Some welding advice

[dscowell]

A week ago I was finally able to lay down my first couple beads and was wanting some advice on what to work on. Don't be too harsh.:)

All of the Welding was done with a Lincoln 170 MIG welder. Can't remember the exact amps and wire speed everything was set at. I tried to keep the gun at a 30 degree angle to the surface I was welding and made circles over lapping one another.

Sorry some of the photos are real small then some are real big I just got a new phone and are trying to get it all figured out.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Y7_UFBCSTe_uRd2Ro_03BauEx8o9X6sZajMrO9ptyUA=w180-h320-nohttps://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_VXMygZE5jxnwWCIkYLbotpX4duPOVPQVhE8AAfzEZQ=w180-h320-nohttps://lh3.googleusercontent.com/RcDXQEL9m0vtALSlfXwJbTCig3XOkP4HRJKwCoKM5zc=w547-h971-nohttps://lh3.googleusercontent.com/DwXkvXrNCLEgD4h0Sg6S26B0Xfcy-V6yhajkB9eVwiU=w1727-h972-nohttps://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ibaABwR7JENzdD-htOGothJ77XecaDYyArGxo2bw0Ao=w547-h971-nohttps://lh3.googleusercontent.com/PvQhDAuQGn4aTXBbzGULg3QKIwSAiRr20avkBDejd7w=w1727-h972-no


Not perfect by any means but I think for my first couple beads they aren't half bad. What can I do to improve? I'll be doing some stick welding another day so what would you guys suggest for that if anything different?

[94ToyBear]

Pretty good for first welds ! Keep practicing!

[Haku]

Not bad for your first ones with no experienced welder looking over you. They aren't the prettiest welds ever, but its a good start.

Its really hard to give input without watching you weld. The ones that look built up like a pillow are either way to fast with your wire speed, you are traveling too slow, or you don't have the power high enough (or a combination of those).

For many of the others, they just lack consistent movement but look like good welds. Not sure if you've ever done music, but counting in your head or tapping your feet help keep it uniform. My biggest advice to novice welders (from someone who puts himself at intermediate advanced level) is to slow down, and focus on just feeding the edge of the puddle. Most welders have a table on the inside of the flap that covers the weld wire and takes all of the guess work out of it. That said, it is just a guideline but works great as a starting point. If its not working for you, then adjust accordingly.

Lastly, 90% of a good weld starts with prep work and making sure you have the best seams you can get, with clean metal surfaces. Even mill scale on material can mess you up sometimes.

Honestly, taking even a beginner class at your local welding shop, trade school or college will get you a jumpstart on this. You can figure it out on your own, but it will take you MUCH longer then just attending a few hour long class. At the very least, try to find someone experienced to watch you do it and give pointers.

You have the gear and this is a good start. Its only up from here.

[Brucker]

Good on you for making an effort at learning a desired skill. First off, are you using CO2 as your inert gas? Or a CO@/Ar mix? Based on the amount of splatter and residue left behind I am going to guess, just CO2, but could be wrong and you just need to adjust your flow rate a little. Or lack of good prep as Josh mentioned.

Second, most beads look to be run to hot. Some too slow, and some both. Did you set the machine up based on the recommended settings for amperage and wire speed or guess and play with it? Without knowing your settings, I would say before turning the amperage down, I would trying moving faster. Just remember that you ultimately want nice tight beads. And 30 degrees (I usually teach 45 but again, only as a rule of thumb) is a great rule of thumb, but you can not always rely on it. Go with what feels comfortable for you while still achieving desirable welds

Also try welding in semi overlapping half moons or whatever you call them (some say half circles or "C"s, or in TIG welding this would be called "walking the cup"), instead of full circles. Start at the root and then work your way back and forth, only overlapping enough to make a clean, smooth bead, down the joint. This technique should help with the speed issue and also help you control your puddles betters, which will give you cleaner, tighter beads in general.

Hope that this helps.

[Haku]

My guess was he was using Flux core wire. Could be wrong though.

[94ToyBear]

I'm thinking flux too. You can see the wire brush marks, but I can be wrong also.

[94ToyBear]

If you have no experience what so ever I say see who you do with a stitch weld, to get use to aiming, heat and wire feed adjustments. Stitch welding is not ideal but IMO is a good place to start if you don't have anyone experienced to help you along

[Brucker]

My guess was he was using Flux core wire. Could be wrong though.


I'm thinking flux too. You can see the wire brush marks, but I can be wrong also.

I would have guessed that as well but he stated that he was using a MIG (metal inert gas) welder, not a MIG setup to run as a flux core welder. So I gave the advice as such. Maybe the OP mistyped or didn't understand the difference.

[Brucker]

If you have no experience what so ever I say see who you do with a stitch weld, to get use to aiming, heat and wire feed adjustments. Stitch welding is not ideal but IMO is a good place to start if you don't have anyone experienced to help you along

I honestly wouldn't. Learn to weld with correct and proper techniques and forms before starting down that path. Unless "stitch" welding is actually done properly, it could result in beads that may resemble decent forms but in all actuality be very brittle and lead to early fatigue. I really only ever "stitch" weld when doing some body work or light gauge sheet metal work, if I for some reason am not using the TIG. It is also pretty hard on the machines, even if they have a special setting just for that technique. Think what stop and go traffic can do to an engine.

[Haku]

I would have guessed that as well but he stated that he was using a MIG (metal inert gas) welder, not a MIG setup to run as a flux core welder. So I gave the advice as such. Maybe the OP mistyped or didn't understand the difference.

Fair enough. I guess I just figured that its common enough to just say MIG when its a gun with some wire coming out of it even though its not really correct.

If it is indeed with gas, I agree with Aaron's guess at straight CO2. That would be odd to me, as I would hope that most welding shops wouldn't advise someone buying their first welder to get that for their first bottle.

If you look at the "welding tips and tricks" Youtube channel he actually has some great videos about welding with straight CO2 and keeping the spatter to a minimum. There is one on there that even shows that it does a better job in some cases complete with cut and bent coupons that he etches to show the actual penetration compared to 75/25.

In general its hard to go wrong watching that Youtube channel when you are wanting a quick way to learn something new about welding.

[Haku]

I honestly wouldn't. Learn to weld with correct and proper techniques and forms before starting down that path. Unless "stitch" welding is actually done properly, it could result in beads that may resemble decent forms but in all actuality be very brittle and lead to early fatigue. I really only ever "stitch" weld when doing some body work or light gauge sheet metal work, if I for some reason am not using the TIG. It is also pretty hard on the machines, even if they have a special setting just for that technique. Think what stop and go traffic can do to an engine.

I agree. I see the "stack of tack" style welding being taught fairly often and while I'm no seasoned welder, it still kind of drives me nuts since I've spoken to qualified and seasoned welders like yourself who warn against it. I remember a Youtube video for a fairly prominent fabrication trade school that posted on the OFN forum and they caught a lot of crap. They were using it on a roll cage or some other high strength application.

