Welds

[orange67vert]

Please show some of your Mig welds before they are cleaned up.

Also could you show me some welds that I should try and duplicate and ones that I should not.

I'm just learning. I have a Hobart 250 Beta Mig with Co2 & Argon.

Thanks everyone.

[GregWeld]

You'd be better off just googling MIG WELDING VIDEOS - and watch them. There are lots of websites devoted to helping you weld better...:cheers:

[GregWeld]

Here ya go --- starting watching!


http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=mig+welding+techniques&aq=2

[DEIGuy38]

I don't weld that often but one thing that helps is just get in a comfortable position and do a mock run of the weld area before pulling the trigger.

[orangevert]

I don't weld that often but one thing that helps is just get in a comfortable position and do a mock run of the weld area before pulling the trigger.

Thanks your welds look good.
Thanks Kirk

[JRouche]

Please show some of your Mig welds before they are cleaned up.

Also could you show me some welds that I should try and duplicate and ones that I should not.

I'm just learning. I have a Hobart 250 Beta Mig with Co2 & Argon.

Thanks everyone.

Just starting, yer gonna LOVE it!! Welding is good productive enjoyment.

Great advice to look for some vids online. Like youtube. It helps me to be able to watch a welder and see what he does with the torch. I took some classes at the local community college and it was great. Lots of book work to start out with, gained some knowledge on the processes and materials. But the shop time in the class is where it all came together. Getting out there and making "proper" welds. And getting some of the instructors time to actually watch him lay some beads. And the class started us out with the basics first, gas welding. That was a precursor to all the other processes. I was already MIG welding and the gas welding helped for when we went to TIG welding in the class. But we still went through some MIG welding too. And being able to watch a welder actually weld helped. And this was before youtube or any online videos were around. Internet was SLOW..

But yeah, watch some welding vids. And to be honest, just get out there and run MANY beads. Even on flat plate. Lay bead after bead, fill the entire plate up. Get some thinner stuff, like 16ga sheet and make some joints. Lap, and corner joints. Learn to run a bead so its straight (torch control) and work on bead form. Undercutting, over filling.

And DO try to weld through. I think that is a key. Too many guys starting out tend to travel too fast for fear of burning though. Test the heat setting on scrap. Where it doesnt matter if you burn through. Find out where that limit is. Unless you take it to failure many times you will always be wondering if yer close and be wary of getting too hot. So yes, take it to failure so you know where the upper limit is. Its prolly much higher than you think. Then you can make some good solid welds knowing you are stuffing in enough heat and not laying bird turds. Id rather have a weld that is a lil hot and has some under cutting than a bead that is just floating on the top of the base metal.

New welders tend to run too fast and not hot enough. MIG welding is a faster process then some of the others. But that doesnt mean its a quick run down the joint. Weak joint. Lots of heat (sounds like you are using flux core with the comment about cleaning up the weld), more heat with flux core.

Make some test joints and break them. You will be able to see the penetration. If its a cold joint you will see that. I like 16ga for these test welds. Cheap steel and its easy to examine the joint after you break it. A cold joint will break, usually right at the surface of the weld bead. A solid joint wont break. You will be able to bend the sheetmetal, all the way over for say a 90* corner joint and the joint wont break, the sheetmetal will bend and the joint will be intact. And thats with a single pass, not overly heavy bead. Do the same with a lap joint. Pull it around to try and separate the bead, pulling it backwards. The sheetmetal should rip before the weld breaks.

I dont know, I love welding. Best advice I can give is run a bunch of beads and get familiar with the machine. Heat settings become second nature after alot of welding. And Im a troubleshooter by nature. Some pics of yer beads would be great. Might be able to say if its too hot, too cold, too fast, too far away (stick out). Thats another issue I have seen with new welders. Too much stickout with the wire. Its short circuit welding. So the wire is the circuit, like the wire in a light bulb. The longer the stick out the more energy is used up in heating that additional wire stick out and its being cooled by the shielding gas, with flux core its heating the flux up. Yes, thats why the long stick out wire glows. So with a long stick out you are loosing heat for the puddle. It does come into play when welding thinner sheetmetal sections though. Like 22ga body panels. If the heat is a lil much you can regulate it to a small amount by increasing the stick out from say a 1/16" to a 1/4" and still be within the shielding gas envelope. Helps to cool down the bead while welding so you can continue on with the bead if you hit a thin spot. But I strayed abit huh. LOL

No matter what, have fun. Melting metal together IS fun, and you are making things. Some guys create with metal. So with wood. Some with metal, wood and plastic. Thats the best feeling. Making or repairing stuff. Umm, try some plastic welding. Almost as much fun :) JR

[JRouche]

I don't weld that often but one thing that helps is just get in a comfortable position and do a mock run of the weld area before pulling the trigger.

Thats great advice. Ive done it myself, a few times. Dunno if its for the same reason but when welding on the car I have learned to move the torch through its intended path just to find out I have an obstruction. Some really tight welds it has saved me. Not that I couldnt have restarted the bead. But in many cases I want a nice continuous bead. By mapping it out ahead of time it showed me a clearer path. And sometimes it was something as simple as moving a hose or wire bunch that was in the way of the torch movement. Not the weld itself, just the torch movement and clearance for it. Good tip. JR

[Scott Hightower]

You didn't mention the Argon Mix ratio you are using. In general I use 85/15 or 80/20 for spray arc in lighter gauges. If welding heavier gauges I lean towards 75/25.

For wire dia. use .023 on your sheet metal parts and .030 to .035 for structural work like roll cages and frames.

Scott
Fab Manager
Welders360 (http://www.welders360.com/)

[bigtyme1]

Here ya go --- starting watching!


http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=mig+welding+techniques&aq=2

Thanks Greg, this guys good.

[GregWeld]

You didn't mention the Argon Mix ratio you are using. In general I use 85/15 or 80/20 for spray arc in lighter gauges. If welding heavier gauges I lean towards 75/25.

For wire dia. use .023 on your sheet metal parts and .030 to .035 for structural work like roll cages and frames.

Scott
Fab Manager
Welders360 (http://www.welders360.com/)

Scott --

Not sure what gauges you're referring to.

MIG spray arc is generally considered for 0.25" and larger material... you'd never spray arc sheet metal. That process would be referred to as short circuit. Short circuit welding - which is what any of us use around here - is where you get the "frying bacon" sound. The fill material forms a short circuit and then falls into the pool and then repeats the process about 100 times a second.

Any car stuff that we're doing around here - would use 75/25 (Co2/argon) gas. Stainless steel would use a tri mix gas.