iTig-200 Noob having some troubles doing beads on 1/8

[Johnson]

Sometimes using too little of amps can make you sit around too long waiting for the toes of the puddle to wet in...that will make the back burn through. If you set your heat, and torch angle right you should be able to to move, dab, move, dab.....ect. The torch angle should be slanted to the side just enough to keep the puddle from bulging under the tungsten and contaminating it as you add filler. If it's slanted too much the filler will ball up and melt to early and drip before the puddle causing irregular looking weld bead. You need to keep the arc length as short as possible, get the right torch angle, amps, get filler rod angle right, and move at the right speed. TIG is not the easiest to make look pretty, but when you get it right, nothing can touch the micro sized super tight weld bead size. Good luck!

[seanm]

Thanks for all the tips. When I was doing practice welds with the power set on the welder I was using the blue Euro style WP17 torch. I have been practicing more with the WP9 torch I got with my Harbor Freight welder a while ago and am doing better with this torch and getting my arc length closer. Yesterday I got stuff for the CK 9 flex head torch for 3/32 tungsten so I'll start using that for further practice. I have been practicing with the foot pedal, watching the puddle as Andy suggested, done some lap welds without and with filler, and some butt welds. I figured out with the way I was holding the torch I started with a close arc length but at the end of the weld I'd look at my hand and see a bigger arc length. With concentrating on other things my hand would relax just enough to go to a natural position with a bigger arc length. I'm changing the way I hold the torch so the relaxed position has a better/closer arc length.
Now that I've been focusing more on the puddle I am wondering if my helmet may be making things harder for me. By that I have read postings saying they can see better after buying a better helmet. I have an auto-darkening one I got from Northern Tool a few years ago, the most basic one. I'm thinking about an Accu-strike to be my next helmet instead of an auto-darkening one. I'm pretty busy with other work stuff the next few weekends so I don't want to get it until I have enough time to evaluate it and return it within 30 days if I don't like it. I have been flashed when doing some thinner (20 gauge) stuff with the helmet I have now. It's got 2 sensors. If I don't like the Accu-strike helmet maybe I'll get one from HTP. Perhaps I could go there and "try before I buy" or get one when I attend a class (more on that below).
I'll post some more pics after I get time with the CK torch and 3/32 tungsten, and I'm more consistent. I'm getting better, but not consistent enough to post pics to ask for suggestions.
I live about an hour from HTP weld in Illinois. In the past they've done a 4.5 hour TIG welding class. If they do some more of those I'll enroll which will be some good help for me.