New Thread, same topic, my CAREER is on the line, please help ON TOPIC.

[hooda]

So, my last thread got so far off topic with all the stick welding banter, that I figured I would post the new photos and explain my dilemna a little better, so you could FEEL what I'm going through. For numerous reasons, I can't fully divulge the exact particulars of what is about to happen. Let's just say that in the near future, you will ALL be fully informed, and if I get my wish, my career will involve producing large parts that will be 1/8" wall, mild steel tubing. I'm talking about a MINIMUM of 225" if TOP quality TIG welds per part, up to double or even triple that number. A smart guy has it figured out by now, and is asking "Why not MIG everything?" to which I reply "Because I want my product to showcase exposed, beautiful welds, produced by EVERLAST TIG welders." It is in my best interest to go this way, and once I ramp up production, I will get into cold-wire feeding, but continue to TIG, as a quality trademark of my product.

So, I finally got together all(both) the parts needed to run my Everlast WP10 torch on the 185 Micro. All I have too say about the machine itself is WOW! Considering the fact hat I HAVE tried the competitor's (blue) machine in this amperage class, I feel that the Micro has the hoo-haas to blow the doors off it, and for under half the price, It's a steal. I switched over to 3/32" Lanth. and a gas lens with a #5 cup. The Hi-freq arc starts are potent and trouble-free, but I learned quickly to give the pedal a little "tap" with the torch off the workpiece, so the post-flow would have the argon stabilized when I actually went to start the arc. Otherwise, that initial "blast" was just a bit unnerving. Just my humble opinion, and no different than my 250EX or just about any TIG welder I've came across without adjustable pre-flow turned on. Anyway, the arc was smooth, silent and unwavering, even running near full-pedal for the entire 6-1/2" length of the part.

Now for the trouble. The BUBBLING up of the bead seemed to appear out of nowhere, for no reason, just like the 250EX was doing, except at times worse. I tried turning the gas up, down, more pedal, less pedal, torch angle, arc length, nothing seemed to fully cure it. The ONE factor that I was too under the weather to address was that I couldn't HEAR the gas coming out of the nozzle except when the solenoid initially opened. I gave up and went in, took my temp, and I'm currently running a 102.5 fever, according to my MERCURY oral thermometer, that is incredibly accurate. Anyway, below are some pics. I will post more, but PLEASE anyone who knows, PLEASE point me in the right direction. I MUST figure this out within the next day or so. Thanks.

[performance]

The pull back of it shows what looks like typical contamination and/or overheating the weld, possibly from bad gas. IF both welders are doing it, it has to be an issue with contamination in the gas or poor shielding somewhere. It could be sucking air from somewhere. What nozzle size/tungsten size are you using? Amps? electrode size and classification? It almost looks like 70S-3 would look on scaly steel.

Have you carefully ground the weld for prep at least a 1/2 to 1 inch from the weld, and cleaned it with acetone or some other SAFE degreaser to remove the mill oil?

[fdcmiami]

i've got the flu, that's why my welding sucks? guy, here is my bit of advice to you since when money is on the line the direction of travel will often change. you can't weld, maybe someday but not yet and not well enough to provide a potential customer with an example of beautiful welds. i have been asked on occasion to do some aluminum fabrication or repair on anodized aluminum tubing, i am a good aluminum welder but i have never been good at anodized welding, i have not done enough of it to become proficient. i can muddle through but that's it. so, the solution? i hire someone that can, or i pass on the job.

if you have the opportunity to secure a large job and make some money you had better give up the idea of doing it yourself. swallow your pride and hire someone to do the welding for you.

[performance]

i've got the flu, that's why my welding sucks? guy, here is my bit of advice to you since when money is on the line the direction of travel will often change. you can't weld, maybe someday but not yet and not well enough to provide a potential customer with an example of beautiful welds. i have been asked on occasion to do some aluminum fabrication or repair on anodized aluminum tubing. i am a good aluminum welder but i have never been good at anodized welding. i can muddle through but that's it. so, the solution? i hire someone that can, or i pass on the job.

if you have the opportunity to secure a large job and make some money you had better give up the idea of doing it yourself. swallow your pride and hire someone to do the welding for you.

