Tig welding 3/16 steel

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will someone please tell me how I should butt weld 3/16 steel using my Precision 225 tig welder?Such as, how do I prepare the two pieces of steel?Current setting.Kind, size and shape of the tungsten.Filler rod and anything else.Thanks,Jack
Reply:Try a 3/32 red tungsten, 3/32 er70s-6 filler around 125ish amps. I would put a slight bevel on the plate too!Ya gotta spend money to make money!
Reply:use a flap wheel to prepare the surfaces.  Current: maybe start with 65 amps, thats only a starting point, use scrap to determine right amps for your travel speed, filler rod size etc.  Use 2% thoriated 3/32" tungsten. (should have the red mark on one end). Use 3/32" ER 70 filler rod.  Remember to keep the surfaces as clean as you can and your tungsten sharp. Good luck.
Reply:Let's see 3/16" is .180" so following the basic guideline of 1 amp per thousandth, about 180 amps.Actually in practice 125 amps will get a puddle going, more heat will let you move a little quicker and ensure penetration on a PJP square groove joint.  Any 3/32 properly pointed 1.5 or 2% tungsten will work, Thoriated or Lanthanated seem to handle the higher currents better than Ceriated.  1/8 filler will get the job done.  If a square groove prep you'll need a 1/8" gap to get proper penetration, much less if you do a bevel or v groove prep.
Reply:Some good info here:http://www.millerwelds.com/resources/TIGhandbook/http://www.millerwelds.com/resources...ur-skills/tig/Last edited by Jim Riley; 10-06-2010 at 10:27 PM.Reason: update
Reply:amps..some like to set the machine whertre they need it, some like to set the machine up high and play with a foot pedal...try  both ways..i find the second way lets you pulse manually-- nail it to get the puddle , drop back some, feed rod to it and watch it cool, repeat..the size of the filler rod will affect the puddle, a small rod will cause the puddle to cool less than a large one..