Welding Tips and Tricks

Thanks man first to reach out I am super beginner here and today I was trying to practice running some beads across 1/8 steel with no filler and all of a sudden when I tried to start an arc it was shooting up the tungston and in the cup and making that crackling sound like no ground. What could be happening? 3/32 Pure tungsten #8 furick clear cup 20cfh

don't use pure tungsten. its only used on aluminum with transformer machines.
2% Lanthanated is a good allrounder.

So throw the pure tungston away run 2% lanthinated? Is this the reason for the crazy arc? I'm trying to learn still where to buy products. Any tips for good places I have been buying from weldmonger. They are out of stock on some things I want.

i would recommend weldmonger, as its always good to support them for all their help over the years.
they do have https://weldmongerstore.com/collections ... 0896938172
or layzr https://weldmongerstore.com/collections ... 7091989692

not sure where else as i'm downunder.

not 100% sure on the crazy arc, but pure tungsten is soft and will deform very quickly. its something thats easy to rule out as it will cause other problems soon enough.
it could also be earthing issues. try grounding directly to your plate.

Please confirm your machine setup too.
Does your machine have HF start, or are you using it in Lift Arc mode? How many amps were you set to use? Pure tungsten works fine on aluminum, but is not recommended for steel.

Your issue sounds more gas-related than ground-related. Without touching the steel, hold the cup and tungsten up near your face. Press the pedal (or activate the arc somehow) and listen for and feel for the gas flowing. You should certainly hear it at 20CFH and with a wetted thumb or finger, feel it if your digit is in front of the cup.

It’s possible your torch is assembled incorrectly and that is restricting the gas, or you forgot to turn on the tank (that happens to the most experienced of folks).

Thank you for sharing I'll take all the knowledge I can get. I have a miller diversion 180. Isn't much for settings. I was running 124 amps like the video of Jody's was doing on the same 1/8 plate and it was running along fine and then all of a sudden it started with the funny arc going up into the cup. I'll hit the weld shop today and get some new tungsten and I need some aluminum welding rod so I can practice.

tweake wrote: ↑Fri Dec 06, 2024 4:42 am i would recommend weldmonger, as its always good to support them for all their help over the years.
they do have https://weldmongerstore.com/collections ... 0896938172
or layzr https://weldmongerstore.com/collections ... 7091989692

not sure where else as i'm downunder.

not 100% sure on the crazy arc, but pure tungsten is soft and will deform very quickly. its something thats easy to rule out as it will cause other problems soon enough.
it could also be earthing issues. try grounding directly to your plate.

Hope this is how to respond correctly to you here. Australia huh crazy we are way far away I'm in the upper left furthest state in Washington USA. I will try to create a better ground connection and lose the tungston. Thanks again.