beagley
|
| posted on 27/12/11 at 05:08 PM |
|
|
Had my first attempt at welding!!!
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
I'm not scared!!! I'm just marking my territory.
|
|
|
|
|
T66
|
| posted on 27/12/11 at 05:30 PM |
|
|
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/
|
|
|
blakep82
|
| posted on 27/12/11 at 10:24 PM |
|
|
lets see some photos of your work though, maybe can offer some tips to help inmprove?
________________________
IVA manual link http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?type=RESOURCES&itemId=1081997083
don't write OT on a new thread title, you're creating the topic, everything you write is very much ON topic!
|
|
|
Confused but excited.
|
| posted on 27/12/11 at 10:30 PM |
|
|
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.
Tell them about the bent treacle edges!
|
|
|
beagley
|
| posted on 27/12/11 at 11:50 PM |
|
|
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.
I'm not scared!!! I'm just marking my territory.
|
|
|
Furyous
|
| posted on 28/12/11 at 12:08 PM |
|
|
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/
MIG welding is easy. Getting the right settings on the machine is the hard part. I had a job in engineering last year and it took just a couple of
hours for me to get some good welds that could be used on customer's work. But that's because the other guys set the machine up for me.
The days I set it up myself, the quality fell a fair way. It was all down to very fine tuning of the machines. They'd say "You don't
have enough wire" then turn the knob about 2mm and it would be fine. 
|
|
|
Fred W B
|
| posted on 28/12/11 at 01:30 PM |
|
|
You might find some help in
this thread
Cheers
Fred W B
You can do it quickly. You can do it cheap. You can do it right. – Pick any two.
|
|
|
beagley
|
| posted on 28/12/11 at 01:43 PM |
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by Fred W B
You might find some help in
this thread
Cheers
Fred W B
After looking at that thread I'm having second thoughts about posting pics of my attempts, that and the fact that I forgot to take pics last
night. It seriously looks like a elementary school shop project, but since I have already talked about posting pics I can't back out now.
That was a really informative thread, thanks for posting that link. I'm amazed every single time at the amount of questions that are able to be
answered here with no problems. From Linux programming to proper welding techniques...
This is truly the best forum I have ever seen.
Cheers all!
Beags
I'm not scared!!! I'm just marking my territory.
|
|
|
beagley
|
| posted on 29/12/11 at 02:50 PM |
|
|
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.
I'm not scared!!! I'm just marking my territory.
|
|
|
bi22le
|
| posted on 29/12/11 at 04:34 PM |
|
|
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!!
Track days ARE the best thing since sliced bread, until I get a supercharger that is!
Please read my ring story:
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/forum/13/viewthread.php?tid=139152&page=1
Me doing a sub 56sec lap around Brands Indy. I need a geo set up! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHksfvIGB3I
|
|
|
blakep82
|
| posted on 29/12/11 at 10:32 PM |
|
|
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 
________________________
IVA manual link http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?type=RESOURCES&itemId=1081997083
don't write OT on a new thread title, you're creating the topic, everything you write is very much ON topic!
|
|
|
beagley
|
| posted on 29/12/11 at 11:01 PM |
|
|
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!
I'm not scared!!! I'm just marking my territory.
|
|
|
clairetoo
|
| posted on 29/12/11 at 11:13 PM |
|
|
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) .
Its cuz I is blond , innit
Claire xx
Will weld for food......
|
|
|
T66
|
| posted on 29/12/11 at 11:54 PM |
|
|
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
|
|
|