[Brucker]

I agree. I see the "stack of tack" style welding being taught fairly often and while I'm no seasoned welder, it still kind of drives me nuts since I've spoken to qualified and seasoned welders like yourself who warn against it. I remember a Youtube video for a fairly prominent fabrication trade school that posted on the OFN forum and they caught a lot of crap. They were using it on a roll cage or some other high strength application.

There are a couple of shops that use that technique as it looks the best under powder coating. Heck, even Avalanche did back in the day. Some swear by it, but oddly enough, none of the welding instructors or inspectors I have ever met will recommend it.

[Hypoid]

I'll be doing some stick welding another day so what would you guys suggest for that if anything different?There is hope for you yet! :D

Once you master stick welding, you can master any other process... or so I have been told. ;)

For starters, concentrate on the puddle. You want to keep it full and uniform as the weld progresses. You will see a spot dancing in the middle of the puddle, that is the contaminants that are being roiled out during the weld process. That roiling action is a good thing!

When you get to stick welding (SMAW):
Just like any other process, look at your equipment for a chart that gives you settings for the material thickness and electrode size.
Getting the arc started will take some practice. Some people like to "scratch" the electrode to get things started, others "tap and go."
Once you get the arc started, position the electrode above the work about the same distance as the diameter of the electrode. When you get this right, you will see small spheres surrounding the rod as it burns. As the rod burns, the heat (amperage) can change slightly, depending on the machine in use. It is not unusual to feed the last half of the rod, faster than the first.
When you get the amperage dialed in, the process will sound soupy, like bacon frying in a pan. If you have the Amperage set too low, you won't be able to keep the arc going. The weld deposits will stand tall, indicating poor penetration. If the Amperage is too high, the arc will start easily, and sound dry. As you continue welding, you will have to speed up your travel to keep from burning through the base material. The weld deposit will look flat, and "blown-out" at the finish of the weld.

In all of the time I spent ruminating on my response, this thread has taken a twist on the technical aspects of whatever process you may have used. A few posts have mentioned the puddle, one has mentioned Practice. With that in mind, I will share the basic tenets derived from a few of my mentors:
Learn how to puddle, become one with the puddle, master the puddle.
Practice! Practice! Practice!

After that, learning the next process is easy.

[94ToyBear]

I do agree with Both Aaron and Josh, but I do still think is a good place to start for Aiming, heat adjustments, wire feed adjustments.

I say this because in my auto shop I have a student here and there that wants to just get their hands on a welder, being that I'm not the weld shop instructor I don't have time to teach one kid to weld. The stitch weld works great for a confidence booster, and Aim, Heat and feed are better understood by time I get back around to them (might be 5 minutes might be an hour)
Then I move them on to a push pull, then the swirl type weld. Like I was saying, it's a good method if you don't have anyone to guide you along, and in IMHO it's better to start this way (if you have NO one watching over) in order to gain the confidance and prevent acquiring bad habits along the way for the much more difficult techniques

[dscowell]

Thanks for all the advice guys I knew I would get some good help if I posted here.


90% of a good weld starts with prep work and making sure you have the best seams you can get, with clean metal surfaces. Even mill scale on material can mess you up sometimes.

The prep work on the metal was not a first priority which I guess it should have but I am aware of how important the prep work before doing anything is I was just ready to get going. Next time I'll slow down and make sure I do correct prep work.


taking even a beginner class at your local welding shop, trade school or college will get you a jumpstart on this

I'm taking a welding class next year at school. Its required for my major, unfortunately they moved it to sophomore instead of freshman year.


First off, are you using CO2 as your inert gas? Or a CO@/Ar mix? Based on the amount of splatter and residue left behind I am going to guess, just CO2, but could be wrong and you just need to adjust your flow rate a little. Or lack of good prep as Josh mentioned.

I was using a CO2/Ar mix.


Did you set the machine up based on the recommended settings for amperage and wire speed or guess and play with it?

It was set up to the setting. The friend I was welding with and I played with it a little bit. I think if we really did anything major it was slow the wire speed down some.


And it was MIG welding not flux core I know that for sure. I didn't set up the machine so I'm not sure what the gas mix was I'm assuming 75/25. I do know it was not just CO2, there was Ar in the mix. As for the wire I am not sure either. It's not my machine nor did I set it up so I'm assuming everything was set up correctly. I think what was mentioned earlier the lack of prep work led to the extra splatter since not much prep work was taken.

[94ToyBear]

Where are you going to school?
If I remember correctly you went to Warn Tech for high school right?

[dscowell]

No I went to Holy Family. I'm going to Montana Tech to study Welding Engineering and figured it would be best to have atleast some experience since all the kids in the major with me are farm kids who have a lot more experience welding then I do.

[dieseldoc]

Start with stitching. It will let you get used to the weld
Clean all surface
as for wire if it look like copper you need gas.
If its silver its flux core.
then you have some things to check with the machine its self.
flux core is poitive at the gun
soild (gas) is negative at the gun

As for but welds they need a small gap to allow the weld to penitrate
next look at the heat pattern after you weld.
did the metal turn blue?
This will tell you if you moved to fast or not enough heat.

For practice just lay the bead on a flat chunk.

Are you pushing or pulling the puddle....is the weld behind the gun under your hand as you weld away from you.

The variable are very numerous.

They do look good for your first time with no one with you.

[dscowell]

Alright it was MIG not flux core. We used shielding gas and it was a copper wire.

I forgot to mention that but I was pulling the puddle the whole time and never really attempted to push it. I wanted to get the hang of things before I started changing too many things.

[EKXJ87]

Looks good for your first welds:thumb: All great advice :2c:clean,clean,clean and also listen to the weld when you have the speed/amperage correct theres not a better sound its a smooth burn. Once you hear that then practice and practice.

[dieseldoc]

Steve is so right. You want to hear the same sound as bacon in the pan....the sizzel!
With the 220 powered welders its more of a buzz.
you have one weld you pictured was gasless....the one that it look like popped bubbles.

Next you need to hang out over the weld for what is called post flow.
this will help cool the last bit and the tip of the gun.
as you finish your weld do a short botton weld to cover the belly botton look.

If you want someone around to help I can work out some time. Will help with the stick as well.
its a different animal yet we all should know how to so trail repairs can be done 3 battery welding is very different than you would think.

[dscowell]

So today I did some stick welding with a Lincoln 220. My friend and I used 6013 electrodes. Not a whole lot to share. I did my best to take your guys advice on prepping everything very well but... all the scrap we had was fairly rusty and there wasn't a whole lot we could do. I am aware though that stick is the least picky of all the welding processes for how clean the metal. Even though it is good habit to get into to cleaning everything thoroughly I figured since we were just practicing I wouldn't worry to much. Also along with the stock not being clean we didn't have anything flat to just practice laying beads down.

