Back side of tack welds:

No issues with the tacks:

Aha! Uploading that picture, I realize why I burned a hole where I did. The overhang piece had slipped into the grinding wheel and thinned out there.

I will upload the pictures of the second plate. Spoiler alert: I burned a hole in it.

Here is another typical but questionable fit up.

So here she is ready for grinding. Of the 16 plates that I have made so far, this is the best so far.

So I washed the weld on the top where it needed it. Mostly pure washing, but at some points I added some filler to make sure that I didn't induce undercut or burn a hole.

So I looked at the back side to see if I had achieved 100% penetration. Nope!

This TIG bead is actually good for me. Note the blemish in the center from when I didn't have Argon.

After the 3 tacks, I still had my desired angle:

To start off with, I started to weld the center tack believing that the gas was on. The gas was not on. I don't have the best vision, and I misread the Open/Close markings on the cylinder. I turned on the gas. I used 13cfh. The center of the bead needed to be washed once I was finished with the weld...

Like I said, it is imperative that I get an appreciable angle on the overhang. This is about what I am looking for.

Tonight I welded two plates in two hours, completely focused on the tips that cj737 gave, particularly avoiding laying down cold welds. After welding the bead (only one bead on top from here on out), I would examine the other side to see if I could see any remains of the original seam. Spoiler alert...

I’ll wade in with some impressions... First, your gas setting is too high. You really only need about 12-15cfh for a #8 cup with a gas lens. 3/32 tungsten is fine, grind to a crisp point, don’t blunt it. For the application, you do not need 2 passes of weld. Heck, probably 5 tacks is plenty strong ...

I almost forgot my main question: I have settled on 85A max (no pulse involved although I tried it). I am using a #8 gas lens, 3/32" tungsten ground to 30 degrees with the tip ever so slightly blunted. I use 1/16" ER70S-2 and 20cfh straight Argon. I have 1/16" tungsten on hand (all my...

I also wonder if I should have my SolidWorks brother-in-law make a drawing with the 5" diameter curve on the 4" X 3" sheet intersecting with a 7/8" X 4" sheet with the same curvature. The 4 outside corners of the finished are always rounded so that they don't puncture the bi...

I also wonder if I should have my SolidWorks brother-in-law make a drawing with the 5" diameter curve on the 4" X 3" sheet intersecting with a 7/8" X 4" sheet with the same curvature. The 4 outside corners of the finished plates are always rounded so that they don't puncture...

So clearly a skills deficit here, but I am signed up to go to Hobart in January. It really does look okay after grinding. These go inside an ebike tire, so they don't have to look good, but the weight distribution should be as precise as possible. It is kind of a strange situation because I am makin...

If the bottom of the plate ("the other side of the seam") needs it, I will run a bead there, but the back side seemed to be good:

Remembering that I am new to TIG welding, I ran my best bead over the root pass:

Normally, I run a TIG bead on the top. With this example, I had to do a root pass. I really should have posted a plate with a good fit up.

Here it is tacked with this "terrible fit up" example plate:

And the same thing for the third and final tack:

More disgraceful filler rod used to fill the gap for the second tack. Like I said, usually I have a better fit up:

So now it is tacked a bit, but I had to take the time to remove the painter's tape and clean off the adhesive with acetone:

This is disgraceful. The filler there is ER70S-2. I really should have been working during normal hours and been able to take it to the grinder to make the adjustment: