welding practice!

[idratherbesurfing]

this is the stage im at

how do you stop that awful spraying? I get the steel as clean as I can but im thinking that as there isnt a gas shield around the weld pool then thatswhy it is spraying

anyway heres some pics

http://s29.photobucket.com/albums/c252/showjumper90210/welding practice/

 

[idratherbesurfing]

105 page views and not one reply come on fellas help a girl out!

 

[BillJ]

Tell us a bit more about what you're welding and what you're welding with. Is it a gasless setup?

 

[Delgado]

Ok, I've had a quick look at your fotos, and judging by the brownish soot and slag, I'd guess that your using flux cored wire (or possibly MMA (arc), it's a little hard see). Judging by the fotos, the excessive splatter, and weld profile, I would say that you have got the machine settings wrong, which are highly critical to produce a good weld with this set up.

As far as I know (and I'm not too clued up about FCA), the electrode(wire) parameters should be written on the box or available from the manufacturer, if not, the best I can do is give you these ones which should help you on your way......

MILD STEEL WITHOUT SHIELD GAS (6/13mm)

Electrode type E70T-1 (0.9mm)

130/150Amps = Wire speed of 732 to 975cm/min (run the wire for 6 seconds, measure it, and times it by 10)

22 to 25volts (If your machine doesn't have a voltage display, set the wire speed and then fiddle around with the voltage dial 'U' until you get the desired result)

MILD STEEL 75ARGON/25 CO2 (6/13mm)

Electrode type E70-5 (0.9mm)

130/200Amps = Wire speed of 732 to 1463cm/min

20 to 28volts

Gas Flow 30chf

These Parameters are from an American book, so they might not match up exactly to what you are using in the UK. However, they will at least give you a good starting point to work from.

When welding with FCA you should be dragging the weld (at about 30 degrees), which I'm guessing that you are already doing, judging by the weld profiles. With regards to the fillet welds that you have done, I would say that you are going too fast, have got the amps (wire speed) and voltage too low, and possibly you are feeding the wire into the corner (join) at the wrong angle, it should be going in at 45 degrees from the base plate.

As I said, I'm not too clued up about this type of welding, and I'm sure there are others here who could probably give you some more advice on the subject...

Hope this helps!

 

[Sparkey]

105 page views and not one reply come on fellas help a girl out!

Maybe you should've told a bit more about your welds....what kinda welder, gas/no gas, etc!
We are always glad to help here on the forum but we're not magicians you know...
Anyways, welcome!

 

[Tigman]

It says on the young ladies profile , she uses gasless Clarke !

Never tried gasless before but I think I read in here somewhere that the spatter is worse than when using Gas ! please correct if Im wrong

 

[Sparkey]

Yes, i've looked up her profile afterwards too....
But it's easier to be as complete in your post as you can, if you're asking for help...And don't be angry if you don't get an answer as fast as you want it!
And yes, gassless does make an awefull lot of spatter...there's nothing to do about that!
That's why most people prefer using gas, it's much cleaner!

 

[idratherbesurfing]

hiya guys, yes I appreciate that first post was a bit vague! Its a dual purpose clarke welder... so im guessing you *could* use gas with it. It belonged to my father who sadly passed away a few months ago. He never used gas with it. I honestly didnt (still dont!) have a clue what Im doing with it.... I just knew I had to put the clamp thing (earth is it??) on what ever youre welding, grabbed hold of the trigger and gave it a go :lol:

I tried a few welds with different wire speeds, and the faster the wire came out, it seemed to 'push' the welding tip away from what I was welding, which is why I turned it down a bit.

I will pop up the garage in a bit to get the model of the welder, and what settings its currently on - no doubt it will mean more to you fellas than it will to me

thanks!!

 

[Sparkey]

Great! well there you go!
Now all you need is a project to get started on!
But i'm afraid the spatter will stay if you're welding without gas...

ps: check out our tutorial about gasless mig welding...

 

[idratherbesurfing]

im going to have a play with the arc welder tomorrow as well... and that is seriously stone age :lol: . its got one dial and 3 settings! "off" and then 3 'clicks'!!!!

ive got a winch mount that i need to weld onto the chassis rails of my 4x4, so we will see how the arc welding practice goes using bits of scrap... and if it looks ok I'll have a go at my first proper project! (scary mary!)

 

[Robotstar5]

ive got a winch mount that i need to weld onto the chassis rails of my 4x4, so we will see how the arc welding practice goes using bits of scrap... and if it looks ok I'll have a go at my first proper project! (scary mary!)

Just make sure you are confident of your welding before tackling a safety related item like a winch mount - there is a lot of force exerted on them!

 

[BillJ]

ive got a winch mount that i need to weld onto the chassis rails of my 4x4, so we will see how the arc welding practice goes using bits of scrap...

Given equal amounts of practice on gasless MIG and ARC, I'd imagine you'll end up choosing ARC for that particular project. As Robot suggests, satisfy yourself of the strength of your welds before you do it in earnest.

And not all of us are fellas, eh Sparkey?

 

[patreusch]

it might sound stupid but since it sounds like you don't know much about what your doing always wear a helmet when welding and safety glasses when chipping or flip your hood down

 

[idratherbesurfing]

since it sounds like you don't know much about what your doing

ha! you got that bit spot on!!

dont worry, I always wear the visor when welding, and safety goggles when grinding/chipping etc

you only get one set of eyes afterall

any tips for a first time arc welder? the plate i plan to weld to my chassis is half inch thick 'hardox' plate, and then i need to weld another piece of hardox to the front of the winch plate, so I can bolt the fairleads on

 

[Tino]

Hi ,I use Hardox a lot at work and it is a great steel but needs good welds to avoid cracking. Grind were you are going to weld so you have the metal nice clean and shiny, then pre-heat the Hardox to about 100 degrees C (pop the plates in your oven for half an hour before you weld them) that should be OK for half inch. Once you have finished welding try to slow the cooling down if possible (we use fire blankets but wrapping cardboard round it works well).
Before you do the job set your welder, it looks like you are using to much wire speed try turning it down or if you need more power, up the voltage(the switches on the welder 1 2 3 4 one being low, four high etc). The voltage and the wire speed (amps) need to be adjusted together. To much wire for a voltage will give a humped weld not enough wire and a blob will form on the end of the wire and can burn back to the tip. Some where in-between will be right. Hope this helps.

 

[wyn]

The Hardox plate is going to be a bit of a job to drill......why does it have to be Hardox ?

 

[idratherbesurfing]

because thats what my mate has started making the tray out of.

to be honest im thinking of waiting til the steel place is open, and going to get some mild steel plate, as i just havent got the kit here for drilling and cutting this hardox stuff

 

[Sparkey]

Given equal amounts of practice on gasless MIG and ARC, I'd imagine you'll end up choosing ARC for that particular project. As Robot suggests, satisfy yourself of the strength of your welds before you do it in earnest.

And not all of us are fellas, eh Sparkey?

Hehe...don't worry Bill i'm used to being called fella and mate by now!

 

[BillJ]

Hehe...don't worry Bill i'm used to being called fella and mate by now!

In a job like yours I imagine you have little choice, mate