OT: Just learned how to weld

1105 · Jul 4, 2004

I actually learned years and years ago how to weld a little bit, but forgot since I was about 10 at that time so I had my dad reteach me this morning. The pieces of steel I was working with arent the best as you can see. The one circled on the left I pulled away from the pool, and all of the other ones I pushed against the pool. The one on the right he told me to go back over it with another weld. What do you think for it basically being my first time? My dad was also changing the wire speed and everything showing me what would happen if the welder wasnt setup right.

swingline · Jul 4, 2004

Cool man. I wish I had the room so I could do that stuff. My buddies all have welders so I guess I will just continue to bum off them.

yellow5.0cobra · Jul 4, 2004

someone give this young man a MEDAL!

jus kiddin dude...

good you learned to weld, you never know when you NEED to weld something together(cough*turbo kit*cough)

1105 · Jul 4, 2004

thats what I'm working on I need a 45* bend and about a 4' piece of 2.25" pipe then just weld it together.

donjohn · Jul 4, 2004

that's a pretty decent bead, i think for me the hardest part is the settings and making sure you get penetration

looks good though (i miss welding)

i think the left side of the second bead is the best you've got there

mo_dingo · Jul 4, 2004

Yeah, the left side of the second bead looks pretty good. It's not easy.

Was this a continuous bead? Meaning, did you start at the left, and weld all the way to the right? Or did you spot weld every 1/4 inch and fill in the gaps afterwards.

I was watching Trucks!, and they were giving tips on welding. They said to basically spot weld everything. Start at one spot, then move over 1/4inch, spot weld again, etc until you reach the end, then start back at the begining, and weld just to the right of the previous welds until you reach the end, then start again until you fill all of the gaps.

You need to let each weld cool. That is why you put a decent amount of space inbetween each weld.

You have way too much of a bead. But with some practice you will get the hang of it. I know it's not easy. I learned working with gold/silver/platinum jewelry & solder. You have to be very patient, meticulous & consistent. The wire speed and tip size is crucial.
Scott

donjohn · Jul 4, 2004

I think he has two different beads going there. i've never heard of spot welding if you're welding a continuous portion. As for the reasoning for spot welding (if that truly is a good idea) i would think it would be to let the machine cool down a little depending on it's duty cycle, other than that, i dunno why you would- but they're pro's so ...

oh yea, and the rust doens't matter, the mig burns right through it!

tmoss · Jul 4, 2004

The reason you stich weld (1/4" sections - or more) is to keep the heat from building in front of a continuous weld and distorting the metal (metal expands with heat) enough to build stress into the weld. It looks like you welded zinc coated steel? not the best surface to start on - dirty welds. Did you have a gas mix going through the gun? Beads look pretty good for a first attempt. That metal is pretty thick to penetrate - what amperage welder is your unit?

GTPhreak · Jul 4, 2004

yeah when they did the spot welds on trucks, odds are they were doing body work correct? if you were to do a continuous bead on body work, it would warp the surface being worked on

1105 · Jul 4, 2004

the one on the left I have circled is one bead, same for the right... Theres a lot of other things there that I was just playing around with when I was welding. The helmet wouldnt stay in place making it hard for me to see, so my parents came home with a new welding helmet for me and one for my dad

GTJake · Jul 5, 2004

Stop by after work and do my subframes.

Thanks,

Jake

swingline · Jul 5, 2004

GTJake said:
Stop by after work and do my subframes.

Thanks,

Jake

Mine too.

1105 · Jul 5, 2004

$25 an hour thats cheap for a welder

89 blue lx · Jul 5, 2004

i just learned to weld not to long ago to it is definitly a good skill to have just need a better welder now!

OT: Just learned how to weld

1105

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