I picked up a Everlast 200DX about a week ago. I'm a machinist and have never really welded much before. The welder was a decent deal at $600 so I thought that tig welding would be a good skill to learn. I know I have hundreds if not thousands of hours ahead of me to get good at this, but I'm willing to put my time in to learn.
My test part is 4130 .100 wall tubing. I'm set at 100 amps max, electrode negative, pre flow at 10, post flow at 15. 3/32" diameter 2% lanthanated tungsten, pulse off.
This is my latest effort. I tried a "N" type motion, my GF's son that's in a welding program told me to use a "C" motion which I used to run the bead in the pic, and a friend told me to try a circular motion and a little more heat. The weld in the pic is with no filler rod.
So how am I doing? Any suggestions would be very welcomed.
Well, for what it's worth I'm going to use your example as an inspiration. I bought the same little welder and I'm still in the crapping up the tungsten stage. :-}
Rick
Believe those who are seeking the truth, doubt those who find it
-Andre Gide
I have to say I never thought what I've done so far would inspire anyone
I almost instantly cured my dipping the tungsten when I got my Miller auto darkening helmet. No matter ho hard I tried with my old helmet I kept dipping or sticking the tungsten when starting the weld. There was just no way I could flip my old helmet down without moving my arm. I still dip occasionally, but no where near what I was doing.
I also had an old metal cart I was using to weld on, but it had a big lip in the edge and it was very difficult to prop my hand and slide it with the lip there. So I got the small welding table from Harbor Freight and it really helped. Being able to prop my hand and a good set of gloves that will slide along with the new helmet made a huge difference.
After doing tig for one week I'm in no position to give advise believe me. This is just what helped me.
I'm hoping that someone will chime in and critique what I've done so far. I don't want to continue doing what I'm doing if it's wrong. I've watched tons of videos and they help, but they don't replace someone that knows what they are doing looking at my weld and letting me know how I'm doing.
One thing to remember is make sure your tungsten is always clean, touch it onece and re sharpen. Make sure your metal is clean, free of oil grease etc. You don't need a 10 sec. preflow, none at all is not a problem. No need to use a motion either just move in a straight line. Make sure you are using the pedal and not just stomping it down and using the max you have the machine set to, get used to making your weld larger or smaller with amperage. Your weld should be somewhat shiny too, not sure why it is gray. Typically that means you have poor gas coverage or the weld it to hot as you move along and it is still red when it leaves the gas coverage. Send some more pics.
John
Learn 6010 and you will learn to weld
Follow the progress of my students on Twitter @PentaWelding
I mentioned in another post that try to move your whole arm instead of just your wrist, that should help you not dip your tungsten as much, it really helped me.
I have sharpened my tungsten so many times I'm a pro at it. I got a box of ten and I'm pretty much through 3 of them already.
I have some tubing and I cleaned it on my belt sander. It's a clean shiny surface when I'm done. I just went out and turned my pre flow off.
Your right I'm just stomping the pedal. I increase the heat until I get a puddle and keep it there. I will try and see if I can work it and get used to that. I didn't know the weld should be shiny. As far as I know I have good gas coverage, but with only 1 week doing this I really don't know how to check that.
I'm trying to slide my hand over the table. That's one thing I need much more practice doing.
I did a little today but I was tired when I started. I had spent about 8 hours working on my milling machine before I tried the tig and didn't get anywhere. Just too tired I guess.
I picked up a Everlast 200DX about a week ago. I'm a machinist and have never really welded much before. The welder was a decent deal at $600 so I thought that tig welding would be a good skill to learn. I know I have hundreds if not thousands of hours ahead of me to get good at this, but I'm willing to put my time in to learn.
My test part is 4130 .100 wall tubing. I'm set at 100 amps max, electrode negative, pre flow at 10, post flow at 15. 3/32" diameter 2% lanthanated tungsten, pulse off.
