Welding Tips and Tricks

I'm making stainless steel jewelry. Both pieces are 316L stainless.

The first piece is a ring fabricated from 3/16" stock. It has 3/32" holes drilled into it. 3/32" rod is slipped into the holes, and I'm basically trying to tack the two pieces together from the backside.

The 3/32" rod is flush on the back, but I keep getting flashing. I'm using an Everlast PowerTig160, set at 50 amps. What's happening here that I'm not understanding? Would it be better to poke a little bit of the 3/32" rod out the backside then turn it into a puddle and fuse the two pieces?

Thanks in advance,
Mark

Can you post a pic of your project? I think that I understand what you are doing but I'm not sure what you are referring to as "flash".

Is the rod and puddle sinking when you make a puddle to tack it and you want it to be flush?

How are you establishing the ground/work lead from the welder to the ring?

As in flash from the arc through your shield?

I finished that piece by brazing with silver solder, so I'll have to make another piece before I can take some photos.

The flashing I'm referring to is that the arc was so bright that even with my helmet set at 13 it was too intense for my eyes, so I only had the torch turned on for a second. The rod and puddle did show signs of slight sinking, and did manage to fuse, even with the short amount of time the torch was on. It was pretty ugly though!

The ground was initially clamped to my welding table, and the ring clamped in a vise, which was in contact with the table.

I made a second attempt by clamping the ground directly to the ring, and tried again, but the same thing happened...the arc was way too bright and uncomfortable, so I stopped welding immediately.

Covering all bases, have you turned the auto hood on? First time I used one I didn't know I had too. Secondly turn the sensitivity setting up to maximum. Since you are just doing a short blast.

Yes, the hood was turned on. It's an older Speedglas and I've made it a habit to test it every time I'm about to use it. This time I even had it set all the way up to it's highest setting, number 13.

weldin mike 27 wrote:Covering all bases, have you turned the auto hood on? First time I used one I didn't know I had too. Secondly turn the sensitivity setting up to maximum. Since you are just doing a short blast.

markz wrote: The flashing I'm referring to is that the arc was so bright that even with my helmet set at 13 it was too intense for my eyes

OK I'm with Mike on this on...something is up with your auto-shield helmet. Are the sensors not seeing the welding light? Blocked by something? Some of the hoods have fewer sensors and the sensors may not pick up the light when welding at low amperages.

Hah!...interesting that I was looking at new hoods right when you posted this.

There wasn't anything blocking the sensor's when I was welding. I was leaning slightly over the table, in an open space. I was fairly close to the work, so the sensor's shouldn't have had any problem picking up the light.

The Speedglas was given to me. It has four arc sensors, but I suppose that doesn't mean anything if the device is worn out. I just looked at the receipt...date of purchase was November, 1996.

So...on to the next question then...what's a good hood for a hobbyist? I presently have several windows open at cyberweld.com and am looking at Jackson Balder, Miller and Hobart welding helmets. There's so many to choose from that I'm quite lost!

jwright650 wrote:

markz wrote: The flashing I'm referring to is that the arc was so bright that even with my helmet set at 13 it was too intense for my eyes

OK I'm with Mike on this on...something is up with your auto-shield helmet. Are the sensors not seeing the welding light? Blocked by something? Some of the hoods have fewer sensors and the sensors may not pick up the light when welding at low amperages.

markz wrote:Hah!...interesting that I was looking at new hoods right when you posted this.

Is that hood a solar powered hood or does it have batteries? I had a Jackson back around that time period and it had 4 AAA batteries that powered the lens. Amazing how those auto-hoods have come down in price and have better features since those days...I paid over 5 Ben Franklins for that shield.

The Speedglas has batteries in it...they were the first things I replaced when I got the hood. I suppose I could and should check them though, as they're now probably 1 to 1-1/2 years old. But I'm ready to invest in a new helmet, so...recommendations?

Try some new batteries and look up at a bright lightbulb....those were great hoods even though it may have some miles on it.

I just tested the battery and it's putting out 11.3 volts (it's rated at 12 volts) so it appears the battery is still good...

shucks...

markz wrote:I just tested the battery and it's putting out 11.3 volts (it's rated at 12 volts) so it appears the battery is still good...

You need to put some load to it when measuring, like a small 12V light bulb. A bad battery can still hold its voltage with the small current that goes through a voltmeter but drops quickly under load.

Either you don't have enough sensors in the hood, they aren't located where they "see" the flash, sensitivity is adjusted too low, batteries aren't compatible, or the hood is toast. My Miller was about a year old when it started acting up. H80N remembered a Miller bulletin that you needed Panasonic batteries. Sure enough, other brands are concave on the back, Panasonic are flat! Panasonic batteries worked in mine for a few weeks then it all failed. Miller replaced it no questions asked.

Wow, now THAT’S touchy! How old is the Miller helmet you’re talking about?

I don’t know the history of the Speedglas XL I have, so can’t really comment on it. To boot, it’s the first and only helmet I’ve used to date.

I just put a load on the battery and it appears drained (.03 output,) so I’ll start with a new battery and see if it fixes the arc flash I’m experiencing.

Only new here but think this is a perfect thread to stat with...

I also have a problem with my cheap chinese DC Tig 200si inverter , and I'm almost 99% sure its the welder...

Ive used other tig machines and never had the same issue, I was sure at one stage it was my hood, I started off with a 2 sensor solar hood, again just a cheap one, and I would have a nice steady arc and then boom a yellowish flash that would almost blind me for a sec... so bad I had to take a break to let my eyes settle down...
I thought I would get a new hood, so went out and got a miller elite 'joker' edition, payed an arm and a leg for it here in oz,
but I kept getting the problem, so I have changed batteries, adjusted the machine, made sure my arc length was tight to the point of getting the tungsten stuck, moved the earth clamp about, made sure the sensors on the hood had line of sight, used the x-mode and even went as far as getting a new tig torch and earth lead... still the problem exists... have tried so many things but no dice.

I know this is not a solution to the problem but, if anyone has any info on how to solve this issue I would be very grateful!

Has is got a red knob inside it?

the welder?

no the speedglass

I've heard it said that some helmets don't like low amperage welds with an inverter's soft arc, but never heard of a Speedglas or Miller Elite being amongst them.

@stabdd,
We've had other discussions here about the cheap welders not maintaining an arc due to the low open circuit voltage, but none were designated to Tig only, that I know of, all were stick inverters being used to Tig. Might be the same problem though.

Len

Hey cheers for the info Braehill ! The welder in question is a HF Tig/Arc inverter... so it could be similar to what you are talking about... ill have a search through some old posts to try and see what I can come up with.

I want to get a new tig machine soon but in Australia they aint cheap!

Hey mate, there are a number of good options for Tigs here in Aus. Ps I'm in Bendigo.

Yes, the Speedglas does have a red, sensitivity adjusting knob inside the helmet.

@stabdd,
I believe that the blue HF Tig machine has the lift arc function and if I have it right, when you happen to dip your tungsten it will go into lift mode. Might be what's causing your flash. I'm definitely not an expert on inverters though. Maybe someone with more knowledge than me will chime in.

Len


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