Hi again everyone my gauge adapter arrived from Steve today and I actually used the welder, my wife was of the impression that it was only for fiddling with and throwing money at, well I showed her (LOL). After much fiddling and messing about I managed to change the wire on my welder from 0.8 to 0.6 and laid a couple of runs on a couple of bits of scrap believe me it was much easier with 0.6 I haven't shown the attempts with 0.8 it was horrible, but one thing that I did find that might be useful advice to someone is that I wear glasses and they happen to be reactolite and I was having great difficulty seeing where I was going I could see the arc but nothing around it, I tried without glasses and won't say it was clear but definitely better and with more practice I might actually produce something to be proud of anyway here is 2 pics front and rear opinions please. Thanks Chris
- Thread starter chrisf1
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backpurge
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A tip regarding the glasses, sometimes you get a bit of distortion between the welding screen lense and the lenses in your glasses, You can get magnifying lenses in various strengths that you attach to the inside of your welding screen, I have found these make life a lot easier
Re your welding, the key is to get comfortable, make sure you can see exactly what is happening with the welding wire and weld pool and move the torch with a smooth, consistent travel speed. You would be better off getting hold of some thicker material to practice on first.
Looking at what you've done, you've managed to lay a bead of weld, you could do with travelling a little bit faster at a consistent rate but keep at it, it will all fall into place
Re your welding, the key is to get comfortable, make sure you can see exactly what is happening with the welding wire and weld pool and move the torch with a smooth, consistent travel speed. You would be better off getting hold of some thicker material to practice on first.
Looking at what you've done, you've managed to lay a bead of weld, you could do with travelling a little bit faster at a consistent rate but keep at it, it will all fall into place
daf45
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Hi Chris - Funny post. Not bad for a first attempt. If I were you I would try and get some thicker scrap to practice on at first. It's much less likely to blow through, then when you have the hang of it and get a feel for whats happening you can move on to thinner sheet.
Looks like you are doing continuous runs - try pulsing the trigger and 'stitching' if you stick with the thinner stuff. Its a mixture of power setting, wire feed, gas and the speed you travel with the torch.
Watch the tutorials and practice and practice more. Cant help re the glasses but a decent auto mask certainly helps you see whats happening.
Looks like you are doing continuous runs - try pulsing the trigger and 'stitching' if you stick with the thinner stuff. Its a mixture of power setting, wire feed, gas and the speed you travel with the torch.
Watch the tutorials and practice and practice more. Cant help re the glasses but a decent auto mask certainly helps you see whats happening.
KMpuggy
Not got a clue
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Ive been doing the same today, on mild steel, ran out of metal and got fed up with the fumes. I couldnt work out why it was just bubbling up on the surface at first, might help if i swtiched the gas on. 
Using 0.8mm wire, i might get a roll of 0.6 and see if thats easier, i was getting there in the end after tinkering with the wire speed and voltage settings. I agree some thicker metal would be easier to practice, i will if i can pick up some scrap metal 2moro from somewhere.
Using 0.8mm wire, i might get a roll of 0.6 and see if thats easier, i was getting there in the end after tinkering with the wire speed and voltage settings. I agree some thicker metal would be easier to practice, i will if i can pick up some scrap metal 2moro from somewhere.
pedrobedro
Man at Matalan
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I bought a pair of magnifying glasses for £2, the cheap readers they sell in many shops, for working on close up stuff in the shed so I don't spoil my indoor readers from the optician with weld spatter and swarf. I found a 1.5 was perfect under the helmet.
