[Butcher]

I am learning to tig and posting this to get feedback. At first I was thinking I would just post pictures of what I thought was decent stuff (relative to my skill), but then decided I would just post a majority of what I weld. So expect some ugly looking stuff.

Aluminum fillet weld. This one I was actually kind of happy with. I have since decided filet welds are too hard for me at this point to really learn from so I will mostly be doing lap welds.

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Aluminum fillet weld that I destroyed, as far as I could tell it was decent penetration.

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Mild steel lap welds. Like I said, I will post stuff that even I think sucks. 2nd weld up from the bottom, left side for 3/4"-1" was a weld I thought was actually decent. I actually like contrast in response to the heat from aluminum to steel, I think working on both will make me a better tig welder than just focusing on one metal.

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2nd weld from the bottom, the longer one had some decent spots in it.

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Bead practice to finish out the night.

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[Otto Nobedder]

You're on the right track. Each bead looks as it should (though inconsistent, and ignoring the cracking), so you're doing some of the things you're supposed to do.

As I look at the cracking, I would advise spending more time at the start, to build heat in the metal, before you begin adding metal. Then, add twice as much metal as you think you should at the start. (This is not where you'll end up, but it gets you making better welds "now", so you can understand what's going on.)

Keep practicing, and it will come.

Steve S

[exnailpounder]

Seat time my friend. Asking for critique when you are so new will not do you any good. Watch Jodies videos over and over and learn what makes a good weld good and then ASS TIME even more. I have a friend that can weld with a mirror and forgot more than I ever learned about metals and welding and HE STILL SCREWS UP welds. He thinks my TIG welds are good and I still screw them up. I know it is natural to want to be good at a new venture but the way I see it is that no one but me sees my practice welds unless I want them too, there is no hurry to master it, the world will not beat a path to your door if you master TIG welding...so...relax and have fun with the learning process...do everything wrong and learn from it. Start every weld and say to yourself..this will be the best weld the world has ever seen..and if you screw it up...say it again on the next one. You are in good company here with everyone on this site pulling for you so sit down, drink a cold one, spark up and HAVE SOME FUN! You are attempting to do something that is not easy but it is doable and that in itself is commendable. I wish you the best of luck and remember...if I can do it, anyone can

[massacre]

These guys already said it better than I could, but they are so right, practice is key to TIG welding. After a while you will get pretty good at it and then you will look at these pics and you will be able to see what's wrong and then how to fix it.

[motox]

practice plenty of dry runs it saves electric and gas
and you can do it without a hood so your hands stay oriented
to your work.
craig

[haas480]

Obviously like the others say, seat time. But i'll disagree that with you being so new, that you shouldn't focus on critiquing the specifics.

Like mentioned above, watch Jody's videos and read through the several different pages of Aluminum TIG welding.

Puddle control is first. Strike a good arc, notice the cleaning action, then you see the puddle start to form.
Jody's one video shows the technique of keeping a tight arc as you move one stroke forward, this pulls the puddle forward. You then very slightly retract the torch some as you dip the filler to compensate for the bead building up, then keep that tight arc and move another stroke forward, add filler while lifting torch just a little, and repeat repeat repeat.

I think that's a good start point. If you can replicate that cleanly for 5-10 strokes, that's a progress. You should have a pretty looking bead, with a little cleaning haze on the edge of the weld.

Next you're probably just flooring the foot pedal (hoping you have one) to start, and by this time (a few strokes in), you're probably building up heat and your puddle will start looking pretty watery, so you need to multitask and control the heat with the foot pedal. Working with a little less amps and slower, will help you fine tune this. Once you get everything down and get plenty of seat time, you can choose whether you want to run hot and fast or not so hot and slower.

Those should be good starting point. Break the whole process down in to individual steps. The hardest part with TIG is you're doing several things at once; arc control, moving the puddle, adding filler, regulating amps/heat, etc.

What machine and setup do you have?
2% Lanthanated tungsten and a Gas Lens is your friend.

-Haas

['Stang]

practice plenty of dry runs it saves electric and gas
and you can do it without a hood so your hands stay oriented
to your work.
craig

Yeah! Practice the motion until it becomes second nature. I sit around at night in front of this computer with a tig glove on and feed rod. Just practicing all kinds of weird positions that I might have to feed rod. And, if I were you, I would start off with butt joints instead of lap joints. They are easier, and will help you build your skill level before you move on to the harder joints.

[Braehill]

Butcher,
One thing that I had to learn was where to add the filler rod, meaning, only add the rod to the leading edge of the puddle and let it be drawn in. If your movements and heat input are consistent then the puddle will draw in the same amount of filler each time.

When doing a lap joint or a fillet, I find it easier to let gravity work for me and add the filler to the upper portion of the weld and let it flow to the bottom.

Another thing to keep in mind is to keep the rod in the gas envelope but not close enough to the arc to start melting before you want it to, harder to do with Aluminum than other metals. The good news is with the cleaning action of AC working in your favor if you pull the rod out too far it doesn't have near the ill effects as it would have on DC welding.

Seat time works wonders if you become a student of the process and make notes of what works and what fails. As a beginner the hardest part is knowing the difference, that's where this forum comes in.

Len