[ QUOTE ] i'm worried about my pedal being jacked up like someone said earlier. any thoughts bftws? [/ QUOTE ] I can't think of any reason the Pedal would cause that, unless it is stuck "wide open". Having the Polarity wrong would Ball the Tungsten and make the arc just about impossible to control. You could be getting the metal way too hot because of the lack of control. That does look like it could be a case of extremely too much Heat. What thickness are you trying to Weld? On 16g I would probably set the amperage on about 80 and use the Pedal to adjust. 99% of my welding is Stainless or Aluminum, so I can't help you a lot on mild steel. I can tell you howev9er, that when I do weld mild steel I generally use Stainless filler.
altered, i'm hearing ya. my pics look like i'm hitting it from the damn side. dont the burns look odd? i'm like you say 80-70 degrees.
Polarity is simple to tell. As I mentioned earlier, if you have the Polarity wrong, your "Point" will turn into a "Ball". When I weld Aluminum at low amperage, I start by Balling the Tungsten with the welder set on DCEP, then switch the Welder over to AC.
one more thing, like b.m.a. said, about grinding, in addition to grinding your tungsten lengthwise (takes some getting used to), make sure you use a dedicated stone soley for grinding your electrodes. you run a real good risk of constantly contaminating your electrode if youre sharpening on your general purpose grinding wheel. looks like there is a amperage control issue. start low with the pedal cranked up full. turn the power up until you get a nice steady arc that forms a nice little puddle that takes a second or two to form. you dont want to be running away from your puddle, rather working into it.
thats, my dial, where i was last night on 18ga sheetmetal. the grinder wheel i used is brand new and the first thing i grinded on my also new grinder for xmas. i did like you said, lengthwise to the point.
Looks to me like you have it set on DCEN. I don't really know what the problems is. Even if the pedal is screwed up it should only be able to max out at whatever you have the amperage set at on the Dial. I see that you mentioned 18g. I would set the Dial between 40-60amps and try it again. Make sure you are getting Gas at the Cup, start your arc and keep the tip of the Tungsten within an 1/8" of the metal at that amperage. You should have a sharply defined arc with no wandering as long as your Tungsten is sharpened correctly.
On your main switch, what does the setting all the way to the left say? I can't quite make it out in the picture. Also, it appears that your Amperage Dial is marked by % instead of in Amps. If thats the case, you are running way too much heat. If that is %, turn it down to around 20% and see what happens.
I just looked at the close up pic on the other page. That is percent, so with your setting of 70, that means 70% of whatever the Maximum amperage is for that Welder. Not 70 amps. That would also explain the slight Melting of the Cup in the other Pics...way too much heat. <font color="red">I looked up your machine and it is rated at 150 amps. If my Math is correct, 70% of 150 is 105 amps. Set it on 40% and try it again. That should be right around 60amps. </font>
never thought about the %. overlooked that. i'll definitely be out there tonite. stay posted, i appreciate all your help. ruralrod edit: about that cup, is it still ok? what's the 7 printed on the side of the cup?
It will be fine, but if you get them hot on a regular basis it makes them crack or break easier. I ***ume 7 is the size of the Cup. I don't remember seeing any numbers on the Cups we use. Also, 60amps is more than I would use on 18g, but thats what the pedal is for. Get the arc and puddle started, then back off until you are in the proper temp range. Practice will teach you what the Bead and surrounding metal should look like as you are welding. On that 18g, your Heat affected Zone should extend no more than 1/8" to each side of the Bead(preferably less). That takes not only the correct amperage, but also fast travel speed. Filler selection helps immensly with travel speed and most people use bigger than they actually need. This takes more heat and also slows down your travel speed.On Sheetmetal from 20g to 16g, I use .045 Filler, 14g to 10g I use 1/16" Filler. Once you get practiced-up, you will find that you can run at a slightly higher amperage if you can match the higher heat with higher travel speed. The faster you go, the less heat gets into the surrounding metal. This means less warpage, but you don't want to do it at the expense of the Weld itself. Thats where the practice comes in.