This is the best picture of just flat beads. As you can see the material was pretty rust but it was the only thing we really had so we tried our best to clean it.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/0cn-BfxAnjEKBewWQK9WKE9_NIhn0pqM5X2ILrkM8h4=w547-h971-no

Then we welded some horseshoes together. Here are my sloppy welds. I only have a single shade welding mask so I'm going to blame the welds on not being able to see very well;).
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/IH3Fs9dK6PRkzmsIe2_RCfJldGOTbCVNbrTeZYE4C2k=w1727-h972-no

Finally we made some Horseshoe coat hangers. Can't really see the welds but I still wanted to share my first welding project with you guys.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/e7WWoH6JfF9KvtyzvA5RRsRc5yyh7sGotO4iT9VtpYE=w1727-h972-no

[94ToyBear]

Good job! I never really got in to stick welding. Better then what I could do ! Looks like your having a fun and creative time with it!

[94ToyBear]

If your ever In denver I don't mind helping you out with my equipment. Also I have scrap metal you Can have.

[dscowell]

If your ever In denver I don't mind helping you out with my equipment. Also I have scrap metal you Can have.

I really appreciate it. I would take you up on that offer I am going to be heading back to Montana mid-august for school. Spring semester I should have a welding class if everything lines up correctly.

[94ToyBear]

Nice where are you going to do your welding class at?

[dscowell]

Well since I'm enrolled in the welding engineering program they have a couple welders at school for the class. They also have a big shop at the technical school but theres some drama with the engineering school kids using it. I figured so I don't embarrass myself the first day I should at least have a basic idea of what I am doing

[dscowell]

This semester I was finally able to get into a welding class after suffering through multiple calculus and chemistry classes. Since there are 5 people in the class all of which are doing different processes (instructor is all over the lab helping people) I'll be posting on here periodically for advice to go along with the instructors.


Today I was doing stick welding. Running a 7018 3/32? rod with the welder set at about 85 amps. For the most part today was just practicing laying down decent beads and getting down the basics of stick.

The top of the photo, lots of Long arc and fairly dirty metal due to having to run new beads over old ones a couple times. The bottom bead was probably the best one I put down on this piece of metal. I am aware it isn't very straight I was more worried about keeping the bead consistent more then anything.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RW9LR7Oi0no/VqcSozT3RgI/AAAAAAAACnQ/FnwvpxZFnDc/w1566-h881-no/IMG_20160125_200556558.jpg

New piece of metal. This one I was trying to start and stop the bead then restart on the last bead to try and keep a consist weld through out. Didn't pull the rod out fast enough at the end but over all I think I did a pretty decent job on this one.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-YduIEusMPuc/VqcSo05EVPI/AAAAAAAACnQ/uDr2M_7OEco/w1566-h881-no/IMG_20160125_201412797.jpg

[96EXXLTinCO]

Looking good!! It took me A LOT of hood time to get a strong, good looking bead. I used strictly 7018 rod at one of jobs where I repaired a front load trash trucks, construction equipment, and built custom implements for all kinds of different uses. It is the only rod I care to use. It's a little pickier than others but it is strong. The old timer that really brought out the welder in me taught me to go by sound with the MIG as a couple other guys mentioned. I could hear from across the shop if one of my guys didn't have wire speed right. With the stick, he taught me use the angle to the bead as my throttle If my hand is closer to the piece, it goes faster, further away it's slower. Once you get the hang of getting that arc started, (takes a while for some people, *raises hand*) he taught me to jam that stick into the weld to point I could feel the flux crumbling. If you get your heat set right for your electrode and thickness of metal, the flux should damn near peel itself off. I can recall literally lifting my hood and having it banana shaped curling up off the weld. Makes cleaning it up much faster and easier!! The stuff laying around in the first picture looks a little thick which would tell me you were maybe a touch slow on those beads, bottom one looks better, just a little inconsistent on speed is all, as for straightness, it's really hard to get a straight bead without something to use as a reference, much like trying to walk straight at night with your eyes closed. Hood time, hood time, hood time!! There's no substitution for repetition. There are good welders, and there are good grinders, being a good welder will help limit the time spent on a grinder. Have someone who is very experienced check out your technique once in a while to make sure your not fostering any bad habits, and that you're laying down a bead that will be as strong as it can be. The old timers are the best to learn from, they have ALL the tricks and secrets.

Sidenotes: What shade is your hood? Go to the lighter side of possible until your more comfortable, you can see everything better. Once you have a really good feel for what your doing, go as dark as you can stand. I think I started out on a shade 10, I now use 13. If you're going to be welding a lot, get yourself a good LIGHTWEIGHT hood. I made the mistake of getting one that looked cool for one of my first hoods and bending over your work most of the day is hard enough on the back, don't add unnecessary weight to the problem. At almost 40 yrs old, I got a crappy back, granted it's not all from welding (being 6'7" living in a 5'10" world doesn't help either) but TAKE CARE OF YOUR BACK!! And your eyes also, I always wore safety glasses under my hood as well, and many times I had red BB's dancing around inside my hood while laying a bead. Tack, Tack, Tack. Tack everything together really well before you lay any final beads. This will help stop anything from warping as you weld. And fixing anything that's warped just sucks!!

Keep it up, I'm impressed. You're on your way to being a hell of a welder which you will find is a VERY good skill to have. I made a good living at it for a number of years and I love fabricating. The cool thing about metal is it can always be fixed, and the possibilities are only limited by the tools and equipment you have access to.

I could go on and on as fabricating is a love of mine. Keep us posted on your progress!!

[dscowell]

I have single 10 shade hood. It works good but is a real pain for starting arcs. Hopefully I'll at least become a proficient welder. I only get to lay a bead down for 3 hours on Monday which isn't enough time to get real good but enough to get some basics down. I'm currently in a welding engineering program so the focus is more on the math and science behind welding and materials more so then how to weld.

[96EXXLTinCO]

I'm currently in a welding engineering program so the focus is more on the math and science behind welding and materials more so then how to weld.
You would be amazed at how much that will actually help you and you won't even know any different!! Pay attention to that stuff because you'll need it at times. Are you going to be learning TIG also? I would focus on that if so, it's not hard to find someone with a MIG a arc welder that will let you practice, but finding a TIG to practice with is tough. I got to play with one a little bit at my last welding gig, but it didn't even have a pedal so it was really tough.




I have single 10 shade hood.
That's perfect to learn on, especially if it's not a auto-dark. Learn some tricks to starting an arc with a regular hood, and then when you get an auto-dark, everything is even easier. I welded for a couple years without an auto-dark and now it doesn't matter what hood I use. If you get good with an auto and end up having to use a regular, it could be pretty tough. My last (and current) hood was the lightest one made at the time and has a Nexgen grind/torch/weld auto lens with tons of adjustments. Just keep at it and before long those welds will look like they were done by a robot!!

