weld critique please

[plug ugly]

1/4 to 1/4, beveled the tab bottoms. using what I call the "loop" technique in a push. It looks to me like the heat is uneven at the start to finsih. How can i fix that?

http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/463917/fullsize/bracketwelds4.jpg

[Wicked_S10]

It looks to me like the heat is uneven at the start to finsih. How can i fix that?


Preheat the beginning area of your weld

or

Use higher heat setting on the welder and move slower to start and faster as you get going

or

Start .5-1" further down the piece, back up to the beginning, and then weld back over and complete the weld

or

Tig weld it

What you are showing is one of the biggest problems with mig welding, the weld tends to be much colder at the start of the weld than at the end, meaning you will have marginal penetration at the beginning of the weld. You can corect for a large percentage of it just by useing higher heat and adjusting your speed accordingly.

[mike]

Start .5-1" further down the piece, back up to the beginning, and then weld back over and complete the weld
.

My personal favorite, although .5" can be too far for some applications.

[weldpro]

You must be a left handed welder eh?

Anyhow I too like to start the arc in front of the actual end of the tab, and then roll back to actually start the weld(my futile effort to stop cold starts). Even if do this you are still going to see some difference in the HAZ on your work. Also I generally start pulling instead of pushing when beyond 1/8". Are you going to weld on the inside as well?

Hey I was just looking over your pictures again, and I actually think you are not running the machine "hot" enough. The picture to the left shows a tiny HAZ for 1/4" material, and the fillet weld is pretty small. If you have time I would put that thing in a vise, and smack it with a big hammer. I think you'll learn something valuable from doing this.

[plug ugly]

thanks for the tips. Im not planning on doing the insie, these brackets arent gonna take much abuse.

im right handed, but had the bracket in a funky orientation when i welded it. I had the HH on setting 3 and 80 for wire speed.

[Albin]

....Im not planning on doing the insie, these brackets arent gonna take much abuse.

......

This statement doesn't make sense. If it's not going to see much stress, why are you planning on using what looks like 1/2" Grade 8 bolts? Plus, you're asking about the quality of your welds. Seems to me that welding the inside of each bracket would immediately double your strength and eliminate most if not all doubt. But that's me.

Al

[mike]

Actually they look like sleeves on bolts.

[plug ugly]

no, they are 1/2", but I have a hole box of them. Its gonna be used for the torque arm on a 205
http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/463923/fullsize/torquearm.jpg

[Pin Head]

I actually think you are not running the machine "hot" enough. The picture to the left shows a tiny HAZ for 1/4" material, and the fillet weld is pretty small. If you have time I would put that thing in a vise, and smack it with a big hammer. I think you'll learn something valuable from doing this.

X2

The throat of the weld is too small for a single side fillet weld on 1/4 inch stock. you need to test the weld first. Better to find that out by smacking it with a hammer than to find out on the trail.

[indy242003]

It looks to me that you need more voltage and wire or stay in it. If you use a weaving technique and drag or stay even you will get better penetration. It looks like a series of tacks overlapping. That's why it looks like uneven penetration because it is. The metal is heated up when you get to the end. Start your arc, pause, and move in a weaving fashion. This will give you a good root and decent looking weld. Judge the strength of your weld from the coloration on the bottom of the base and back of the bracket. You'll be able to tell how much You've heated and fused the metal. The only real world way is to cut and etch the weld or destruct test it. Not a practical method in this application unless you have the same material laying around to set the welder. By the way incase you wonder if I know what I'm talking about. I'm a robotics welding engineer. I've done this a time or two. Hope this helps ya.

[reuben]

you are doing it for a torque arm on a 205, and it is not going to get abused? :rolleyes:

[mike]

It looks to me that you need more voltage and wire or stay in it. If you use a weaving technique and drag or stay even you will get better penetration. It looks like a series of tacks overlapping. That's why it looks like uneven penetration because it is. The metal is heated up when you get to the end. Start your arc, pause, and move in a weaving fashion. This will give you a good root and decent looking weld. Judge the strength of your weld from the coloration on the bottom of the base and back of the bracket. You'll be able to tell how much You've heated and fused the metal. The only real world way is to cut and etch the weld or destruct test it. Not a practical method in this application unless you have the same material laying around to set the welder. By the way incase you wonder if I know what I'm talking about. I'm a robotics welding engineer. I've done this a time or two. Hope this helps ya.
He's using a weaving pattern. It's just not hot enough and his starts cold... Personally I agree with weldpro.. I preer a pull instead of a push anyway.

[plug ugly]

you are doing it for a torque arm on a 205, and it is not going to get abused? :rolleyes:


well, with a mount at the klune an tranny, do you think the torque arm is really getting that much force? This appears to be beefier than the factory mount IMO.

[MigMiester]

Very poor welds. You need work on everything, from your technique to your machine settings. Get some scrap and practice. It looks to me like you kept "pulsing" the trigger trying to get a "TiG like" look to your weld resulting of course with a very weak MiG weld - very bad habit. Crank up that machine, pull the trigger and WELD! Once your puddle starts then weave it, do little circles, ovals, figure 8's, or whatever you feel, but most of your movement should be across the seam as you move along it. Keep it even and the puddle will take care of itself resulting in a nice looking bead with good penetration. If your machine has a settings chart, use it, but set it one level higher than recommended. Reason is the chart is for ideal conditions (ie. shop wiring, ground, gas mix and flow, etc..) one or none of these will be ideal in most shops and can really affect the weld. Read this thread for more good info..

http://www.offroadfabnet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1064

[plug ugly]

actually, i didnt pulse the trigger at all its one bead, used loops as stated in the first post, and had the setings at 3 80.

[Travis Waldher]

is it a 110V welder?

Cause it doesn't look like you are running it hot enough, I've never had a HAZ like that, it's been far more consistent from start to finish.

[bggrnchvy]

I sure hope you have a massive welder or the setings are 1-4 or something for the power, when Im welding 1/4" with my 175 its cranked to 10 and my wire feed is down near 75-80. The last time I did a continuous 12" of it it cooked the leather welding glove on my support hand and its now "crispy". I haven't been doing this very long myself but hotter is better from everything Ive seen. Your welds do look pretty though:flipoff2:

A member posted something the otherday that summarizes basically everything Ive learned so far, if you leave the gun in one spot and you don't ever burn through the work peice its not hot enough.

[D60]

Ya know Damon the sound is a key element for me, but I constantly have to remind myself to deliberately focus in on it. Based upon the appearance of your welds there I bet you had a lot of "highs and lows" in your buzz. Play with techniques that keep your buzz as consistent as possible; usually this is as simple as moving along more slowly and weaving the gun more slowly - really a combination of the two. I think w this will come more heat and a larger HAZ, but don't be afraid to bump the power up a notch

Also comparing power/wire feed settings is virtually impossible unless speaking identical machines. 3/80 means nothing to me and doesn't make sense if I try to relate it to either of my wire feeds.

[Skorch]

Even if You do not weld the inside there is a whole bunch of strength to be had by simply wrapping the weld around the short side. jmho