GaryWatson
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Hey guys! I'm relatively new to welding and therefore would really appreciate any advice on how I can improve prior to going to college. Please don't be too harsh, constructive criticism is all I'm wanting.
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GaryWatson
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Okay, great. I did wonder whether I was angling the torch too much. Will this effect the strength of the weld?
GaryWatson
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How should I cut it? By that I mean where/at what angle?
GaryWatson
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Thanks for the advice, mate. I'll cut the plate tomorrow when I'm at work again and try to see whether or not I'm getting enough penetration. Any other advice or am I looking okay other than torch angle?
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As Shenion says, torch angle looks a bit low.
The weld also looks slightly cold to me.
Not bad though.
If you cut say a 50mm piece out, stick it in the vice, and batter it to hell with a hammer. The plate should bend/distort without the weld breaking. Bit of a rough way of testing but it will give you a good idea as to wether your welds are any good
The weld also looks slightly cold to me.
Not bad though.
If you cut say a 50mm piece out, stick it in the vice, and batter it to hell with a hammer. The plate should bend/distort without the weld breaking. Bit of a rough way of testing but it will give you a good idea as to wether your welds are any good
GaryWatson
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Hey Paul, thanks for the advice. I'll keep practising and shall start testing my welds by cutting and bashing with a hammer. Any other advice? All tips appreciated.
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GaryWatson
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Haha! I intend to emigrate to Australia once I've got some welding qualifications and a bit more experience so fortunately I'll not be around much yellow snow. Again, thanks a lot for the advice. I'll keep practising and will upload regular pics of my progress. How long would you say I will need to train to be a very good MIG welder.
GaryWatson
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Argh, damn it! That last upload was a video but it doesn't seem to play on here. Probably hard to critique me now, right?
GaryWatson
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Here's a couple of better close up shots of a weld I produced today that has also been cut sawed at both ends in an attempt to check for penetration, although I haven't the foggiest what I'm supposed to be seeing?
GaryWatson
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Ahh, I don't have any acid. I'm guessing the only other way to test it is to beat the crap out of it?
Here is a sample I did a long time ago which should give you an idea what to look for, the lighter grained area at the base of the fillet on both sides shows the fusion, the left side has a little bit of darker penetration at the top which was from not removing all the Hydrochloric acid properly which rusted a bit, anyway you can see where the arc and filler has melted in to the two pieces of metal.
The second image is when I bashed the metal over, it is 6mm plate welded on one side only and using 0.6mm wire at about 125Amp probably at about 25V (I think, it too was done a long time ago), and no cracks appeared.
Hope this helps.
Cheers
Ed.
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Good ? As in stand on your head and run 7018 uphand and diagonal whilst half in the bag ? About 15 months and 3 days, full time.
GaryWatson
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Cheers Ed, those pics are exactly what I've been needing to see.
Thanks to you too, Blammo. I know you've guessed a rough timescale but thankfully I've got around 18 months before emigrating, possibly more. I will be starting college in January and should have my Level 1 and 2 done by the end of April. I also work in a factory where welding is done everyday and can easily get trained up during breaks or on weekends.
Thanks to you too, Blammo. I know you've guessed a rough timescale but thankfully I've got around 18 months before emigrating, possibly more. I will be starting college in January and should have my Level 1 and 2 done by the end of April. I also work in a factory where welding is done everyday and can easily get trained up during breaks or on weekends.
GaryWatson
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By the way, that weld I can see on your second picture looks great, Ed. I know that doesn't mean much but I'd love to be knocking welds out like that. And hopefully I will be one day.
Thank you, as for you laying beads like that
, well you have 18 months by the sounds of it. Incidentally, your welds in your above posts don't look too bad, in my opinion they are too small for the thickness of plate and too cold for my liking, (I think you need more voltage), but overall not too bad! and it also depends on your machine and the gas you are using. I think you will enjoy Australia, but that would also depend where you get a job, there is a lot of very bleak empty remote isolated spaces in Oz which by the way are also the areas where there is a fair amount of welding work. I spent a bit of time in those areas and couldn't get out of there fast enough. I would describe those areas as being the "A...holes of the universe", if you get my drift! So don't be put off with the rest of Oz if you do land a job in one of them, you can always do your time there and then move back to civilization elsewhere.
The cities are good and the majority of the people are fairly laid back and easy going. At least here in Oz, if you don't like an area you can move, being such a large continent, we have all the different environments from the humid and hot tropics to the very cold and snow. I personally prefer the east coast over the west coast. All the best.
Cheers
Ed.
