my own techniques..

[God mode restorations]

hi all..well i had a few hours to experiment with the mig to day..practise makes perfect as they say...i have looked at many different techniques of mig welding..as much as i like the stack of dimes look..i have slowly been perfecting my own style that one is comfortable with...the pic below is a quick weld i did this afternoon to the best of my ability....its not a stack but the bead uniform looks good and penetration looks goot to...all be it i have not cut it open yet......

 

[the snooper]

the stack of dimes as you put is not the best way to weld, a continuous bead will give better penetration

 

[Steve Gray]

Looking good mate, wish I had as much spare material and time as you do lol

 

[God mode restorations]

lol..i dont get as much time as i would like...but every oppertunity i do get i will spend that time frying the shed to bits......i get the material from a couple of local fabrication firms hear in good ol colchester...i get off cuts of box..plate ect and put a few quids in the tea pot....i do get tucked up from time to time lol....i wait until there busy and go in and ask for all sorts of different size bits and they get the hump....so i raid the off cuts pile and bingo...haha..i had to pay 35 quid other day for a meter by meter 3mm sheet of mild steel.....he would not take a score for it...

 

[God mode restorations]

Looking good mate, wish I had as much spare material and time as you do lol

how is ya welding corse going....

 

[BrokenBiker]

to be honest for anything that you want to stay stuck together i would avoid intentionally trying to get a stack of dimes and focus more on penetration and good weld characteristics.

if you want a stack of dimes learn to tig weld, that way you get the 'perfect' looking weld and good penetration.

if you manage to mig a stack of dimes whilst aiming for penetration, even better but if you start trying to do it, penetration and fusion will go out the window

 

[God mode restorations]

i do agree with what you are saying...and i am almost there with my own technique i think....i will not takle my project until i am totally happy with look and penetration.....i have got a tig kit on the way for my arc inverter...looking forward to that...but i am saving for an ac/dc tig machine at 1800 pound....but no quite there yet....

 

[Welderpaul]

As others have said, don't fiddle about trying to get some fancy look to the weld, just practice/concentrate on getting travel speed/power/penetration right, and keeping the bead a consistent width. That's much more important.

Be careful on the corners, your welds are just touching each other that creates a weak point and an area from which stress cracks can propagate from. (Maybe not critical on your application, but very important on highly stressed elements, and is good practice anyway)

 

[God mode restorations]

ok cool and thankyou....i do loads of test welds just to dial in on bead uniform..penetration...got my speed and gun angle going nice now..and will do more on the corners now i am getting a steady flow with things...

 

[BrokenBiker]

with regards to corners, i tack o. The corners, then weld from the middle of one side, around the corner and to the middle of the next side. No stress risers at the corner and plenty of space to grind the end of the weld back and light up with time for the puddle to get hot by the time it hits fresh metal

 

[God mode restorations]

i did try this but cant seam to get the bead flowing around the corner..but i will practice a lot more on my corners...its the gun angle that drifts off line as i go around..

 

[Steve Gray]

how is ya welding corse going....

Going good thanks, can't wait to get back to do some practical! !

 

[BrokenBiker]

i did try this but cant seam to get the bead flowing around the corner..but i will practice a lot more on my corners...its the gun angle that drifts off line as i go around..

do a few dry runs, machine switched off with a bit of stick out and just drag the wire around the weld. slow down ever so slightly as you enter the corner, then speed up back to normal when you get out of it.

it helps if you position it on the flat so the corner is pointing towards your body so you are welding in a 'v' shape. start one side, weld down to the corner, round it then weld back up to the end point the other side. granted this does mean pulling towards you then pushing away but its only practice to get the technique right

 

[God mode restorations]

will have a got tomorrow or weekend...sounds good....