Advice On Welds Please

[JonnyAlpha]

Hi;

My welding is (I hope) getting better but need some opinions / advice on my latest welds. Clarke 160EN Argon / CO2 Mix from Adams Gas 0.6mm Clarke Wire.

This a Lap Weld Power Min 2 Wire Speed 7.5:

Upper left weld is a Butt Weld Power Min 1 Wire Speed 6, lower right hand weld is a Lap Weld Power Min 2 Wire Speed 7.5:

Plug Weld one in centre is Power Min 1 Wire Speed 6, two on either side are Power Min 2 Wire Speed 7.5:

Butt Weld mix of above settings welds to the far left are at the lower settings. Penetration is a lot better further along using the higher settings, the two blobs towards the right were done after to fill a couple of small blow throughs were the previous weld was slightly above the joggled edge underneath:

My welds were prviously covered in brown soot but before I welded today I noticed that I had been looking at the wrong guage on my old Flow Meter (Think it said CHF) instead of LPM!!! Changed it to 10 LPM and welding looks a lot better.

 

[JonnyAlpha]

Anyone??

 

[Springerdinger]

Hi Jonny
Im far from an expert but your welds are coming along
as you said the soot around the welds will have made things more difficult, hence the splatter and the sinks in the plug welds.
I use 7mm to 8mm holes for my plug welds which allows you to stir the puddle from the middle out
The line of the weld looks a little unsteady (last pic)but that comes with practice and remembering to breath. I get over excited if its going well then lose the plot
Are you using an auto helmet to give two hands free so you can steady the torch.
the videos on the forum show some very nice on off trigger techniques for thin metal work

Fix any blown hole areas as they will be where water or corrosion find a way in. let the welds cool grind them down and fill them in (your first pic)
second pic looks good
I do think once you get the shielding gas flow sorted you will have some nice welds.
once the soot builds up you are welding onto dirty metal so thinks get a bit messy
looking good though keep up the good work

cheers Chris

 

[Springerdinger]

Just wanted to add your plug welds do look good.
in particular the outside two. the middle one has more soot and may have less penetration but will grind flat.

 

[JonnyAlpha]

Hi Jonny
Im far from an expert but your welds are coming along
as you said the soot around the welds will have made things more difficult, hence the splatter and the sinks in the plug welds.
I use 7mm to 8mm holes for my plug welds which allows you to stir the puddle from the middle out
The line of the weld looks a little unsteady (last pic)but that comes with practice and remembering to breath. I get over excited if its going well then lose the plot
Are you using an auto helmet to give two hands free so you can steady the torch.
the videos on the forum show some very nice on off trigger techniques for thin metal work

Fix any blown hole areas as they will be where water or corrosion find a way in. let the welds cool grind them down and fill them in (your first pic)
second pic looks good
I do think once you get the shielding gas flow sorted you will have some nice welds.
once the soot builds up you are welding onto dirty metal so thinks get a bit messy
looking good though keep up the good work

cheers Chris

Chris; thanks for the feedback its greatly appreciated.

You are spot on ref the unsteady bit and yes I too get over excited :-) I need to slow down a tad.

I am using an Auto Darkening Helmet so both hands are on the torch. I did fix the blow holes in the first pic.

Second pic was probably my best welding to date.

Ref the brown soot, does this indicate not enough shielding gas, I have set the Flow Meter to 10 LPM when the torch is pressed but my regulator and flow meter where second hand with the Clarke welder and are really old. When I get the chance I will buy a new regulator setup.

This is the regulator setup:

Cheers

 

[chunkolini]

Try holding the torch in one hand and using the back of your other hand resting on the workpiece as a steady to avoid shakes and going off target.
Like this, though wear gloves.

I have started getting my students to wear a heavy gauntlet on the non torch holing hand a thinner Tig glove to make handling the torch easier.

 

[Springerdinger]

Hi Jonny

re the shielding gas - if your in a draft area you might need to shield the area a bit and or increase the flow on the gas a little - I have to weld outside so generally have flow rate of 12 to 15 lpm depending on the weather

welding cars is different to working on a bench because the breeze can whip through the vehicle in all kinds of weird and wind tunnel like ways so its a case of adapting each situation

 

[octo0072000]

nothing wrong with the regulator or the flow gauge as long as they work
as said you may need to put up a shield if welding out side to stop the wind
blowing the gas away

 

[desmo11225]

Advice on welds

Hi JohnnyAlpha
The trick in all welding is keeping the torch/electrode steady,not easy when starting out but no problem when you get the hang of it.
Wear gloves, and use both hands if you can,keep your elbows close to your body, not waving about like wings, also practice straight runs on scrap, nice long ones 6 inches sorry 100mm , draw a line with scriber or engineers chalk for first run then lean/overlap with the next runs, lay down 5 or 10 runs adjusting your machine several times to get a suitable setting, you'll soon make progress, it's more or less teaching yourself.
Make sure you have rests to allow the red hot metal to cool. Good Luck and persevere
desmo11225

 

[octo0072000]

Hi JohnnyAlpha
The trick in all welding is keeping the torch/electrode steady,not easy when starting out but no problem when you get the hang of it.
Wear gloves, and use both hands if you can,keep your elbows close to your body, not waving about like wings, also practice straight runs on scrap, nice long ones 6 inches sorry 100mm , draw a line with scriber or engineers chalk for first run then lean/overlap with the next runs, lay down 5 or 10 runs adjusting your machine several times to get a suitable setting, you'll soon make progress, it's more or less teaching yourself.
Make sure you have rests to allow the red hot metal to cool. Good Luck and persevere
desmo11225

come on desmo11225 6inch is 153mm so approx 150mm
yes all as said as above apart from desmos measuring
also try you tube loads of info on learning to weld etc on there

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3Qb9I03FCk&html5=1

 

[desmo11225]

Advice on welds

Johnnyalpha
Sorry about the measurement conversion, spotted by octo0072000,I had a tape measure along side me as well, did'nt look.
All the best your next pics will show a big improvement I'm sure.
Desmo11225
.

 

[octo0072000]

Johnnyalpha
Sorry about the measurement conversion, spotted by octo0072000,I had a tape measure along side me as well, did'nt look.
All the best your next pics will show a big improvement I'm sure.
Desmo11225
.

Don't worry we all make mistakes

 

[Bede]

Hi JohnnyAlpha
The trick in all welding is keeping the torch/electrode steady,not easy when starting out but no problem when you get the hang of it.
Wear gloves, and use both hands if you can,keep your elbows close to your body, not waving about like wings, also practice straight runs on scrap, nice long ones 6 inches sorry 100mm , draw a line with scriber or engineers chalk for first run then lean/overlap with the next runs, lay down 5 or 10 runs adjusting your machine several times to get a suitable setting, you'll soon make progress, it's more or less teaching yourself.
Make sure you have rests to allow the red hot metal to cool. Good Luck and persevere
desmo11225

Sorry but this is a myth. A steady hand isn't important at all. Torch angle and consistency of travel speed are important, along with distance of shroud from work. You can waggle the torch about like you have Parkinson's so long as your movement is consistent. Don't get hung up on trying to keep a really steady hand and neglect other more important factors. I have far from a steady hand but weld to a standard good enough to make a living from.

 

[JonnyAlpha]

Thanks for all the advice guys, sadly I wont be back on the welder for 6 months or so, unless I get to practice at work, we do have an engineering dept?