Kain
3/4 ton status
I suck at welding so far.......
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.
Welding
- Thread starter Kain
- Start date
Same here, but I blame instagram for showing me beautiful perfect welds all the time.
Kain
3/4 ton status
Practiced a little today my brother said I was going to fast and needed to clean part better
Kain
3/4 ton status
and having a crappy harbor freight welder doesn't help
is that exhaust tubing?
Kain
3/4 ton status
Yes scrap piece
doesn't look hot enough to me
skip the flux core crap .
turn up the heat a little .
lots of spatter try turning the wire speed down just a touch .
clean the part good .
and wax on . . . . wax off danial son . . . then you get the car to drive .
turn up the heat a little .
lots of spatter try turning the wire speed down just a touch .
clean the part good .
and wax on . . . . wax off danial son . . . then you get the car to drive .
Okay ignore the actual weld for now.
Do you know what the puddle is? It's the bright orange molten metal that creates the weld. You need to get aquatinted with the puddle. Get up close see how it acts. Completely ignore the weld it creates for now . The puddle is your buddy. Don't leave him behind, but he likes to move.
Pay attention to how the puddle is reacting with the metal around it.
You can fiddle with your settings then too. Change one thing at a time. And note what is going on.
Harbor freight welders are fine. Flux core is fine.
Now go burn up some wire
Do you know what the puddle is? It's the bright orange molten metal that creates the weld. You need to get aquatinted with the puddle. Get up close see how it acts. Completely ignore the weld it creates for now . The puddle is your buddy. Don't leave him behind, but he likes to move.
Pay attention to how the puddle is reacting with the metal around it.
You can fiddle with your settings then too. Change one thing at a time. And note what is going on.
Harbor freight welders are fine. Flux core is fine.
Now go burn up some wire
I have a HF 90 amp flux core wire feed ARC welder..
A "MIG" it is NOT!..
So far I've had no success laying a decent bead with it--it'll blow holes in thin metal better than my buzz-box 220V welder will,even on "low"--so it is practically useless on body panels--anything thicker than 3/16" it just lays a bead on top of the metal and barely penetrates..
Far as I'm concerned nothing beats a 220V MIG with the proper gas setup ,especially on thin metal..but I've never owned a MIG..
I can do much better with my 220V arc welder ,recently I bought a AC/DC Dayton welder and using DC and 3/32" 6011 rods I can weld thin exhaust pipes and even sheet metal at low amp settings,but not a continuous bead,I have to stop every 1/2" or so,let it cool some,then continue..
I am not getting any better at welding,with my vision degrading ,but everything I have bird turded back together so far,is still holding..
A lot of things affect whether you'll get a good weld or not--the metal must be CLEAN,use a grinder to get all the rust and scale off,right down to bare metal...while you can weld over some rust or paint with 6011 rods,the resulting weld will be nowhere as strong as it'd be if you cleaned it first,even though it may look like a decent bead..
A "MIG" it is NOT!..
So far I've had no success laying a decent bead with it--it'll blow holes in thin metal better than my buzz-box 220V welder will,even on "low"--so it is practically useless on body panels--anything thicker than 3/16" it just lays a bead on top of the metal and barely penetrates..
Far as I'm concerned nothing beats a 220V MIG with the proper gas setup ,especially on thin metal..but I've never owned a MIG..
I can do much better with my 220V arc welder ,recently I bought a AC/DC Dayton welder and using DC and 3/32" 6011 rods I can weld thin exhaust pipes and even sheet metal at low amp settings,but not a continuous bead,I have to stop every 1/2" or so,let it cool some,then continue..
I am not getting any better at welding,with my vision degrading ,but everything I have bird turded back together so far,is still holding..
A lot of things affect whether you'll get a good weld or not--the metal must be CLEAN,use a grinder to get all the rust and scale off,right down to bare metal...while you can weld over some rust or paint with 6011 rods,the resulting weld will be nowhere as strong as it'd be if you cleaned it first,even though it may look like a decent bead..
Hello, my name is John and I suck at welding too...
Like you I struggle with the metal being clean enough and moving too fast, I am learning that "cleanliness is next to godliness". For a long time I didn't grasp how really clean the metal needed to be or that the scale (or coating) on new metal needed to be cleaned off - COMPLETELY. You can read or watch until your eye's are dead but most of it talks about technique and settings, very little covers cleaning the metal enough. And as stated, be slow and patient.
Like you I struggle with the metal being clean enough and moving too fast, I am learning that "cleanliness is next to godliness". For a long time I didn't grasp how really clean the metal needed to be or that the scale (or coating) on new metal needed to be cleaned off - COMPLETELY. You can read or watch until your eye's are dead but most of it talks about technique and settings, very little covers cleaning the metal enough. And as stated, be slow and patient.
Kain
3/4 ton status
well tomorrow im going to get a lot of practice cause im going to try and burn the pipes after the o2 sensor it is leaking and causing issue and thanks for the advice
The way I like to think of it is any contaminants that aren't the base material will contaminate the weld and lead to porosity, voids, or bad looking unions. Don't sweat the appearance, that will come over time (or at least that is what I have been told lol). Get the metal clean, make sure you have ground as close to the welding site as you can, turn up the heat and wire feed and work backwards. As you are learning, crank it up right now and start backing off if you are blowing through the metal. Wire speed and amps should generally be moved together, think of the amps as the heat, and the WFS (wire speed) as the substrate you are introducing to the joint.
You are looking too cold right now, crank it up, take your time and it will come together. And get solid wire, flux sucks.
Most important right now, is to get your mask dialed. I worked for way too long with a mask I couldnt see through. Get that sorted first.
Seeing what you are doing is important.
You are looking too cold right now, crank it up, take your time and it will come together. And get solid wire, flux sucks.
Most important right now, is to get your mask dialed. I worked for way too long with a mask I couldnt see through. Get that sorted first.
Seeing what you are doing is important.
I stuck at welding too and have no good advice for getting that part right. But cleaning should not be your problem. Buy the el cheapo harbor freight angle grinder for $14.99 or on sale for $9.99. Get a poly wheel or 120 grit flapper for another 5 bucks. Unless your steel is all rusted out, you can make a 3" by 12" strip shine like the sun in like 30 seconds.
If he's using a HF flux core ARC welder then he'll have to use the flux core wire..solid wire only works with a MIG and with argon/CO2 ...
It just takes practice. I have welded lots of important things with a 110v Lincoln flux core. Nothing wrong with flux core. When I jump from welder to welder it always takes a couple test pieces to get things just right. When I first switched to MIG with gas my welds looked like when I first started with the flux. Had to get everything dialed in, both settings and technique. This is a savage process you are trying to control, an electric arc melting steel. Keep practicing, it will get better.
I have a 90 amp HF welder and to learn with its good tool. I'm sure there are variations in the quality from one cheap welder to next but set yourself up for the best possible outcome (cleaning, turn up heat, ect..) and get an extra spool of wire to practice. good luck 
T
tenderfoot
Guest
But from what I understand, thin metal such as body panels/exhaust, can't be welded with flux core? Fluxcore burns too hot?
Body panels are the hardest but can be done with a series of small spot welds with great success. I weld exhaust all the time with flux. If you can overlap the metal rather than butt the welds its way easier.
