First ever TIG runs - total novice

[Crater Creator]

Hello folks,
I got a TIG welder the other day, thought I would see if I can get the hang of it. Never tried TIG before but have done some oxy-acetylene many years ago, and got taught that at college.
Despite doing a lot of reading up beforehand, I realise these are pretty woeful first attempts, this was on roughly 2mm mild steel. Think I may have had the amps too high as the welds seem quite flat (and there was more than enough penetration on the back side).
One thing I struggle with is being able to see the weld puddle, it tends to be under and behind the shroud? Maybe I just need to get in a better position to see in the gap?
The pipe fillet was just for a jolly as I had a bit of scrap lying around - I won't be tigging up any HP gas lines or racing car roll cages just yet......
Criticism (constructive or otherwise) gratefully accepted.
Oh aye - all the pics are of the same bit of scrap, just different angles.
Cheers

 

[cumbriasteve]

I can't offer advice because I have never done TIG but they don't look woeful to me for a first attempt.

I was also an oxy acetylene welder of many years and I often wonder if that experience would actually help the learning curve or would perhaps be more of a hindrance by trying to copy the gas welding style that now comes naturally.

I will have a go one day but can't justify the set up for what I do at the moment.

 

[Crater Creator]

Thanks Steve. I can't justify it at all either, I just wanted to learn and it might come in handy to be able to do aluminium once in a blue moon.
It's purely a hobby for me, and the TIG was cheaper than a set of fancy golf clubs or the like, so I thought I'd treat myself.
But t takes a bit of getting used to working both hands and a foot pedal all at once... still, practice will hopefully make "slightly better".

 

[paceman1]

not bad for the first time out
how are you set up
we all start somewhere only practise and patience will we get better
good luck

 

[Crater Creator]

Hi Paceman, thanks for that.
For these I was using the foot pedal - a couple were with the foot pedal dial on max, and the rest with it at half. I'm still not sure if the setting on the welder itself has an effect when using the pedal or if the pedal pot adjusts the max amps. The post flow etc seems to still work with the pedal, which makes sense.
I think I was at about 60-80 amps - maybe much too hot for this thickness? But as I say, I was having trouble seeing the actual puddle, so I may have been winding it up too far.
Surprising thing is how fast the rods disappear - I will have to get used to feeding the rod through my fingers better, and there's no way I will ever manage it with TIG gloves on.....
I did have a go with pulse, low frequency (1 Hz), but it wasn't much better.

 

[Richard.]

Aberdeen eh. You ain't popping round to see me any time soon for a few hours under the whip.
Lots going on here and it's nothing that can't be sorted with a bit of guidance.
First things firsts. Get your arc length sorted out. 2mm (no further) from the pool. Don't worry any thing else till that is cracked. Do it without filler to start.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

I will have to get used to feeding the rod through my fingers better, and there's no way I will ever manage it with TIG gloves on.....

Don't go welding in any flavour without skin covered in some way . That way lies painful UV burns, and possibly skin cancer.......

 

[Crater Creator]

Thanks Richard.
Yeah I may see about doing a few classes if I can find some up this way at non-oil-industry prices.
I was pretty sure that my arc was very short, as you say. I did contaminate the tungsten a couple of times and had to re-grind, so I'm pretty sure I was very close.
OK I will have a go tomorrow without filler and post results. Maybe I am trying too much at once to start with - filler, torch, foot pedal.
Am I right in thinking that having too low amps will soak too much heat into the work before a puddle forms, and maybe create distortion?
Comments greatly appreciated.

 

[Crater Creator]

Don't go welding in any flavour without skin covered in some way . That way lies painful UV burns, and possibly skin cancer.......

Good point and I wouldn't dream of it with MIG or stick, and I did buy TIG gloves, but for the filler rod hand I definitely need something with more dexterity. Time to hit eBay again.....

 

[paceman1]

your hands need to be protected like the rest of your body some people forget that if you have your protective jacket on and not done up the uv will burn anywhere not covered and it don't take long
feeding is I recon the hardest bit to do
I found when using pulse the feeding was a bit easyer but still hard

 

[Crater Creator]

Yeah the little play around I had with slow pulse I could imagine it might slow things down to a point where I could readjust the filler - the foot pedal might also be a good way to do that, but I guess the best bet is to gain the skill to feed the rod. I tried with 1mm rods to start with but the weld was just eating it, I found the thicker rods a bit less "hectic".
Great fun though, having a blast learning all this stuff.

 

[Crater Creator]

@Richard. Just one question - how do you achieve the "stepped" TIG appearance, as my welds seem to be more like one continuous bead - should I be making a pronounced step forward from the weld puddle to create a new puddle, or just keep the puddle flowing forwards like I have been trying to do?
(If that even makes sense).

 

[Richard.]

Filling intervals followed by rapid solidification is how it's done and it's a natural part of the process. You create a pool then you add fill which reinforces it as you move the pool moves but the reinforcement solidifies behind then you add fill again and it does it again. The distance you move between fills and amount you fill between that distances are the two key factors to how elaborate those dimes look. It's simply a series of tacks in a way but with the arc and travel been always in play.

 

[Crater Creator]

Ah OK - I haven't been pronounced enough I think, more just running the torch linearly and dabbing the rod.
Tomorrow will be a practice day! I will try to note down settings for each run this time.

 

[Richard.]

Do away with the pedal.
It's not needed on dc and it's giving you no idea of the current levels needed for your material thickness. As a result your runs look too hot. Swap to a torch switch and set a fixed current of 30 Amps per 1 mm of material thickness. Filler sizes treat a little like tungsten sizes for now. 100 amps or below use a 1.6 tungsten well sharpened to a narrow point and match it with a 1.2/1.6 filler. Above 100 amps a 2.4 tungsten again same point but a 1.6/2.0 filler. Your not getting the look you want because of a lot of things and you need to concentrate on them one at a time. Arc length, tungsten prep, current, filling, consistency.
Like I say start with arc length. Get it in the habit of always been tight. Ignore filler and certainly don't worry about finger feeding. That's a skill for when you can lay down a 3 inch perfect run and you want to then learn how to do a 6 inch one without stopping. Your not there yet so keep the gloves on.

 

[Crater Creator]

Brilliant advice - thanks. There's a lot of info and stuff to take in, so your advice of binning the pedal and filler will make my next practice a lot more focussed. I'll let you know how I get on.
Hopefully I can give something back to this forum at some point - it's the best on the web that I have found.

 

[Richard.]

Brilliant advice - thanks. There's a lot of info and stuff to take in, so your advice of binning the pedal and filler will make my next practice a lot more focussed. I'll let you know how I get on.
Hopefully I can give something back to this forum at some point - it's the best on the web that I have found.

Wish you the best of luck and keep the photos coming.

 

[Crater Creator]

OK had a bit more of a play, as Richard suggested, without filler wire or pedal to confuse matters.
Looks a lot better. The two burnt looking welds are just where the torch had not purged yet I think.
The middle one I let the puddle build up to a slightly larger size, but I'm still amazed at how thin the weld bead turns out after using arc and MIG.
I will keep at it and see if I can make the lines a bit straighter next time.....