First TIG welds

[WhoWhatNow]

Miller XMT 350
DCEN
1/4" Plate
1/8" tungsten
130 Amps

Fire away boys:

 

[zkling]

-Start on thinner plate (~1/8) with thinner tungsten, but same amps. General rule of thumb for steel tig is 1 amp for every 0.001" thickness of metal. OR use the same tung and plate, but drastically increase your amps to ~225.
-Run longer beads on a larger, rectangular piece of plate.
-Majority of those look pretty cold (result of 130 amps, 1/8 tung and 1/4" plate)
-The orangeish red is tungsten contamination. You probably diped the tung in the puddle. Needs to be cleaned and reground.

What were your other running parameters? Filler rod size? You're off to a good start

 

[justanengineer]

Put away the filler and practice with just your torch for awhile first. Try fusion welding some sheetmetal together, thinner stuff down to tinfoil thickness will help coordinate your hand&eye and help you down the road with making straight, even welds. Dont try to weave at all until youve got straight stringer beads perfect, same as other processes.

I like to think of TIG as two processes - fusion then filling. Running multiple passes I focus on fusion first to seal the weld and get good penetration, then I focus on filling for strength afterwards. Running just a single pass, you gotta watch closely and realize when you need filler vs fusion.

 

[shawnspeed]

Not bad...a little hot, keep that tung clean....and dont get off the pedal fast...taper out as not to leave a dimple,(crack proprogation point)...and starting with just fusion will help...Shawn

 

[zmotorsports]

Put away the filler and practice with just your torch for awhile first. Try fusion welding some sheetmetal together, thinner stuff down to tinfoil thickness will help coordinate your hand&eye and help you down the road with making straight, even welds. Dont try to weave at all until youve got straight stringer beads perfect, same as other processes.

I like to think of TIG as two processes - fusion then filling. Running multiple passes I focus on fusion first to seal the weld and get good penetration, then I focus on filling for strength afterwards. Running just a single pass, you gotta watch closely and realize when you need filler vs fusion.

^^This. I would suspend using filler rod and get a good feeling for controlling the puddle. Once you are comfortable with the puddle control start to introduce filler rod back into the equation. You will see how then you use not only the current and travel speed to control the heat but also the filler rod as this cools the puddle momentarily upon introduction into the molten puddle.

For the most part you are off to a good start as far as consistancy but it appears to be a little cold. Could just be the thicker plate. I would use 1/8" and a 3/32" tungsten for starting.

Mike.