My welding skills are inferior

[wayback machine]

To my mind, welding is the ultimate blend of art and science - 2 areas where I am sorely lacking ......

 

[hovercraft57]

I am not a welder.
View attachment 421356
Against all odds I try to get a nice bead on thin material with an old stick welding machine.
Will I fail ?

some helpful points ,,, stick welding first set the amperage by running short beads ,,, you want the weld to spread out slightly wider than the bead,,, the idea is to have the weld spread out onto both pieces getting welded together ,,,, so run a bead if not spreading increase amperage by 5 ,,, run a test bead ,, one think to watch for the test piece will get hotter and give you a false reading ,,, as you experiment so cool the test piece off ,,, once you find the correct amperage which can be plus or minus 10 amps depending on your preference,, usually the hotter the better,,, the picture show your amperage was too low and arc too long ,,,, once the amps id set toughing the rod on the work is very ok and reduces the arc length variable and adds the sensation of touch ,,, you are getting use to feeding in the rod as it melts away ,,, the noises and smells and the helmet on your head ,,, once those things become second nature you will learn fast because all your attention is focused on the welding ,,,, using both hands helps a lot rest an elbow on the table ,,,, sometimes when starting the test piece will be small and move as you touch the rod to start the arc,,, not good because that is the exact moment you need 100 percent contact ,,, if the work move electrical contact is broken and rod sticks ,,, of the end of the rod gets all the flus broken off and you have exposed core wire put the rod in the scrap vey tough to start the arc when first learning hop it helps ,,,, also if you are using a AC machine 6013 works good but get a name brand from hobart of lincoln because cheap rods are less expensive because the chemical purity of the flux poor and that makes a huge difference ,,,,hope it help

 

[Charles scozzari]

I am not a welder.
View attachment 421356
Against all odds I try to get a nice bead on thin material with an old stick welding machine.
Will I fail ?

If I may suggest, I feel that learning to stick weld is essential to any other method as a stepping stone. I don't know what machine you are using but I would suggest you run some 6011 at first. It's a little more forgiving. 6012/13 can be a little challenging to a new welder. The part that to me is very important is to try to understand what you are seeing happen in the puddle as you are welding. When you can, practice on pieces of the same thickness.You'll learn latter how to weld 1/8" to a piece of 1/4". Don't give up, ask WELDERS and don't listen to all you may see/hear on U Tube. Practice practice practice. Once you experience and to some point master stick welding MIG will feel like a gift from above.

 

[cwilliamrose]

When I learned gas welding the first exercise was to create a molten puddle on some steel and then move it in a controlled way to keep the steps between puddles equal, the width consent and to keep the line of puddles straight. Only after getting good results did we then use filler rod to add material each time you moved the puddle. It took a while to graduate to welding two parts together. All our test coupons were 1/16"-1/8" thick. First we did butt welds, then fillet welds on perpendicular plates.

 

[Weldingrod1]

When I was teaching stick welding, I would listen to the students arc and yell "closer!" From across the room. When I was behind them the also got "slower!"

You have to go slow enough to establish a molten pool.

Sent from my SM-G715A using Tapatalk

 

[Dabbler]

@Harry Knutz Very nice welds. I built a gantry crane also. -- Can I see a picture of yours?

Mine is here (end of post #1)

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[Harry Knutz]

@Harry Knutz Very nice welds. I built a gantry crane also. -- Can I see a picture of yours?

Mine is here (end of post #1)

​

Thank you! Here are some pics of my crane, Your crane looks good, Very heavy duty. I made mine wide enough to get a car hauler inside of it. I also made a tounge that spans the 2 legs with a ball connector so I can move it around my yard.

I am going to make one with a smaller foot print to actually roll things around in my shop. It took me a few years to get my shop where I wanted it to be, My shop was on my property when I bought it, But it was just a shell, I finished it the way I wanted it.

 

[Charles scozzari]

Thank you! Here are some pics of my crane, Your crane looks good, Very heavy duty. I made mine wide enough to get a car hauler inside of it. I also made a tounge that spans the 2 legs with a ball connector so I can move it around my yard.

I am going to make one with a smaller foot print to actually roll things around in my shop. It took me a few years to get my shop where I wanted it to be, My shop was on my property when I bought it, But it was just a shell, I finished it the way I wanted it.

Great job on the welding and work benches.

 

[Harry Knutz]

Great job on the welding and work benches.

Thank you Charles!

 

[Dabbler]

@Harry Knutz I have two main beams, a 4" X 4" X .250 tube that is 6 feet wide, and an 11' 4" wide beam made from a 4" X 8" X .188 tube, The wide one is to move a trailer underneath. It has a 5 ton capacity.