Welding Tips and Tricks

I purchased 20 new sandblasted horseshoes to make coat/tack racks for use in a stable. I'm using my AHP AlphaTig 200X AC/DC welder using 220v. Filler rods: ER70S-2 1/16". Tungsten: 1/16" purple rare earth electrodes. Stubby gas lens with #7 cup. I begin by cutting one horseshoe in half then welding it to the front of another horseshoe. The horseshoes are 1/4" thick. Before welding I remove the mill scale with a sanding disk and use acetone to clean the surfaces. I set amps at 160 and am using a foot-pedal. I can't seem to get a good puddle, and if I raise the amps over 160 the weld looks like crud with black soot and multiple craters. I can run nice beads on thinner steel and aluminum, but this project is not working out. I eventually get the two pieces welded together, but the welds are sloppy. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

Vinny

The quality of steel that horse shoes are made from may be questionable. Try running a puddle. Without filler on just a flat spot to see if it gives you the same results. If it does immediately try just a puddle on a piece of good cold rolled flat bar. If they both weld bad then it's something with the welder or your setup. If the cold rolled welds fine and the shoe doesn't then it's metal quality. If it's poor metal quality then I'd try more like 130 amps and larger filler like 3/32 or 1/8. This will give you more metal dilution in the puddle might help makeup for low quality base material.

Horseshoes always seem to be a little weird for welding. If you have access to mig or stick you may want to try that instead.

Strange I make all kinds of things from old and new shoes never had any problems. I do use 2% lanthenated tungsten and find them very easy to run a nice bead. Maybe you have a leak on the argon. I do use gas lens #8 on everything. I have welded some right out of box no prep no issues.

Thanks Poland308 for the information. I will try using a larger filler rod. Do you think pre-heating the horseshoe would also help?

donzi426 wrote:I purchased 20 new sandblasted horseshoes to make coat/tack racks for use in a stable. I'm using my AHP AlphaTig 200X AC/DC welder using 220v. Filler rods: ER70S-2 1/16". Tungsten: 1/16" purple rare earth electrodes. Stubby gas lens with #7 cup. I begin by cutting one horseshoe in half then welding it to the front of another horseshoe. The horseshoes are 1/4" thick. Before welding I remove the mill scale with a sanding disk and use acetone to clean the surfaces. I set amps at 160 and am using a foot-pedal. I can't seem to get a good puddle, and if I raise the amps over 160 the weld looks like crud with black soot and multiple craters. I can run nice beads on thinner steel and aluminum, but this project is not working out. I eventually get the two pieces welded together, but the welds are sloppy. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

Vinny

Sounds more like a gas problem than a base metal problem.

donzi426 wrote:Thanks Poland308 for the information. I will try using a larger filler rod. Do you think pre-heating the horseshoe would also help?

No to preheating your not getting the argon shielding IMO, try 180 amps

Thanks Farmwelding. I do have access to Mig and Stick, but I'm infatuated with Tig and am trying to improve my skills with it.

Hi Bruce991: Nice photos. That's exactly what I'm trying to do. I'll check for argon leak, but I've tried other metals - Mild Steel and Aluminum w/o a problem.

donzi426 wrote:Hi Bruce991: Nice photos. That's exactly what I'm trying to do. I'll check for argon leak, but I've tried other metals - Mild Steel and Aluminum w/o a problem.

Well that means your shoes are fighting you somehow.

bruce991 wrote:Strange I make all kinds of things from old and new shoes never had any problems. I do use 2% lanthenated tungsten and find them very easy to run a nice bead. Maybe you have a leak on the argon. I do use gas lens #8 on everything. I have welded some right out of box no prep no issues.

My experience as well.

No problems - I speed tack with a quick blast of 200 amps.
Tacking is really nice like that because they don't move around that way like they can with a mig or stick tack.

Then I often tig them really fast with high amps too. 1/16" rod in 70s-2 or 309 stainless.

They are new and I don't clean the mill scale off or wire brush them - all welded from the back.

donzi426 wrote:Tungsten: 1/16" purple rare earth electrodes.... I set amps at 160 and am using a foot-pedal.

Depending on composition and sharpening, 1/16" tungsten is rated for about 70-150 amps, 3/32" 150-250. So I'd say your tungsten is a bit too small for what you're trying to do. Even if a 3/32" works, my experience is it will degrade fairly quick at that current, so you might try a 1/8".

Changed to a #8 gas lens cup and using 3/32 rare earth tungsten. Argon set at 20 cfh. Results are not good. See photos. Also upped the amps to 180. Sorry, can't seem to get more than one photo on a page. Seems like the first side I weld, a puddle starts to flow and I get some beads. The second side gets like garbage.

Changed to a number 8 cup and 3/32 Rare Earth Tungsten. Argon gas set at 20 CFH. Same problem. See photos

See Photo.

See Photo #4. This is a dupe. Disregard.

Another photo. One of the other photos I posted was a dupe. Sorry.

Your second photo looks ok. I would add more filler. The other pics look like your amperage is set too low and your not melting in evenly in the filet. I think your having trouble with the puddle with sooting an porosity because you gas is set TOO high and is swirling around the shoe and drawing in air. Try a smaller cup and/or lower you CFH or put a dam behind where you are trying to weld to trap argon.

Well some look much better than others - not sure why but something is improving - only comment I can make is not a lot of fill material so it looks like your concentrating on getting a fairly large puddle in the base metal first - it is possible the horseshoes are made of very poorly refined steel as a cost saving or alloyed with something to improve wear that boils out as you weld affecting the pool - as this is a low strength application I might try using 309 filler as it ability to bond to mixed alloys & absorb contamination is very good - instead of trying to puddle the base metal & add filler try lighting up on the filler & " wash " it across the joint so it mixes with the base metal before it oxidizes or boils stuff out - probably do several small runs hot & fast rather than camp out & get it all hot the longer you heat the worse it gets - an alternative would be silicon bronze as there is no need to melt the base metal - this is more expensive though & not as strong - there is also a chance torch / rod angle in such small lengths of joint mean your dragging atmosphere in - could be worth setting up something to act as a gas dam around the joint.

Thanks exnailpounder and Noddybrian. I'll try both of your suggestions.

We must have posted almost together with similar thoughts - having looked again I would look at torch angle / gas flow / argon dam first while trying to not overheat of boil a large base metal puddle prior to adding filler - only try the 309 filler after ruling out gas issues as brand new horseshoes should weld with regular cheap ER70 rod - remember with Tig it's only the silicon / deoxidizers in the filler that can clean up impurities otherwise the longer & hotter you heat the base metal the more likely crap will boil out - other than appearance or less post weld clean up really Mig is more often used for this type work & usually welds fine - use nice small diameter wire fairly hot to achieve smooth but not too big welds.

I tried lowering my gas flow to 15 CFH. Also used 308 stainless filler road. Raised the amps to 173. I forgot to make a dam to coral the gas, but I'll try that next time. See Photo.

Here's the opposite side. Second one is still cruddy.

Better but you need to build a dam behind your weld area, I really believe you are drawing in air. Turn your gas down more. I have gone as low as 7 CFH. Too much flow causes a vortex and draws in air around something so small. You also need to pause a second to get a puddle, dip your filler and then repeat. It looks like you're lay wiring which cools off your puddle. Tig welds are flatter than other weld processes and filets can be somewhat concave.

If those were close up pics then those horseshoes look borderline on cast. I'm still thinking metal quality. I've welded on old pipe in buildings that were over 100 years old and you fight the same problems there. Holes sometimes and good welds 1/2 inch later.