Look at my welds. Help.

[Donoharm]

.... if I have funds I'm going to get a nice wire brush wheel and clean the metal and a nice 1/8th or 1/4" thick plate and .....

wire brush will barely scratch the millscale.
get a small angle grinder and some 80 grit FLAP disks

[B_C]

+ 1 that

[TIGger305]

What are you welding on? Those dingle berries look like your material is plated or
something that splatters as mentioned........Get some clean cold roll steel to practice on like 1/4 " plate then work your way up to thin wall tubing......Less chance to OVER COOK IT

BEAUTIFUL WELD!!!.. roughly what size weld is that. and whats your torch set up (cup size size tungsten etc.) and gas flow for that. i weld stainless all day but when i do projects with larger welds like what u got there. i get that gray color.

[WeldorWes]

Clean material makes for a happy weld puddle

[Donald Branscom]

As mentioned by others.

Wrong material for TIG.
Wrong direction of sharpening of tungsten.
Ceramic cup severely contaminated from aluminized or galvanized material.
You can't beat up a TIG torch like a MIG torch. Won't fly.


The ceramic cup on a experienced welders torch will be unmolested and clean.

[Donald Branscom]

BEAUTIFUL WELD!!!.. roughly what size weld is that. and whats your torch set up (cup size size tungsten etc.) and gas flow for that. i weld stainless all day but when i do projects with larger welds like what u got there. i get that gray color.

Grey welds on TIG is usually from overheating.

The rainbow colors (oxides) are usually produced at about 975º.
It is a sign that you welding amperage is close to what is needed and not too much.
Check the back side for burn through.

Grey color can also come from oils on the metal.

[Donald Branscom]

Ok I will grind it the other way. Any good way to clean the cup or the recommended way?
I got some 3/32 filler rod today to try out. All this so far is 1/16th.

I tried welding 2 pieces together and using 1/16th seemed rather small so I got the 3/32. That should be better I think.
More pics tomorrow.

Don.t use a grinding wheel on a tungsten unless it is very fine.
A sanding disk is better. About 100 grit.

You can use a 3/32 tungsten from 5 amps up to 150. (Steel or stainless)
It will last longer that the 1/16 tungsten and be easier to sharpen.
From .049 thick metal and up you can use the 3/32 tungsten.

[Matt922]

Don.t use a grinding wheel on a tungsten unless it is very fine.
A sanding disk is better. About 100 grit.

You can use a 3/32 tungsten from 5 amps up to 150. (Steel or stainless)
It will last longer that the 1/16 tungsten and be easier to sharpen.
From .049 thick metal and up you can use the 3/32 tungsten.

Maybe its just the way i am sharpening my tungstens, but its wayyy easier to sharpen a contaminated 1/16 than a contaminated 3/32. I'm new to tigging like the OP, so results may vary. (experienced tigger won't have same problems as a noob)

here is what i've accomplished after about 2 hours of tigging.



Disregard the ugly brown stuff, i'm pretty sure thats when i contaminated the tungsten and the weld pictured was with a fresh sharpen.
I was welding 1/8th flat bar to teeny 1/8th angle with 120 amps, gas lens, #6 cup, 1/16 ceriated tungsten and 3/32 filler.

[TIGger305]

When i stated out one of my big problems was of course my Shaking Hand. which with time eventually got better. but my other problem was travel speed. I was going to slow and using filler too much. which resulted in high welds similar to what you got there. i forgot what the rule of thumb when it comes to amperage with thickness of metal. When i remember ill post it.
but i would say try not using filler like a machine gun. take your time... work on a steady hand...and when it comes to using the filler rod ...slow down and DAB will the filler like a drip from a leaky faucet. your on the right track tho. Keep up the Good work man.

[Gamble]

Is there a proper way to clean the cups?
Donald, what do you mean wrong material?

I'll have to get a 100grit wheel for the tungsten until then all I have is a metal disc. I'll get a pic up.

[Donald Branscom]

Is there a proper way to clean the cups?
Donald, what do you mean wrong material?

I'll have to get a 100grit wheel for the tungsten until then all I have is a metal disc. I'll get a pic up.

To clean the cup you can just lightly scrape with any tool, but the reason the cup is getting contaminated and getting balls of metal on it is from the coated metal that you are working with.
It spatters and then the molten balls of metal stick to the ceramic cup.
You need to work on clean uncoated steel or stainless steel.

They have MIG filler wires just for working with galvanized and aluminized metals.

You can use a 100 grit flap wheel for sharpening your tungsten, or a flat sanding paper on a bench style sander will work the best.

Normally when you are using TIG (GTAW) you stay away from aluminized or galvanized material because of its spattering properties wrecking your TIG torch.
If you had a gas lens in your TIG torch it would be worse because the molten balls of metal spattering all over it get stuck to the screen and they will not come off.
Those gas lenses cost at least $20.

I give you credit for trying, but working with no foot control makes TIG welding very difficult.
Usually with TIG you have the pedal down at the start and let up as you progress and the metal plate is heating up.

BTW in that last photo the brown stuff can be from gas pressure being a little high.
That piece being welded still has mill scale on its surface and that is making it more difficult.
The metal needs to be sanded to clean shinny surface.

[Gamble]

That was what I was looking for thank you. I tried the wire brush on the cup but not much luck. Any good way for cleaning the inside, like can I take it off an soak it in anything?