This is my latest effort. I tried a "N" type motion, my GF's son that's in a welding program told me to use a "C" motion which I used to run the bead in the pic, and a friend told me to try a circular motion and a little more heat. The weld in the pic is with no filler rod.
So how am I doing? Any suggestions would be very welcomed.
For one, stop practicing on tubing. The part is getting over-heated as evidenced by the dull-gray weld beads. Start on large flat plate running short 1-2" long beads, until you are able to manage the heat better; this is managed with foot-pedal, torch angle, arc length, and welding speed. Then slowly start drifting into smaller and thinner plate, in order to better manipulate the heat control. Then eventually get into tubing. Forget "motions". Learn how to run staight beads using the start-pause standard technique.
With a preflow of 10sec you are just giving free money to your argon supplier. Set it at 0.6-0.8. Post flow seems excessive, but then again, it does affect the end product. Start lower like 6 seconds (holding the torch over the end of the bead during the entire post-flow period), and then start increasing the post-flow until you realize the point where adding more does nothing for the appearance/protection of the weld bead.
I've been practicing since yesterday using the start pause technique and I just can't gt an acceptable looking bead. It looks like I'm either too hot or too cold when I back off on the pedal.
I'm starting the weld, waiting for a puddle to form, dipping the rod, then moving and letting another puddle form. It just looks nothing like a tig weld. I'm not giving up, just trying to see what I'm doing wrong to correct it.
alloy wrote:I've been practicing since yesterday using the start pause technique and I just can't gt an acceptable looking bead. It looks like I'm either too hot or too cold when I back off on the pedal.
I'm starting the weld, waiting for a puddle to form, dipping the rod, then moving and letting another puddle form. It just looks nothing like a tig weld. I'm not giving up, just trying to see what I'm doing wrong to correct it.
If you are running beads with out filler, I would recommend doing a small circular motion. Just trace the front edge ot the puddle. If you are adding filler, then advance in a straight line about an 1/8 of and an inch, pause, let the base metal puddle, then add filler. Just remember-for judgement purposes-a tungsten is about an 1/8 inch! Advance about your tungsten diameter!
After your sharpen your tungsten and make a weld (without dipping it) is your tungsten darker in color or shiny and bright?
The reason I ask is from your weld looking so dark.
Make sure all your argon connections are tight with no leaks. Check with soapy water from your tank all the way to the machine. Make sure the o-ring is in the back cap, and there are no cracks in your torch.
I am advancing about 1/8" each time. It's looking better than when I first started. My beads with filler look more like my beads without filler. At first my beads with looked like a rope on top of the metal, now they do flow out, bu just not like I want them to.
Here is a pic of my tank label.The gas in my tank is about 8 years old. If it warms up some this weekend I'll get the soap and water out and see if I have any leaks. I can hear gas flow at the torch. And I'll run a bead and see what my tungsten looks like.
Alloy,
You need to use pure Argon while tig welding, the cylinder you have is Argon/CO2 mix (75/25) and needs to be replaced. This should help your welding out quite a bit. I'm suprised you're getting the results you are.
Got the tanks switched. Was much more than I thought it would be. $95 for a 150 tank.
Got home and hooked it up and immediately noticed a difference. The arc started much easier, but I got no penetration. At 100 amps (same as the old gas) I didn't really get a puddle. Had to go up to 150 and still not as much penetration as before. Material is 3/16" CRS plate.
Is i normal to have to use that much heat on 3/16"? On the plus side parts of my bead are starting to look good. It's just I'm not getting a good puddle.
Last edited by alloy on Fri Nov 14, 2014 4:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
alloy wrote:Got the tanks switched. Was much more than I thought it would be. $95 for a 150 tank.
Got home and hooked it up and immediately noticed a difference. The arc started much easier, but I got no penetration. At 100 amps (same as he old gas) I didn't really get a puddle. Had to go up to 150 and still not as much penetration as before. Material is 3/16" CRS plate.
Is i normal to have to use that much heat on 3/16"? On the plus side parts of my bead are starting to look good. It's just I'm not getting a good puddle.
