New mig student, first fillet weld :)

[Joel jacobsen]

hi ive just started a level 2 nvq in welding at my local college, had my first lesson on tuesday and loved it!

Heres a pic of my first ever go at welding



Please give me your opinions of were im going right were im going wrong ect and dont be kind im here to learn

 

[Jan]

What's the thickness of the metal? It looks fairly thick (<5mm?) in the pic. The weld appears to be more on top of the material so may not have fully penetrated. What does it look like from the other side?
Otherwise it seems like a very good start!

 

[Joel jacobsen]

Thanks for the feedback, to my memory i think the instructor said its 6mm thick,

Also how would i get more penetration? I asked the welder were i work an he said lube Haha

Thanks,
Joel

 

[J.B. Welding]

I recon you have been spoiled with some sweet welding gear to have that as your first run!! looks like around 250amps but I could be wrong. To get more penetration crank up the voltage a bit and try to see how much you burn into the parent metal before the wire melts in and fills up the crater again, rather than just laying the weld on top.
Not bad and it is certainly at high agricultural level, bit to go till you reach atomic heights yet though!

 

[Joel jacobsen]

Haha cheers mate, its actaully done with the welder in college i dont own one myself yet, not sure what amps just know its big and blue haha, ill try a bit more voltage when i have my next class on tuesday and poat back with results. Thanks again for the advice its much appreciated,

You may also notice my first mistake, left my pliers on the just been welded metal whilst i grabbed my phone for the picture haha oops!

Joel.

 

[Wallace]

You may also notice my first mistake, left my pliers on the just been welded metal whilst i grabbed my phone for the picture haha oops!

Most people just go for a moderate burning of the fingers with their first welding session!

 

[Richard.]

I recon you have been spoiled with some sweet welding gear to have that as your first run!! looks like around 250amps but I could be wrong. To get more penetration crank up the voltage a bit and try to see how much you burn into the parent metal before the wire melts in and fills up the crater again, rather than just laying the weld on top.
Not bad and it is certainly at high agricultural level, bit to go till you reach atomic heights yet though!

Wire feed for penitration.

 

[J.B. Welding]

Wire feed for penitration.

So you mean reduce the wire speed? That would work too, but an increase in voltage at the same wire speed will get a 'deeper' puddle. THB when you go full pen. in 6mm+ the distortion can get really nasty due to the heat needed, best to prep with a grinder and build up again with a couple of runs.

 

[Richard.]

I mean increase the wire speed for more penetration. Voltage increase won't increase penetration it will increase the width by spreading the bead.

 

[J.B. Welding]

I guess it depends how much power is ultimately available, if I'm looking for a good weld in 6+mm I tend to set up to spray the weld, which is when you can see the crater(sp?) i mentioned. It's interesting to note how similar welds can be created with different settings just by adjusting travel speed.

 

[Joel jacobsen]

Cheers for the info, ill try a few fillet welds with different settings on tuesday and ask my instructor whats the best, ill also post some more pictures on here for a 2nd opinion

Thanks again for the advice,

Joel.

 

[Jan]

What's the name of your instructor? Jack Dee? He sounds more like a comedian than a welding instructor. IMHO he should have started by giving you (all) a quick overview on the aspects of the equipment. Especially regarding setting it up for the various welding materials you'll be working on. Until you have a good grasp on voltage, amperage, wire diameter, shielding gas flow, travel speed, wire feed, etc then you're guessing whether the welds are strong enough for the job at hand!
Most machines have a handy guide printed inside the machine cover, but the settings are not perfect, but just a start around which you can vary to get better penetration into the metals. He should also be encouraging you to try and break your test welds or cut them open to examine how well you are progressing.

 

[Kent]

I have to side a little with Jan here, to learn you have to understand. Also can anyone tell me why so many 1. jump straight into joints ? 2. put in stops on what should be continuous?

Your bead looks neat but this is only 25% of producing a weld in MIG that's notorious for putting in tidy looking welds that just plain give up

 

[Joel jacobsen]

Hi,
Basically because i started a week after everyone else i missed the induction but because theres 3 more guys startin on tuesday he just said he will setup the machine an ill just jump straight into it for the first lesson an then he will give all four of us our induction on tuesday. I myself thought it was strange that i was threw straight into doing fillet welds and lap joints when i had never even held a torch before but i just went with it, im assuming he will tell us all about voltage, wire feed speed, metal thickness ect on tuesday.

Joel.

 

[Joel jacobsen]

I have to side a little with Jan here, to learn you have to understand. Also can anyone tell me why so many 1. jump straight into joints ? 2. put in stops on what should be continuous?

Your bead looks neat but this is only 25% of producing a weld in MIG that's notorious for putting in tidy looking welds that just plain give up

Hi and thanks for the reply, i was doing the stops throughout the fillet weld to check the different torch angles ect see what worked best but like youse have said if i dont know what to look for then its a pointless task

Joel.

 

[Kent]

Hi and thanks for the reply, i was doing the stops throughout the fillet weld to check the different torch angles ect see what worked best but like youse have said if i dont know what to look for then its a pointless task

Joel.

Joel,
the idea is to keep your eyes on the puddle, the wire needs to feed into the leading edge were it will cut in best and you can then see when your getting correct penetration (well you can to a degree). the most heat is were the arc is pointing directly at so in say a T fillet weld you should be going toe, corner, toe in sequence. If you don't do this you can still get pretty looking welds but there will be areas lacking in penetration ie pointing directly into the corner only will tend to give you cold toes ( effectively the outer edges of the bead). Remember your are trying to permanently fix the sections together not just get a pretty bead.

 

[Richard.]

Toe corner toe. Are you suggesting he weaves. I personally would not weave on the joint in question at all I rarely ever do it. I would say straight runs without stopping and starting (assess complete run when finished) if you want a bigger leg length multi run. Hot wide weaves = low notch toughness.

 

[Joel jacobsen]

Thanks for the advice guys i could really do with all the help i can get so i can make the most of the 3 hours a week im practicing, it really is much appreciated. So basically im aiming the wire on a 45 degree angle pointing directly were the 2 peices of metal meet and keeping to the front of the puddle?

Thanks once again,

Joel.

 

[Richard.]

What's your conditions with that last weld mate.

 

[Joel jacobsen]

What's your conditions with that last weld mate.

Hi
Sorry what do you mean by conditions?

Joel