BirdmanJohn
Member
- Messages
- 58
- Location
- Sussex
Ok, I have a few projects in mind that need the ability to weld. Nothing large scale, maybe some car body stuff, maybe some projects up to 3 mm or so, a propane cannister stove is one idea i'd like to replicate. Anyway, I digress ...
I didn't want to take a punt on expensive gear to start, just something cheap that would weld and I can learn on. So £157 later plus a few wire reels, auto tinting visor, angle grinder etc I have a 'Wolfmig 140x'. Cheap tat I've no doubt but it's good enough for me for now.
First attempts on low power (setting 2 of 6) produced a lot of spatter as I tried to remember what I'd read here and watched on YouTube. I tried to run a few beads across the surface of some 2 mm steel scraps in between turning up the power to 4 and reducing the wire speed. Then I found a couple of edges clear of splatter and managed to weld the contorted pieces together over the length of about an inch and a half. A pretty horrible and messy weld but it was solid!
It was then i realized that I had the wrong wire in! After it turned up mid week I had put it all together and just fitted any old wire roll to test the feed mechanism. Needless to say it had flux wire in it and I was trying to gas weld (80/20 argon/co2 mix) So I changed this and also realized that the gas regulator was not turned on enough so I adjusted that until I could hear the whoosh as the trigger is pressed. In spite of these noob errors it had welded two pieced together so I felt like I had a setting that might actually be a base to start from.
So, I cut a bit more of this 2 mm steel into 4 bits and figured id try putting them back together. Got the copper coated wire in (0.8mm) checked the settings were as before and went for my first ever welds!!
Here are a couple of pictures ... it's maybe 8 or 10 short welds in total. I'm also uploading an unedited 20 minute video of the whole process to youtube as I type this, so if anyway wants a laugh at my crap welding and ramblings as I try to work out is going on I will post a link when it's finished uploading (might be an hour or two though till its done though)
Kinda felt like I made some progress but I clearly have a lot to learn about feeling the perfect settings and understanding the welds themselves and what they can tell me.
So .. over to you guys ... any feedback is welcomed, I'm here to learn and have fun, thanks in advance for any useful comments hints etc etc. The side without the blue discoloration is the side I finished second. The welds seemed better but I could see some copper flecks in them and overall it seemed like there was too much material being laid down and maybe not enough penetration? I don't know, looking forward to your opinions. Thanks in advance and apologies the the later video which is really poor. If you just watch from 20 - 22 minutes you'll get the best views of the welds the rest was in and out of focus. Haha
Cheers, John
I didn't want to take a punt on expensive gear to start, just something cheap that would weld and I can learn on. So £157 later plus a few wire reels, auto tinting visor, angle grinder etc I have a 'Wolfmig 140x'. Cheap tat I've no doubt but it's good enough for me for now.
First attempts on low power (setting 2 of 6) produced a lot of spatter as I tried to remember what I'd read here and watched on YouTube. I tried to run a few beads across the surface of some 2 mm steel scraps in between turning up the power to 4 and reducing the wire speed. Then I found a couple of edges clear of splatter and managed to weld the contorted pieces together over the length of about an inch and a half. A pretty horrible and messy weld but it was solid!
It was then i realized that I had the wrong wire in! After it turned up mid week I had put it all together and just fitted any old wire roll to test the feed mechanism. Needless to say it had flux wire in it and I was trying to gas weld (80/20 argon/co2 mix) So I changed this and also realized that the gas regulator was not turned on enough so I adjusted that until I could hear the whoosh as the trigger is pressed. In spite of these noob errors it had welded two pieced together so I felt like I had a setting that might actually be a base to start from.
So, I cut a bit more of this 2 mm steel into 4 bits and figured id try putting them back together. Got the copper coated wire in (0.8mm) checked the settings were as before and went for my first ever welds!!
Here are a couple of pictures ... it's maybe 8 or 10 short welds in total. I'm also uploading an unedited 20 minute video of the whole process to youtube as I type this, so if anyway wants a laugh at my crap welding and ramblings as I try to work out is going on I will post a link when it's finished uploading (might be an hour or two though till its done though)
Kinda felt like I made some progress but I clearly have a lot to learn about feeling the perfect settings and understanding the welds themselves and what they can tell me.
So .. over to you guys ... any feedback is welcomed, I'm here to learn and have fun, thanks in advance for any useful comments hints etc etc. The side without the blue discoloration is the side I finished second. The welds seemed better but I could see some copper flecks in them and overall it seemed like there was too much material being laid down and maybe not enough penetration? I don't know, looking forward to your opinions. Thanks in advance and apologies the the later video which is really poor. If you just watch from 20 - 22 minutes you'll get the best views of the welds the rest was in and out of focus. Haha
Cheers, John