3/16" steel is pretty thick - expect 150 amps to be the bottom, up to 200 amps is not unreasonable.
On a beveled open root, you could be down near 125 amps - even less if it's an open root with knife edge prep.
Then as weld layers are added, your amps will increase up to a more normal range.
Dave J.
Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~
Syncro 350
Invertec v250-s
Thermal Arc 161 and 300
MM210
Dialarc
Tried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.
One thing about welding on thick material is that is a lot more forgiving than thin material. Your 200dx has plenty of amps to make a single pass full penetration weld, in theory, but leaving a small gap, or as Dave said, putting a bevel on the plate with a grinder will allow to use lower amperage at the root, and use more amps to ensure fusion as the weld gets thicker.
Personally I like welding 1/8 inch coupons of steel and aluminum, because A. They are cheap from the local fab shop, and B. They are not too thick or too thin to just practice on. Granted, I've welded thinner and thicker, but I like 1/8 just to practice on.
I went and got some thinner material before the supply yard closed for the weekend. I think they are about 1/16" and the others are 1/8". The thin burns through very easily. Haven't tried the 1/8" yet. I will tomorrow. I've not tried to weld two pieces together yet, just running beads for now.
I've discovered it's a whole new ball game with the argon. I'm either too hot or too cold, but I'm starting to see small sections that actually look like a tig weld. I'll get the hang of it, just going to take more time. But my welds are shiny now, and I don't dip the tungsten near as much.
Here is my latest effort. To save gas I have pre and post flow off.
I'm still struggling with torch control, I'm jerky when moving the torch, but I went 1/2 hour without dipping the tungsten. That's the longest time yet for me.
I was using a lanthanated tungsten and was struggling so I watched a video on tigging CRS and he was using thoriated. So I switched to the thoriated and it did make a difference. I know it doesn't look like much, but believe me it's much better than I was doing yesterday.
The first thing I recommend is removing all mill scale. See how your weld is dull and the toes are not wet in? If you have mill scale on the material when tig welding it will be difficult to have a clean, good looking weld. You probably noticed the material popping and different colors while welding. Clean shiny metal is what you want.
Really, I believe you are on the right track. We can pick your weld apart with technicalities but the best thing for you is just more hood time. I recommend the 1/8" material as Sam said for several reasons. Cheaper, easier on machine (read less amperage) and will teach you amperage control faster. With that 3/16" material you will use all the amperage you have and might not blow through the back side. In thinner material you will quickly learn what amperage gives you the best control.
If torch control is an issue, get a tig finger and drag your pinky on the plate.
You'll control the torch much easier and maintain the same arc length.
For welding higher and/or on odd shaped parts, I like clamping a bar clamp to the table so the tail is straight up.
Then I clamp a second one to the first so it is horizontal - slide it up or down to perfect height and drag my hand on that.
Long runs can be made without cooking your hand - Looks like this:
image.jpg (36.74 KiB) Viewed 1023 times
Dave J.
Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~
Syncro 350
Invertec v250-s
Thermal Arc 161 and 300
MM210
Dialarc
Tried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.
This was 1/8" material. I have been sanding the material, but I've been through so much this weekend I gave up sanding until I got a better looking bead. I also have some 16 gauge material to practice on. I will start sanding again on my next try at it.
I do have a tig finger, it really helps sliding across the table. Other than my miller auto dark helmet is one of the best things I've bought.
I'd not thought of raising my hand up to off the table. That's a great idea. I've already found my torch getting hot. I used 1/4 of the gas in my tank this weekend practicing, I can see definitely the need for a water cooled torch.
As long as I'm on the right track I'll keep at it.
Keep after it, you're on the right track overall - just power through the first 100 hours of practice (actual arc time) and then the fine tuning gets easier in my opinion.
Keep in mind, people pay thousands of dollars to learn tig welding - it takes a while.
Dave J.
Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~
Syncro 350
Invertec v250-s
Thermal Arc 161 and 300
MM210
Dialarc
Tried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.
