4043 practice beads on 3/16 6061. It's what I have to practice on.  Miller #17 torch 2% lanthanated tungsten, furick pro cup #8 balled tip from letting the tungsten do it's thing, 3/8 stick out, 165amps. Feeling pretty happy since this is my first go at this. Thanks to Jody for about 25 hours of watching his videos over and over every night here trying to learn. Any feed back would be welcome. 

Just got an Optrel Crystal 2.0 hood. First time I looked through it, thought "holy shit, this is amazing!" I thought my 10+ year old Lincoln was awesome, but this thing is in an entirely different universe. Comfortable, and weighs next to nothing. The blue tint while darkened is a little weird, and will take getting used to. The optical clarity is super sharp, and the color....wow. Photo was taken through the hood. The downside is, it'll be one less excuse for why my welds suck!😀