Got a new toy....

[astroracer]

I got a very good deal on a brand new Lincoln Precision Tig 185. I've had it for almost two weeks now but didn't get it fired up until last Thursday. I have run a few feet of practice beads and Saturday I actually made a couple of usable items.
Here is a pic of the new toy...

This is a shot of a couple of practice beads.

Don't beat me up too badly, I am still learning to watch the puddle AND the weld seam AND the filler rod AND keep the foot peddle consistant. There is a lot going on during a weld but I think I am getting the hang of it. A couple more hours of practice and I think I will be comfortable. I need to get some practice on tubing though so I will start cutting up the old cradle this week for practice material.
Here is a hose/cable hanger I made from some scrap rod I had on hand.

It might be kinda hard to see so I'll get some pics of it in use on the argon bottle tonite. I painted it red so it looks finished.

Here is a couple of pics of welds I did for my welding chair chassis I built Saturday. Some trash picked bed frame welded up to fit under the chair. I'll be adding some 3" casters to it for mobility.

I have about two hours worth of practice under my belt and I know I have a lot to learn but I don't think the welds look to bad. I have had some guidance and your guys input would be appreciated.
Mark

 

[VetteBandit]

A lot of welding is in the prep-work. If you have clean pieces and proper prep / set up you will be able to create better welds. Just my $0.02. Congrats on the purchase, great start too!

 

[tubeman]

The first picture the weld looks hot and there is undercut. The second one looks better.
The bead should be not be concave like the first one. On the other hand the welds don't look "cold" which is the most common mistake. Nice job!

 

[davejs]

Some tips and tricks I found,
Size electrodes to part being welded, collets and cups as well.
When sharpening electrodes, hold electrode and grind with grain not across grain.
pulse the petal to increase/decrease heat. It will make thinner material easier to weld especially with small electrodes.
Preheat Aluminum, with a pure acetelyne flame soot the part then with neutral flame heat until soot burns off. This is the temp aluminum is ready to melt start welding now with AC and highfrequency on at all time.

 

[SoCalGarage]

the heat wave mark around the weld looks likes the temp is set too high? On TIG is should be small to almost null..

 

[astroracer]

Thanks guys, I was running the max amps at around 125 on the dial but I never got there while welding. I would max out the foot pedal to get the arc started then back off to around 3/4 pedal or so. I don't know what it read on the dial 'cause I wasn't looking at it.
There is more to the story then what you can see though. All of the heat blueing you see is from welds on the "inside" of the frame that you can't see in the pics...
I am working on my "anti-crater" technique. It will come with practice of course as will most of the other things. I haven't ran the welder since Sunday though because of broken garage doors and other honey-do's that have needed attention so far this week. I'm hoping tomorrow will be a free nite me...
Mark