Welding 101 with Rich

ok... heres the new thread...

the table top i put on was about 5/16... maybe 3/8...

i got it to settle down with a couple clamps and its working ok for now... we'll have to see what happens after i start banging on it...

i will go to the barn today and take some pix of the welds that i made that turned ok and offer them for critique...

i'll also try the pushing method that you suggested and see if i can close the gap on the learning curve... in addition, i'll turn the pressure down on the bottle as was suggested by (insert name here)... my apologies, i forgot your name.

i think it my be too high as the flame is making some really pretty colors and seems to be blowing out more like a torch than a nice easy 'breeze' needed to clear the path...

thanks again Rich...

i'll keep THIS one going for sure...

 

Rich-

Heres the welder i have... and one of the 'better' welds i made near the end of the day...

flux core wire...

 

That is the same welder that I have. I get mixed results. That is mainly because I'm a poor welder. I believe that machine would be better if it had a finer heat control.
Tommy

 

HeyTB...are you using flux core, or solid wire with gas? You keep explaining about gas settings, but the weld you're showing is flux core. The reason I ask is because, I've been mentioning that it's better to push the weld. That's ONLY true when welding with solid wire with shielding gas. With flux core, you want to drag the weld, as though you were stick welding.

I just thought of something else. When you're welding with flux core, the machine should be set to electrode negative. With solid wire/gas, it should be set to electrode positive. At least this is the way my 15 yr. old Miller Cricket was. It has little metal tabs that you switch over to change the welding polarity. Today's more modern machines may be different. Check out your individual owner's manual, to be sure.

Don't go too low with the gas setting. Even though the bead may look OK with a gas setting of 10-12 cfh, the welding process is not completed as properly as it should. In other words, the base metal will not melt as completely, and blend with the weld metal as well as it will with 20 cfh. Just for comparison, at the shipyard, they set their gas at 45-55 cfh, to comply with standards set by the Navy. But their application is very critical.

 

Rich-

i just got the gas on friday... AFTER i had finished this cart, so yes... its flux core and i did drag the weld... i havent had a chance to try the pushing method that you mentioned, but hope to this week.

The only gas welds i made were around the top of the table and theyre not so pretty... and i dont know if the penetration was sufficient either... we'll see after i start banging on the table top. I reversed the polarity as instructed in the manual and so far it seems to be going ok... but I'm new to this, so anything at this point seems to be going ok...


The welder is at my shop vs being in my garage which is a good thing... cuz i'd never get anything else done and everything i own would be welded together

i will push the gas to 20-25 and see what happens...

thanks for the knowledge!

 

You have a nice welding machine, but it has it's limitations. Trying to weld 5/16" or 3/8" thick steel is really beyond the limits of the machine. It's too thick to get good penetration on.

Are you welding the tabletop to legs? What are you using for the legs?

 

no, i found a frame in my scrap heap at work... its 2x2 angle...

all i did with the top was crank the volts to 'D' and connect it at the corners and in a couple of places along the length... just to keep it in place...

and the legs were too short as they were so i added 6" of 4x4 to each leg and put casters on the bottom of them... two that lock (on opposing corners) and two that dont

so far, it works as advertised...

and yesterday, i re-attached some 4x4x(1/8?) by grinding and beveling then edge slightly and used the push method... HUGE DIFFERENCE!!!

better looking, and easier...

then, i worked on placing beads on top of a big ring gear that i have... to work on my placement control...

 

Sounds like the table will be fine.

I'm glad to ther that the push method worked out well for you. You will also want to practice pushing, and weaving (toward you/away form you).

You'll also figure out that to see what you're doing when your pushing the gun, you have to get your head out in front of the intended weld. In other words, you're watching the weld come toward you.

Rich

 

this is a great thread. I only bought a harbor frieight welder but I'm learning and can upgrade machines later on. I've been inspecting welds for about 7 years and am looking forward to learning how to weld. I know what the end result 'should' look like and all that...so I'm going to have to work backwards. We have my 67 at the house and dad's 80 D-100 that need work...so I'll be able to both hone my skills as a welder and fabricator once I get the feel for the machine. Should have a teardown/build thread this summer with tons of pics.
I'll keep an eye here for tips and things like that.

