Welding Tips and Tricks

Attached are pictures of my first welds with a new welder. Mild steel, 100% argon.

1st weld was the angle iron butted together. The welds were strong enough to take a hit from a 3lbs sledge.
I know the metal wasnt clean enough, and I also didn't have the amps high enough, and Im thinking I may also not had the gas flow high enough as well.

The square is my next 4 welds. Weld 1 definately has low gas flow (i turned the knob the wrong way. #2 looks better to me except for the end of the weld. #3 the tungsten hit the metal at the beginning, resharpened it and finished the weld. #4 looks better.

I know this metal isnt prepared, as I started #4 I realized I had forgotten to clean the metal. Im not sure what is causing the pool to look bad at the end of the weld. can anyone tell me whatI am doing at the end of the weld to cause the weld to puddle up or look so wierd?

michialt wrote:Attached are pictures of my first welds with a new welder. Mild steel, 100% argon.

1st weld was the angle iron butted together. The welds were strong enough to take a hit from a 3lbs sledge.
I know the metal wasnt clean enough, and I also didn't have the amps high enough, and Im thinking I may also not had the gas flow high enough as well.

The square is my next 4 welds. Weld 1 definately has low gas flow (i turned the knob the wrong way. #2 looks better to me except for the end of the weld. #3 the tungsten hit the metal at the beginning, resharpened it and finished the weld. #4 looks better.

I know this metal isnt prepared, as I started #4 I realized I had forgotten to clean the metal. Im not sure what is causing the pool to look bad at the end of the weld. can anyone tell me whatI am doing at the end of the weld to cause the weld to puddle up or look so wierd?

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Michialt.

You may want to also consider the quantity of weld metal you deposit.
Excessive deposit is inefficient for time and filler metal consumption.

Prior to fit-up, slightly touching with the grinder the edges of your parts to welding, will allow you to deposit a weld almost flush with the surface of the angle iron. This will save considerable grinding.

Alexa

Hi - well for a first go it's all joined together & it passed the hammer test ! so no disgrace there.
So as Alexa mentioned seems alot of build up for a Tig weld - actually looks more like Mig at 1st glance- you basically know what's wrong - most is just practice - no one manages a perfect weld 1st try - but things I'd look for are

1 argon has no real cleaning action so the metal needs a go with a flap wheel or belt sander or similar so it's perfectly clean on the edges & BOTH sides of where the weld will be - if there is any protective residue on new metal or coolant oil from a bandsaw then a wipe with any solvent is prudent.

2 if your welding with filler metal only add sufficient to get a slightly convex bead - those corners without any edge prep / V would likely have fusion welded OK.

3 Don't underestimate the heat needed - I think you wanted a few more amps for the gauge of metal used

4 Gas cover was JUST enough on most of the weld but would have benefited from a little more - I think the ends of the welds show almost no gas cover - that is likely torch angle at the end of the run - torch needs to be closer to 90degrees - you will always have a lower angle than you think you had - this gets better with practice.

Hope this helps - I'm sure after a few more tries it will " just click " especially if you have previously gas welded.
All the best with your projects.

If the end of my welds are showing little or no gas, it may be that I pulled the torch away which is something Ive been fighting with Flux/Mig as well. I cannot seem to stop myself from lifting the torch from the work as I let off the power. I'm going to need far more practice on this. It might also have been hand foot coordination with the pedal too.

This project could have easily been fusion welded, the fit between the pieces was nearly perfect. I had actually just used the torch with no filler on the edge you cannot see to tack it together. This tight fit may have lead me to using mor filler rod than needed. I was shooting for the "stack of dimes" y'all are always talking about.

I'm already impressed enough with TIG that I don't see much of a reason to go back to mig or even oxy. I currently do very little if any welding outside. I know I have a long way to go, but its already been easier than my first welds with fluxcore and mig. Attached is picture of my first fluxcore attempt. Im afraid to put anything on that weld, it feels like its gonna break wny time...

I "may" see two common first-timer mistakes. noddybrian mentioned gas coverage... It's not uncommon for the first-timer to have a combination of too much tungsten sticking out, and holding the tungsten too far away from the weld. This combines with the second common mistake to possibly cause the trouble at the ends (of the box welds). Brian also mentioned this... It's easy to hold the torch nearly stationary on a short weld, and change the torch angle to advance where the arc hits. This will draw air into the gas shield, especially at a corner. Work at keeping your torch at 75-90* as you advance. Several dry runs with your hood up to make sure you can comfortably follow the intended path at this angle will help your hand "expect" where it's going.

And, TIG work must be Clean, Clean, Clean. You want bare shiny metal inside, and for a good 3/8-1/2 inch away from the weld zone on BOTH sides of the metal.

Still a damn good first go with both a new machine and new process.

Steve S

Thank you Steve...

Im going to get my bench grinder mounted solid so that I can use the wire brush wheel to help me clean the metal, Ive been moving stuff around and its gotten pretty much burried.

I have limited range of motion in my right wrist with rotation, and getting the torch at a comfortable 90 degree angle is sometimes a painful and complicated process for me. I am probably close to 75 degrees most of the time.

I have to build a welding table so that I can start working on one of the projects that I needed Tig for. I am happy with the strength of my Tig welds on my scrap tests, as long as I can keep the welds that strong I should be able to use the table project to practice, and I should get plenty of practice too.

I do have a quick question about welding tables. Is it acceptable to attach the grounding clamp to the table, and depend on the projects touching the tabletop or should I groud directly to the project?

I usually ground to the table.

It's more than adequate, UNLESS (yeah, there's always a "but..."):

There will usually be a little "arc mark" where the part contacts the table, sometimes even if it's clamped. It's a cosmetic concern only, but for some projects, the cosmetics are very important.

Steve S

I am actually planning my assembly such that I am able to hide as many of the welds as possible.