Glad I started with scrap instead of box steel. Thing looked like some kind of metal devouring creature (not of the rust genus) threw up all over the
place. Still fun and a great learning experience though. Long way to go before I start a chassis myself however.
I think I'll just get the guy from this post to do it for me.
Beags
Im no expert welder, was taught to gas weld at 17 and got quite useful with it repairing rotten truck cabs ! Self taught stick welder on rotten truck
chassis too.
Taught myself to mig weld, and thoroughly enjoy it.
Theory is the easy bit, just keep practising lots on different thickness of metals. Experiment with different amperages till you get to know what will
blow through the metal (too many amps) and what piles the mig wire up like pigeon crap (too few amps)
Its as much about knowing your welders settings , as it is a steady hand. Have a look at the site below, often posted up here as its a good reference
point.
http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/
lets see some photos of your work though, maybe can offer some tips to help inmprove?
Best advice I had was to go to nightschool at a local - twenty miles away - Tech college.
£60 for a sixteen night course. Best £60 I ever spent. Covered gas, stick, Mig &Tig basics, the it's; practice, practice, practice.
There's also loads of vids on Youtube. and Lots of cheap tutorial vids on the bay.
Alright, alright, I'll post some pictures of my work. I'll take some pics tonight and get them uploaded tomorrow. I agree that practice, practice, practice is the best way to improve.
quote:
Originally posted by T66
Its as much about knowing your welders settings , as it is a steady hand. Have a look at the site below, often posted up here as its a good reference point.
http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/
You might find some help in
this thread
Cheers
Fred W B
quote:
Originally posted by Fred W B
You might find some help in
this thread
Cheers
Fred W B
Alright, here are the pictures of my first attempt at welding. Please be sure that you aren't drinking or eating anything as you may choke at
the uglyness you are about to see...
...
...
Prepare yourself.......
View 1
Weld Attemp 1
View 2
Weld Attemp 2
View 3
Weld Attemp 3
The chrome spraypaint was added to "pretty" it up for display, although I'm not sure why. I would have rather had the bare metal. The
welds were done with a stainless steel rod onto, what I believe to be, plain old steel.
Miles better than I could do. I have never welded or tried welding in my life.
May get the opertunity to soon though. I just dont have the space and work with a pro welder wo sits in the welding bay all day every day. I just pass
my stuff to him to do it!!
actually doesn't look TOO bad...
you might have been waving the torch about a bit much, try just moving in a small zig-zag, about 6mm wide
power settings look alright for a first shot, you're getting a good gas shield, so just keep practising 
Thanks for the constructive criticism.
I want to find a vocational school that I could take some classes at night or something like that. I actually really enjoyed it, not enough for a
profession, but definitely for a hobby.
I know what I need to ask Santa for next year!
Probably the best tip I had when I first started welding for setting the wire feed , was to set up a piece of scrap and point the torch at it , look
away and adjust the wire feed while `welding' untill it sounds right .
Allso - what kind of welding helmet are you using - `cuz the one thing that transformed my mig welding was an automatic darkening one set to the
lightest it would go (9 , I think) .
Already been suggested, but youtube can help you. Have a look..
Makes sure both pieces are clean on the weld edges, quick scrub up with an angle grinder.
Im right handed, so wear a welding glove on my left hand, and generally manage ok with a light glove on the right. Form a fist or rest with your left,
and lie the weld nozzle on your left mitt. I push weld through choice, but practice with different ways once your starting to get the hang of it.
Just practice doing overlap joints with sheet, getting used to the settings. Dont do big long welds in one hit, as the sheet gets too much heat and
will warp, so stitch it with shorter runs moving back and forth on the job to spread the heat out.
Keep the weld tip clean, I use a small wire brush.
The auto dim masks also help if you dont have one, the welding doesnt get better, but theres less to think about if your mask is decent.
Ive been mig welding about 20 years on and off, and can still produce pigeon shit, I just produce less now than when I started
Keep practicing