 

Hey KF, glad to hear you're getting into welding. Where do you inspect welds? At least you'll know if your welds are good, or not.

Well, feel free to ask questions!

Rich

 

i was gonna go the HF route, but i found a deal i couldnt pass up...

hope to burn some more wire tonite... if i can just find something to weld together...

hey Rich? what are you using to cut your material with? i noticed that he cuts in your frame are really claen... plasma?

i dont have one of those... have considered buying one... but will have to use a cut off wheel until the pennies add up...

i DID find a lincoln pro cut 55 plasma cutter yesterday for 300... but i dont know if i can plug it into a wall and researching it didnt reveal anything about it either... any ideas on something good yet affordable?

 

I was in the navy for 10 years. I do NDE work
Used to so aircraft weld inspections on SS and TI and standard steel
I had a friend in the weld shop try to teach me to Tig on aluminum...but I got quickly frustrated. I also worked for a while with an older gentlemen that had his CWI and I was going to get mine...but the lack of knowledge on welding prevented me because you have to write a procedure.
Like I said...3 jeeps and an old dodge that need work are plenty to learn on.

I was looking at getting one of those Milwalkee hand held band saws for cutting material, that and a cutoff wheel should be all I need. Maybe invest in a oxy/acelelyne setup too.

 

TB, I have a shop, so I have several options of cutting metal. Most of the patches, and other flat pieces were sheared, and most of the holes were punched.

I also use 4"x .035" x 3/8" (arbor hole) cutoff wheels, on a Makita 4" grinder. Lots of guys use cutoff wheels on a die grinder type cutter, but I like the 4" angle grinder much better. Your hand is in a more natural position, and easier to control the cut.

Later on, I'll post some pics of a nice practice project you can try.

kf...sounds like you've seen your share of quality welds!

Aluminum TIG is challenging for a novice welder. Did you ask him to teach you this, or did he insist that you try? That should definitely come later.

As far as buying a metal cutting tool, I don't think that a hand held metal cutting bandsaw is the best choice. For the same price, or probably cheaper, you could buy a metal cutting chopsaw. Just remember...you get what you pay for! I had 2 Makita chopsaws stolen from me, years ago. Back then, the Makitas were about $200.00 each.

My checkbook was a little low at the time, so I ordered an $89.00 cheapie out of a sale flyer that I got in the mail. The specs were impressive.

When I got it, it was so bad, that I thought the carbon brushes were shot, so I went and bought a new set, just to see (they're cheap). It made no difference. It wouldn't cut a coathanger!

I now have another Makita.

Torches come in handy for all sorts of situations.

Rich

 

heck yeah with the practice projects!!!... send em on!

i have a 4" grinder that i have been using to cut out pieces... just seems like it takes a boatload of material out of the area and i need to learn to account for that...

 

A grinder with a cutoff disc shouldn't take too much material out if you are carefull. A good Sawzall will work pretty well too. I bought a Milwaukie chop saw. It's OK for straight (90 deg) cuts but not accurate enough for 45's. I have better luck free-handing those with a cutoff disc on the grinder. A word of caution if you are new to angle grinders. They are very dangerous. Absolutely must wear good gloves and glasses or you'll find out the hard way when it bites you. I speak from experience!

 

Rich,
It was explained to me like this "If you can tig aluminum, you can tig anything" He was a good welder and a great friend but I had too many things going on to learn as a dedicated student...running the division at a repair facility does that!
I've seen my share of both great and crap welds...though some of the worst ones I've seen are now between my spring shackles and my frame on the old 67!
The band saw I thought would be a good choice, we use them here at the plants I work at and I've seen nothing but good results from them. I'm handy with both a torch and a wheel also, the cutoff wheel is my preferred tool though, I have a nice steady hand. And I've been taught to properly use PPE from the start, so I pilfered some gloves and glasses from the sites here...might have to get a full face sheild for the house soon!

