[Mark_k]

I was practicing on 16ga due to that’s the material I will be welding the most. I was running 60 cause the slide calculator called that and 1/16 filler. I’ll bump it up and work on running faster.

[BugHunter]

Another thing that can give you fits is that you are trying to practice using really small parts. They just get so hot that it's almost impossible to choose any settings that will work. Try clamping Your Parts down to a big heavy work table or whatever you've got that you can make into a heat sink so that there is a way for your puddle to freeze. If you have a nice big chunk of aluminum laying around, maybe attach to that and let it suck the heat out of your parts.

I also agree with going too slow. I would also say that the erratic nature of your direction of travel tells me your helmet may not be giving you a very good view. It looks to me like you're getting lost because you can't see.

[Poland308]

Yes working on small parts IE less mass will take much less heat.

[Mark_k]

3/16 plate running around 125 amps 1/16 filler.

[tweake]

do your self a favor and clean the steel better. your leaving to much millscale behind.
grind it down to "shiny bright metal".
tig is not forgiving to crap in the steel.

[TraditionalToolworks]

Agree with tweake and would give it more heat. If you're really using 3/16" plate, I would use 175 amps at least and I would probably use 3/32" filler for that. Depends if edge, but, tack, lap, but for what you picture here I would use more heat.

[Oscar]

Yup, stop feeding the metal bottle-formula, it's 10yrs old already it can eat solid food (crank up the amperage!!)

Filler 1/16" or 3/32" depending on how quickly you can advance the filler rod into the puddle.

[Spartan]

The welds are looking much better than they were, though! Keep it up.

[BugHunter]

3/16 plate running around 125 amps 1/16 filler.

To my point above, where I said about small parts need attached to something to suck the heat out... I'm guessing the weld along the top of that picture is the first one you ran, and that looks like you're pretty close on the heat. From there, maybe the pad started looking that way, but after a few beads in rapid succession the entire area got so hot that it no longer mattered if you if you had your settings right, the part was going to oxidize some and no amount of gas coverage was going to fix that.

When you lay a bead with a good color, try to think about what the conditions were, and do that again. If that means starting with a cold part, so be it. Once the part reaches 300-400F, it's going to oxidize and change colors whether you're welding on it or not. It's ok to quench in water and go play some more, but try to find conditions that'll work for the part you're working on if it was a 'real' welding situation. Small parts are hard, and usually they need some help to keep them cooled down.

[Poland308]

Mild steel my go to is 120 amps 3/32 wire. I know on any thickness I can get a good weld. Will it be full penetration at 1/4 inch steel, no , but it will be one of several passes that will make a code weld at unlimited thickness. (IE per code )

[BillE.Dee]

it might just be camera angle, but the insulator seems to sitting a bit sideways in the one picture. make sure the o ring is on the back cap. I'd pull the tungsten back inside a little. clean the crap out of the base material, then acetone it. Turn the amps up a little more... watch the torch angle.. Hug the base material and truck along.
looks like you're starting in the middle and heading out, and when you get to the end, you're really cookin. Try to just run some beads for a while til ya get the feel for it, then add filler.

[Mark_k]

Getting any better, or should I just stick to eating paste?

[Oscar]

Yes, but it's only good if you make it a habit of cleaning the metal like that each and every time. Notice how we can notice how well you clean it? We can spot shiny-millscale vs clean metal a mile away. Also, I just noticed your tungsten stickout is way too much, which I think was partly causing oxidation/contamination problems. Without a gas lens and the appropriate shielding gas flow, a long stickout is the same as having a 20mph gust of wind wiping out all your efforts. Try this: keep it no more than 1/8" of an inch from the cup, don't tilt the torch more than 5° from the vertical in any direction, and weld SHORT beads, like 1" short. This is so you don't inadvertently start changing the torch angle as you move along and lose focus while you're watching the puddle. Keep the arc length consistently at about 2-3mm; it's a lot harder than it sounds as you try to drag your hand/arm/wrist down a supporting surface, all while balancing your body/tilting your head/trying to feed filler. this is why I recommend short runs so you can focus on the technique and let your muscle memory build. Once you do that, extending the distance to 3-4" bead runs becomes much more easy. Things I wish someone taught me when I was trying to teach myself the same thing by doing these long runs on scrap and easily losing focus of most of the things that needed the most attention.

