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Evaluate my welds...

8

84gmcjimmy

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Okay I tried welding for about 10 minutes again today and got a few welds done. I'm a novice keep in mind. So for all those who are good at MIG welding, so tell me that bad things about my welds, and the good things. I had one problem with the line speed, I think I set it to high because for some of the welds it would just shoot out and not be able to weld, then when it did weld it did like hops... so you can see that down in the pics... I am learning, so tell me what I need to do to make them better /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif

16179welds_005.jpg


16179welds_004-med.jpg


16179welds_003-med.jpg


16179welds_002-med.jpg


16179welds_001-med.jpg


Sorry the pics are a bit big, but I wanted the best detail of the beads for you guys to see.

-Steve
 
Hey, that looks familiar! I got to the point where I could write my name, and took it to my welding guru. First thing he said was "grind it off and do it again."

So I took the grinder to it and the beads just flew off -- they weren't burnt in enough. Did it again, brought it back, and now I have a piece of stock with my name in it. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Now, I'm not saying you're in the same boat. I think I was working on 1/4" stock, so I had to turn up my rig to burn through.

What I am saying is that you should take a grinder to the beads, and if they're a PITA to get off .... you did good /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

And I'm sure someone who is good at this will chime in -- I freely admit I'm an amateur. I made a coupla cargo racks for my camper and built a brush guard and tire carrier, based on an existing front end guard... but a guru I am NOT. Another ten years or so, and I'll be partway to guru-hood. Maybe /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

-- A
 
Wow, I never thought of that... I'll take the (newly fixed) grinder to it and see if they fly off. They probaly will... don't look to good... but you never no /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif Thanks for the advice /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
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Wow, I never thought of that... I'll take the (newly fixed) grinder to it and see if they fly off. They probaly will... don't look to good... but you never no /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif Thanks for the advice /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif

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Try grinding (cleaning) your metal before you practice again. Maybe slow your wire speed alittle, and increase heat alittle. Experiment @ different settings. See if you can find some cleaner scrap to try on.
 
Ummm I dont think so or I dont know /forums/images/graemlins/dunno.gif, but I think/thought it was just a regular flip down one. I don't no what darkness it is, but its pretty dark as it is... /forums/images/graemlins/dunno.gif
 
Chuckle. When you get to making bigger pieces, one standard is to hit it really hard with a hammer, or chuck it as far as you can -- assuming it'll land on a concrete driveway, say, and not go through your neighbor's window or anything.

If the weld cracks, do it again. If the metal deforms and the welds stay, you did it right.

Obviously you don't do this test on pieces you want to keep /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Umm, in re-looking at the pix, I see bits of the MIG wire which aren't burning, so yeah, line speed could be too high or you're having trouble getting started. There's also some spatter; is yours wire-feed only (i.e. with flux wire) or gas-over-wire?

-- A
 
The metal was as clean as I could get it when I started. There were some craters in it from rust that the grinder wouldn't flatten. But I will try turning the voltage up, and the wirespeed down and I will experiment /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif Thanks for the advice!
 
i love the auto darkening helmet that i have, you can see very well throught it when not welding then it gets dark as soon as you start welding. i got mine at harbor freight for $59. i think it helps when welding because you don't have to get close, flip the helmet down and weld , then put it where you need it.
 
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Chuckle. When you get to making bigger pieces, one standard is to hit it really hard with a hammer, or chuck it as far as you can -- assuming it'll land on a concrete driveway, say, and not go through your neighbor's window or anything.

If the weld cracks, do it again. If the metal deforms and the welds stay, you did it right.

Obviously you don't do this test on pieces you want to keep /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Umm, in re-looking at the pix, I see bits of the MIG wire which aren't burning, so yeah, line speed could be too high or you're having trouble getting started. There's also some spatter; is yours wire-feed only (i.e. with flux wire) or gas-over-wire?

