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Cup melted - TIG
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Bill52
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    Thu Jan 28, 2021 3:44 am

First TIG 'welding'.

Setup:
- material: 4 mm mild steel
- type: DC
- current: 100 A
- electrode: 2.5mm 2% Ceriated
- polarity: positive handle
- cup: #5
- gas: pure argon
- flow: 7.5 l/min
- pre-flow: 1sec
- no filler

Result:
Well, can't call it a weld but the two pieces of material did melt together.
Also melt the tungsten and the bottom of the cup together into a ball.

Tried searching for 'tig cup melted' on google but nothing came up so far.

What am I doing wrong?
Thanks in advance.
Last edited by Bill52 on Sat Jan 30, 2021 11:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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User avatar
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Your polarity is backwards. The tungsten should be electrode negative.
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User avatar
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Yep, what Louie said :)
Dave J.

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Tried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.
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walz10
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What the posts above said or possibly extreme porosity


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walz10
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walz10 wrote:What the posts above said or possibly extreme porosity

Pictures really help


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Bill52 wrote:First TIG 'welding'.

Setup:
- material: 4 mm mild steel
- type: DC
- current: 100 A
- electrode: 2.5mm 2% Ceriated
- polarity: positive handle
- lens: #6
- gas: pure argon
- flow: 7.5 l/min
- pre-flow: 1sec
- no filler

Result:
Well, can't call it a weld but the two pieces of material did melt together.
Also melt the tungsten and the bottom of the lens together into a ball.

Tried searching for 'tig lens melted' on google but nothing came up so far.

What am I doing wrong?
Thanks in advance.
Had the same issue when I struck my first arc. After an hour Googling how to strike an arc I found out Tig torch should be negative. Works a lot better! [emoji846]

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William Payne
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Yip TIG is EN electrode negative.

However post some pics I’d love to see this.
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Spartan
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    Fri Mar 06, 2020 8:59 pm

Also consider upping your amps once you get the polarity sorted. 100A is quite low for 4mm thick steel.
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Bill52
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    Thu Jan 28, 2021 3:44 am

JayWal wrote:However post some pics I’d love to see this.
As you asked for it ... my latest art work.
melted_gas-lens.png
melted_gas-lens.png (179.78 KiB) Viewed 2386 times
For those who didn't know, this is how to TIG weld gas-lenses.
I'm taking orders. Send me your perfect lens and receive something like this. :)

Haven't tried the reverse polarity yet. I'm sure it'll work. Better tan this one ...
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tweake
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its not actually a lens.
thats the cup and tungsten melted together.
i would go up a cup size or two.
tweak it until it breaks
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eelman308
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    Illinois....for now

:o
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Bill52
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    Thu Jan 28, 2021 3:44 am

Well, the electrode-negative and the larger cup - #6 - worked.
Wouldn't call it a weld but the two pieces are not falling apart - it's a start.
Many thanks for all of you!
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