Newbie about to start welding

[Armyspecial]

Hi Guys,

Really gonna need your help.....i hope your patient?

Just bought a Clarke 230TE, wired it in and am ready to go.

I'm restoring a WW2 Jeep which is built using 1.5mm to 2.5mm steel.

My first few pratice welds spat molten metal over my workshop. Is this normal??

Welds look a bit like a Volcano....its not going very well

I had the power setting on 5 and wire speed of 7.

Any tips to get me started please?

Thanks

Richard

 

[shenion]

What wire size, type and gas used?

Go though the tutorials on some 2-3mm scrap to practice on.

 

[cumbriasteve]

Photos of your welds will help others to advise easier, can usually see whats happening.

 

[Robotstar5]

Have you had a look at the welding tutorials?

 

[Armyspecial]

Yes, had a look at the Tutorials.

I'm using 0.8 wire with Couger 5 (Argon/co2) gas.

Here are my first attempt welds

http://i602.photobucket.com/albums/tt101/armyspecial/welds004-1.jpg

 

[Armyspecial]

 

[cumbriasteve]

Wire speed a bit fast perhaps
Did you clean the steel up well?
and one area looks like there was a gas flow or contamination issue, should be set at 10 litres/min and at that you should feel a very slight breeze on your skin.
Is it a new machine with rust free wire?
Some of the tacks are ok and one section of the run is not bad although slightly high

 

[Armyspecial]

Thanks Steve.

So i'm not a million miles away then?

Its not a new machine, but the reel of wire is brand new as i bought this seperately.

Steel was clean.

To be honest, as far as the gas is concerned, i have just turned the regulator on so it reads about midway on the gauge. Is there a specific or ideal setting, or is it just a case of feel on your skin as you described?

It tends to "stutter" a bit when i first start a weld, then after a second or so its ok?

Richard

 

[keith19]

As Steve said, the standard gas flow should be around 10 litres per minute. Take a look at your output gauge and check this.
It does look like there is still a bit of a problem with gas, on the curved part of the weld that looks like coke.
Could it be you're working in a draughty place? Strong gusts of draught blowing across while you are welding would have that effect.

Re the 'stutter' when starting an arc, this is quite common in smaller welders until the arc is established. It's generally because they have to build up to it (in fractions of a second) rather than have a 'hot start' like many Pro welders.
It can also happen if you start with the torch a bit too far away from the job, and the arc finds it difficult to get established. You instinctively move the torch a bit closer, and the arc becomes steady.
Some welders keep a bit of scrap metal handy, and bring it close to the job, so you can strike and establish an arc on that before moving across to your job.
If you have a small ball left on the end of the wire from the previous time you welded, this too can make it more difficult to start the arc. Always best to clip these off for a good start.

 

[Armyspecial]

Ok, thanks all.

I have some more 2mm scraps from my local sheetmetal company and will try a few welds over the next few days based on the info you have given me.

I will post the results shortly.

Thanks

Richard

 

[cumbriasteve]

When you get your new steel make sure you remove the scale off the surface, even though it may look clean you will notice a difference if you polish it up with a flap wheel or grinding disc to get through the scale to the 'pure' metal.

Get as comfortable as you can, supporting your welding arm and have a light shining on your work to aid visibility, try to keep your torch about 10 degress off vertical.

Run some 4" welds one below the other, noting the settings for each weld..power and wire feed, you will soon see and hear what is about right...then its just practice away.

If you have not already got one, get an auto darkening helmet, they make learning so much easier and even the £25 cheapies are ok.

 

[Armyspecial]

Hi Guys,

Here follows last nights results.

The first two rows were done on a power setting of 5 and wire speed of 7 and i got the occasional blow through. The third and fourth row were at 4 and 6, a bit better?

Pic 1 is from the top and pic 2 from underneath.

Comments please?

Thanks

Richard

 

[Armyspecial]

 

[Armyspecial]

 

[cumbriasteve]

A world of difference from your opening pictures and some very nice runs there, you can easily identify the high bead one's that had insufficient power and the over flat one's that had a little too much.
It does not take long to realise right away if your settings are correct and 'blow throughs' are part of the learning curve.

 

[Armyspecial]

Thanks Steve, and thanks for the tip on the new steel. I will clean the rest before i pratice some more.

I did buy an auto helmet and its very good.

It seems constant speed is key? You will see from the last row of beads where i have started slow and got quicker (high to low). I suppose its a case of pratice makes perfect?

I have a 2mm bracket to weld to the chassis on my project. Based on the welds i'm producing do you think i'm safe to go "live"?

Thanks

Richard

 

[Lawnmowerboy]

i would have thought you if you practice actually fixing bits of metal together at oddd angles youre not far off i know this sounds daft but try clamping it in the vice and kneeling on the floor and welding it - get used to it if youre into doing up rusty cars!

 

[Lawnmowerboy]

also the metal youre welding at the moment will be much easier than a 60 year old jeep!

 

[Armyspecial]

Hi Lawnmowerboy,

Yep, appreciate that, but the areas i'm working on first are Chassis parts that are of a similar thickness to the test metal sheets, so this should hopefully give me plenty of pratice before i tackle the body work which is nearer 1.5mm.

I'm going to continue running beads until i get them pretty consistant, then i have some old angle brackets that i will weld onto the sheets and see how that goes.

I do have a couple of tricky butt joints to do, but i will leave those for a couple of weeks.

I need to fill some drilled holes, approx 10mm in diameter. Whats the trick to doing this successfully?

Thanks

Richard

 

[cumbriasteve]

Weld some brackets onto your practice steel and batter hell out of it with a sodding big hammer, that is the scientific way to tell if you have a strong weld.

Holes are not as hard as you would think, start the weld and stop as soon as it seems to be getting a bit too hot, let the area cool down and do the same, the final weld should be in a circular motion to blend them all and left in the middle just a little bit longer to avoid leaving a crater.