[sandman]

Bought a welder, picked up some metal, and went at it. I've been practicing for a few months. Sure is nice to finally be able to make your own stuff. Made some sliders and added to the stock cage.

 

[Jaiden]

shiny.. cant see shit about the welds though so ... its shiny

 

[sandman]

Here are some close-ups.

 

[sandman]

Sorry about the picture quality. :shaking:

 

[Broncoo]

first close up looks like you burned thru then added wire/rod/filler to the weld otherwise looks aight feep practicin

btw what did you pick up for a welder?

 

[sandman]

Well, I'm embarrassed to say it, but it's a 220V harbor freight model. I got it from a relative for about as close to free as you can get. Thought it would fine for practicing and it seems to be ok. Hell, it was even made in Italy, if that means anything. I thought everything from HF was made in China.

 

[sandman]

I didn't know it was that obvious, I've got a lot to learn. I did burn through a few spots. It's like it burns through the end of the tube but if I turn down the heat I don't think the penetration is good enough. I guess that's where a higher quality welder comes in.

 

[Tim84K10]

Looking good. Much better than me. I'm still practicing too. If you're burning through, turn down the heat. It doesn't take much heat to penetrate 1/8" wall tubing.

 

[TheRipper]

Don't turn down the heat.I would rather see you with a few burned through spot's that are filled than have a whole tube that might not have been burned in enough.If you are burning through.Just leave the heat alone and try adjusting your wire speed up a little and weld faster.I weld everything hot.Just my habit.Wire welding can be decieving just like my spelling.. :flipoff2: ..so to me it is better a few burned spots than the tubes come apart during a rollover.Don't worry about what it looks like just make sure it is a good welder.Like they say A GOOD WELDER IS A GOOD GRINDER ALSO.It looks good though.When you look at the edges of your welds I could not tell in the pic's really but make sure all the metal is flowing together and looks like it was formed that way.I could not tell but if you have a small lip on the side of the weld puddle that is a good sign that you did not get enough penatration.It does not matter if you are welding with Miller,HF,Lincon or a pair of jumper cables and 2 batteries.Just make sure the weld is correct.

 

[TheRipper]

Here is a close up of what I was talking about.My welding is decent when I take time.

 

[rustynuts]

i like the "H2 recovery vehicle" on the side. Nice :laughing:

 

[zags]

I didn't know it was that obvious, I've got a lot to learn. I did burn through a few spots. It's like it burns through the end of the tube but if I turn down the heat I don't think the penetration is good enough. I guess that's where a higher quality welder comes in.

It's not the quality of the welding machine, it's the experience of the welding person. You are on the right track though. Keep the heat up, go for good penetration. As you gain more experience, you will burn though less. Welding round tube is one of the more difficult things to learn. You are usually out of position and the curved surface means you are constantly transitioning from a tee weld to a lap weld and back.
Good job. looks very good for a first project.

 

[Real Blackdog]

I have been welding for 40 years. Not a day goes by that I don't weld. I cannot imagin having a hobby like ours and not owning a welder.

 

[sandman]

As for the heat settings, I have 4 options on this welder. It was set to the 3rd position for this job. I tried putting it on the highest setting and the wire looked like just disintegrated. Do you need to crank up the speed the hotter it gets? I haven't been playing much with the speed setting yet.

 

[Balsax]

needs more triangulation! :flipoff2:

 

[sandman]

Also wanted to point out I'm using flux core wire, .030.

 

[Booger Weldz]

Here is a close up of what I was talking about.My welding is decent when I take time.

actually, it looks like you need to slow down in this pic

 

[FlexyTJ]

you need to tinker with the wire speed more. The wire speed essenitally "fine tunes" the amps, or amount of heat you are putting into the weld. when you are burning through you can back off the wire feed speed (keep the voltage the same) and that should help. Using gas would be a big help too. you get a wetter, faster cooling puddle that is somewhat easier to work with than FC, JMHO...

 

[TheRipper]

actually, it looks like you need to slow down in this pic

Really you think so.I was welding that at 250 amps and about 60 on the wire speed on a miller machine.My camera kind of sucks but that is almost a 3/4" wide bead but I did go a little long on the pattern.thx for some advice though.

 

[Booger Weldz]

Really you think so.I was welding that at 250 amps and about 60 on the wire speed on a miller machine.My camera kind of sucks but that is almost a 3/4" wide bead but I did go a little long on the pattern.thx for some advice though.

a 3/4'' wide bed is really weak, you should make several smaller beads that tie into eachother(overlap). sorry, i dont wanna sound like a know it all...just repeating what i learned in welding school and from really experienced people and inspectors on jobs.

your weld seems like it was done too fast because of all the 'peaks' pointing to the left on your bead. if i rush mine do that. see how its taller right in the center of the weld and the edges are shallower and never quite filled with metal.