 

With the wheel, start with a light line and no pressure about 1/8" into the cut off metal, then follow that with the cutoff wheel. Once you get a good line going and a groove just keep making passes and you'll make it through the metal. I just take my time when I do it and it keeps the metal and the wheel cooler than using brunt force and chopping it off slowly. That's my opinion but it's worked for me for years.

 

If you have the $ a plasma cutter is sweet. But the 4.5" grinder and torches and even the sawzall works. We use all but the plasma cutter at work. As for TIG welding......I have gotten good at welding stainless steel but it is not professional in my opinion. I need more practice. Stick and Mig I have gotten good at and hasn't broken yet lately. At work we stick and tig with either a idearc 250 Lincoln or a Maxstar 150 Miller when we need to weld in a remote location or in a tank. Both work well. I have just started working on my cast iron skills with 55% nickle rod. That is tricky to get right. Keep working on it. Practice makes perfect.

 

OK...here's a practice project that teaches how to run good beads, and also teaches bead planning for multiple pass welds. Most jeep guys won't ever have to run multiple pass welds, but it's good to know how to anyway, and by practicing it, your welding will become better and better.

This project can be done with any type of welding...stick, MIG, or TIG. I chose MIG, because that's what many guys have.

The first phase of this project are called "overlay" beads. It is also known as "toe-to-crown" technique.

A weld bead has an anatomy. The edges of the bead (where the bead meets the base metal) is known as the "toe" of the bead.

The high ridge down the center of the bead is known as the "crown".

When running multiple beads, the toe of one bead, is upon the crown of the previous bead. Like this...

Start by running a single bead on a plate. I chose 3/16" thick steel..



Then, run another bead that overlaps the first one (toe-to-crown)...



And continue overlapping more beads.... but don't forget to let the metal cool down, every 2 beads, or so. I dunk it in water to cool it quick, seeing it's only a practice plate.



It should look like a solid layer of weld with no gulleys between the beads..



Once you've got this down pat, it's time to move onto a multiple pass, horizontal fillet weld. Again, I chose 3/16" thick steel.

Start with 2 pieces..



Tack the ends, like this..


With a fillet weld, you want to get the same amount of weld on both pieces of steel....not more on the bottom piece than on the top piece, or vice-versa.

Start with the first pass ( the root pass )...



Do both sides...



After running a bead on both sides of the plate, cool the plate.

Now, you're going to run a 2-bead layer over the root pass.

I will stagger my stops, so that you can see the bead placement, and progression, but in reality, all the beads should be full length.

The next bead will be aimed at the bottom plate, and overlap the root pass, creating toe-to-crown...



The next bead (bead 3) will go on top of the botton bead (bead 2),toe-to-crown, and up onto the top plate, giving both plates equal amounts of weld. Basically, the weld creates a 45* angle...



That completes the second layer. That last pic actually shows the second layer (beads 2 & 3), and the first bead of the third layer (bead 4).

I'm going to finish the third layer , using the same technique. It's kinda like building a set of steps...



Now, you can keep on adding layers, but remember, as you do, the steel is becoming thicker. You may have to re-adjust your machine settings.

Here are more pics, with one of them being an end view, showing equal amounts of weld on both pieces of metal...





See how much the steel distorted? Anyway, have fun with this!

Rich

 

TB... if the cutting wheel is taking out too much metal, switch to .035" thick ones. When you're using them, don't force them! Take your time, and let the machine do the work. The cut should end up being less than 1/16' wide.

kf...about the aluminun TIG...yeah, if you can weld it you can TIG anything. That's like saying, start your boxing career by fighting the curren world champ. if you can beat him, you can beat anyone! Not exactly good advice.

You're better off learning to TIG on stainless, which, to me, is the easiest, due to it being so pure and clean, or steel.

Obviously, get whatever cutting tool you're familiar and comfortable with, but if you've never used a chopsaw, I'd at least try one, just to see what they're like.

groomer guy...it sounds like you get into it pretty good!