Check my welds? (1 Viewer)

[chicago]

Hey all,
I took a couple of shots of my first stab at welding!
Im not sure if anyone is able to tell what Im doing from a photo, but I thought Id ask for any input just in case.
Im using a lincoln 100 mig with flux core .030 setting "B" at wire feed setting "2".
How exactly can you tell if youre getting the correct penetration?
It seems if there is a bit more of a gap between the pieces, the welds come out a bit cleaner...is this right?

Thanks,

Chicago

 

[2badfjs]

are you beveling your edges? you know, putting an angle in the metal.

you want no gaps if you can help it. if your butting two pieces together you should have a valley a "V" shape. not all the way but maybe 1/3 or 1/2 the thickness of the metal.
i put a 45 degree bevel on most all my welds. it allows for better penetration

keep practicing as much as possable before you build something that you want to protect you and your family.

i'll try to post a pic tomorrow for you of how mine come out.

knowing you heat and wire speed is just something you learn, your welder should have a chart, try to go off it and try to move your trigger at differnt speeds.
if you go to slow, you can either booger/pile up your weld or even burn through the material.
go to a scrape steel yard and get different thicknesses of metal and practice.

oh yeah, make sure that your steel is clean. i use a flap sanding disc on my 4.5" grinder.
a clean area on your steel will make a big difference.

 

[Cube Dweller]

Keith, I used to have that welder and pretty much found that I had to use level D with flux core wire. Incidently, I welded my sliders 1.75 x .120 wall round to .120 wall rectangular using CO2 and solid wire E70.

Jim is right on above, no gaps, bevel the edges.

 

[2badfjs]

i had to go back and look again.
definitly bevel,clean your work.
i try to move my trigger/wire in a circular motion

i'll pull away from my weld slowly as i push the weld back into itself. make sense?
keep your trigger/gun at a slight to 45 degree angle.

jim

 

[Mace]

If it is over .120 wall run it to the max heat, keep the wire fee at about 2 to 3, any faster and the wire will "push" the gun away from the weld.

Don't go gas, you will not get as much penetration. Use .035 flux core weire and burn it in slowly...

That maching you have built most of my 40. It is minimal but with a bit of attention will do you well..

It is all you need to do a Springover..

 

[450 DUDE]

YO Keith; as mentioned above make sure its clean and dont weld over your flux, maybe a little hotter.
you can tell how good your welds are by grinding into it or cutting it in half.
You dont want any porisity (bubbles), no crud in the weld and look on the back side for heat, you should see a nice hot spot.
try some flat stock for practice and dich that pipe.

hope that helps.



ken

 

[chicago]

Thanks for the info gents,
So it sounds as if im running a bit "cold" based on the comments above, and I need to flatten/ the corners of the cuts for the bevel?! Is that right?
Its actaully a friends welder, and hes letting me borrow it till I can get my own. I did no cleaning of the metal...Truth be told, I was so excited to start, I just chopped up some pipe and started rolling.
We have a s*** LOAD of scrap pipe at the shop, so this is what I have to use for right now, though I do have the blessings of various customers of ours to pilfer scrap metal bins which I will most likely do next week.
So cleaning the metal...just scrape the finish a bit?

2badFJ...
I was looking at the weld you did in your bumber build thread around the stem for the spare carrier...that looked good to me. Very difficult id imagine.
It seems to me that if you learn to weld one can save a TON of money in this hobby.

Thanks again for the input, very cool.

Chicago

 

[chicago]

BTW,
Ill try a higher heat setting today, and try cleaning the surface and beveling the edges and see what I come up with!

Thanks again,

Keith

Tony and Ken...nice to see you two posting up since we never seem to run in the same cricles on here!

Keith

 

[2badfjs]

i was told that you want your welds to look like dimes or nickles layed down.
i guess you could say that, as close as you can get to that look.

like mace, i use .35 flux core wire (no gas)
i really never knew that you get better penetration with flux core untill last sunday when someone told me that and untill now when mace mentioned it.
more clean up and more splatter, but i dont have to worry about running out of gas in the middle of a project.

i use a Hobart handler 180/185 220v my temp is set on 2 and my wire speed is about 35-40
i try not to go to fast and always have the "gun" moving.
if you have to go over a weld, make sure you clean the first weld up real good.

couple of pics for ya
keep practicing

Q:Chicago,
2badFJ...
I was looking at the weld you did in your bumber build thread around the stem for the spare carrier...that looked good to me. Very difficult id imagine.
It seems to me that if you learn to weld one can save a TON of money in this hobby.

i dont think i could have done that weld consistintly 2-3 years ago. but thats pretty much how most/all my welds look like now.

and as far as saving a TON of money....thats why i took up welding, so i could work on my oun junk. (cant afford to pay anyone)(i work in the parts department)

now i'm going to work for myself,my fab skills have vastly improved and the knowledge is there.

i'm not a certified welder, but none of my product has ever fallen or broke apart. (at least the stuff i sell.my own rigs are a different story)

keep it up.
i love doin this and my wife totally supports my decision to start a biz out of this.

