Tips please - gasless newbie!

[allstar_07]

I has originally posted in the specific machine section but probably better in here...

(I borrowed a T130p usong gasless 0.8mm wire)

I had a little practice with the gasless wire and thought it was going ok so had a go on the car which happened to be a section of the sill (10cmx5cm). I'd decided to cut the shape out to fit the hole and therefore have a butt joint...in hindsight I probably should have put a patch on from the inside and then just filled it rather than trying to be clever.

Anyway with the power setting on low-high (T130p) and wire speed set to roughly the 9pm poistion i managed to tack it in place and then actualy weld along the top join quite well using the curved zig-zag motion. However when it came to the sides which didn't quite join up so tightly (i.e. 1mm gap say) I ended up just blowing a couple of holes in it (presumably due to the edge being exposed?). I turned the power down to low-med and the wire speed to slowest. This just seemed really underpowered and just spat lumps everywhere. There doesn't seem to be a middle ground so not sure what I could actually do to make it better?! What do people do when theres a gap in the join? Also is there a remedy for filling in the small whole, in the end i used the med power setting untill i got enough crap on there to fill it - but far from ideal!

Should i just stick to overlaps?!


Cheers



edit...I've been reading the tutorials again and its still unclear to me how to weld the lap joint. I understand you angle the tip towards the edge of the top piece as in the picture in the tips section but would you just run along the join or use a zig-zag over the two pieces?

 

[richard s]

you did the same as me have a little practice then think i can do that no probs then ballsed it up
i have just switched to 0.6mm wire with argon/co2 gas and found it better (but still need to practice for a good while i think)
as for the hole blowing i build a lip up then try and start to go round in a circle till it builds up
its amazing how different it becomes when your on your side trying to see and cant get in properly

 

[allstar_07]

It was going ok where they butted up nicely but everywhere else was hard work! Just couldn't get an inbetween setting to be able to do it. Is there a set method for welding across gaps?

 

[Shifty]

I am quite new to welding, so certainly no expert, but what little experience I do have has been welding car panels in recent weeks!

To work around a temporary lack of skill, I found it best to use a patch that is slightly thicker than the actual car panel (to reduce chances of blowing through) and to start the weld on the thicker metal so that it flows toward the thinner car panel.

I blew a couple of holes here and there but have been able to (a) fill those holes and (b) generally stop making more!

This is probably not the CORRECT way to do things however it has certainly worked for me as a rank amateur. Have just signed on and hope to learn a lot in a short period of time so that my practice time can be well used!