Hi,

I just started to test my MIG welder. I never welded before but I read already a lot about it.

I would like to ask your opinion about the welds I've been laying on a part of tube.

In the yellow circle I burned a hole because the current was set way to high. I tried to close it and grind it afterwards.

I still have to figure out a lot but it's a beginning.

Cheers,

Geoff
Rescued attachment lassen 001.jpg

Try cutting through the welds and look at the penetration to the other side.

Steady the gun with your other hand, it looks like you have the jitters.

What is best way to handle the gun? Do I have to make some small moves lateral to the way you are welding?

Geoff

I tend to, as I know lots of people do, draw pretty shapes with the weld pool to try and give a wider spread of filler material.

You can try crescent moon shapes or zig-zag shapes and see what gives the best results.

Have to agree with Darren that the only cheap way to check is to cut open your tubes and see how well your welds have penetrated.

When you come to weld the chassis just keep spot then seam welding in different places to try and minimise the chances of distortion - a trick Liam showed me actually!

Geoff

Creating a hole is not a bad thing for a new welder, the temptation is to keep the current low which is wrong as you will not get good penetration.

You really need two hands to hold the torch, I hold the torch in my right hand and steady by supporting my wrist.

Techniques are what you find best, I weave across the work, leaning the torch backwards so I can see what I,m doing. The torch moves forward over the weld, ideally you will end up with something that looks like fish scales.

Oh yes, make sure everthing is clean before you start and go slowly.

another way to check petetration is to butt joint a tube onto the side of another in a t shape, but only weld one edge then try to bend the weld loose. if the metal breaks before the weld then it is good.

I found this site quite handy:

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk

The instruction manual that came with the welder I bought to repair chassis leg on my car was pretty much spot on with power levels and wire speed settings. It's probably the only instruction manual I'm ever going to keep.

I have been led to believe that when the settings are correct you can weld in the one spot continuously, without blasting through, you end up with a stalactite of metal which is kind of funky.

The most useful resource was a post by rorty:

http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=20998

Forgot to comment on the welds... Looks very good for a first try and I'd be surprised if they didn't have good penetration. Using 2 hands is definitely the way to go.

[Edited on 23/9/05 by ufe777]

Your welds look nice for the first time. If you can, make sure that there is a great deal of light on your work while welding. Some autoshades and some traditional shades are so dark when they kick on that its hard to see where you are going which might be why you have a little zig zag on your welds. Additionally all welding is good practice but practice on the kinds of welds you will be doing for the chassis, that will improve your understanding of how it will work when it counts. Also it's very important when learning to be as comfortable as possible, if the stool is too high or the table the wrong distance away, then fix it. You'll have all the time in the world to be working in odd positions later when working on the chassis, spend your time now with the greatest degree of comfort so that your practice is on a good foundation.

I find that pulling the torche's cable up onto my lap (when sitting and welding) keeps the cable from catching on objects and straying my hand.

Milo