Please Critique TIG beads

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Trying to teach myself how to TIG, this is where I'm at with my Diversion 165. I know these aren't good, but I'd appreciate some tips on what I might be doing wrong. Not enough rod? Not enough amperage? I dunno, gimem some tips These are all on 1/8" mild steel, cleaned with a flap wheel, 3/32 red tungsten, can't remember my rod diameter. Thanks,Adam Attached Images
Reply:Hey there OB.Looks like you are coming along. I would have to say they are a bit overheated. Perhaps some better gas coverage would help, but otherwise I think you should move on to another type joint. How about some fillet welds next?Or move over to alum to jog things up a bit. I know some people poo-poo the idea, but it gives a much different perspective on heat, filler, travel speed and the such. Then move back to steel and you should be surprised at what you can do.Weld like a "WELDOR", not a wel-"DERR" MillerDynasty700DX,Dynasty350DX4ea,Dynasty200DX,Li  ncolnSW200-2ea.,MillerMatic350P,MillerMatic200w/spoolgun,MKCobraMig260,Lincoln SP-170T,PlasmaCam/Hypertherm1250,HFProTig2ea,MigMax1ea.
Reply:its cold..#3 is the best..see afterthe 6th puddle how the globs are thinner, fit together better and tie in to the parent..still cold but better..looks from the heat pattern in the metal the plate got hotter there..5 got hot, 6 aint real bad..you want as short an arc length as you can get..enough heat to get a puddle within a second or two..get some longer plates and grind em dont polish em..you're only getting about fifteen puddles before you run out of plate..,you'd be better of getting some longer beads down and start to get a feel..
Reply:in my opinion... first off you should make longer cuponds to practice on.  time you get started on these its over.  looks like your freehanding, if you cant walk the cup the first thing you need to do is just weld some stringers on a piece of plate and practice that.  If you can already do that and you want to freehand the root thats fine, thats what I do but you need to learn to walk the cup before you try running a root.  next what size gap are you taking?  there are many ways to do this but starting off  Id say take a 1/8" gap and use 1/8" 70s wire fire up on it and hold that wire in the bevel and keep the point of the tungsten right on the wire just moving wide enough to lay it flat and roll with it.  When you look at it if its not right crank up the heat to about 135 and burn back over it... it will help you in the future fixing problems.  but keep at it and you'll get there make sure you take the time to have a good fit.
Reply:I agree with weldbead, most of those look cold.  Almost seems like your stickout is too far and your set too low or moving too fast.  Basically, looks like you're lacking gas coverage and running cold on most of them.  #6 does look okay...but still looks like it's weak on gas coverage.--Wintermute"No man's knowledge here can go beyond his experience." - John Lockewww.improvised-engineering.comManufacturer Agnostic:Blood----------Sweat---------Tears----|------------------|----------------|----Lincoln Red, Miller Blue, Esab Yellow
Reply:Just re-read your post and realized that your using 1/8" plate to practice on?!  what are you actually trying to accomplish?  If you want to learn to run a root pass, which is what I thought by the pics, you need at least 3/8" thick plate to practice preferably thicker.
Reply:Originally Posted by quick.campbellJust re-read your post and realized that your using 1/8" plate to practice on?!  what are you actually trying to accomplish?  If you want to learn to run a root pass, which is what I thought by the pics, you need at least 3/8" thick plate to practice preferably thicker.
Reply:Wow, thanks for all the tips. Yeah, half the terms used in your responses are like a foreign language to me, such as root pass or walking the cup. I've heard these terms before, though. I'll be doing some Googling after this response. I'm just trying to weld some metal together to get the feel of it. One I get consistent on basic joints I'm going to build a table base out of some angle iron, but I'm not confident enough, yet. I've got some notes from this that are a big help, mostly confirming my suspicions, I had a feeling they were too cold. Half of those beads are from the back of the plate where I flipped it over to get more practice. There weren't many places that I could see penetration on the back which made me think they were too cold. Also because some of the beads were stacked too high for the amt of rod I was putting in. Next time I get out there, hopefully tomorrow, I will reduce my stickout and crank up the amps. I'm running at 15cfm so I assume my flow is not the issue. I was sticking out my tungston a bit more than I should, I guess, so I could see it better. I want to get to aluminum soon, but I don't have any rod for it, the proper tungston, or any scrap yet. I'll probably get a few more strips of that mild steel from Home Depot (I haven't found a "real" place to buy metal yet) to practice these square butt joints. And now I have a couple questions: For this thin plate I should just be pushing the puddle along in a straight line, no need to make any circular motions with the torch, right?Should I have this plate sitting flat on my table surface, or should I have it clamped so the joint is suspended above the table?Thanks again, Adam
Reply:Originally Posted by quick.campbellin my opinion... first off you should make longer cuponds to practice on.  time you get started on these its over.  looks like your freehanding, if you cant walk the cup the first thing you need to do is just weld some stringers on a piece of plate and practice that.  If you can already do that and you want to freehand the root thats fine, thats what I do but you need to learn to walk the cup before you try running a root.  next what size gap are you taking?  there are many ways to do this but starting off  Id say take a 1/8" gap and use 1/8" 70s wire fire up on it and hold that wire in the bevel and keep the point of the tungsten right on the wire just moving wide enough to lay it flat and roll with it.  When you look at it if its not right crank up the heat to about 135 and burn back over it... it will help you in the future fixing problems.  but keep at it and you'll get there make sure you take the time to have a good fit.
Reply:I'd recommend clamping the pieces in something off the table.  If you get enough heat for full penetration you'll probably end up welding them to the table (at least slightly).  Also, the table will act as a heatsink and will contribute to cold welds.  And finally, you should get used to welding without a big heatsink on the backside of the weld as most things you weld won't have that there and you won't be used to it and may end up burning through more often because you haven't gotten used to welding without the heatsink on the back.--Wintermute"No man's knowledge here can go beyond his experience." - John Lockewww.improvised-engineering.comManufacturer Agnostic:Blood----------Sweat---------Tears----|------------------|----------------|----Lincoln Red, Miller Blue, Esab Yellow
Reply:Originally Posted by OakBehringerWow, thanks for all the tips.

For this thin plate I should just be pushing the puddle along in a straight line, no need to make any circular motions with the torch, right?[/LIST]Thanks again, Adam
Reply:Originally Posted by SR20steveCambell, where the heck did that come from? He asked to critique his welds, he just trying to weld two pieces of 1/8 steel together. He's not welding a open root butt weld, walking the cup is still lightyears away.IMO #6 looks the best as its not cold except for the start, don't focus on looks right now focus on heat control and learning to watch and recognize what the puddle is doing. But not bad at all.