Seig,

Thanks for the comments. Yea, I'm practicing on the project. Gotta make progress!

Greg,

I am definitely growing attached to the TIG. I need to learn how to feed the rod better. Can't get that smooth. Also, I did not realize the back side was so rusty. I couldn't see it. I actually stuck the camera in the door and just pushed the button. Took several shots to actually get the photo I wanted. It is now on our list to blast the inside of the doors as well. Practice, practice, practice!:lateral:

I think it would be great to have a ''ASK THE FABRICATOR'' section. Lets here what Scott thinks..

Some good points for fledgling welders, but one thing I never see mentioned when giving tips....

Ventilate your work area! Welding fumes can be bad for your health. Excessive exposure can cause a type of parkinson disease.

Work upwind of the welding fumes if outside, and if inside and you dont have a respirator us a small fan to suck the fumes away from you.

Didn't see these mentioned here yet, sorry if I missed it

http://www.shop3m.com/60980013910.ht...Grinding-Wheel

At 3/16 thick they work better than a thin cutoff wheel for grinding down weld beads and they last a lot longer. Can be tough to find locally sometimes though.

still too much build up on top, tacks spaced too far apart and not enough penetration. the little craters in each of the welds should dissapear when you do your next tack. hell, i dont know if i do it correctly or not, but probably 40% of my previous tack will go molten when i do my next tack. too much build up on top makes it like trying to weld sheetmetal to 1/8" plate.

i would turn the heat up a little and hold the trigger for less time. that, or turn the wire speed down a little so you can hold it for a little longer without getting too much build up.

how long are you holding the trigger for? im a "pull-1-2-off" kind of guy. sometimes its forrest gump counting and other times its an auctioneer, but i find a rythm and go from there.

Thanks for the constructive feedback, I agree with all the points mentioned. Being a total newb to it and having limited experimentation time makes the learner curve longer. I typically learn best by hands-on experience but also rely on written input. I'd guess due to fear of burn through and build up I'm not holding it long enough.

Yesterday I fab a clamp device for notching tubing and practice welding tubing and found during my tubing welding experiments that I may be holding the tip off too far as when it was close (IMO) the bead laid down more. Being able to see the bead well enough to relax appears to be a major challenge for me. The size of that damn nozzle doesn't help matter either. :D The Harbor Freight helmet appears to be a little dark even on the lightest setting IMO. An Optrel may be in my future since at 52 my vision is digressing thus compounding the factors.

I'm only on my 2nd bottle of gas in 6 years so more time on the gun definitely an issue though I have made a noticeable dent on the bottle in the last week.

I'll work on experimenting more with finding the extremes, that should help and my self imposed learning barriers will fall.

Thanks for the input, I really appreciate your help and support. :thumbsup:

keep trying and you'll get it. my car has been a 5 year project and i hadnt welded much of anything before i started. i look at some of the first welds i did on this car and almost vomit. its amazing how practice helps.

less stickout can do a few things for you; it will make your placement more accurate, increase the heat and decrease your vision. i find that i get a sloppy gun angle the closer i get, but i do weld much better with about 1/4" stickout.

I try to run 1/4 - 3/8" stick out so the average is 3-5/16th. Maintaining proper gun attitude is the most likely the handicap. I think through the work position, line of travel, and gun position in advance of pulling the trigger but having the talent to reinact it is another thing. :(

To date my tubing weld are inducing a gag reflex. :D

Thanks again. :thumbsup:

Well the tig comes out tomorrow.I'm at a point where the migs not going to cut it anymore.. I need to start learning how to use this thing will see what happens...:_paranoid

Well attemps 1,2,and 3 are utter disasters!! Every night I've been spending a couple of hours trying to figure this tig out. For the most part I can control the tourch and run a nice bead by itself. But when I start to use the wire DISASTER!!! I'm using the mig wire as filler Roger said to start with. I'm having a hard time starting the puddle without burning through no matter how low I bring the amps down. I just ordered a new Optrel welding helmet. I think vision is part of my problem. So will see what happens with the new helmet when I get it...