Comments on my welding

[phlyfish]

Can someone give me some feedback on my welds? I havn’t welded a lot but enough to probably get myself into trouble. I have someone that can possible come over and weld everything up.

All pics are the end of the pass. side frame, welding on the spring perch. Does my penetration and whatever look good or should I have someone come over?

Welding w/ a Lincoln 130t 220v welder w/ gas (older welder). Settings on these welds was power of D and wire speed of 3.5 to 4

Thanks to all who know welding better than I do.

 

[cali-cruiser]

looks like you need more hand control. A few spots look good but try to run little circles with the gun not just run it across while puddling. Keep your movemnet CONSTANT. Penetration looks good. not very much undercutting or overlap(good). for safety I'd run another pass on the lower side of the bead pictured with a 40-50% overlap just make sur your bulletproof, especially with somthing like a spring hanger. and remember the more you prep the weld the easier it will be to weld.

 

[phlyfish]

My beads are usually better looking but I know that a good looking bead does not mean you have a good weld. I was at an odd angle and uncomfortable and to lazy to move everything out of the way. I plan on moving the cruiser before I start welding everything up. I will run the second bead. Thanks

 

[Pin_Head]

One thing I learned in welding class is that outward appearance is not a reliable indicator of weld quality. We spend about the same amount of time testing welds (cutting cupons and bending them) as we did welding.

You want to practice, test, practice, test, practice, test, practice, test, practice, test, practice, test until you are confident.

 

[SPRDAV]

Looks good for your experience. With a little practice, hand control, slightly lower wire speed (maybe a 3) and little more temp it would turn out perfect. It seems every welder (person and machine) need to be fine tuned. Keep going, you'll get it.

SD

 

[woody]

Looks good for your experience. With a little practice, hand control, slightly lower wire speed (maybe a 3) and little more temp it would turn out perfect. It seems every welder (person and machine) need to be fine tuned. Keep going, you'll get it.

SD

exactlee....no two machine, even identical machine, like the same settings and no two welders like the same settings either.

Appearance appears good, I know I did a LOT of destructive testing on a variety of material combos before I got going good with mine....

 

[haystax]

I'd say more heat and less wire speed. Try to get into a postion that lets you use both hands and go in a direction that is most comfortable. Watch the puddle and concentrate on making it stay the same size/shape as you move across the work. A second pass on the long side of the hanger should turn out really nice if you hold steady.

the front weld will never turn out as nice as the pass on the side because gravity has bad effects on wire beads and the puddle will try to run down on that type of situation. try to burn in on top more and bring your pudle down just enough to catch the lower material. Two good passes on the long side of the hanger should suffice for strength, the front doesn't add much strength in comparison.

On the inside, i would make mutiple passes trying to burn into the hanger and get good penetration on your root pass, then make a couple passes on each side and maybe a last weave pass to get it to look good. the nice thing about cruiser steel is it takes heat pretty well compared to some newer steel.

Spending twice the time on layout and prep is a pain in the ass but makes the job turn out way better. Wirefeeds hate rust and turn out really s***ty without proper prep. I really like to use an air hammer with a needle scaler attachment and a wire wheel in my angle die grinder.

The only way to get better is to practice. good luck.

 

[Roswell Rat]

Weld looks really cold. I'd agree with Haystax, more heat and less wire speed.

 

[peesalot]

that will do donkey , that will do . Should of moved those 1.5 in. past frame horn and extended frame horn when you boxed it in , you are gonna box it , right ?
Those welds look a hell of alot better than mine with a 110 century mig and 75/25 gas.
I beat on mine and no breaks yet . KOW

 

[trainrech]

I'd be concerned about penetration into the lower material. No, this isn't about pron. The high side looks like you've blended weld metal into base metal well. Start your heat on the low side and work up to the high side.

I agree with earlier comments on the side weld. It is hard not to get a booger weld there. You might use your grinder to cut a bevel between the two surfaces. Will give you better bonding and a place for your bead to sit.

I'm not a welder, but I play one on TV.

 

[phlyfish]

I plan on boxing the front, I didn't move the perch 1.5 forward because I swapped the springs end for end.

Thanks again.

Anymore advice?

 

[phlyfish]

I also did wire brush the weld surface with my drill before I ran the bead. I have noticed that anything on the metal makes you weld look like crap till you have it burned off.

Also works better when you turn on the gas...D'oh

 

[pappy]

Also works better when you turn on the gas...D'oh

Geez, and I thought I was the only one.