[dscowell]

Are you going to be learning TIG also?
Yes the Tig welder is a dual with the stick as well. For some of the processes we get 2 classes but for some we only get one. I think we only get the one class (3 hours) for TIG since they are assuming most people won't be doing much with TIG outside the class since like you said it isn't as common to find a TIG welder in someones garage or some shops.

[96EXXLTinCO]

Bummer. I would still try and get all you can on it. TIG puts down the BEST looking welds.

[dieseldoc]

Submerged arc are the best looking welds.
Than TIG.

But keep at it with everything you can Check out these units....
http://www.razorweld.com/catalogue_product.asp?product=986&category=21&subcategory=85

[Haku]

Those multi-process welders are pretty cool and you can get them for reasonable prices out there too. The one thing I would note is that the vast majority of the Multi-process units are DC tig only, so they can't do Aluminum. Not the end of the world, but if you find yourself gravitating towards aluminum work then its not going to be that useful. Also, its worth calling and talking to the company. I got a Multi-process TIG/Plasma/Stick unit from Everlast (I recommend them) and they gave me a great deal that was better then what they had listed on their website.

I think the theory is important for welding, but if you can't do the physical work well all the theory in the world isn't going to get you anywhere. Its a bit weird to me that they have less of an emphasis on getting time on the welder and putting down beads and sticking stuff together.

I think you are on the right path though....get as much time behind the mask as possible and practice. The thing I've noticed with welding is that you'll start to feel when you are doing it right and stuff will look and sound much better. Once you get to that point is when I would start getting more nit picky and get the details down better. I also find that it takes me a while to get back into the swing of things again after not welding for a while, so my advice is to practice consistantly. Also, its fun to just stick stuff together, but it feels more satisfying to me when its for a project and you accomplish something by the end, so figure out a project that can use the welding you are doing and practice with that.

[dscowell]

I think the theory is important for welding, but if you can't do the physical work well all the theory in the world isn't going to get you anywhere. Its a bit weird to me that they have less of an emphasis on getting time on the welder and putting down beads and sticking stuff together.
It's an engineering program first and welding second. The correct name for the program is General Engineering with a focus on welding. I'll be taking classes pertaining to mechanical and civil not just welding. Also the welding engineering program doesn't have a lot of instructors. Most are grad students or past student still in town to help teach some basic stuff. Along with some drama from the community college run through the college and a change in curriculum we unfortunately get to less of the fun stuff and more paper, pencil and studying.

The multi-process welder does AC,DCEP and DCEN and when we get to TIG we will be doing aluminum and titanium.

For the most part the class is running beads and getting down the basics not really any projects. We get some other classes in the future where we get to do some projects and play with the robotic welders but that's a couple semester out.

[Fordguy77]

It's an engineering program first and welding second. The correct name for the program is General Engineering with a focus on welding. I'll be taking classes pertaining to mechanical and civil not just welding. Also the welding engineering program doesn't have a lot of instructors. Most are grad students or past student still in town to help teach some basic stuff. Along with some drama from the community college run through the college and a change in curriculum we unfortunately get to less of the fun stuff and more paper, pencil and studying.

The multi-process welder does AC,DCEP and DCEN and when we get to TIG we will be doing aluminum and titanium.

For the most part the class is running beads and getting down the basics not really any projects. We get some other classes in the future where we get to do some projects and play with the robotic welders but that's a couple semester out.

Robotic welders take all the fun out of it! And make it so anyway can weld. Boring!

I weld just about everyday at work, at least right now. Mostly using a Mig(set up with hardwire, or dual shield depending on where its for) as I am in the fab shop(normally its all tig/stick in the field), however it is on mild, stainless, and aluminum. Welding really is just a time investment. The more time you spend doing it, the easier it will get. If your shop has grinders, set one of with a wire-wheel, and wire wheel your plate before every pass. It'll make practicing easier, especially going over existing beads.

7018 is a good rod to start learning with. Its fairly easy to pick up in comparison to some of the whipping rods like 6010/6011.

Learning under a fixed shade is significantly better than an auto dark. As it forces you to have better control over your muscles/movements. As far as shades go, you can easily strain your eyes, with not only too light of a shade, but as well as with 2 dark of a shade. Id start at a 10 weld a bit, and as long as your not getting dark spots in your vision , stay there. If you are getting dark spots move to an 11. If you go to dark it actually strains your eyes. A good way to tell if you went to dark is after welding a bit; If you cant read the writing on a poster about 10 feet away, that you can normally read, your hoods too dark.

Also if a 10 green seems dark to you still, try a 10 gold. It reflects more light away from your eyes, and back toward the welds, and helps you see more clearly, as well as lets you see the weld in its naturally lighting and coloring. The color part is actually pretty cool, especially when you get into alloys.

[dscowell]

Last day of stick. More 7018 doing fillet joints. I noticed I have a tendency to bring the bead towards myself as I start welding. I was also going a tad fast today and over lapping beads a little too much. A lot of the beads still have slag on them or the sides I did my best to remove it and cleaned it with a wire brush. I made sure to make it as clean as possible. Sorry for the blurry pictures my camera was having some trouble adjusting. As always I'd love any advice or suggestions thanks!

Initial bead 7018 3/32" moved on to 1/8 after this one.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lGN3006cJQM/VrA_MQDL7UI/AAAAAAAACpw/KPhAIkgBcBA/w1566-h881-no/IMG_20160201_180633192.jpg
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-kwzkB27Sb_A/VrA_MWywSxI/AAAAAAAACpw/CcJQCZ7l230/w1566-h881-no/IMG_20160201_185536967.jpg

Probably my best weld of the night. Most of the slag pealed it's self off. This is once I slowed down and was more conscious of how I have drifting(still drifted though).
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kqjiQKR6bdU/VrA_MZnXW0I/AAAAAAAACpw/d_FV068nJak/w1566-h881-no/IMG_20160201_200029011.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-tpsFxX2Fros/VrA_MU2uXvI/AAAAAAAACpw/Td_cqxoNvuE/w496-h881-no/IMG_20160201_200400596.jpghttps://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CQCFvwmiXVY/VrA_MV7E7zI/AAAAAAAACpw/0a-oJMl7nu0/w1566-h881-no/IMG_20160201_200353925.jpg

Next class I'm going to be doing flux core. Any suggestions?

[Hypoid]

That last bead looks really nice Dante! You got the heat dialed in, the speed and feed dialed in, without using a fillet gauge, the fill looks pretty good! I'm sad that they stop you at the beginning. ;)

I just started working with FCAW a few months ago. One tip a coworker gave to me, is to just hang out for a moment and build some heat when I start a puddle.

[Fordguy77]

Flux Core will be a lot like stick, you'll want to drag the puddle and not push. If your gonna whip the wire make sure your never going backwards into your puddle, and that your always whipping side to side slightly ahead of the puddle.

[Hypoid]

Before the crash you were talking about running an F3 with dual shield...

