[Chips O'Toole]

I'm getting 10 pounds of both sizes. I'll need it eventually, and buying 20 pounds for $55 beats buying 20 pounds for $180, one pound at a time.

[exnailpounder]

I'm getting 10 pounds of both sizes. I'll need it eventually, and buying 20 pounds for $55 beats buying 20 pounds for $180, one pound at a time.

You can never have enough tig equipment lying around. It's called tig hoarder disease and most of us have it. Now you will need all the AL fillers, all the SS fillers (there are alot), all the NI rods for cast, SilBr and AlBr for brazing and cast....it's like a snowball going downhill

[Farmwelding]

And then you will walk into the welding supply store and see specials on gloves and filler and you will have 20 lbs or inconel rods that you have no use for and don't what it is for but you have it if you need it and then you have 5 pairs of mig gloves and another 7 tig gloves. Just don't buy too many helmets if they are on special or machines... They add up the cost really quickly.

[exnailpounder]

And then you will walk into the welding supply store and see specials on gloves and filler and you will have 20 lbs or inconel rods that you have no use for and don't what it is for but you have it if you need it and then you have 5 pairs of mig gloves and another 7 tig gloves. Just don't buy too many helmets if they are on special or machines... They add up the cost really quickly.

I just bought a pound of N82 rods yesterday. They are supposedly great for cast iron and even SS. Are you saying there's a problem?

[cj737]

Today I am still laying flat beads on 1/8" steel. I decided to try a #5 gas lens with a 1/16" tungsten, a 3/32" rod, and about 5/16" of stickout. I don't know if that's an appropriate amount, but the web seems to say it is.

Stickout should be determined by your condition. More to reach into tight corners where the arc distance is critical, less when you are right on top of your work. Tungsten size should be determined by amperage requirements, nothing more. 125 amps is pretty high for a 1/16" but it will tolerate it.

I went to a 1/16" tungsten because an online calculator told me to. The 3/32" seems easier to control, but maybe that's just because I've used it more.

This is to my point above. The 3/32 tungsten will be a more stable arc at higher amps than a 1/16". 3/32 is a great all around diameter. I swap to a 1/16 when I weld below 60 amps, and a 1/8 when I weld above 150 for extended periods. Else, its a 3/32.

I had lots of trouble at first. The weld kept spattering. The farther I went, the worse it got. I thought I was supposed to have the gas at around 12 CFM for a gas lens, so I tried to set it there, but it seemed to slide down to 10 all by itself. I believe that caused the porosity and spatter. I put the straight nozzle back on and got everything working again, and then I went back to the lens, and things worked out. I am now using the lens at {what the Chinese gauge says is} 15, and it looks like it's working.

This sounds like you didn't have the gas lens screwed in tightly and were leaking Argon past the insulator. Also, usually the lens and cups use slightly different insulators than standard collet bodies. Just make sure you are assembling the torch correctly with each different configuration you use.

The magnetic holder is great. I am also getting better at keeping the TIG finger off the garage floor.

Is this your torch holder? Magnets near your work while TIG welding will wreak havoc on your arc. They will grab the arc and cause it to wander and pull the shielding gas off your intended work. Behaves like you have a bad crosswind.

[Chips O'Toole]

You can never have enough tig equipment lying around. It's called tig hoarder disease and most of us have it.

I...I just need one or two more things...I'm sure of it...no, really...

[Chips O'Toole]

Is this your torch holder? Magnets near your work while TIG welding will wreak havoc on your arc. They will grab the arc and cause it to wander and pull the shielding gas off your intended work. Behaves like you have a bad crosswind.

It's a Riverweld torch holder with a magnetic base. The base is around a foot away from the welding.

[Olivero]

I don't have enough stuff which is my problem, I have to build shit like a caveman sometimes.

[Chips O'Toole]

Zoh0tHRXOvE

[Chips O'Toole]

After the initial debacle, I feel like I have to post a photo every time I create something that even approximates a correct weld. The stuff at the upper left doesn't count. It's from earlier sessions. It looks like they made as big a mess under the steel as above it.

Today I started over. I used a 3/32" tungsten, 3/32" rod, the BSX finger thing (sorry), and another piece of the treadmill I took out of the trash. I don't think I'm getting this steel as clean as it needs to be. The powdercoating is not easy to remove. The welds aren't bubbling or anything, but I see tiny brown flakes of something on them. Also, there is some plastic inside the tubing that keeps catching fire. That's interesting. Sooner or later I'm going to have to invest some better metal to play with. This stuff was free, but it's a pain.

Anyway, I think I'm learning some stuff. I'm holding the torch more vertical, and it appears that I need to get used to finding a pedal setting and holding it steady, instead of changing it all the time. Is that correct? Before, I was altering it a lot because it seemed like sometimes the arc was too weak or too strong.

I'm also feeding the rod better, and I'm finally starting to have some sort of rhythm.

I don't know how to manage the duty cycle. All I know is, the torch gets hot after about 4" of welding, so I put it down and rest it for three minutes. Suggestions welcome.

The Flak Finger works really well. Again, sorry!

04 06 17 TIG welding practice small.jpg (34.81 KiB) Viewed 1320 times

[Otto Nobedder]

That's why it's called FlakFinger (aside from the rip-off). Get ready to catch some flak...

One of my co-workers showed up today with some new BSX crap, and caught flak. He's supposed to know better, and forgot for a minute.

Steve S

[Farmwelding]

Pedal wise-yeah you found a sweet spot so you can just flow now. That's a peice of the puzzle down for now. Unless you want to manually pulse...
Please invest in better material... Burning plastic sounds toxic and problematic. Go get some decent steel. You can go to a metal supply and ask for weird drops the have around that they will sell cheap. Or some companies may sell you scrap of you ask nicely or know a guy. We get all of our stainless square for practice at school through a stainless tank and trailer company. They can't use it so they give it away.

Now... When do you want to start aluminum

[entity-unknown]

Lil brown spots are usually some kinda crap in your weld. If you've got nice clean, shiny metal (shiny since you're on steel), then you might need to question your filler and gloves. If you've got grease n stuff on your gloves, you transfer that to your rod. If your rod is dirty or even dusty like it is when you get 10 lbs. of filler in a cardboard box, then you really need to clean that up too.
A quick full circumference scuff of scotch brite on your filler rod will usually do you well but not too much to remove all the coating. ER70S2 will finish with a slightly duller copper finish once you're done in just a few swipes. Acetone or denatured alcohol give a good final clean up for all your work material minus the gloves. Cotton and paper towels aren't the best because they leave lint behind which turns into brown turds in your weld too.
If you dipped a lot, clean the inside of your cup too and always keep a perfect grind/spiral with no flat spots on your tungsten

[cj737]

You would do well to abandon the pedal for the moment and set your machine to straight amps and focus on torch and rod until you get comfortable. This will eliminate you having to manage thirty things simulataneuosly. Set the amps a tad lower, slow down, and make each step/dip perfectly.its not practice metal so you can take all the time you need.

[entity-unknown]

The only people that excel in life are the ones that put it on nightmare mode and keep trying until they finish the game

[Olivero]

The only people that excel in life are the ones that put it on nightmare mode and keep trying until they finish the game

Anybody play Resident Evil? I remember playing that on easy and it was still a nightmare.