Should have mentioned that I was using .35 wire. I totally get the bacon sizzling thing. I spent a whole 6-weeks trying to get arc welding down back in high-school and never quite got past being startled every time the arc struck. Thinking about that I was really nervous before pulling that trigger the first time today, but was pleasantly surprised by the nice steady hiss with just a bit of popping.
Also, I'm using solid wire with 100% argon. When I bought the machine I was planning on building an aluminum frame for a pontoon boat so I got the pure argon to weld aluminum.
The sticker in my welder is actually in the wire compartment. I was going by the general recommended settings for 1/4" in there. That's supposed to be about the upper limit of what the welder will weld, even though I did manage to burn a hole through one of my test pieces of 1/4" with the welder at full power. I think everybody is right about my speed though. I think I was probably trying to remember what I was taught in high school and probably moving the torch too slow and letting the metal build up. I probably didn't do too bad for a first timer. I'll try to get some pics of the bracket tomorrow, just don't laugh too hard when you see them.