I think that is beside the point on this. He is wanting to get it figured out. Accepting no is not an option for him. It's a hurdle, that can be cleared.

Going back over your original thread hooda, I am wondering if there was any previous powder coating on the receiver? Also have you ground front, back, and edge all sides? And also, I'd say the max amps you were using was about twice what you needed. The bubbling can be cause from too much heat. If it's 1/8 or 1/4 you are working with, don't try to do this without serious edge beveling, and then drop max pedal down to about 125 amps or so. Make a second pass if you need to. I will tell you that if you are using 3/32 T at this 200 amp on our inverters, it is too much. Drop down to a 5 with 3/32 and 5-6lpm as well. Sometimes more is not better in this case.

[performance]

Hoodas been around awhile. Its not his first rodeo. A little rusty maybe. But from helping customers, everyday, I have seen welds go from that to near perfection in a few days. Every body's learning curve is different. Not everyone can be the best welder in the world, but can gain some level of competence. Being in and out of the saddle sometimes is the hardest thing, because your brain is stuck in one gear and your skills in another.

But advancing your skills and making more money is what its about. Our forum is full of guys that started someplace and worked their skill set way up, on the job so to speak. Giving up because you can't or experience difficulty, is not a money maker. Persistence is. Edison was quoted to say something roughly like, he failed several thousand times making a light bulb, and learned several thousand way how NOT to make one. Giving up here is really a moot point...and goes against what made this country great in philosophy.

[DaveO]

Yikes! Hooda, look after yourself! The forum's clocks seem to say you posted that at 0300, but if you're sick get some sleep! If your head is humming so bad that you can't hear, take a break, who knows what else you're missing!

[everlastsupport]

Come on guys, he asked to stay on topic.

I think the OP will need more torch time, but I agree with Mark on something in the gas maybe. Too hot "generally" ends up on the floor.

Can you tell us the type metal, thickness and type filler rod. Would be easier to start there probably. Assuming from the first post it is mild steel? Are you using the 185 or the 250?

[67cudafb]

Hooda you need to take some of the coments from these guys with a grain of salt I am sure that when they started there welds looked as bad as mine and yours there is quite a learning curve to tig welding thats for sure getting right settings and gas flow what size tungsten and filler rod its endless but I do think this can be learned most members here are willing to share there knowledge and advice so hang tuff you may find someone that knows the in's and outs of tig in your area and pay them for a couple hours of there time or a case or two of beer to do a little coaching might be the ticket hang tuff brother things will get better if you are determine to and keep trying good luck

[performance]

Hooda, a smaller cup may help you. More often than not, I have guys who make the mistake of going up a cup size (ok insert joke here), and increase gas flow, when they needed to drop a size, and increase the density of the flow. Try out a 5 on that weldment. Set it for 5 on the gauge. I find, especially with our torches, going up a size, will increase turbulence. Use a 6 if you are using a 1/8" tungsten. Stick out should be less than 1/4". A key to understanding what is going on is a full look at your tungsten tip. If you can't clear it up or have time, take a picture of it after you have used it, in and out of the collet holder, 1st in the position and length it was used to weld.

[jakeru]

Hooda - I really think this is something with your equipment setup, or your process. Not so easy to identify quickly or easily, but once you figure it out and fix it, you won't be looking back.

One question: Is your tungsten getting contaminated? I'm talking about the portion that is especially up by the collet body, away from the tip. If that is getting contaminated, you almost certainly have a problem with contaminated shielding gas. If that's the case, it doesn't necessarily mean the bottle of gas is bad (although it could be), it could mean that you have a loose connection, or your gas lead is introducing contamination into the gas (especially worth bringing up, since you welded at high amps without usign the cooler recently... PVC vapors into argon do not make for an inert shielding gas.) Anyhow, the way I'd quickly suggest diagnosing this: find a clean piece of aluminum. (with machine in AC, and maybe AC balance of 20% EP, and torch pointing straight into the flat piece) Make an arc, with enough heat to make a puddle. Verify that the puddle is perfectly "shiny chome" looking under the arc. No "junk" actively moving/floating in the middle of the puddle. Whole puddle clean, and shiny, nothing floating in it. When you stop, there should be no black flecks in the solidified puddle, it should have a pretty smooth texture.

