hole welds with tig?

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Hello everyone, I was trying to join (TIG) two pieces of metal (both are plain steel) by drilling a hole in one of them and then filling it with weld (see picture). While I can fill the hole in the first piece I just cannot get any penetration into the second. My method has been to go around the edge of the hole and melt everything down into the "crater". At best, this fills the hole but no real penetration is achieved into the second piece - sometimes they sticks together but can be broken apart easily. If I try and point the electrode further down into the drilled hole, there is a bright yellow/orange light that is very painful, even at shade 13. It is not due to oil/contamination as far as I can tell because it still happens even when I meticulously clean the surfaces.Thickness of each piece is about 3/16", while the hole is about 3/16".I was wondering what was the proper technique for doing this kind of a weld? And also, what is that orange light?PS. Using ceriated tungsten (1/16"), ~15 CHF Ar, #6 gas cupLast edited by [gadget]; 11-02-2009 at 11:46 AM.
Reply:You have a "square" hole.  Try going with about a 3/8" or 1/2" diameter hole so you can get a puddle formed on the bottom piece.  When I do plug welds, I drill a hole 2-3 times the thickness of the material. Up to about an inch or so just to insure that I get good penetration on the bottom piece.My name's not Jim....
Reply:Your hole is too small and the yellow light is the electrode getting contaminated.
Reply:If your seeing a painfully bright light at shade 13 (im guessing this is an auto-dark helmet) while TIG welding with a small tungsten then something is wrong with your hood. Check it out and make sure it is functioning right and that your not blocking the sensors. You should easily be able to weld that with a 9-10 at the most and be perfectly comfortable.  If it really was at shade 13 I doubt you would even be able to see down into the hole.But like others have said when doing a plug weld you usually want a hole larger than the thickness of the material.Have we all gone mad?
Reply:Thank you to everyone for the replys.So the yellow light is due to ionized metal being present in the arc? My helmet is functioning correctly as far as I can tell - no problem looking at the arc or the puddle, no flickering or anything like that. The yellow light is just so intense that I can't stand to look at it, and then it still leaves a "light spot" in my vision.
Reply:Originally Posted by [gadget]Thank you to everyone for the replys.So the yellow light is due to ionized metal being present in the arc? My helmet is functioning correctly as far as I can tell - no problem looking at the arc or the puddle, no flickering or anything like that. The yellow light is just so intense that I can't stand to look at it, and then it still leaves a "light spot" in my vision.
Reply:What everyone else already said.  Also, grind the mill scale off  the top surface of the bottom plate in the weld location, as well as the mill scale around both sides of the hole in the top plate.By the way, the name of this weld is a Plug Weld.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op