[dscowell]

Yep! You were asking if I was running my beads up or down hill. I was running them up hill and having trouble with keeping the beads consistent or going to fast. Waiting too long at the start of the puddle then trying to make up for it by speeding up then having the bead look bottle necked after the start.

[Hypoid]

I never worked with dual shield and am still searching the Zen of wire.

That aside, uphill is a different critter! You get to see your penetration into the base metal. As you are watching the base metal erode away, you are distracted from watching the puddle below the arc.

You need to turn your heat down for an uphill weld. You need to keep an eye on the puddle and make sure it fills consistently. If I were running stick, I would want to do a stitch and work a little further from the root to keep from blowing out the base material.

Now, I'll probably want to go and practice my uphill this weekend. :D

[dieseldoc]

How about gas welding?
This one is a lost art, it is much like the TIG But your us8my the torch and some filler (we use mechanics wire) I am learning this one now my self.
We have a TIG in the shop here have yet to drag it out but we will be resetting the shop as we have added some new units that need true 220v so 4 wire plug not 3.
Once that's done we have a new millermatic 350P
This is a pulsing unit. So the stiching style of welding is computer controlled.
This machine will join 1/2 plate in single pass.

So once you are out of classes hit me up. We can always get you some good time.
I am cuantly slowly teaching Moose(Drew) how to weld. As we are building him a new front bumper.

[dscowell]

How about gas welding?
Oxyfuel welding? Yeah I will eventually get to that in a couple weeks.




So once you are out of classes hit me up. We can always get you some good time.
I'll keep that in mind. I'm thinking about getting a real cheap welder over the summer I can just hook up and run some beads and maybe some little projects. That way I can get more practice over the summer.

[dieseldoc]

Come see me. We have a ton of scrap.
Some thing stuff and a large amount of thick stuff.
We have some aluminium stuck as well....mholy carp that's a tough one to learn.

[Chris]

We have some aluminium stuck as well....mholy carp that's a tough one to learn.

Yeah but once you get it you can weld some beautiful beads! I spent quite a bit of time welding aluminum back when I worked as a fabricator. I was assigned all aluminum and steel over 1/4" jobs. The good old days...

[dscowell]

Today I finished up doing dual shield. Did pretty much everything, root pass, overhead, pipe and weave.

If I remember correctly this was my first pass. And this was my second. Since my first wasn't great you can see were I couldn't get the slag out. I forgot to get a picture once the joint was finished but it had plenty of pin holes and wouldn't pass a test.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/VmUcpKOkXOiQ89XZKPNP_AMEKLT6YQ65R0HmZZ11NMvafjVr--yinORqbhMmBCpwzQDjaNkR7elLmtRJH6n9SGRcs6eItVej_kPa jLgnbZbktylldwz0sumPCc5xPVVjW1nRq285HYTagSheXPhOfp OV8-XOiZphuhIe6qIL0NpIhoGWa0-3hLmKwMJBWQvIHXEsf9ymNynD5ay8Aav98xF-fDaDN51jpqgvS4xpSY5dOmsBr_rVsvZiNuYRknGrJtjzfWlBL4 DEzm2cKce2oWGor-mCwTAV_E-1z4l76iarvTXNoovyCGi1y5OG-xuhfCEEAZUafuevAEIa6qGjEg1tBJypSzs8Uear1IkmesIdpvW 3mu9UAvrcNQbUIBQ35S7gC6KWR-CG3NNx7h3PO_uSRiVDfctL1iu78CHyEe2L2YwjnhQbfZe37_tE 8tUAoav11BzL00m67iW8Der1bmdRIRr5pKbIinolFwaDimRxR7 CS7qZqYUlwvOzxD91ksAmNyiWaL7h0WapdZLMWNmWwscfZAVHU fxpUZPJLcSv5gCStTbpH2OVvzBvzsMgoqzvP=w547-h971-nohttps://lh3.googleusercontent.com/jdjfgrvSd3M4D7I00LHuW9CzmCS2_KHn1S08OrLc7XzJn-7F4UU_lzQ07cMx9uXsKSaBeJdQR0y1octnybyD9LT2SEp44LYw vNAFyf3Zgft73WUt7Z-_XiA7gWRVTHeA0w5-7X4acvG--daZfRGXXXQUddIJPfP-o56T_Gxkvq2fkOcGWt0Sf7b-HEhkKK50C8zfsGnoYifb2JJIGkIiUCc4RIVa99TFO-q8wF3j-1fLEZ7Ge-eJGOIv2fhsc68gu8X2tslSauSn8fuas2siAZC77GJ0RI_Li9vU 8L8ccgtoeFh3PvT69HDroFrs3KrmYzm8KZrJZccpM2kfARTTDR 03I_MlUWzXObNwH1pYpoj7a9J-TpQNr5AIRQx0ox945E-07DZ2IXCuzTJxkqFh9Ot1FrcC7GvHpegF1pvyguqJarl431AcS I0K9dB_XFvwXGRkQe0x40u8U9__wNkOrGGPHSBKtr5uGEcap4x B0vcdhQV8ljM4cDQ9kIKmuKphevR9SQ22EFxPwCsYOzv0a4o0c-QLPb932luBmf_pe10Yd3eO35ul7hrlk1-S1eDWy23B=w547-h971-no

Here is the over head. Sorry I couldn't get a great picture my camera didn't wanna cooperate being so close to the weld. My instructor told me it looked good but was a little fast.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/h1TtaAKaVOSRZTyCuXARar3OozN78-nbT7SjcHvFJOJ7uBItKM3OGEThhn8yCivjfGaCkPkKO9CAxi8j jWbSCRgnvPBip-j5za23BLeHLaCOJszR56BtDZGTeq0Hz5-eSfjDK3jQgC7fvNq-J0DBu-nZ0Cy0KIsOPiZA_eIjZGQqFVA5iCT_EU66oPB90TdI2tti98kY LUNtXpNfuthVSMHDc4Bk1Kf3jUunoUKFdd5t4nx4N6lC7ICxDH zOtHTcdRyDrj1Xs_1T2zo45iFKbp8C-LwSD59WpXoyjPW-XEbCXxnTkVbN-j7hEvR5a3pR9qg4widro-3k0LckGLuSRhUSJc2VhYPRwpwSwNgMlwjSC04-2o23sYOFwVCBF42voaKBvu8iBtTSID61O34CdTJ4WlWttOzIMS 2MUgjLMeEaPogpkLl4-TCY8uR0I4WHDtcSMb_HGWh5okiKU-uE3e1Sux_aHHbY6-tu5HgCZMmayRBHzMfr7krGp-r2dLcb4PZiRmWsz5S1bd6Dg9d0vtHMc8er8MsiKPpXPvjGDov7 2Hyb440lxAs_CpmDncjeyNMv=w1727-h972-no

