RPat wrote:
I'm new to TIG....
that says it all! No expert here, the rest of the crew here will give you all the best tips, but TIG is NOT something you just pick up and start laying nice beads down.
Some things I can tell you though...
Don't be concerned about the type of tungsten, the size of your tungsten, the shape of your tungsten tip, the cleanliness of your material, or the myriad of settings on your box... just keep it simple. For aluminum, just make sure you're set on AC (it should make a hell of a racket, if it's quiet, you're on DC).
Keep your ARGON set no more than 20cfm (around 15 is good for just about anything).
And forget about filler rod! First thing to learn is to get a puddle, ya gotta burn through that (whitish) oxide layer first, it takes a few moments. TIG is super sensitive to torch angle and distance. Set your max amps for the material thickness (simple rule is 1 amp for each .001 thickness, .125 1/8th inch set at 125amps, a little bit higher works great to give you some room to lean into it when needed).
Get comfortable, get really close to the material (if you're struggling with distance, before you hit the pedal lay the tungsten on the material, flip your helmet down, lift the torch up so ever slightly off the material, hit the pedal)... then slam down on the pedal almost all the way, almost pedal to the metal (drag race car reference there... heh). Then watch it start to eat away at that oxide layer, and back off the pedal smoothly to start controlling the heat... in a few seconds the oxide layer should start to dissolve away and a nice shiny silver puddle will appear. Then start moving your torch forward in the direction of travel tilting your torch ever slightly back (pointing in the direction of movement, but only JUST so ever angled off from 90 degree vertical) moving in the direction you want to go, whatever is comfortable for you (I'm right handed so going from right to left is my most comfortable). Learn to continue that puddle, not too fast, not too slow. 1/8th inch is nice and thick to play with so you shouldn't be having a problem blowing through. Once you can get a nice long smooth straight puddle bead going, try a nice back and forward motion to get that rippled look, sort of a stack of dimes bead look. Move forward, then back a little... then forward, then back a little. Learn to control the pedal and your torch angle. Practice, practice, practice!
Then once you're comfortable with breaking through that oxide layer and laying a nice puddle down... THEN you can play with filler rod. Remember to add filler to the puddle, not too close to the tungsten, or it'll just ball up, bounce off the material and right into your lap... not as bad as steel as it'll probably cool off before it lands on your crotch, but still want to avoid molten metal on your private parts. Ha. And filler rod should only be added if you need it, so don't just start pushing it into the puddle too fast... just learn to dip it lightly and quickly back the filler rod away.... move the puddle forward with the torch, and repeat. Consistency is everything, so try counting in your head to match the filler rod dips... Try counting 2 seconds between dips... One one thousand two one thousand, dip... one one thousand, two one thousand, dip... Obviously what you see happening in the puddle should determine when and if you need to add filler, but this is just to learn some basic skills.
And remember, you WON'T learn it in a day... It's like trying to learn a martial art or boxing in a day... it won't happen. You'll get your ass kicked backwards and forwards and you'll get super frustrated... But just keep it simple, stick to the basics, learn to get a puddle, learn to control the puddle with a steady movement, learn to keep your torch angle correct and keep your tungsten from dipping in the puddle or too much arc length.
Don't worry about anything else... Practice, practice, practice. Then all the fine points that the experts will give you will let you fine tune your welds... and then you can play with thinner stuff... then it gets fun, or not fun... cursing is mandatory. Beers help.... ENJOY!
Actually, he was using .125 scrap plate as noted in post #9 on the first page. He was using .0625 and .125 4043 filler as mentioned in the first post. 
Very good explanation though in your previous post. 
I too am waiting on wine30. 
But seriously...excellent looking weld. 