Anything welding

Pretty Normal you might be able to adjust things and with more Arc time get less splatter.

Then it might be the wire your using!!

Practice your out of position welding before being under the truck .

Do you plan on removing your bed to have better access to the frame?

 

Is your wire jumping a lot, like it’s stabbing into the metal repeatedly, sputtering in sound? Independently try turning your volts up and/or your amps down. Keep adjusting them until it runs in real smooth and isn’t jumpy.

That amount of spatter is not normal.

Could also be your stick out distance, gas flow, etc. Keep fiddling, it’s almost there!

 

He is running Flux core on a 120VAC machine and is just starting to learn.

 

Make sure you've got a real solid ground.

The area you welded seems like it was cleaned up a bit, but who's to say where you had your ground clamp.

I'm also not familiar with your machine, but you'll want to run electrode negative for flux.

 

I didn’t say he’s a bad person for having some spatter. I said looks great keep refining…

I use flux daily (didn’t see that he was though, thank you) there’s not that much spatter when it’s dialed in. He asked, I encouragingly answered. Peace, my dudes.

 

Welds look great, keep dialing it in day by day keep it up! Consistency and time under the hood is kings

 

I think those welds look pretty normal for self shielding wire.

I started out on flux core/120volt machine as well.

Those BBs are hot. After a while you get used to them. If you can weld in short sleeves like I did, your pain threshold is now stellar!

If you are using the craptastic Chicago Tool unit, those welds look great!

 

Turn up the voltage and use a different wire. The stuff that comes in the box was really spattery. The Vulcan wire works well from HF but I personally like the blue demon 0.035 flux wire from Amazon. Once you get the hang of it, you can make almost splatter free welds with that machine

 

Like others said. Check out the pic in this article. Pretty much same as your pic.

https://makemoneywelding.com/how-to-set-your-mig-welding-polarity-settings/

 

.030 is the size most folks use for working on our trucks. .024 is common for thinner gauge metal like sheet metal work. Lincoln wire is decent. If you have a welding hammer (I forget what they're really called) you can knock the spatter of with the edge of it

 

I made a jack mount this morning, pretty happy with it. All I need to do now is run a strap over the top of it.

 

Weld actually looks good. Turn on the gas and you may have a winner.
Zim

 

That's badass. Nice work.
Zim

 

The confusion started when you referred it to "MIG" welding. (Metal, inert gas).

No biggie. We all are learning as we go...at least I think I am.

 

Need some advice...

Never welded before. Just got my first welder from harbor freight. I've been pretty pumped to get started. However, before starting, I looked into any necessary PPE needed or safety stuff to consider while welding. This only led me to reading a LOT of articles and papers about the dangers of welding fumes, guys getting sick with manganese/chromium/lead poisoning, brain function deterioration and reduced IQ after heavy metal exposure, etc... Now I am not so pumped to get started and in fact questioning if I should still do it. Can anyone comment to this information I found? Are these the extreme cases or is welding really that unforgiving?

 

It's never a bad idea to wear a respirator to reduce the amount of gunk you inhale. That said, if you're a hobbyist and working with mild steel on occasion, there's no real health concern in my opinion. But if you do want to wear a respirator, there are options that fit under your welding helmet.

$39 GVS SPR449 Elipse Mask with P100 Nuisance Odour Filters, S/M

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016630UJU?th=1

 

Don't weld in enclosed areas and if you do run an exhaust fan some how. I always open my garage door and turn on a box fan to help keep fumes moving. If you are worried grab a respirator like EatSleepTacos posted. Most cases as a hobbyist you are probably fine but it never hurts to take all the precautions. If it was as dangerous as you have it in your head from your googling most of the people in this thread would be drooling on themselves by now. (not that some of you aren't )

Your best investments are going to be a good shield, good gloves, and spark protection like leather bibs or welding coats. Usually the same things that keep you from burning a hole in your skin are also good at keeping you from getting uv burnt from welding.

I picked up some black stallion mig gloves and a cotton/cowhide welding jacket from a welding supply shop and they were a game changer compared to HF gloves and cheap welding bib. You get what you pay for on most things so definitely don't go cheap.

 

@dvalente98 I have this respirator and I think it makes a big difference. You can smell a difference with it on vs off and eliminates the black boogers that come from grinding

Like others said, welding in an open area with some airflow (but not enough to blow away your shielding gas) is a good practice

 

We're all going to die






























It's just a question of when.

 

I have some safety glasses, cheap gloves, and my hood on when I weld. That’s it. Not sure what else you’d need to get started putting some practice in on mild steel.


Work has respirators for the flux core and different metals. But old shop just had a cheap vent fan above head for fumes.