I have bought a MIG welder because I want to learn to weld but I have no idea what im doing.

Ive been playing about with it and have managed to weld 2 pieces of metal together but it doesnt look right im ny opinion??

I dont have the bubble effect that i have seen on welds instead it looks a bit inverted.

Basically this is what I am doing....

to start with, sometines i rest the welder on the metal I am welding and sometimes I am hovering about 1cm above the metal, so far I cant see any difference in the final result.

Next I am stop starting a line of weld. welding a little spot, then stopping briefly, then over lapping the previous spot with another.....

This is holding the metals together but i know it is not right.....

Is anything im doing right?? Like i said i dont really know what im doing but im at least trying.

Can someone point me in the right direction, idealy id like to do a course or try and get someone to show me

hi i live in wolverhampton aswell i could come down and teach you ive been welding 4 about 10 years now as my job.
adam

there is no substitute for practice, but you could try reading this first for a bit of a start...

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

Steve

I took a evening class in welding at the local tech college, it cost me £50 for a terms lessons.

ditch

There are lots of parameters to get right- gas flow, wire speed, power, torch angle, torch speed etc etc....

Only if you get them all right will you get the "frying bacon" noise....

If you've got a digital camera taking some pictures might be helpful- it's possible to diagnose some welding problems that way.

the best way though is to get someone good at welding to come down, set-up the machine for the metal you're welding so you just need to learn the actual technique. Then you can learn to adjust the machine once the technique is mastered....

If all else fails continue practising, read the midwelding website and you'll get there in the end

Good video (now on DVD)

Stick all the settings on 'average' then adjust them to see the differences they make on the metal. Make sure its very clean so that weld holds and earth is good. Make sure both metals glow red when the arc is made so you know you're getting good penetration.... the suggestions are endless!

don't forget to use correct safety equipment
Rescued attachment WELDING.jpg

Take up the offer from oadamo. It will save you a lot of time because he'll know what looks and sounds correct and you'll learn a lot more in an hour with someone who knows what they are doing. It will also save you a lot of frustration and it will be using your welder which is a bonus.

I sort of learnt to weld the frustrating way and wish I'd met someone who was good for some tuition.

Oh and it's well worth having a case of beer ready as a thankyou

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Originally posted by oadamo
hi i live in wolverhampton aswell i could come down and teach you ive been welding 4 about 10 years now as my job.
adam

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I think you're looking at tig welds there Alan, mig weld on steel looks smooth. Once you start a weld you should keep the gun moving away from you till you finish it. Adam should sort you out but you'll have to fine tune it to your own preferences after you have something like a set up.

oadamo came round to see me last night and sorted me out. He set the settings right on my welder and my technique was totally wrong! Had a little play and after he showed me how to do It I could see an instant improvement!

Just need to practice a lot more now. I suppose it will be a bit like riding a bike, once you know you dont really forget.

Thanks Adam, top block

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Originally posted by andybod
don't forget to use correct safety equipment

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Originally posted by Browser

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Originally posted by andybod
don't forget to use correct safety equipment

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Please tell me where you got that picture from Andy, I'd love to circulate it at work!!

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