If your test equipment passes that test (aluminum puddle is clean), then it's time to focus on either your steel materials as introducing the contamination, or your filler rod introducing it. You can probably guess the next step: see if you can reproduce the problem just welding (or making a deep puddle in) the base material, with no filler rod added. You just use the process of elimination to narrow it down.

If your equipment does not pass the "clean aluminum puddle" test, then you have to figure out where the contamination is coming from. One thing you can try, isyour other machine (the 185Micro) on the aluminum. If you have a different gas bottle, that could be good to try also.

One other thing you can try: test for leaks in the gas lines by reducing tungsten stickout so it's behind the cup, tightening the backcap, then press your thumb over the cup outlet tightly (so it seals it), and tap the foot pedal (make it a real quick tap though, so you don't get "zapped" by the high frequency), and after the solenoid shuts off, keep your thumb pressed down, a few seconds, then release and make sure pressure is holding in your inert gas supply system. If pressure is not holding, listen for any leaks in your torch lines, fittings, etc. Try your other machine and torch (185Micro).

If you have another inert gas bottle, it might be good time to try swapping that too. Sometimes gas bottles have contamination in them. Sometimes when you get to the bottom of a bottle, the pressure and your flowrate drops. I have experienced the gas on a bottle "going bad" as it nears emptiness before also.

Just giving you some food for thought... ideas to try. Hope you can get it figured out soon!

[redbeard]

One other thing you can try: test for leaks in the gas lines by reducing tungsten stickout so it's behind the cup, tightening the backcap, then press your thumb over the cup outlet tightly (so it seals it), and tap the foot pedal (make it a real quick tap though, so you don't get "zapped" by the high frequency)

Or, switch it to lift start (if equipped) or use a little piece of inner tube against a block of wood for a seal to avoid those pesky electrons.

[DVA]

I do not know why all the notes have been erased. The comments are light compared to what you would receive in the field if you showed up for a job and everyone found out you were a beginner. My work passes less than 70 % of welders, many with 20+ years pipe welding all over the country. Here are a few pictures I took in the shop of a hot tap mockup.

Hooda, I suggest you find someone who knows what they are doing and they can help you with the proper settings and techniques. With some practice you will become more consistent but it will take a lot of hood time. I attached the pictures to show the type of consistency that is typical of a professional welder.

[zoama]

I do not know why all the notes have been erased. The comments are light compared to what you would receive in the field if you showed up for a job and everyone found out you were a beginner. My work passes less than 70 % of welders, many with 20+ years pipe welding all over the country. Here are a few pictures I took in the shop of a hot tap mockup.

Hooda, I suggest you find someone who knows what they are doing and they can help you with the proper settings and techniques. With some practice you will become more consistent but it will take a lot of hood time. I attached the pictures to show the type of consistency that is typical of a professional welder.

That's some awesome welding. I don't think I'll ever be that consistent.

[hooda]

I do not know why all the notes have been erased. The comments are light compared to what you would receive in the field if you showed up for a job and everyone found out you were a beginner. My work passes less than 70 % of welders, many with 20+ years pipe welding all over the country. Here are a few pictures I took in the shop of a hot tap mockup.

Hooda, I suggest you find someone who knows what they are doing and they can help you with the proper settings and techniques. With some practice you will become more consistent but it will take a lot of hood time. I attached the pictures to show the type of consistency that is typical of a professional welder.

