tig root 2G lay wire technique?

[GaveUpOnTV]

You still have to push the filler at times to satisfy the puddle.

Ah, that may be it. I feel it 'notch' every once in a while, but I'm concentrating on the torch mostly. I wish I had more material to practice on. Also I don't really get to see what's behind the torch, but I always feel the rod 'collapse'. At other times I think that I have got a good root pass only to lower my torch hand and see a mess.

[everlastsupport]

If what you are filling is bigger than the filler rod you will have to feed it in as well.

[GaveUpOnTV]

If what you are filling is bigger than the filler rod you will have to feed it in as well.

I use the 1/8" rod to space the joints of the pipe. When I tack the pipe together, it closes up and it's very difficult to get the rod back out (I file one side of the rod so I twist it to remove). I am left with a groove that's just slightly less that the rod size I've used to space it. When I try to do the root pass, (after grinding the tacks so that the wire will have a more gradual bend when it goes over the tack) I press the rod as close as I can against the groove and I use about 80 amps to melt the wire in. I am having better 'luck' using 80 amps than 90 or so, it melts it too fast to bend it and I'll often just have a loose rod in my hand because it's melted and liquid and no longer attached to the groove. I think that I'm not getting the arc at the place it is bending or something, otherwise the rod wouldn't melt so fast, heat would be sucked from the rod because of it's touching the metal.
I'm paying too much attention to the torch hand and I'm not watching where the rod is flexible so that sometimes the rod is not touching the metal when I have the arc on it, and of course it just melts, the heat cannot go anywhere.
I think I'm a little slower picking this up, but I just need lots of practice. I got a lathe that I am getting going so that I can take the pieces of pipe that I've welded together and cut them up and bevel them so I can weld them again. I'll try that tonight maybe (cutting and beveling the pipe)
My teacher advised me to use a 3/32" root opening, with a 3/32 land, I haven't tried that yet. I didn't think to ask him if I should also use 3/32" rod to do the root pass and use the 1/8" rod. Or maybe that was stick? Does anybody know offhand what most people use? I will have to double check that I have everything ok. I'm welding both sch 40 and sch 80, the root pass specs should be the same in both cases, shouldn't they?

[Rambozo]

Also make sure your torch angle is pretty much always pointed towards the center of the pipe. You want to direct the arc towards the pipe, not the filler. Then position your head so you can see the puddle without having to change the torch angle. There are a lot of pipe techniques, different people do better with some than others.