Welding Tips and Tricks

Hi everyone,

I recently purchased ESAB Caddy 2200i AC/DC welder and started practicing TIG welding only through online videos. I made my few welds now, but I am not sure whether is it ok - heat affected area seems to wide.

I'm welding 50x50mm rectangular tubing, 1.8mm thick. Settings are following:

60 amp current
2.4 mm tungsten electrode
1.6 mm filler rod

Do these welds seem ok? Should the puddle penetrate to the other side of surface or not?

Not bad for a first time!
You are cooking the metal a bit.
Try moving faster. Let it cool in between passes. You might need to bump up the amps to run faster.
Full penetration is what you want on that butt weld.
Practice practice.
Cheers

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Hmmm I tried bringing up the amps (from 60 to 70 amp) and traveling faster but I cannot avoid heat affecting. When I brush the weld it looks nice, but not sure whether it is good. Also, should weld penetrate and have those blobs on the other side or not?

It should bulge on the back. In time it will look more even when you control the heat evenly. I wonder if you have enough gas? Try messing with gas settings. Start at 10cfh and keep adding 5cfh until it looks good.
How is your tungsten shaped?
If you lay a bead on thicker metal does it still look cooked?
I recommend 5th street fab on you tube.
Cheers

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Thanks for the tips, again ! My gas flow rate is 16 CFH and it seems good - no porosity on the weld. My tungsten is shaped at 30 degrees. I've heard that if you let your puddle go through to the other side of the surface, you can get porous weld, is it true?

Simclardy wrote: Try messing with gas settings. Start at 10cfh and keep adding 5cfh until it looks good.

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I ended up having to take the neck off my bottle to get more argon, I maxed out the cfh on my flow meter and it still didn't look good. Figured it was the next step.

Olivero wrote:

Simclardy wrote: Try messing with gas settings. Start at 10cfh and keep adding 5cfh until it looks good.

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I ended up having to take the neck off my bottle to get more argon, I maxed out the cfh on my flow meter and it still didn't look good. Figured it was the next step.

[emoji23]

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stracha wrote:Thanks for the tips, again ! My gas flow rate is 16 CFH and it seems good - no porosity on the weld. My tungsten is shaped at 30 degrees. I've heard that if you let your puddle go through to the other side of the surface, you can get porous weld, is it true?

On mild steel it's not a big issue. Within reason. Ss whole different story

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