Newbie

[Kernite]

New to welding and have learnt a lot from reading all the threads on this site and having spent the evening practicing, now understand why people show their welds. (or in my case why I am not going to show them). However I'm now getting a reasonable bead and penetration using just flat plate and feel I understand the the effects of speed,current and forgetting to switch on the gas Have now progressed to butt joints. I have 4 issues:

1. I have a standard helmet and find everything a bit dark so my starting point can be a little random. Should I floodlight the area more or bite the bullet and buy a self darkening helmet - if the latter can someone suggest a reasonable value helmet.
2. Linked to the above I find that when welding I can miss my line, so if welding along a joint I wander off line which is a problem - any tips or trick on how to avoid this? I did a great butt joint last night only to find my weld ran along the side of the joint. Maybe I should keep my glasses on.
3. At the the end of my run and when reaching the edge of the plate I blow a hole - should I reduce the current or increase the speed that I am moving along the joint when I get to the edge of the metal sheet.
4. What do I use to grind the welds flat. Tried one of my flap wheels and gave it a nice polish but little else.

One reason I have taken a while to start welding has been sourcing gas - again this site has been a great resource but I found no independents in the Guildford area (home of BOC) and I did not want to pay an annual rental for the small amount of welding I will do. Anyway a company has just set up selling Albee - which seems a good compromise between the disposables and big bottles. Not sure whether I can advertise the company here ( based between Guildford and Woking) but have asked the moderators to add them to the list and if sent a pm I will send the link. Or they can be picked up from the Albee website

Thanks for any advice.

Jonathan

 

[bobh]

Hi Jon I only weld on very few occasions, but I bought on of the siflite auto darkening helmets from weldequip, what a difference it makes. Well worth it even for the small amount of welding I do, I can see the start point and as soon as the arc stops you can exactly what you have just done.

as for grinding I use a normal grinding disc, although I see on here some also use the air/electric file sanders.

oh and weldequip's delivery was quick.

Bob

 

[schnappi]

1. I have a standard helmet and find everything a bit dark so my starting point can be a little random. Should I floodlight the area more or bite the bullet and buy a self darkening helmet - if the latter can someone suggest a reasonable value helmet.

Definitely buy an auto darkening helmet. The ones that come with the welder are far too dark. If you can't see it, you can't weld it. A £40 Draper 08166 Solar-Powered Auto Varioshade does me fine. I'm not saying it's the best but it's cheap, it works and I've been very happy with mine.

2. Linked to the above I find that when welding I can miss my line, so if welding along a joint I wander off line which is a problem - any tips or trick on how to avoid this? I did a great butt joint last night only to find my weld ran along the side of the joint. Maybe I should keep my glasses on.

Get an auto darkening helmet. If you still can't see, put a light on the job (I find eco-bulbs great as they don't trigger the auto shield). Failing that, get closer to the job. :-)

3. At the the end of my run and when reaching the edge of the plate I blow a hole - should I reduce the current or increase the speed that I am moving along the joint when I get to the edge of the metal sheet.

Use a copper backing strip at the edge of the plate. Start on the copper backing strip and weld onto the plate. The weld won't stick to the copper and the copper will act as a heat sink to stop you burning away the edge. When you're done, just grind off the excess at the edge.

4. What do I use to grind the welds flat. Tried one of my flap wheels and gave it a nice polish but little else.

Use a grinding disc in an angle grinder to take the very top off the bead and then switch to a 40-grit zirconium flap disc in an angle grinder to take the weld down flush to the plate.