-- A

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Haha tomorrow I will try throwing a piece up on the driveway /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif Yeah I have troubles starting because my tint on the helmut is pretty dark. I haven't worn one for half a year /forums/images/graemlins/dunno.gif I just use gas-over-wire... not flux. As someone mentioned also, I will turn my line speed down a bit and try it. Expect a few more pics over the weekend /forums/images/graemlins/woot.gif
 
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i love the auto darkening helmet that i have, you can see very well throught it when not welding then it gets dark as soon as you start welding. i got mine at harbor freight for $59. i think it helps when welding because you don't have to get close, flip the helmet down and weld , then put it where you need it.

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So it senses the bright ray of light from the welder and automatically darkens it? Then when you stop, it goes lighter? That sounds really interesting /forums/images/graemlins/peace.gif
 
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The metal was as clean as I could get it when I started. There were some craters in it from rust that the grinder wouldn't flatten. But I will try turning the voltage up, and the wirespeed down and I will experiment /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif Thanks for the advice!

[/ QUOTE ]

You'll notice the biggest difference if you can find some cleaner scrap. The reason you're seeing wire is because you're not getting a good connection between your ground clamp & feed-wire. /forums/images/graemlins/weld.gif If you were...you'd atleast get an "ugly" spatter.
 
An autodarkening lens is just that. It is like a shade 3, like green sunglasses, then when you strike a spark it auto darkens to a shade 12 or 13 immediately.

Another way to check your weld is to take a piece of stock and set your welder to the heat needed for that thickness. Say you will be welding some 1/8" stock. Set your welder to the heat recommended and run your beads. Then look on the back of the metal. The back should be discolored from heat...almost red. If it isn't then you did not get good penetration. Practice different joints. Take 2 pieces of flat stock and weld them together laying flat butted against each other. Then put em in a vice and beat the hell out of them with a hammer. If the weld breaks before the metal bends the weld was inadequate. You will learn more about welding by tearing apart your welds than anything else. /forums/images/graemlins/weld.gif
 
It could also be my ground clamp, I dont have a proper place to weld so I just used a stone block when I did it, and all I had for a good ground was a metal c-clamp... /forums/images/graemlins/doah.gif
 
You need to either slow down, or turn up the heat, hard to say without knowing the IPM that your wire is moving at.

I remember when I was doing the Hummer rims, I was MIGing at 22.0V and 670 IPM If I remember correctly. That made a beautiful well proportioned slightly convex weld. That said, this was 3/8" matereal and a fillet weld, so just flat welding you wouldn't need anywhere near that type of heat. The mig I was workign with had digital adjust of both the voltage and Wire feed speed, so I knew exactly where I was at, its tottally not needed, but a nice bonus.

once you get the hang of MIG, it isnt too bad, it took me three years to become what I would call "competent" at TIG, I do have extremly high standards, but just practice, practice, practice. I am at the point where I can confidently weld anything and not have to worry about if the weld will fail. Keep at it!! /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif
 
Okay, I will also slow down a bit, but I was going pretty slow, is there a way to tell if I am going to slow? Thanks! /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif
 
Okay Ill give 'er more juice /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif I just watched the video it came with again, so that helped out a bit. thanks everyone for all the help!
 
the sound you hear should sound like frying bacon, but very constant. practice is the key. i started on a flux core rig. now i work on custom staircases, rails and gates. i even did some work on a shower stall for jennifer lopez. that puppy was gonna be gold plated after we got done with it. back to the subject..auto darkening helmets are good for big jobs when you have a lot of welding to do. standard hoods are fine for everything else. most of the time i just turn my head to tack something or other small stuff. keep up the practice. start at one end of the scrap. make several two inch welds next to each other and see how each one gets better. good luck
 
slow down your wire speed... make small circles about the size of dimes,,, overlap slightly, have the nozzle aimed forward ... about 70 degrees... let the wire cut into the metal then overlap and fill....
sounds hard.. youll get the hang of it...
get a good quality auto darkening helmet... this will really help.. forget the harbor freight trash... its your eyes.. and thats one place I definately wouldnt trust chinese junk.. its one thing to break a wrench another to get burns on your retinas
BUY THE BEST WELDING SAFETY equipment you can afford
go to welding school... I went to Lincolns school,,, but there are many ,, local community college is a good place to start
keep practicing.. remember to keep your head always out of the welding plume....
 
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