang of it, but would like some advice as how to improve upon what I'm doing. Before you ask, I have gone to Miller's website and looked at their hints and tips section and have used their weld calculator.. I would just like some of your guys professional opinions..here are my figures for what i've been working on here..I took a wire brush attachment to my power drill and worked on cleaning off the practice metal (was that good, or should I always grind it?).I was running it ~75 amps with the pedal, the carbon steel was 1/8" thick, and I was using ER70S-6 1/16" filler rods. The 2% ceriated tungsten was also 1/16". Nozzle diameter 1/2", Argon was flowing at around 11 cfh. Thanks,Paul Attached Images
Reply:G'day Paul.This will not be expert advice as im no expert but may be of some help.Your welds look a little cold.  The toes of your welds are not wet to the metal and your beads look a little high.  Both are traits of a cold weld.  You may be also melting the filler to the metal and not creating a pool and adding the filler to the molten pool.I personally would be using a larger tungsten and filler.Use a flap disk to remove mill scale as a wire attachment will not get it off.
Reply:Yes beads look cold. Kick the amps up to atleast 100. Probly go 110. at those amps the 1/16 tungsten will not stay sharp. Use a 3/32tungsten.Get a puddle started on the base metal then feed the filler and move forward. watch the bead and try to keep the width even as you feed the filler. Dont be afraid to push the filler in. Sometimes you need to do more than dab.mm135HTP Invertig 201 With water cooler9" Southbend LatheLots of hand tools.
Reply:Paul,Try walking the cup!!! walking the cup consist of nothing more than moving the cup in a half circle (Arc) by using your elbow... like everyone else said "More Amps"... thats the key... the cool thing about heliarc is how much amperage you can use. Dont be afraid of heat.. The more heat you have the more metal you can push into the puddle; also they're wont be any undercut so dont worry... TIG is an art, once its mastered, its a breeze... Also, with TIG its a CLEAN process, so make sure you GRIND. ?Using only a flap disc only exposes new grains, doesn't get rid of all your contaminants. One last thing try using a 2% thoriated (Thorium) Tungsten electrode, giving you a more stable arc and arc start up! Hope this helps Paul,Let me know the outcome!Matt
Reply:stop the flat plate and do some fillets and lap welds..and as said these beads are a little cold. they served the purpose oflearning to move and feed, tho...
Reply:thanks for all the great advice guys! I'll crank up the amperage along with your other suggestions and give that a go..
Reply:quick question, is there a more efficient tool to grind the mill scale off a plate than just an angle grinder? That's kind of a slow process since it only grinds a small area at once..
Reply:A 9" angle grinder.
Reply:your welds don't look a little cold they look frozen, half as much wire with that kind of amperage probably would have wound up much better. granted you wont be welding stringers on flat plate but when you are practicing that way they shouldn't look like worms laid out on a sheet of steal. they should look more like worms that were run over by a car. the bead in the top left looks the best. do try the fillets and lap welds as they are much more practical practice joints and post some pics of those.
Reply:I also have a maxstar 150 tig.. i got those wormy looking welds when i didnt clean the surface properly.. grind the base metal down to a shine, and then try.
Reply:Try running some beads without filler so you can see how the base metal is melting without the interference of filler in the weld.   You'll soon see that you need more juice make the puddle and move it along.Angle grinders grind off mill scale no problem.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:Quasi has highlighted a problem which is common with many people new to TIG and that is pushing too much filler into the weld pool. Adding excessive filler has the effect of cooling the weld pool, as you become more experienced you will be able to use this to your advantage to help hold a puddle under control, but in the early stages try to learn what effect different amounts of filler have on the finished weld profile. The beads in your photos are pretty good for a beginner and show good coordination. TIG is not easy to self teach because there are so many parameters involved, each of which can have a huge effect on the finished bead. Experiment with different tungsten, ceramic and filler sizes and if necessary write down the results for future reference. It just takes time!Dave
Reply:You are actaully doing pretty good. Most people aren't that coordinated(sp?) right off the bat. Esp welding that cold. Try some lap joints. t joints at 110+ amps and after that try welding together some of that 1/8 plate with beveled edges and about a 1/16 gap at the same settings you were using up there in those pics. Bet you catch on really quick and they start turning out swt. Get ahold of some cold rolled if you can. Mill scale is a hooker.
