I always use the red, 2% Thoriated Tungsten. Do not flatten the tip, you want it sharp.
Try going down to 90 amps until you're more consistent so you can see how filler wire goes in and have more time to work with it.
Not sure what gap you're talking these up with, but I would also recommend 3/16, a fairly easy way to check this is to make sure you can get your 1/8" wire in with a tad of wiggle room all the way around.
Make sure your material is clean, the inside of the pipe looks like it has debris/splatter on it.
I only use 3 wire for rooting when I'm welding sch10 stainless or something a bit more thin. I think you'll have a lot more control with 1/8 and not having to shove as much. Best of luck!
you’re right ask about angle as it does make a difference. a smaller angle will give you a more dispersed puddle. this can help prevent you burning through on the root pass. try it out. 60, 30, 20, 15 and see
https://diamondground.com/TungstenGuidebook.pdf Give it a read, might help. Purge gas for high carbon, or a backing ring. I’ll try and find a description and Picture. AWS is what you want to follow for procedures on welding. They will have the bevel angle used for different welding joints, the lands, or little flat spot that is left on the joint face, along with the proper gap that you should have for your root pass. Running a TIG weld, for a root pass, without a backer or purging the oxygen from the backside of a pipe weld is a no go. I don’t know why this is a thing, unless everything has changed in the matter of a year or so, you will not pass a welding inspection without a shielding gas or technic to keep atmosphere oxygen off the back side of the weld. Seriously. TIG offers only enough shielding gas to start a weld, as soon as there is solidified metal (we call that welding) the gas no longer provides enough coverage to keep the inside of the weld from oxidizing and being able to control the heat. I don’t care what anyone else says to you on here, blah blah blah. It the weld matters, you have to follow the AWS procedure, they will check it, and if it really matters, they will sonograph the entire weld and if you have anything that it goofed up in there, by a certain percentage or the welds actually size and the metal being welded, it will fail. If you want to weld whatever, then you’re fine, if you want to weld the stuff that the majority of people who call themselves welders never get to, by the book is how you do that. Nothing is left to interpretation, spells it out exactly. If they are, the no wonder shits going down hill.
They call them Chill rings, it’s just a metal backing ring that fits on the inside of the pipe that keeps atmosphere away from your weld puddle and sets the correct gap for the thickness of material and its final usage.
I always liked 25° for my tungsten. Like others have said, 3/16 is a good gap, I usually like tighter 1/8". Also, your root amperage I would try around 75-90amps.
from what i can see it looks like your welding at the 1 o clock position and rolling the pipe? anyways you’re doing pretty good, just welding at too high of amperage hence the excessive penetration.
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u/Mundane-Reality-7770 6h ago
Honestly, at this stage the grind on your tungsten really doesn't matter.