Tried weaving around some pipe. Seeing pictures of peoples beads online make it look like a piece of cake I found out that was not the case. Once again sorry for the poor picture.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/kaXosjWFpkDoRJWenSLRhKkg6uaeTgNb2YqwkbrzbWHJqcZs96 cyD1ARbabgQFhBib5uLq1YmfcEmyfrikhy116imjDauxxr1wnO 9XgHOVBzsCpOBrM1FAymxb_8MgkZOeqPw3wDg--QoyEKJlvrGjqkiPvn-XqbMuQRBFRxudJE8ICqFUld_z_sKwm9Zaxl9x0X_sT6VYQLWqC EwVaQCsEM8mktVcrEykTd7XBN22HpsKorI5mue0tBqizHmUOWN HOcQ3on3wz0UIAkozmzwLs-FKDgFiVExM84AgsQZW7ug0BzKK2UCYJqPM0l1E1RtnFOzyijFW LNxJ-D0Q_vI6qXiUMsIRtIl_SUhKnvC5i2xgMedvzQr7vz6H6OPnzwq Vuna158X5BYEMe3Ed0g7DuCuSkkghWq_V2EvRB8nBRJyyt7sYc v4drQp-XM7o0lg6BhD4VvaIlDb7uBWc-yh34OBrd5THgsfsa3dhrwuvvqVjcm4X4YzJ73Z2ctvTzzGmkH1 r3BQ7-fmSBZIJxqYverXBtEYG8DKNmnu3F39WwjCvZ3efBs7UbjDFWH6 LxXnVmB=w1727-h972-no
Also tried welding inside the pipe and that was a complete failure.

Don't worry I cleaned off the welds best I could if they look dirty. I am not sure what I will be doing next week to ask for advice but it will be either MIG or oxyacetylene cutting and welding.

[dscowell]

Alright so I am either going to be doing either Tig or Oxyfuel this week. Any suggestions? I don't know a whole lot about either so any small pointers would be great.

[96EXXLTinCO]

First off, those last beads you posted show a lot of improvement over the first ones. It just takes hood time and training your eye and hand to work as one. It becomes second nature after a while so getting a little welder to play with over the summer is a great idea. I would take dieseldoc up on that offer too, play with some bigger machines so you don't only get good with yours.

I can't speak on TIG as I've only got to play with one that had no peddle which was ridiculous. I played with oxyfuel welding on my own during downtime at work. I'd just work on heat control by butting 2 pieces of sheet metal together and using only heat from the torch, no filler, to join the two. Takes some getting used to but it's something different to play with. As I said before I would dive into the tig as hard as I could.

Keep up the awesome work, I love your attitude.

[dieseldoc]

The TIG is all about making the puddle then cooling it with the filler.
Same as the gas weld.
Think brazing.
Same concepts here.

There are 2 types of TIG pedel or thumb.
Pedro is the easy one of the 2.
Use the pedal to ramp up the heat to get the puddle started back off watch the puddle and dip.
Take the rod cut it in half hand the end over so you can't poke someone's eyes out!
Torch position is important as well.
Holding like a pen with the lead worked for me.
Some prefer to hold it from the back cap....don't get that at all.
Again it's about starting the puddle then cooling it with the filler material.
Practice joinning the material with out rod and you will get it.
We did a full trailer deck out of 1/4" diamond plate no filler rod.

Gas is much the same, heat the material add filler to cool the puddle.
It brazing on steroids.

[dscowell]

Ended up doing Plasma Arc Cutting today instead. Don't have any desire to do that again. I got OFC and OFB next week followed by GTAW then we are all done for he semester. Bummer the class couldn't have been more frequent or longer but it is what it is. Thanks everyone for their help I'll continue to post on this topic if I have any further questions or need assistance in the future. If anyone else needs some help with welding feel free to use this topic.

[96EXXLTinCO]

Ended up doing Plasma Arc Cutting today instead. Don't have any desire to do that again.

Just out of curiosity, what did you not like about it?

[Brucker]

The TIG is all about making the puddle then cooling it with the filler.

There are 2 types of TIG pedel or thumb.
Pedro is the easy one of the 2.

We did a full trailer deck out of 1/4" diamond plate no filler rod.
.

There was a lot of stuff in this statement that confuses me greatly. Not trying to rip on anyone or anything. Just trying to clarify some statements as they don't make sense to me, a fairly seasoned vet when it comes to metalworking. So I want to make sure that the youngster asking the questions, isn't confused, or get the wrong info.

First, yes the filler will cool the puddle, hence why you can get your filler stuck in your puddle. This is just because the filler hasn't reached the same temps as the rest of the puddle yet. But you don't use the filler to cool the puddle, only to add material. You want to keep the molten puddle, molten. Proper technique would be to keep your filler just outside of the arc but still within the cups range. This will keep contaminants from entering as the gas would be continually flowing over it and the puddle and also acts to preheat the filler before it is melted by the arc, not the puddle. You don't actually ever want to "dip" your filler into the puddle as it could cool it too much or contaminate the weld.

Next, there are different TIG setups. You can have a scratch start with a constant amperage. You can have a scratch start with a thumb wheel to control your amperage. You can have a HF or a arc start with a thumb wheel. You can have a scratch, HF, or arc start with a foot pedal. No one is technically harder, although the foot pedal requires a bit more hand/foot/eye control. It comes down to equipment access and person preference.

Why in the world would you not use any filler when welding the trailer together? That means every weld is improper. Without filler the weld, or most likely, the area around the weld, is going to be thinner and more brittle than the rest of the material. You can not melt two into one with without losing a little mass as there is always the area between them to account for. Even in friction welding there is a loss of mass, usually in one over the other, as the two bond together. The material is still there when weighed, but something has to fill the space between the two pieces so they can become one. Sure the material size could have been such that the slight loss in strength in those areas didn't effect the overall outcome. But why not just use filler?

Thanks in advance!

[Brucker]

Ended up doing Plasma Arc Cutting today instead. Don't have any desire to do that again.

Don't give up on plasma cutting just yet. VERY useful tool. Much clean than oxyfuel. I LOVE my two machines. And both cut well with the hand torch or the machine torch. Though I am biased:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fplVPTM1U3g

[Brucker]

Also you may want to check out this guy: https://www.youtube.com/user/weldingtipsandtricks

Amazing amount of knowledge lies within the videos he puts out. His voice is a little annoying to me, but the videos are usually well done.

[dieseldoc]

The trailer work was done at Who Tech as a project in class done the way it was by instructors instructions so couldn't be that much of an issue.

Your right about the material loss but on a deck made from 1/4 diamond plate there is material in excess to melt into the weld its self.

As for the TIG set up its all preferences I prefer the peddle over the thumb wheel.

The start up is all about the machine you have access to. I think the scrach start is the better unit as well.

Then you have liquid cooled units as well.....so it's all about what unit you have access to.


