Been on XJ's since 2006, haven't ever welded before, bought a welder to get into fabricating by doing a D60/14B swap on my XJ and building an Ibex buggy. Now that you know my background...I know that this isn't "advanced fab" but I would really appreciate you experienced guys giving me constructive advice. I did my research and realized not to go cheap as it will just be a waste of money, and if you plan on welding a lot and thick material to get a 220v. I wound up getting a Miller 211 because of the dual voltage allowance. I tried my hand at laying my first beads tonight and I would like some help on what I need to do or what I am doing wrong. Also, my wife is trying her hand at it as well and I threw in a picture of her for good measure.
My tool of choice:
First weld ever, .250 wall to .250 wall:
Second weld, .120 wall to .250 wall:
Her welding:
From what I gathered of the .250 to .250 is that since I don't have 220v in my garage yet either slow speed or a double pass is required. .120 to .250 I think I need to stay more on the .250 material and less heat on the .120. Let me know what I can do better and anything else you can do to help I would appreciate.
The first weld is too cold (not enough voltage, wire too fast). Do a pass on something flat, then screw around with the VOLTAGE settings (ie: give the dial a good turn in either direction). Doing this will give you a better idea of wtf is happening when you are welding.
Are you pulling or pushing the gun?, how much wire stick-out will also determine heat input (longer=colder)
(PBB, i have a bunch of pages in a text book's full of valuable welding info, if i post could it get a sticky?)
On a fillet weld the legs should be equal (45angle) and the face should either be flat or slightly convex
The MAXIMUM fillet leg length only really needs to be the same size as the the thinnest materiel (ie: .250 to .250 would need a 1/4" fillet)
Best thing I did in the learning process was to go to the metal yard and buy 20ft of 3/16 x 2" flat stock.....cut it into squares, then weld it all back together. Try breaking your welds. You'll find a technique that works, then build on it. Practice practice practice.
Try to really pay attention to the puddle, you can actually see whats going on if you watch. It is still a process where you introduce a welding electrode onto a puddle, dont lose sight of that.
Try to really pay attention to the puddle, you can actually see whats going on if you watch. It is still a process where you introduce a welding electrode onto a puddle, dont lose sight of that. And be conservative with your test pieces, or you will have art all over the garage, 1 inch pieces of each are plenty.
In my experience (full time mechanic/ fabricator), the "auto set" on the machines will usually burn cold. I have access to a half dozen different machines, all same as yours, and also the same one at home.
Under the flap that gets into the machine where the wire is, there is a setting chart that is pretty good for a newbie. Start with those speeds/ voltages and adjust to your style from there.
just my $.02. Good luck, and good for you getting the wife into it!
I'm nt a great welder, but my dad was. He taught me to do so small circles, or half moon motion. Also whip-n-pause. For this u move the puddle forward by an 1/8-1/4 inch and pause for a second and move again (not letting go of the trigger tho, keep welding).
Don't use a bucket or anything plastic to work on. I did that and now I have a bucket with a hole in it, and it stunk for a while. Floor works.
I'm no pro, so take what I say with a grain of salt. I regularly entrust my life to my welds though and I am not dead. (Yet.) But I think the thing that had the steepest learning curve for me was something that it took forever to find someone who could explain it clearly to me.
Pay attention to the puddle and the tip of the wire (Obviously) and how it looks, feels, and sounds. If you can feel repeated bumps in your hand it means the wire is digging into the puddle and hitting the metal before it melts. Just like jabbing a rock with a stick, you are going to feel it fight back in your hand as the stick impacts. This means your wire speed is either too high or your heat not high enough.
Conversely, as you watch the tip of your wire, assuming you aren't getting feedback through your hand as described above, and the wire melts back a bit then flashes into the puddle, melts back, flashes, causing an interrupted noisy weld, it means your wire speed isn't fast enough or your heat is too high.
From there you can judge your settings based on what the material is doing. (Melting through = too hot, not penetrating deep enough = too cold.) A good weld will have a constant, uninterrupted buzz without a bunch of globs jumping off of it. It will sound like bacon sizzling.
Once I finally figured this out it was easy street from then on.
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