Show me your Welds!

[bmorefj40]

sorry for the crappy cell phone pics

 

[fj40charles]

Nice job on the welding table. EXCELLENT choice of welder (Hobart Handler 187).

Get yourself a 10-11 pound roll of .030 wire. Don't waste your time/money with smaller sized spool of wire.

Also, might consider getting a larger welding cylinder. I'll bet a 80 CF cylinder would fit nicely. Good for 4 hours of welding.

 

[bsilva132]

Nice job on the welding table.

X2, I may copy your design.

 

[bmorefj40]

fj40charles- thanks. I really like the HH187. I almost wish I would have got the 210 so I would have some room to grow down the road, but I'm really happy with this machine. I got a bunch of the smaller spools since I was playing around with different brands, but I think ended up liking the Hobart brand the best. Still have one more roll of Lincoln wire to burn through though.
I might get a 80cf tank in the future, just need to make sure I left enough room for it, height should be fine (might have to tilt it a few degrees to clear the regulator. also, one of the reasons why I did't finish welding the tank hold down straps yet until I figure out what I will put there permanently. Does anyone know the size of the 80cf bottle offhand.

bsilva132- if you want, I have the whole table sketched out in excel with dimensions and my estimates on material needed. just pm me with your email address and I'll send it to you.

 

[fj40charles]

bmorefj40,

80 CF WELDING CYLINDER tank bottle nitrogen argon mixes - eBay (item 140502040296 end time Feb-16-11 12:26:49 PST)

* 80 CUBIC FT. High Pressure steel gas cylinder with Cap

* APPROXIMATE DIMENSION:

Diameter: 7"

Height: 33 1/4" (top of steel cylinder), 36 1/2" (top of valve)

* Weight: 54#

 

[Pin_Head]

Don't screw around with those puny cylinders. Get a 250 or 300 cubic ft cylinder. They last a lot longer and they only cost a few dollars more to refill.

 

[Cruisertime]

Hey man, looks good! Congrats on your daughter. And boo on my lateness of response. I dont know if you have decided to do it yet. Take some scrap and make a few passes, then cut them in half. The looks of weld arent as important as the penetration. I hate the concept of "stacked coins" being the mark of good weld. Pinhead had some great pics of running beads. NICE welding cart, def go with a 300ft2 tank, airgas and robertsO2 are only $105/trigas and $89/basic mix.

 

[Dell]

discrepancies... whutcha see

here's some of my recent weld work... .030 MIG Ar/CO2
Just consider that I'm self taught and still learning...
usually by/with mistakes :whoops:

I'm one of those guys, that buys a welder... first
then tries to figure out how to use one.

I think I got a ways to go, for improvement...
but happy that I can get stuff done and getting better with every practice.

 

[bmorefj40]

Dell,

nice welds, looks very uniform. you must have good handwriting. nothing wrong with buying the welder first. that's what i did and i loved every bit of my learning curve. But i still have a long way to go. Need to start finding some experienced welders to start showing me some tricks and faults in my technique.

 

[Pin_Head]

Just consider that I'm self taught and still learning...
usually by/with mistakes :whoops:

I'm one of those guys, that buys a welder... first
then tries to figure out how to use one.

Take a course at your local community college. Besides teaching you proper welding techinque, you will also learn joint design and how to test your welds to make sure they are sound. While you can spot a bad weld visually, you can't be sure it is good just by looking. You don't have to finish the entire course to learn a lot.

 

[77TPIFJ]

dig that welding cart table. i have one just like it. well i will..
here's a couple welds i just did.

 

[AustinCruiser]

Take a course at your local community college. Besides teaching you proper welding technque, you will also learn joint design and how to test your welds to make sure they are sound. While you can spot a bad weld visually, you can't be sure it is good just by looking. You don't have to finish the entire course to learn a lot.

X2 on this. Teachers at the community college will hammer good technique into you. Take a MIG class at your community college and they'll teach you how to set up your machine for the proper amperage, voltage and wire speed. It is very helpful to have a critical eye looking over your shoulder as you learn how to weld.

Try to keep your stitch, or zig-zag, the size of a #2 pencil eraser and keep it tight. You'll see that your freeze lines will move closer together and you will have a better weld.

 

[bmorefj40]

I've heard the advice about welding classes at local community colleges, but how much are you guys paying for the classes? I've found two schools near me and both are over $1000 per class and you have to take at least one of the intro classes first for oxy welding before you can take the mig/tig class. I would love to get some expert help with my welding skills, but $2000 buys a lot of metal to practice with...

 

[Pin_Head]

Around here on the left coast, the semester class is $75 plus a $25 materials fee. If the instructor is flexible, you can just learn what you want after you pass the safety part of the class. If wouldn't hurt to learn some OA welding so you will know how the puddle behaves and how to read it for penetration, undercut, etc. Stick welding is a useful skill too, especially for trail repairs.

 

[AustinCruiser]

Here in Austin, Texas, the community college welding classes cost about $250 each. They are 4 credit classes and are completely hands on. In addition to learning how to weld, the teachers will also give you lots of tips and pointers on fabrication.

If you are just welding for yourself, and not for others, trial an error probably works. If you plan to sell your stuff, maybe you should get trained and certified. If nothing else, you'll have lots of confidence in the quality of your welds.

 

[LifterCatcher]

Just learning self taught, 110v Flux Core nothing special but getting there

 

[DWNUNDR]

I agree that tightening up your C's and slowing down could both help, but not consistently so. Meaning, you show the results of both errors, but in different welds.
From post #1:
Pic 1 looks a bit like a series of zap-zap-zap (spot welds) doesn't it? Tighten up the weave here.
Pic #3 has distinct V's...this could be excessive travel speed.
This is nitpicky, as I'm talking about a mm or two, and a fraction of a second.
Look at post #2, pic #3, the weld on left leg of the angle looks like the most technically correct GMAW weld bead, ie 'best'.

Have you checked out ZTFab's welds over on WeldingWeb™ - Welding forum for pros and enthusiasts - Powered by vBulletin Many can be found in the 'MIG like TIG' thread, in the MIG, TIG, Stick, and Oxy-fuel sub-forum.
Edit: Oh and BTW, you are 75% there friend. Those welds do look respectable.

that dude is like a God of welding.........

 

[Rummat81]

@LifterCatcher
Can you please tell me the brand of your welder?
what thickness material you are welding?
What are you welding, i.e. bumper etc.
Thanks.