how are my welds

[dgarnier]

1/8th thick not sure what type of steel it is so I just used er70s2 3/32 filler

A 80amps 1/16 tungsten Seemed cold
B 80amps 3/32 tungsten Seemed cold
C 115amps 3/32 tungsten Stopped too long at the end of the weld
D 100amps 3/32 tungsten Stopped too long at the end of the weld and got a crater
E 100amps 1/16 tungsten Seemed good but I jerked in the middle and didnt keep and even bead
F 115amps 1/16 tungsten I took too long to get going and got a puddle on the back side

Front


Back

[performance]

Too hot on all accounts. Non of those welds should have been above 70-80 amps with 3/32.

1/16 should be less than 50 or so.

You are going to fast. You should think in your mind about keeping about a credit card thickness between the base metal and the tungsten and THEN work your torch back and forth to open up the puddle. Yours is too narrow. IF you aren't getting penetration at 115 amps on 1/8", then you are holding too far off. See those heat lines? Too much heat. YES...What I have told you will seem painfully slow, but that's the nature of TIG. Its not a speed weld race.

[Mikeymetal]

I just tried TIG welding for the first time ever the other day. That info. would have left me with a lot fewer questions about the whole process. I will try to mess around with the credit card thickness next time I get a chance. Hope you post more pics after you try it.

[dgarnier]

I dropped the amps down..but in order to get a puddle going I get lots of heat lines. I then dropped the amps for to 25 and I can get a puddle to start but I still get heat lines. I will get some more pics later tonight. I think I have the distance ok, beacuse one the puddle forms its touching the tungsten....I have 20 tungsten and I have gotten really good at shapening them.

[Robert s]

Yes you will become a master of the tungsten sharpening arts. The heat is too high but hang in there when you get it, it will seem like you have been doing it all your life. It is not about speed it is about perfection. Tig may be slow but it is an art form.

[dgarnier]

Ok 3/23 tungsten same 1/8th steel

I started at 90amp and got a puddle then stopped, then did the same thing all the way down to 20amp. The first 70amp test something happened and the welder acted like I had let go of the switch, but I was still holding it in. At 20amp the puddle was so small that I would not even be able to get 1/16 filler in it. At the lower amps it takes a bit to get a puddle, but by then I have the same heat lines as the high amp settings. Not sure if it plays in but I am using a #8 cup



the 60amp looks like it had the smallest heat lines to get a puddle so I started at 60amps and ran a bead with 1/16 filler. I have the tungsten so close now that the 3/32 filler was hitting the tungsten as I was feeding it in. It still took a while to get the puddle going and each time I moved the torch forward I had to pause to let the puddle reform and then feed in some filler. Not sure what I am doing wrong but the head lines looks almost the same size as they did in the 80 - 115amp test.

30amp bead

60 and 40 amp beads - when I fed the last bit in on the 40amp the puddle jumped up just as I let go of the switch and the tungsten got stuck in the weld

50amp bead


I am out of cutting wheels and the kids are in bed, so no more cutting tonight....might try and take a video so you guys and tell me what I am doing wrong

[WaWelder]

I too am just starting out with the tig, and so far my welds look alot like yours. I have played a bit with the argon flow too. Not enough and the welds seem dirty and porous. Too much and its hard to get the puddle going. It might help the people with knowledge to know the flow settings as well.