It was clean metal in the weld circle. Didn't have any contamination flares at all which really surprised me.........other than sticking the tungsten in the puddle 3 times.....which is a win for me.
That's why they sell so many tungstens --- and sharpeners!
I agree on the cleaning. Go beyond your weld border. As you weld you'll see the junk get puled into the puddle edge. The way I see it your gonna end up cleaning the whole thing at some point. Its easier to do without something welded to it.
THANKS TO: A&M Machine and Fabrication, CCTek (http://www.candctek.com), Hermance Design(www.hermancedesign.com), Paradise Road Rod & Custom, Harry Opfer Welding, Wegner Automotive Research, Clayton Machine Works
Created a project to get some heavy gauge practice on. The heavy stuff was good for me and my aging eyes as it's like looking at the puddle under a microscope.
Final pass using 3/32 lay-wire and weave pattern with the torch.
From your picture it looks like your tungsten could be sharper. Plus that will concentrate you heat more. Your probably finding the thicker material easier to see because your using more amperage and lighting up your welding shield better. On thinner material you might go to a lighter lense. The problem with the thicker material is it welded totally different. You can run a lot more heat and not work on the the most important part of welding. Controlling your heat. I hire industrial welders that are certified for thick metal projects but cannot control there heat to save their life or their job.
When you do a welding cert job you might do the tubing test we did for a big Stainless job we do monthly for a local company. We welded .25 wall material tubing. The cut the small joint maybe 4 inch long and cut it it to 6-8 strips length wise so you can see the penetration from the middle. There can be penetration on both sides that has a huge void in the middle. We learned that on some Xray-ed parts we did for the same company.
These are some parts we are welding up today. They are huge and require multiple passes for proper penetration.
Thanks for the input Rodger. Greg pointed out the company you're welding those for when we were cruising through Bakertuckey.
That tungsten was violated just as I was finishing the weld. Typically I take it to a point with a little longer bevel than it appears in the photo. I did experiment with putting a slight flat on the point during the session, prefer pointed.
I completely agree with the heat control and it's much more involved than just setting your amperage. I'm going to start practicing/experimenting with pulsed mode/settings on thinner materials. I think that will compliment my lack of talent nicely.
Thanks for the input Rodger. Greg pointed out the company you're welding those for when we were cruising through Bakertuckey.
That tungsten was violated just as I was finishing the weld. Typically I take it to a point with a little longer bevel than it appears in the photo. I did experiment with putting a slight flat on the point during the session, prefer pointed.
I completely agree with the heat control and it's much more involved than just setting your amperage. I'm going to start practicing/experimenting with pulsed mode/settings on thinner materials. I think that will compliment my lack of talent nicely.
You should sand the tungsten before you take the pic. It makes you look like a pro. HAHAHA
Most of the time the pulse welding on thinner material is better done with the foot pedal. The pulse does not give you a real sense of heat control as more then likely you sheet metal fit on custom panels is not precise around the hole panel and since your margin of error is much tighter on sheetmetal. The pulse works great on thicker stuff that a robot can do as it is a machine fit constant gap. The foot pedal lets you control it much better for each individual weld bead.
For thinner stuff just cut some straight strips and weld them back together with out buckling the material from Heat. Then if you can weld it up and keep it flat and you turn it over and it is fully penetrated your golden.
Ok, I have a confession. I'm a lurker in this thread!
So, here is some TIG love for my fellow welders. Cheers.
Mild steel sanded and then cleaned with a 3M pad. Red electrode, Argon at 12 to 15, Tip ground down to a point with clean 100 grit sanding wheel, and some welding rod I found laying around the shop. 1/4" plate with Amp setting at 100, Foot controlled heat between beads.
And by the way.... Scott you are getting pretty good. Take note everyone, practice, practice, practice.
Last edited by 67zo6Camaro; 12-04-2013 at 11:18 AM.
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