Welding Tips and Tricks

Hey again, having a bit of difficulty and bout to be out of class till August.
More so, maybe understanding what is really going on too.

So setup-
1G
6" sch40
35 deg bevel
1/8 root gap

1/8 carbon steel filler rod
90-100 amp root
105-110 hot pass
#10 alumina cup(I think) and gas lens body
2% lanthanated 1/8 tungsten

Ok, when walking cup ( I'm gonna also assume my cup is way too big to do this correctly anyway) I have trouble with it catching on sides of bevel when the ceramic cup heats up. I always though more pressure helped but that was flat plate.
Is there better nozzle cups out there for the "catching" issue?

When walking the cup, I'll take the biggest cup I can get my hands on. Give me a #12, at least! Takes less wrist work, and makes the next tip easier...

You'll find, on pipe, the lighter your touch the easier it becomes. Your stick-out looks fine for a root or fill. (I prefer a bit less for a cap... just a personal thing)

The bead in the picture could use 10 more amps (roughly), but not until the walk becomes second-nature so you can move faster.

Good practice for muscle memory... Take home a "dead for any reason" torch, with cup and tungsten (hell, a sharpened welding rod will do), leads not needed, though some dummy leads to simulate the weight is nice. Mark a two-liter soda bottle (label peeled off, soda still in it so it's fairly rigid.) with your wrap-a-round, or whatever you have to do to make a straight line around the bottle to guide your "weld". Walk that torch on the soda bottle on your coffee table, and watch closely where the "tungsten" is pointed at all times. If you're denting the plastic, you're pressing too hard. The plastic is going to be slicker than the metal you'll be welding, so once you train yourself and your muscles to do this, your hood time should improve, as well.

Steve S

Steve,
I need to give the pop bottle training a go, i will admit that I am not the best at walking the cup, I think this will help.
-Jonathan

It can be a big help, of you're good with "muscle memory". You'll have nothing else going on but watching how each motion affects where the tungsten is pointed, and how hard your pressing. It lets you work on fundamentals without heat, bright light, and a fogged-up hood in the way...

Steve S

I think I needed to wait for practice to set in before throwing it out there.

I do thank you for that response. I was deep in thought on the ceramic cup trying to fu
Figure out just why it wouldn't go smooth as to starting up.

This is 2nd day of doing the 1g, the cap walking finally came in.
IMHO the tig root and walking cup is such a relief from stick welding pipe( even though I'm ok at it).

Thanks again Steve.