Made My First Tig Weld Tonight

[justinp61]

I finally bought some filler for my tig today, so tonight I hooked everything up and give it a try. I really think I'll like it, my first weld to me really didn't look too bad. There are lots for me to learn though, but with a little time and practice all will be good.
My machine is a Miller Syncrowave 250DX. The plant I worked at closed down earlier this year, they allowed us to bid on equipment so I bought the welder and some other equipment. I have only only watched tig welding a little back when I was a union carpenter and we would build scaffolding for pipe fighters. I've been welding since I started high school (farm Boy) and about six years ago I bought a MM210 with a spool gun. I didn't have a stick welder and always wanted to try tig so I bought this welder. I was the only person to ever use it, and I probably didn't burn three pounds of rods with it. So I knew it was a good machine, plus I only gave $1003 for it and all of the accessories.
I need to learn where to position my self to be able to see the puddle and also learn when to add filler. Tonight I really couldn't see a puddle develop. And yes I did dip the tungeston in the weld a few times, it was fun though. I really like to build stuff and learning new things along the way.
Any tips will be appreciated.
Justin

[TS-Off-Road]

Wow, you got a screamin' deal!

Post up some pics of your welds!

[dabar39]

Good deal

Great price on the Syncrowave. We all love pictures around here, post some so we can see your progress as you learn and maybe tell you what you are doing wrong, or right for that matter. Dave

[justinp61]

OK here's my ugly first, and my welders.

[Samurai Dave]

Try flatter coupons

The steel being welded looks to be 1/4" (can't really tell). That means a bunch of heat will need to be punched into the metal, which may be why you aren't seeing a puddle. Try thinner steel, like 1/8". Also, try flatter coupons so it is easier to keep your tip the 1/16" from the puddle. One of the tricks is to put a piece of metal down along the bead as a palm-rest. This will steady your hand, until you get the hand of it. Trying to steady your whole arm, while welding uneven (non-flat) metal is tough, even for someone with lots of TIG time.

[Fishy Jim]

Wow, that's an amazing buy!

Did it come with the pulser and sequencer?

[justinp61]

Wow, that's an amazing buy!

Did it come with the pulser and sequencer?

No...... It came with the leads, running gear,regulator, tig torch and foot pedal. I don't even know what to do with the stuff I did get let alone anything else.

[justinp61]

Guys...Please excuse this if it's a stupid question,but. What is a gas lens? What does do different than a reqular nozzle?

[TS-Off-Road]

Guys...Please excuse this if it's a stupid question,but. What is a gas lens? What does do different than a reqular nozzle?

It reduces the turbulence, allows better gas coverage and more tungsten stick-out for better visibility of the weld bead.

Here is a pic that shows what a gas lens does

[Krazay]

looks like too much heat on the pic of your weld there. i'm sure it looks twice as good as that by the time you read this

[safetydave]

first tig welds

Hey don't worry so much we all had to start some where when we took up the welding trade, and I all my years of welding I have seen some really bad welds that I wouldn't want any body to know they were mine so keep on practiceing and you will be a pro before you know it and nobody will even remember the UGLY ONES.

[Dustyhaze75]

that's an insane deal you got. I'm jealous! I had to go through **** to get mine. the price tag starts to go up real fast when you start adding all the bells and whistles and extras. hope you enjoy it and good luck.

[2much2do]

That's a helluva deal! That doesn't look bad for a first bead. Mine was horrible. I've been welding for a living for about a year now, and have doing it as a hobby for a few. I just started playing with the tig welder at work and now they're not perfect by any means, but far better than a year ago. I also learned with a cheap Harbor freight "scratch start" tig welder I got for about $200. That took some doing to learn how to use without getting the tungsten to stick. It has it limitations, but I've gotten it to lay some decent looking welds. I'd love to have a Miller or even a Lincoln at home but that unfortuneatley is not going to happen any time soon. I use a Lincoln square wave tig 175 at work.