one last thought for today: gas pressure? i set it at 20. when i pedal it it drops a bit. it should right? is that where a flowmeter comes in play? i'll look tonite to see where it drops when i pedal it. thanx again, ruralrod
That gauge should read in cfh (cubic feet per hour) not psi. A flowmeter is just a more accurate version. The portable welders I use have the same regulator that you are using and I have never noticed a nickels worth of difference. They may not be as accurate as a Flowmeter, but this isn't exactly Rocket science. Indoors, at low amperages(30-80) I usually run 12-14 cfh because it saves Gas and you don't need that much flow at low temps. The Maximum gas flow I use would be 30-40cfh, and thats on Heavy aluminum with the welder cranked up high enough to make the Cup glow. In a windy or breezy environment, turning up the flow sometimes helps, but your best bet is to try and block the breeze.
As others have said, those pictures are very characteristic of s shielding gas problem. Check the path of the gas from the tank to the torch, make sure everything is tight and that gas comes out of the torch. I'd also try laying a small bead on a large, thick piece of steel. Your amperage setting will be a lot more forgiving and there won't be any chance of burning through like with the sheet metal. If you end up doing that take some pictures, they may be much more telling of the problem you are having than the sheet metal. Sheet metal takes a bit of skill to balance the amperage, speed, and deposit rate, you'll have a lot more luck practicing with a whole lot of 1/8" steel strips that you set up in different joints once you get the thing working. I learned TIG welding on an EconoTIG and it worked great for everything I did. It'll do everything a beginner will want to do with ferrous metals and quite bit more. I recently moved up to a Syncrowave 250DX when i got into more aluminum and advanced work. Flatpuppy
I second the gas problem. Where did you get the gas from? Does your bottle have an Argon label on it? It looks like it may be a bottle of mig gas or contaminated. You may call them and see if they have had problems with a bad batch of gas. A few years ago I went thru 3 bottles of gas in a week trying to find out what was causing my contamination, it turned out the welding supplier filled like 200 bottles, All contaminated. Are all of your Gas lines tight? Is there an o-ring on your torch back cap? If the o-ring is damaged or missing it will **** oxygen in the backside of the torch, which will effect the weld quality but usually never as bad as your pictures. Have patience and keep trying, we'll get this figured out DAVE
snowed like a sum***** last night. shoveled all night and this morn. didn't get to practice. will try tonite and post the pics. taking all the advise and will really fine tooth all the connections tonite. stay posted, ruralrod maybe something at noon
In the cl*** I just took, our teacher told us the most important thing is to learn how the TIG process works and it will be easier to understand what is happening when you are welding. I suggest reading and learning how tig works and also using thicker metal (like 1/8") to start with it is easier. Your miller manual or any good catalog with have tungsten and filler rod size recommendations and even what voltage to use.
The tan/brown color around the weld indicates a shiedling gas problem (although there may be other factors involved as well). We had a brand new Miller Dynasty 300 and were having similar problems. Turned out the hose was kinked inside the cover. Once we fixed that, all was well. So check your setup and if that doesn't do it, try a different bottle of gas.
[ QUOTE ] The tan/brown color around the weld indicates a shiedling gas problem (although there may be other factors involved as well). [/ QUOTE ] Welding with a badly contaminated Tungsten will cause it too.
UPDATE: it was the gas. it was a blend and not 100% argon. got the new bottle, will try tonite. gidurdun!, ruralrod
curious as hell to see what happens tonite. just got off the phone with another distributor down the highway a bit, he confirmed our thoughts. it kills me to see how unedjamakated some guys are!? especially when they sell it for a living. the local clown swears i ought to be able to make mix work. hope i prove him wrong. until next time, rural
Pachi, Well, what was the outcome? I have been waiting for another post. Hope all is well and happy new year to you and your family. Chuck
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