[winlight148]

just throw the old cup away, get a couple diffrent sizes, they dont cost that much. and get a couple collet bodys too. i allways seem to wreck mine by over tightening the tungsten. and from my experience(just a year with a tig). it is very difficult to learn on a cheap(no offense to you)machine. i bought a used name brand machine for a very reasonable price. budget is a concern of mine, but i got tired of being agrevated by a cheap machine. when i got a name brand machine my welds changed alot for the better. like nite and day.

[Gamble]

What did you end up going with?
I have been searching locally for a tig welder and I can't find anything that isn't 220 and 30 years old. So I decided to try this and see if I like it. I'll be saving up for something better for sure.

[Pro-Fab]

The cup looks like you keep forgetting to open your shielding gas valve before striking your arc, or have been welding galvanized. If the spatter won't scrape off with a knife blade, get another. As for tungsten sharpening, when you contaminate an electrode, cut it back about half an inch, then resharpen it. If you don't have a nice clean point, you will get arc wander.
Get comfortable and rest your arm to get rid of the shakes. You have to hold a tight arc and increase your travel speed. You are piling up your fill rod because you are not advancing the torch when dipping your rod. You seem determined, and that counts for a lot. Just keep at it, but keep in mind, that while practice is important, you have to focus on exactly what it is you are practicing. If you are just putting in hours under the hood, and going about it all wrong, you are just teaching yourself bad habits that are going to be difficult to unlearn.

[Gamble]

Exactly. I want to learn the right way hence why I am here.

Here is a question. I was watching a few videos on youtube and one guy mentioned to rest the cup and drag the cup. Is that bad practice or good? I haven't done that.

And yes I have forgotten to turn on the gas lots of times. lol

I had lots of arc wander and it's a lot better now with a nice tip. I'm going to do some research to see if I can get a foot pedal rigged up after I get used to welding with this tig to get the feel for everything.

And a n00b question here, but is there a recommendation for how far away the tank should be from welding or just put it as far away as possible? I'm only 3 feet from where I weld so I'm thinking it should be farther.

[Pro-Fab]

[QUOTE=Gamble;488864]Exactly. I want to learn the right way hence why I am here.

Here is a question. I was watching a few videos on youtube and one guy mentioned to rest the cup and drag the cup. Is that bad practice or good? I haven't done that.

And yes I have forgotten to turn on the gas lots of times. lol

I had lots of arc wander and it's a lot better now with a nice tip. I'm going to do some research to see if I can get a foot pedal rigged up after I get used to welding with this tig to get the feel for everything.

And a n00b question here, but is there a recommendation for how far away the tank should be from welding or just put it as far away as possible? I'm only 3 feet from where I weld so I'm thinking it should be farther.[/QUOT

You are probably refering to "walking the cup" which works very well for pipe welding by an EXPERIENCED operator. You should be holding your torch almost vertical and feeding your fill rod in at as close to 90 degrees from the torch as possible(5-10 deg. from horizontal). Direct your arc down into the base metal, not at your fill rod. On thinner metal, if you are angling the torch back so that you can drag your cup, you wont maintain a decent gas shield, and unless your material is very smooth, you will probably get jerkiness from keeping pressure against the base plate.

[Gamble]

OOOOO that is what walking the cup means. I get it.

[winlight148]

What did you end up going with?
I have been searching locally for a tig welder and I can't find anything that isn't 220 and 30 years old. So I decided to try this and see if I like it. I'll be saving up for something better for sure.

i went with a lincoln square wave 175. i love it. its hard to do good welding with a 110 machine (for beginers). when you cant heat the metal up fast enuff, you end up staying in one place too long and that overheats the metal. dont worry if its 30 years old. those oldie are goodies. i would recomend wiring your shop for 220. you will be happy.

[Gamble]

I'd like to do 220v, but if you see my house it's a bitch. The panel is in the back of the house and the garage is on the other end. Vaulted ceiling and not much room to crawl from one end of the house to the other in the attic. I need a skinny electrician that isn't afraid of small and tight spaces to run the conduit. And I'm sure it would be super expensive to do so. Can't go under the floor since I'm on a concrete slap. I'm pretty screwed lol.
My first priority with wiring is to get the family room, dinning room, kitchen and garage off of 1 15amp circuit as the house was wired that way when it was built.

[winlight148]

does you garage have a subpanel. if so you probly just need to do a little rearanging. no new wires needed. mine had a panel so i just got one of my buddies that does electric to come over and put a 50 amp 220 volt outlet in. also hooked up my compressor. all that in about an hour and a half. the half hr. was beer time.

[Gamble]

I wish I had a subpanel.

[Gamble]

What would happen if I changed this to DECP and used the neg for ground instead of the positive?

[B_C]

For me personally 120 amps means 3/32 tungsten.......I typically use 1/16 for welding stainless and small amp setting projects.....(30 - 80 ) just because you have a 3/32 tungsten in place doesn't mean it WON'T work for low amp settings (it's just harder to
maintain a welding current ) I wouldn't attempt to weld 1/4" plate with a 1/16 tungsten
these are things most welders DON'T learn before worrying about how does my weld look......It's all about learning the set-up first in my opinion before even turning the machine on....

[B_C]

What would happen if I changed this to DECP and used the neg for ground instead of the positive?

Hmmmmmm never saw that set-up in the owners manual?

Remember the "Electron flow theory" neg to pos........