As for the plasma cutting what didn't you like?
Ya it's a bit of a splater but it makes a nice cut.
Less heat into the material if done right.

Most folks set up there plasma torch with to much air pressure.
Thus it makes a big mess and is harder to make the cut right.

Wish I could have a few of you come see the track torch.
I will get video and post it.
This is old tech and makes the plasma torch seem a pain in the but.
We Slice 1-4" plate with this thing and it was built in 1964!

[96EXXLTinCO]

Ya it's a bit of a splater but it makes a nice cut.

I loved the plas.........set up a straight edge and from there just a matter of finding the right travel speed and you got a beautiful cut with very minimal clean up and it was ready to use. LOVED IT!!

[dscowell]

I have just having some trouble getting everything figured out and I screwed up a couple electrodes. What was getting most on my nerves was the machine that I was using once I got the cutting down manual. It kept straying off the track and the torch kept getting to close to the material. It could have just been the set up I was using that was driving me crazy.

[dieseldoc]

Use of a drag cup is always a good Idea.
It lets you set the torch on the material, but yet keeps the tip off at the right distance.
Also allows use of stright edge for your cuts.

[dscowell]

Did some TIG today. Wow was that tough but way fun.

Had some trouble running some beads with out filler on the thinner material but I think I started to get the hang of the dipping method.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/1zb4r08WsSeeI9JgI-LouFyPo0hq5aLJULSvlrz3f2W2JPrH0jufM0Q_sWrkiFRnMdko LoG0hBvkN-xc_NXH0IjhkxlI-L0_Ir2rzDhlfABOzuoCPZPM-nBTuBNoYWb2JDPFoAXfVycH4hPtg1xeIXiGgYz2IS4-qsSiNqYz8MAnLxsVVaap6C7Kuv9-zqUk8JC3oExtUwIfEaH3vaXu0Y2fKNEU91o9HKgG_gQAndONEL LN48VzE0s4uPxJL9sM4KMvWTZkoZ5_O7d1j0N4aFI8vlMQ6J4A T0NXygCpD0lmut66i0ljoH-x2p5N15OtFQW4oWhSpVOPcASrwGVjCR0OD-l8K_JAxjMMrIjLW1zgNBYSAp5WSNUXYjz2Lj4OAXcZ8LC0vzgU pTGOztybNwR3f7LHQ_ttLMkzXUpfM6r5tl48EkfaEEvLYhPbhW O8oUyZN9tAOdqMGLCRNxF8w6uU2KtRMKt9inM2fs9TC5o0a8ll j9SDmPSHH085VZ2G3z8WU-0EnYTfbE2TSEjxe2yemoz4RYvA6lDGa8iJwEuC1ti64qmBsYhf TbbKeXIcnb_U=w548-h973-nohttps://lh3.googleusercontent.com/i_fHQkgocAuyl4tC6KgMWCPdRa9s-CE3WN5BQy6QhwYqHoVgy9pZ7OxlIuAgJupZrLdwMpzi-DIMqbOTCHMe2Bakv778kX0CxuN7VKkCVLSUvtODHozlLCAomJq qaouZWFhK0rWOGsn5BZ7dYySmVkLA1whawsOQ8bWyY487bSN4D SX9yZI6p4eypLeFCH6CTvcNrjxb7BRbacI4db061b3AlHduYd3 c_ApujvJE2ENg1BfTMjWKWbAykvqF6V9lR2zai-0Muxt6BLvcPwxr9r5gGebyZHa4i8rvyrmVG5WnyAfu-1oKKYCccjJgNxqpLnb1rTHAo2z59CLfPXZMAluDAbI60prIUzh tCcGjrxTNBbD5vabKgZH13XOOe3w74Y-AG62J0LJyUpvZvw9Edc9TfRTTzPMSOHVGobr40fNDnhlBYig0x LHTUSXrFQFOpxf-C_8-LQriEbTaaZs8x9BBrtjc3MpVDDR5gAsGwxvoXp-msQK4J6TcylvXZp__F_e0awe_O1ECcJhZ94N7T9opShFTetvYg sn2uOOL37c4Gb0EwZYz9JXp1Ukb97fKUQsQ=w548-h973-nohttps://lh3.googleusercontent.com/NpEELX8a3OsztZjQ1PkYJRU8kkRRgli37VjMEw_Yi4eM2WDu2I toVgrg5uxVNiIpHU_5lyLlzuqDKcCZrApxCbkJTec7rlGvbMNM t3KeFCpj_hB67niirrSVzXB9iMboKTS-FjUBnzKJYq5IZzomZetSUBvzZW_FP90Qi81Q4N11n2iRUJuObm sbdrDcyZPLiFzeBbUGLtGQbY4LLk8qU26evGpYxba1R4maIlMl g3QWE9xZ_27qRIW2HHPAmfqKd_YK6k-GszAlQezyJ4Jp5Ssmfl4gBn0v-tC-hdgyBvAl0qFvn8KL6waVNadNC-rk1_2652459jWKitQdHT7uaSPgeWXM7gLc44KR24ksQDibOCL3 Sn2ADgQR8CU-O8p_S2UshfNsNAbN6X1QEIyZF8HDszO1eQHmy1HIZcy5SzRHFk OnF66hR49-Ax_7gvpaXPZqUeV8QmK9xP7n4rXqgXBatZWjYxz84bPJfxbnfr bK3kJgEWuRYaS7OTmQ8Bo9sZhwvHG0IE0nq1rHY97TmX-6mxulV3i3AZgH1E0MhTakp9tiThpTGlrulnlW0CHCMOw-=w1730-h973-no

Tried to run a couple beads on T-joint. Only one turned out to actually look like a weld. Next class I'll get to do some aluminium.

[dscowell]

Forgot to post my MIG photos for those of you interested and wish to share some advice here ya go.