 

[chicago]

looks nice, straight and clean!
Thanks for the input. I ran by a metal fab shop that we did some work at, and got some scrap from their bins. Ill go out and play a bit after a while.

Thanks for the pic and the advice.

Chicago

 

[Gold Boy]

Wow - like this thread!

I use a 110 Lincoln flux core welder, And all I can say is... "so what if there is a little splatter", as I am amazed at how much you can weld with this welder.

GB

BTW, I use a Princess Auto auto darkening helmet, and that alone has help me a lot with my welding skills.

 

[2badfjs]

Wow - like this thread!

I use a 110 Lincoln flux core welder, And all I can say is... "so what if there is a little splatter", as I am amazed at how much you can weld with this welder.

GB

BTW, I use a Princess Auto auto darkening helmet, and that alone has help me a lot with my welding skills.

i did my whole SOA with a lincoln 110 w/flux

i went from a auto helment to a flip down
my eyes dont hurt anymore and i can see more of the material around my welding .

 

[Mace]

And, if that little 110V just don't have the juice....


http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=453368

 

[450 DUDE]

And, if that little 110V just don't have the juice....


http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=453368

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHH....



















no.



ken

 

[chicago]

And, if that little 110V just don't have the juice....


http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=453368

Some how, that just doesnt seem too....SAFE...yeah, safe is the word Im looking for.

Chicago

 

[chicago]

OK, I upped the juice, spooled up some .035 flux core, got some nice clean scrap from a shop and kept the wire feed at 2 (I tried 3, but it pushed the gun away just like Mace said)
I tried 2badFJs technique, circular motions trying to "lay dimes".
This is what I came up with!
I think these are much better than the first. Again, please critique.
How do you keep the spatter down? Someone in another thread mentioned Pam cooking spray or something like that...
What I also noticed is that if youre not in a comfortable position...the whole thing is pretty much BLOWN!

Thanks,

Chicago

 

[Mace]

That last weld you could still slow down a bit or move faster.

A C shaped weld also seems to work well with the little machines..

Get some slightly thicker stuff, weld two pieces together then try to remove one piee with a BFH. if the weld breaks it is not a good weld, if the metal tears you have too much heat (mostly), if the tab bends over you are just right. You always want the material to fail before the weld does. That is the point.

And honestly, the car charger thing, I have not tried it but I sincerely trust the source..

Edit, as for anti splatter.

I use this stuff..

 

[chicago]

2badfjs,
I look at your weld, and it still doesnt look like Im getting enough penetration. Yours almost look like they are level with the surface of the metal. Looks great, and there is not as much grinding afterward.
Damn thats great!
My dad is a professional welder in the tool and die industry...You talk about nice welds...he can weld 2 razor blades together, blade to blade. Unfortunately, he is retired AND, in CHICAGO and, hes never worked with a mig before, only heliarc...I only wish I would have listened to him more when I was a kid...it would probably be paying off now.

Keith

 

[chicago]

Thanks Mace,
How can you tell that I need to either speed up, or slow down? Is it because the weld is sitting so high above the material?
Ill try the "C" movement on Sunday, cuz Im wheeling tomorrow!

Ill have to go to a different shop for thicker material!!!
They had some thicker gauge stuff, but they were good useable pieces for the fab shop, and I didnt want to take stuff they could still use, even though the guy was nice and offered it to me.
For now, Im just screwing around trying to learn before I start on the princess with my SOA!

Keith

 

[Mace]

2badfjs,
I look at your weld, and it still doesnt look like Im getting enough penetration. Yours almost look like they are level with the surface of the metal. Looks great, and there is not as much grinding afterward.
Damn thats great!
My dad is a professional welder in the tool and die industry...You talk about nice welds...he can weld 2 razor blades together, blade to blade. Unfortunately, he is retired AND, in CHICAGO and, hes never worked with a mig before, only heliarc...I only wish I would have listened to him more when I was a kid...it would probably be paying off now.

Keith

Funny, if I listened to my father about welding I would be a lot worse off

Bad has a bigger machine than you do. Get used to it. You need to spend more time burning the weld in. Say it with me, BURN the weld in with the little machine.

It works, it just is easier to get things dialed in.

Also, on the welds that Bad did on that bumper thread. Most specifically on the outer spindle hub, I would really prefer to see a slightly larger bead. But that is me, and I am not an expert by any means, ask anyone that has had to help me weld my rig back together on the trail


the "perfect" weld is from what I recall, about the same thickness as the material you are welding to. A slightly larger weld is not a horrible thing. What scares me is the tig welds that I see that are about 1/4 the thickness of the parent material. Easy to make a weld like that look awesome on a tig but I am still dubious of the strength..