i just got a job as a sheet metal working and heard that its easier to stay employed if ur a welder so i bought an arc welder whats the best metal to practice arc weld with
like Lexi said mild steel the easiest to weld but you might be better with something thicker than 3mm until you get used to it nothing as annoying as blowing holes while you're learning. There is a pile of information on which rods to use here but forum but if you're not sure just ask or if you're having problems just post a few pictures and you will get loads of help. best of luck with the new career
Nah, mild steel. Get some 6" x 6" squares of 1/4" mild steel and play around making all sorts of shapes with different angles, inside/outside fillet, butt, lap, T, etc.
What sort of arc welder did you get? Make/model? I bought my little Oxford 110A from a retiring sheet metal worker. Get some 6013 rods (Oerlikon and MUREX are good makes).
Keep it small, keep it clean, keep it simple. Then go through the three P's:
- practice
- practice
- practice
And after each weld stop and have a little think about why the metal and weld did what it did.
One technique definitely worth getting right is tacking - small blobs of weld to hold things in place before you go over and fill in. The art is in minimising the number of tacks to maximise the support and prevent distortion while welding.
Right, transformer AC welder ("buzz-box" I think you call them). From what I can find on the net not a low-amp machine (I gather the lowest is about 50A). So 1/4" is ideal to start on and get a feel for the arc.
For arc welding sheet metal then for the thinner stuff you need a higher open-circuit voltage. My little Oxford goes down to 20A on the 80V range and I have welded 1mm steel panel with a 1.6mm rod.
Or go to an inverter welder with the usual collection of hot-start, arc-force and anti-stick functions.
i was taught on an oil cooled welder( look on ebay, PICKHILL, oxford, cytrian ) 1/4'' plates of mild steel, about 6'' long 2'' wide. 3.2mm rods (general purpose) and about 120 amps. if you can get 120 from the box try it. but the duty cycle of oil is massive. even with us sticking them and burning the rods they just keep going (air cooled overheat and click out, its just annoying waiting for them to cool down).if this happens get 2.5 rods and use about 90 amps, all at 50 volts( unless stated on the packet). if its sheet metal youll probably mig it but get a feel for the stick, it will teach you a whole load of angles etc. bought one 220 amp for £90 a year back, never looked back. i love arc (mma).pickhill giants my favourite 20-220amp. tommorrow the migs gonna feel left out cos i got something heavy to do!!