Vertical down hill.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/K0X_mWfy_O-ZguntyjcSIE7DA4Kq99UOtsrK9GzCsbxG1D4BKoH7VBK_mpitk VvZItF5FYytCGrDCZrAr83XgYBZj41OOQVfm26LoHseo_0EA-jl5cf1_-LQdFQFEckgARMMGvz44qLv5ZHvCEl98k-_vxmM-2WcnEF8zC9AEaJy7chpZUJvtUCIMRtgjeMhWOnPGIuW3rOstba A-KxvQjiq8oVvMza3tZao3g2Zj7mYwKgq49DgYrDiFwdp5EmsJx4 8eX55Z35O2Ne6Rk6JjWQpub-xMIeCx4MrwA3T5xTJ72KXwew3cn-TEEMnCNk_rF-bXUdA9_55nLOlArF3p3u4b7WgRWhZmwFCtPcGXAWwyJV3AQbtT iXPPa-ko8VkPLr7-nr1kBA-IduAojAQvTTT-9wKdPum5y31dvDkQnJHDqnehJp-CYqXFkk18HmgYdGGqaq52hqdQQvA3RbDDauMS4DevkhzjX2rcS _0f4v8fu5xoTIxB1N0B7phSzX1qYhwQNgb2aivVdn_RWWe5BDI 7LxACIyx4Ml0ksRMTx9sHM2njMsTgRIUhZVINwELYwoG=w548-h973-nohttps://lh3.googleusercontent.com/N1TGR-Wuhhm-PdXVv8kVIt3danGHAMKGdDlChrNxOm7_cVHnkdBeOZX4lLcLyH NBPKXS_cQwuFN4Q0uFbSud5EiG5cFWweVai_fQ3e9wiVLRX0a3 PwOdtBj9Uq5gzUVHF8eqKphhvJbO0rP-9yVbSA02snrmfh6vxFsFUYQW8G4oZVTFsbQuxDP5kZpSVolB1l yVpdoFyL0WsJRSz5_w33ODLireAH5T5lxSu-FlK6MxaqXsK601Yt4fOvPnDO_WEo6SExTQOwNcU_6RHFQJANEV E27nHk9Zu84UxoUkrkC7kOx0d7hYHmyCI-CSjSNDAoTNHjcwJiZQVfQaDOuJi77OnRGtqEn1LTHoUGKmiEvd TolYTyjIeGpweBu1BOFUjJ-1G_vUV202MooebjUiCzQzlPcDn26JbVAXVNXeNKX9l9Ylxpr8g keCuK9X84A9lD2UuHNfsYpkAphumyq9ueTBNoj8qAGyKit65WM Zn5_QFpNUTY-kGJ9Ap_DlNgPk5vecupBo_7uMNzUpdGdiQZov3-Ju6KS_7v8PlpHQbeKG7I5ZdI3d9dys20KQIKUe_voM=w548-h973-no

Some spray transfer. Don't really remember what happened at the end.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/edJKvIk1sEudUR1vaO_Z9xpJbl8qyXU5EnoQycxKKy60BwU2U_ Eaa6-wvPnJHIoNFS2EoWbmz-9Hx-_M3SIBr94_xps8bVkQoqhmsdcCdoPoqDongikpQd_uBMTAyR29 wF1i8yOMxK2XJX1SxWcgHKe1u-X7SZslCLluvZgf-U-DCyMFsNU4swsAi6WOT_RroR2tCbuXr9gwNMmAD5tpISlpDTtd0 nuThUiE2R1lx7hyuFdjrjFtgT9B7NSzeg9DlZ1Ta4J5jVkh-Y4xf0IN097THxtVaJRtCYJZ39__a43dHMHnyjrzG7wG7Q_4D1T CU2UkS250oODLzg0kAqhG3N3SOhRkPEjY8PZnZcYQzpaXjGIH2 jfzzxC-_5nsbRA-W4cRp0oeIxCsNg3sQ-3iOfvFEX1WMa-rpnSfl04LRwoEJcnzVcDAVyRacNtGGJjgtiRKCBhydMi3_hiT7 WdzURJGPOk9O7S9JTe0GghKxp1EeZgg-2YVwNsLQHeEe6psWMKJBd3246xEx6nXmYrjoWK-4Eh7oslVwo7rhp9cYsMe62NHmlEmV5srinn21MfONcXb=w1730-h973-no

Some more spray.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/96VcBzndwxPO_6UM1Br-8360ufa0RS4kV27zMXUnZdO_38VCOIziTcrK2cPDzAZAMsK6cg vfAfDcaXoSX0v4ZfAWiLd17CH1WRyv3yttOeu67w8mXEaWxiIZ h2S72w1avTyfizd7BgbNJFpyXW4R0mCVYt4hYZvbsBJ5DpOGNA fQ_jNXwPsfJp3L-dPDxxb5EjBmUVX2YA7yIY9dkUJpCTUXajh5k-wxqtXxMG4hcxUdJ6rVrIpmTfjqeJJJFjpJUp1ApFdVUdDaMMFe jz3-1_19qUO_PyOChOKCM3hMojNZA4EPl0VNiFh8W405lqlQ_HoCom mo-F52DZkK36hywWz95dKicOPqEV6qEoHr51klDKAk8r7EZYlbOi8 wsXX_B_nkigpcp-_WcvBVK9u96_ZmjJytOQs1hcfgNsVg053Ue2ibr-QPUpYxm7LiJVPIlh0A5o6gj8bS-F-080pr-9gQ_Tczh0Ra6DwZ6eRO00x-k3qwu5GhJdn5W0nmljr-_lGpjn0Wnmr69OI1cMrXCCpl9A5yaWu8auaHxaPA11m0CFkVW7 61qYVPMCaI4SK_Ajr2=w1730-h973-no

Short circuit?
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/idoolojw25gu4owm5mtyVB4xGlJ7Mj0dq7xvddRzvmR738fWl9 oyJq7G9JeSRFYbtjttLS3-Qs_Ewi3feeaE-pig1Hz7NlpV4tn3SPUc0O8UXKY9dDf_so__M8X8H9bt6Y-ex0o08_njEqBJzHB2JJCoEenK_G_zjMTSy4ZJWywywZBxMEYrO wsvQhIAQayYFvxyiApFXi5CcyxODSztBN-Pe847FGizvq5_B-RNNTVMolJTZG5DpaWDfgSzmsOEzSQBgaFqwKt7zRXi7_pve-vXmej15IqoQvwg3d0GAPjz6V50bfomUTqvVonNgvJj4z1OY4mP 2539ZXBJ-RJS-6dHF-i7p-uFZmUZ3-ty5P8Tyok10m9kOuCoCuEAvHCae9EDYgCByLbegd8P9lTzEuZt kJtP7VS0WEjKCwRshiCh8jx_KUzX0gqm3ppfUbikKS_k_RMHDm LY5hsGR83aRoLi63ZxTkxglpVYcQRmk9NMmM8BEetswS7irL-B0a7NZ6DD_OA8PeuxAHvnI-G-lnMKaw0GCtqynG2Gyo7XaPg7JtgVvzWM_wFn4U8a3RGtmBNb=w 1730-h973-no

[JandDGreens]

I have never done Tig, but it seems like it would be a lot like brazing with Oxy-Acetylene torch. I would sure like to learn to do Tig some day.
Looks like you are getting the hang f it.

[dieseldoc]

it's just like gas welding/brazing, just electric.

To the OP not bad. Vertical down is way easy vs vertical up. Vertical up is the more common weld and stronger weld.

[dieseldoc]

so there had been some discussion about dual shield.
We use this every day, we are using Hobart ARC71 wire for our stuff this wire has a tinsel strength of 85k psi.
mind you we are using 1/16 (.063) wire and often weld on 4140 cromoly

pics are of some shaft welds and some mud bucket building
the bucket welds are 3 passes inside and out, chamfered on the pipe joining 1"plate

and the track torch, so cool this thing was built in 1963! cuts 1" plate like butter~