I am pretty happy with my first few welds I have made. All my welds are coming out OK. Biggest problem I find is seeing where to start the weld through my helmet.
I found the setting that works well for the thickness of material I am doing but I am wondering how to tell a really good weld from a bad one and what signs I should be looking for. I am not talking about obviously bad welds I can pick those out.
Why I ask is that I did find one website - Clarke welders I think - that showed a comparison of welds but the pictures were too poor to really see much difference. How do I know if a weld has penetrated satisfactorily? How much difference in strength is there between an OK weld and a really good one?
How does the weld affect the strength of the material next to the weld? Does the heat strengthen it or weaken it?
I found the setting that works well for the thickness of material I am doing but I am wondering how to tell a really good weld from a bad one and what signs I should be looking for. I am not talking about obviously bad welds I can pick those out.
Why I ask is that I did find one website - Clarke welders I think - that showed a comparison of welds but the pictures were too poor to really see much difference. How do I know if a weld has penetrated satisfactorily? How much difference in strength is there between an OK weld and a really good one?
How does the weld affect the strength of the material next to the weld? Does the heat strengthen it or weaken it?