I will start off by saying that the welds in this post are something I have set my sights on being able to produce. They are beautiful. I know that I am literally YEARS away from having the experience and hence the ability to do welding to that level. But in saying that, I also never claimed to have that kind of ability in the first place. Do I think I have the TALENT to learn, and the dedication to practice until I'm that good? Abso-freaking-lutely! You know, I took an unplanned welding test a couple months back as the result of dropping off a resume and explaining to the guy where I was, experience wise. He didn't get the job that he would have needed me for, and I dropped my pursuit of the job. I ran into him last week at the local steel supplier, and he told me to keep in touch, and if things pick up, he'd still be interested in putting me on. We both realize that it would be an ENTRY level position, but it showed me that a guy who does food and pharm. grade welding has enough belief that I'm TEACHABLE to keep me on his list.

The way that some members chose to treat my call for help was (obviously) not the direction that the moderators want the forum to go. Most of the members that I talk to off-forum agree that the "look at the fat kid" mentality is childish, mean-spirited, and does absolutely nothing to advance one of the main agendas of this forum, which is to HELP fellow members in need. I've been told by several members on just this thread that I have no ability, that I can't weld, that I should re-think my career plans, and that I'm wasting my time. And the people that put these comments out offered absolutely nothing constructive as far as a solution to my problem. If I wanted to really be put in the shark tank, I would have put those pics up on that other welding website, then I would have expected to be ripped to shreds. Luckily for me, there were some decent members that offered pointers on what to try, and I was able to muddle my way through a bunch of crap that I had produced, and salvage it enough to be usable, (and thankfully for my own ego, not too visible). If I could actually afford it, I would go to a formal welding school, like hobart or lincoln. But at this point, it's not even a DREAM of being possible. Lacking that, all I can do is read, study, practice, repeat. Over and over until I actually get better. I have made a choice, and the plan has not changed, just the time table.

I have 2 questions as long as I'm at it. 1. What would be the setup to make welds like those in the pics (Tungsten, amps, cfh, etc)? and 2. I noticed that in your sig, you have a Evolution Rage2. What's your opinion of it? Do you recommend it for cutting 1/8" wall steel tubing? Thanks.

[sportbike]

If you are trying to use weld quality as the cornerstone of your work, I'd have to agree with fdc in that I think you might want to re-think your business plan.

What filler are you using? Is it a name band or is it some no-name material?

Try running some test beads on a flat plate with no joint, preferably new metal that is very well cleaned.

John

[hooda]

Well, for those of you that haven't taken lessons from my dad in telling me how incompetent and worthless I am, and actually want to help, here's the latest, I tried a few different things and figured out I had a LOT of possible things going on, mostly due to my inexperience. First and foremost, my guess is too much heat, too much stickout, and lack of experience on what to do when the puddle "breaks" on the back side. Below is a pic I took after making another pass over what was a really bad pass. other than a little yip in the middle of the weld, it looked better than what I was getting. below that is what the tungsten looked like after that weld. It's 2% Lanthanated.

[performance]

Much better. Watch the tie in on the side. Make sure the margin/edge of the weld is even consistent.
..
I have said it before and will say it again:
There's a difference between being politically incorrect and being un-civil. One comes from ignorance,which in some cases can be excused, the other comes from poor raising...or at the very least they got a U on citizenship in Kindergarten, and never looked back

[Zmechanic]

Hey Hooda,

I had two hunches on your issues. One was burning through the back, and sucking air/contaminants into your base metal. Another was inadequate gas coverage. To be honest, that bubbling looks VERY similar to what will happen to you if
you let your mig nozzle get too clogged with spatter. Ask me how I know that

To quote Roy Spence (a very successful, multi-business owner): "Sometimes you have to jump off the building and build the wings on the way down"

[sportbike]

You still around Hooda? Haven't seen any posts or updates for quite sometime. Last I remember, you went "all in" on welding equipment and maybe even rented some space.

[67cudafb]

Hooda don't get sucked in and drop to his level just take it with a grain of salt and get better at tig and let the quality of your work do the talking and if this is a sorority I am very happy to be a part of it