Anything welding

Cut a few test mount pieces, just need the vehicle here and I'll test and adjustment fitment as needed

 

lol. i want to buy 80' of 1/4" i-beam. but i only want to pay $25. steel is such a ripoff!

 

I hate when I don't get what I want at the prices I demand to pay

I set a budget for myself!

 

Yep metal is a total ripoff now days. I usually do smaller projects and can get away with paying rem prices. .60 cents for for mild steel , 3$ for aluminum I think and 2.50$ for stainless a pound. Paid 25$ for this piece of .5” stainless today, like 6”x10” for 2.50 a pound, a place called metal supermarket was like 70$ for this piece, that’s just nuts, was going to use it to build flanges for my muffler but I think I’m going to use a v band instead

 

If you wait til black Friday, you can probably get 50% off with an MSRP of $12k.

 

it doesn't look terrible, but could also definitely be much better. i can see some flow pattern, so it appears you've got a grasp of the technique, but i've got to blame the tool here for the lack of voltage/current control. it looks like you could swing side-to-side more to try to get the puddle to better wick into the metals, but when it's only wire speed you've got to manage, it might be too much to ask of it.

what hood were you using? I generally prefer to run around a shade 9, it helps me better see the puddle and how it's interacting with the two materials. When I first started, I was trying to use a shade 15, which made everything worse

 

I don't really see a benefit to classes. There's really no substitute for just spending time with the welder.

Biggest thing is to understand what a good/ bad weld is, and what adjustment is needed to correct it. Welding is usually more personal technique than it is machine setup in most cases.

 

To add to the whole "should I take classes or not"

I will say this - some people just get it, and some don't

There are two types of classes I see offered in many different places; the hobbyist type (crash course) and the extensive one for those wanting to pursue a career in the industry.

I'm one of those that went to school for a full 10 months, and posted a lot about it both here as well as in a separate thread. Mind you I had absolutely zero experience beforehand.

Yeah, I learned a lot, specifically the technical stuff you'd want or need to know in the industry. I know all the AWS symbols, I know how to read bead profiles, I know how to dial in a machine (regardless of what I'm on), I understand the technicalities involved when running a bead IE angle of torch, travel, etc as I've been certified in both MIG and SMAW.

With that said, I still stand behind skipping the whole class thing and really just getting time behind the hood as the best experience you'll ever get is by running the gun non-stop in a work environment. You will be forced to run a machine you're unfamiliar with. You will be forced to run more out of position than you'll ever force yourself to do at home. And you'll be forced to troubleshoot shit and get yourself back up and running as time is money and the boss doesn't want you dicking around with shit.

It sounds tough, and for many it can be, but what better way to learn than with trial by fire?

Out of all the stuff I learned in school, I was only applying less than a handful as my first job was as a fabricator - I made jigs (something I never did in school), did a lot of out of position welding (I did do a lot of vertical up and down in school, but I was comfortable doing so), I even used another process I didn't learn in school (push-pull aluminum on cast aluminum) and more. Real world experience is what ultimately taught me how to do shit in a variety of positions on a variety of thicknesses.

The next job actually involved using blueprints, reading AWS symbols and interpreting them to provide what the blueprint called for IE fillet, both sides or opposite side, machine finish, or left alone, correct leg size and toe, etc. I did TIG a lot as well which was fun cause I had only done TIG at school prior to that. Aside from that, the real help (and the reason why I passed their weld test) was based on the hands-on experience I learned at my first job.

Nothing compares to real world experience though and if you want to get better, throw yourself out there (and get paid to do it).

If your welds aren't improving significantly in a time span of say a few weeks or months, then maybe it isn't for you. There's a reason why some people literally cannot figure out computers, or lack the mechanical aptitude to even perform basic maintenance on their vehicle.

For some of us here, we can pick up a torch and go to town. Or be given a set of hand tools and immediately replacing one's suspension easily. So it's hard to fathom others having difficulty with it (I know, it took me a long time to understand that) but some people literally are not programmed that way.

