Well?



I started out good, then went on the slow side (I think) towards the middle, then messed up the end by going back over what I already did. But other than that, I think I did somewhat good for the first time.

 

i was always told it should look like a stack of dimes

 

the pic was taken with my phone, so it isn't the sharpest, but towardsthe left, that almost 2 inch line looks darn close to a stack of dimes in real life...

 

the section the the left looks good ... the rest is not so good.....

try welding two pieces together ... that will help you with welding rather than just doing a line ...

 

Right. If you can't "see" the penetration, you can't really tell how good the weld is.

 

shakey....

dimes man dimes.....

make little "C"s..or ovals....

 

i burnt the **** outta my hand welding today when i tried to pick something up with my barehand..I heard and felt my skin sizzle, it was gross.

 

One Word- GLOVES...a welders best friend..other then the helmet :)

 

I'm going back up to my shop tomorrow, so I'll get some stuff welded together.

One question - When putting two things together, is there a space that should be left between them, or butt them right up together?

 

Your current is set to low and or your moving to fast. You want a liquid puddle of metal that looks kinda egg shaped and see the metal filling up behind it as it cools. Adjust your amps to the rod size and polarity to the type of rod, e.g., E6010, E6011, E6013, E7018LH

It looks like your using 1/8 E7018LH rods? If remember correctly you'll need to burn them in on Reverse Polarity at about 100 amps min and work up from there. This may be to high a current for the metal your using, if so get 3/16 rods or thicker metal to practice on. But E6013 rod will flow much better at lower currents set to Positive polarity.

 

What machine were you welding with? Looks like SMAW by the rod stub there. What rod is it? 6010? 7018? Arc welding like that isnt supposed to look like a 'stack of dimes', though 6010 can. If your mig welding, then yea, one method looks like a 'stack of dimes'.. so let us know what process your using, that makes a differance.

 

SMAW, I believe....

Not sure of the stick, I think 6010 is what I saw on the canister.

 

For the most part no, but it depends on what type of joint your making and how strong the weld needs to be. As a rule of thumb if the metal your welding is more than 1/2" you'll want to tack it so you have about a 1/8 - 3/16" gap and a backing strip tacked behind it. Then you run a root bead down the center of the gap and then fill beads to the top....cut the backing strap off with a torch and grind both sides smooth. Once the metal gets over 1" the gap gets bigger and so does the welding rod you'll need to use.

 

i was told the same

 

When I weld I always go in a slow circular motion, It takes a few minutes for me to become acclimated with how fast the metal is going to take to melt / bond on both sides. but when I get it down I can run a bead for hours and make it look, like they said, like a stack of dimes. That is if the metal is good.

 

looks better than my first time..... i burned a hole thruogh a piece of 1/4in steel... oops.

 

its okay, i lost a finger

 

I've SEEN IT!!

 

what rod are you using? different rods have different coatings... some rods are just meant to drag in a straight line, others are oscillating. either way... take your time, watch the pool before and after the arc, not only the arc. watch where the metals are coming together and wait until you see them pool before moving on

 

From your pic, you are going way too fast.

With 7018 rod on my 220 lincoln arc i use 75 amps for 1/4" steel. All the welds on my axle and my frame/crossmember's i've used 7018 at 75 amps.

When arc welding, drag/pull the weld puddle, do not push it, and do not go back over the weld until you've knocked the slag off of it.

The best pattern to use is to make C's going back and forth SLOWLY.

I cut 2 lower control arms and turned the joints 90* for a friends 4-link ZJ and it took about 15-20 minutes per arm to weld correctly. Even longer when we made his tranny crossmember.

 

with 7018 you shouldnt need to do c's and you definately shouldnt do circles. 7018 is a drag rod and when you do c's you might be getting some slag inclusions in your weld.

 

I just quickly looked at the title and thought it sayed "Analyze my wedding"

 

hey man i am a newbie to welding to but with my instructor @ school he has taught me alot like act like you are drawing waves (that helped me alot) as you go and also dont watch the bright light watch behind it you should see the metal forming together and can see if your making a good weld

 

x2

 

Okay, second attempt:

It is 7018 that I'm using, on an old (21 years old) miller arc welder.



For the first attempt at putting 2 together:



(Sorry, didn't relieze I didn't get the slag off the underside till I looked at the pics)