[v5cvbb]

I'm guilty of tigging some not quite clean metal. I barely clean mill scale off when it's something I could be stick welding. I don't get shiny welds like that, but I've never seen anything like that first pick. Any chance the metal had some type of coating? Looks like some plated nuts I tried tacking together.

[Mark_k]

Tried the 16ga again, cleaned it with a flapper disc. The welds turned out a little better and didn’t have the crap around it. Would switching to a gas lease help or should I hold off on that.

[Spartan]

Tried the 16ga again, cleaned it with a flapper disc. The welds turned out a little better and didn’t have the crap around it. Would switching to a gas lease help or should I hold off on that.

For me, gas lenses provide noticeably cleaner beads and noticeably better puddle control. Great investment to make, IMO.

[Mark_k]

On the 1/16” plate, it’s not really burning through on the bottom, but kind of caramelizing like stainless does without a back purge. Will have having a copper backing fix this issue?

[Spartan]

On the 1/16” plate, it’s not really burning through on the bottom, but kind of caramelizing like stainless does without a back purge. Will have having a copper backing fix this issue?

Chill blocks/backing on the top and bottom will always help. Copper is great, but I use aluminum chill blocks almost exclusively since it is so much cheaper and readily available in all sizes.

The key with chill blocks is surface contact, so machined surfaces on the chill blocks are a plus but not vital (just don't use blocks that are all gouged up and funky), and adequate clamping pressure to ensure good contact between the work and the chill blocks.

The chill blocks/bars also don't have to be super thick (even though thickness is good). 1/4" and even 1/8" thick chill bars and backing can work wonders if that's all you have available.

[BillE.Dee]

On the 1/16” plate, it’s not really burning through on the bottom, but kind of caramelizing like stainless does without a back purge. Will have having a copper backing fix this issue?

are you both sides of the material? I had some material that I had to plasma cut and it did the same thing on the back side from the heat. TIG welding likes sanitary. Also, when you get the puddle formed (in short time), get moving. IF you get to the point that you can't keep up with the puddle using 1/16 filler, grab the 3/32. Try to not lag and wait for the puddle, use more heat..just lay down some beads to get used to the process, then add filler to the combination of using one hand and your foot and eyes.

The tig process is kinda like rubbing your belly, patting your head and tapping your foot to the music, all at the same time.

[BillE.Dee]

shoot !! My bad. I mean to ask if Mark is cleaning both sides.

[Spartan]

The tig process is kinda like rubbing your belly, patting your head and tapping your foot to the music, all at the same time.

Ha! Yes. And I'm about to add controlling a positioner foot pedal to my last free appendage (sort of ). Talk about being a welding circus monkey when all hands and feet are having to perform different tasks simultaneously. Should be fun.

[Mark_k]

Would adding a pulse controller to the machine help or should I skip spending $400?

[TraditionalToolworks]

The tig process is kinda like rubbing your belly, patting your head and tapping your foot to the music, all at the same time.

Ha! Yes. And I'm about to add controlling a positioner foot pedal to my last free appendage (sort of ). Talk about being a welding circus monkey when all hands and feet are having to perform different tasks simultaneously. Should be fun.

Spartan,

So you're adding a snare with your bass drum to your drum kit ? While you play guitar and keyboards at the same time...

[Spartan]

Would adding a pulse controller to the machine help or should I skip spending $400?

Pulse helps control heat input, especially when welding on or near edges of thin material, but I find myself not using it much for heat control purposes (I do sometimes use it on very low settings of 1-2pps when trying to make SS beads look particularly pretty). Recommend you try the chill bars and backing first to see how that does for you since they are readily available and practically free if you are using scrap bits.

[Spartan]

The tig process is kinda like rubbing your belly, patting your head and tapping your foot to the music, all at the same time.

Ha! Yes. And I'm about to add controlling a positioner foot pedal to my last free appendage (sort of ). Talk about being a welding circus monkey when all hands and feet are having to perform different tasks simultaneously. Should be fun.

Spartan,

So you're adding a snare with your bass drum to your drum kit ? While you play guitar and keyboards at the same time...

LOL. Exactly!