So, if you've got 10 years of experience, hell even 5 years of experience and your welds are dog shit, just hang it up

 

I might be able to help with this as long as the temperature stays cold.

it seems to have fallen off a truck

 

Lets not forget some of us have outstanding Eye Hand Coordination .

Which really make a big difference. !

As far as lens shade all or eyes are different I had a course outline for Air Arcing mandating # 12 lens. The arc to me looked like a candle 50' away use what works for you.

 

Goes hand in hand with my above post

 

Thanks for the encouragement; no idea on the hood, just borrowed dad's stuff for a day to piddle around with. He doesn't seem to be using it at all anymore, so I may try to borrow it a little more often and try to play with different wire speeds, maybe some thinner scraps of metal to at least try and get some cleaner passes. I've got a little project I want to do with lots of 2x2" square tubing, so I'd like to at least learn how to make things structurally "good" on some scrap stuff before even beginning the project. If his welder doesn't seem to be fit for the job after a few more weekends playing with it, I may need to look into buying another "nicer" cheaper unit.

 

i definitely think a different welder is in your best interest. given the price point you're at ('cheap'), i would advise looking mostly for new gear, as used gear, seems most everyone wants retail prices anyways, at least until one gets into name-brand $1k+ units.

as always, watch the specials, plenty of sales everywhere at different times, but be careful as it seems many more retailers are starting to do the whole 'mark it up to be able to mark it down' sort-of-sale, so watch sale and non-sale pricing.

i had started with a titanium easyflux 125, . big advantage is the price, disadvantage is that it's flux core only--meaning you must change welders if you ever want to do anything more like mig welding, and the leads are integral to the unit. flux core is different in that the 'smoke' from welding is really what's acting as the shielding gas. so it benefits from longer passes. shorter passes tend to have more issues because the 'shielding gas' hasn't accumulated. it also means more clean up, post weld.

but an important note here-- some flux core wire is just bad. the first spool that came with the welder, i tried everything and just finally assumed that was what welding was. no amount of settings changes or adjustments got the 'crackling bacon' sound, and most welds were not great. i finished off the spool, installed a new spool of the same brand, just different purchase date, and suddenly all the same settings got me the great welds with the characteristic sound traits. so if things seem off no matter the adjustment, save the time pulling your hair out and try a new spool.

these days i'm using a eastwood mig 90 at home. found it on an end-of-season sale, and selling off the titanium to my brother in law, it cost me all of about $20 for the changeover.
https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-90-amp-mig-welder.html
biggest reason for the change is better adjustment, and further options, as well as more standard tweco consumables. the swappable positive/negative leads are a great option for different materials--changing the polarity changes the way the wire either gets 'pulled' into the puddle, or 'pushed' into the puddle, which changes how the puddle reacts. the other big reason for the change was MIG capability. cleaning flux welds is a pain. MIG is an additional $200+ investment in a tank+gas, but results in much cleaner welds with less post-cleaning. i just got a tank, but the weather hasn't agreed enough to change the welder over to MIG duties.

knowing what i know now, i wish i had gotten something a little better than the eastwood. it's functional, and does exactly what i need it to, but considering the primeweld mig180 does all the same things, but also comes with a spool gun, and stick welder options, as well as a slightly better duty cycle, i wish i had splurged a little more for the further capability, if nothing else, to satisfy my own curiosity on other welding methods-- i can deal with me not being good at something, but i hate bumping against design limitations of products i use.

 

Did you ever state what welding machine you were using? I was only guessing when I said this had to be a Chicago Electric flux core unit.

 

I'm 100% self taught so I'm guessing there are quite a few things I do that are dumb.

 

Same, same.

 

Self taught here too. I think the most important part for me was doing projects that not only required me to make good welds, but as many as possible. Repetition got me out of the suck zone and large projects got me good practice.


Also, for heavier welds, I did test pieces and cut them open and etched with acid to see if my perception of a good weld matched what was really happening.

I am tempted to take some classes to put some structure around what I know, but not in person. The AWS has online classes that are reasonably priced for that.