Reply:word of advice this is how i learned tig welding. I started on pipe wich is way different wayyy harder. but, crank that machine ALLLLLLL THE WAY UP! Learn to control the heat with you foot not the machine. I heliarc all day long on mostly 304 sch40 stailess, mostly 1 1/2"- 2" (we have a 10 & 12" job now). My machine stays set on 250. I control everything with my foot. I prob only run around 95-115 but learning how to look at your puddle and know you need to be hotter helps when your not limited to 100 amps. there are times when you learn what your looking at you may have to hit 126 or something random. When i learned my boss maxed out my machine and then pulled the knob off of the machine to force me to learn to control with my foot. Best thing that ever happend.Weldandpower 225Heliarc Rig for itTorchesect ect ectLifes Short WELD NAKEDLooking for a SA200
Reply:Hey guys - I'm back,been practicing more.. I took your advice, and it helped a whole lot I think.. esp about more amps, and grinding the metal down . I got some more pics here.. This is my first official TIG welding project (done welding on it). I'm making a floor stand for my Vice. Tell me what you think about these welds..Stats:1/4" steel plates3/16" 3x3" square pipe Maxstar 150 running at it's max - 150 amps1/8" filler rod (ER70S-2)1/8" ceriated tungsten Argon set to 13 cfh thanks,Paul Attached Images
Reply:I knew you would catch on quickly. I've worked with dudes who have been welding longer than i've been alive that can't do that. Nice  work.Try walking the cup on that fillet weld now. Just lay your filler in the joint, rest your cup on the steel tilted back 30-45 deg and move your torch up and down. At first it wont seem like you are moving but trust me it works and once you get it it's so much easier than free handing everything.
Reply:Well Paul. Looks like you are ready to give advice to the rest of us. Hope I learn half as fast as you did. Nice. Be proud. Harold
Reply:some beach....
Reply:looks pretty good. nice bead profile. one thing i would suggest is t put your 'dimes' about half as far apart. your dips are a little to far out and all of those little valleys aren't perfect. work on your corners a little to. if you can turn the corner and stop then restart at the corner they will look much smoother than what you have their.  more nit-picky feedback but that is what it takes to become really good. keep this up and then work on thinner material then we will see how good you can be. try welding something round as well, plenty of that stuff out their.
Reply:awesome.. thanks for the complements/advice. Now off to try some thinner round stuff
Reply:trying the thinner stuff is great but I prefer to get people to master the simple welds first then move on to the more difficult stuff ie round and or thin. I would work fillets on thinner and thinner stuff until you get it really good. Try working on walking the cup too. Then start groove welds on 3/16 or thicker, freehanding, skidding the cup and then walking the cup. work your way down to the thinner gauges as you get better. You'll learn how to control  the puddle better by mastering something that is more forgiving and working your way to the more difficult welds. It won't be as difficult to weld 16-22g tubing if you can successfully weld 1/8 and thicker. Just work on welding the thick stuff hotter and faster than you think you can until you get it. Lingering  on thin stuff will kick your *** every time so learn to move with the quickness.Tips for thin tubing. rest the trailing edge of your cup on the tubing to steady yourself as you try to weld around the tubing and maintain your torch angle. You'll be able to move faster this way. Use a more tilted back torch angle than normal(45deg or so) with a stick out of about 3/16-3/8 depending on tubing size and cup size. Use whatever stick out it takes to get you 30-45 deg torch angle with a nice tight arc length. Gas lenses help with the long stickout.Last edited by i4sillypwr; 09-05-2009 at 07:31 PM.
Reply:Hey Tetra, massive improvement in a very short time, some really good looking work there.
Reply:looks alot better i think your dimes are too far apart but much improved. keep it up. I walk the cup myself and do it! it makes life easy (hard to master) and i prefer the look of it on pipe rather than free handing.Weldandpower 225Heliarc Rig for itTorchesect ect ectLifes Short WELD NAKEDLooking for a SA200
Reply:Looks good... Improving rapidly, that's for sure...Dynasty 200DXNo MIG as of yet....
Reply:Great job!!I just bought a Miller Syncrowave 250 and been trying to get 2 hours a day in on it but my welds look nothing like yours!! Keep it up!! Seeing your progress is making me go in today (Sunday) to get a fews hours in while nobody is there!JasonMiller 252Miller 250Miller Syncrowave 250Esab Plasma Powercut 1250HF Basic oxy/act torchesThe tube to plate beads look great!  You're a natural tig welder!  MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op