Practice does indeed make perfect.
My first welder and welds. Comments?
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 1,100
Likes: 2
From: Charlotte NC
My first welder and welds. Comments?
I bought a Miller-matic 135 today with the gas shielding kit and everything to do some light welding on my car and around the house. I was using about 15-20 cfm mig mix gas, .024 solid wire, and various wire speeds and temps. Are these welds any good? The parts I welded together sure seem strong, as I beat on them and threw them around trying to break the welds. THey look a little thick, so I think I will try a little slower wire feed tomorrow.
Last edited by corvettecris; Jul 27, 2006 at 08:02 PM.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 1,100
Likes: 2
From: Charlotte NC
Yeah, I am getting some 030 wire tomorrow, but as far as amperage, I think this 135 should be ok. My pro-welder friend says it will handle up to 5/16's w/ solid wire from his experience. He has won many competitions, so I took his word and bought a nice light duty. All I really want to weld on my car are some small repair areas, like the brake line mounts and crossmember rust-hole. I guess we'll see.
Racer
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 487
Likes: 0
From: Jacksonville FL
also looks like you need to try to move the gun allong at more of a constant and steady rate of speed. your welds get fat then skinny then fat again.
they look good though. pratice makes perfect.
keep at it.
they look good though. pratice makes perfect.
keep at it.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 1,100
Likes: 2
From: Charlotte NC
Originally Posted by mdj21
also looks like you need to try to move the gun allong at more of a constant and steady rate of speed. your welds get fat then skinny then fat again.
they look good though. pratice makes perfect.
keep at it.
they look good though. pratice makes perfect.
keep at it.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 8,339
Likes: 24
From: I can walk to MA
Doing great for beginner.
I just bought an auto darkening helmet ... still NIB.
What always hampered me was not seeing before
starting and the dark fixed shield doesn't let you see
too good even with the arc struck.
I just bought an auto darkening helmet ... still NIB.
What always hampered me was not seeing before
starting and the dark fixed shield doesn't let you see
too good even with the arc struck.
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Race Director
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 14,112
Likes: 28
From: Florida
Looks good on flat stock.
Now you are ready to weld pieces together.
That's how you can tell if the strength, penetration and bead is right.
Just stick with the wire you have for now. Most non-pros use too big a wire and can't control it.
Now you are ready to weld pieces together.
That's how you can tell if the strength, penetration and bead is right.
Just stick with the wire you have for now. Most non-pros use too big a wire and can't control it.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,167
Likes: 2
From: Ft.Worth Texas
Not bad at all for starting new. A flatter weld rather than one raised up above the material indicates good penetration. I think slow down a bit. Most beginers move too fast and try to rush the weld. Might use a bit more heat (amps) along with the slower weld. Play with holding the gun at different distances from work. You can see the ***** of metal jump to the weld and it sound like bacon frying when the settings are correct....amps, wire speed, distance to work and hand speed. Hold about a 20 to 30 degree angle from perpendicular to the material Nothing wrong with the .024 wire. Is it copper coated? Are you using a 75/25 mix? You will be welding like a pro in no time with practice. Have fun.
Racer
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 289
Likes: 0
From: Albuquerque NM
To check the welds you need to do a bend test....Take two pieces of plate and grind them at 45* then do a butt weld...regrind the weld flush....cut into strips and bend it in a vise....then you'll the quality of the weld......you can see a cross section and also any slag inclusions,,,and resulting weld failures from the bend...
Larry
Larry
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 4,270
Likes: 20
From: Central Michigan
corvettecris-you mention a mix gas, is this a mix of argon and helium? I have a Lincoln weld-pak that uses a .035 shielded-core(believe that's the right term) and welds look awful, but they hold. Would like to upgrade to gas
BTW your welding looks good, you'll get better with more practice
BTW your welding looks good, you'll get better with more practice
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 232
Likes: 0
From: Henrietta New York
Just a tip...flux core wire is used for outdoor mig welding. Reason, wind will carry away the sheilding gas. Use the sheilding gas and .030 wire indoors. Always weld away(or push the tip away) from you. That puts the gas ahead of the weld.
Race Director
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 16,945
Likes: 9
Try butt welding 2 pieces together and also try a fillet weld and post those. Looks like you have the wire speed set fairly high, might want to set it a little lower and move slower. The 2nd pic has the best weld, the one on the right. When you are welding concentrate on the sides of the puddle, it's kinda hard with the center glowing the brightest but you will see the weld flow into the parent material to get the best penetration. You have to train your eye to properly see it, just feeding the wire into the puddle is easy..just keep it on the leading edge.
If you can get consistent beads that flow nicely into the material then you can try to do some weaving techniques to get some pretty beads like these:
It's not hard to do but you have to be able to see the weld puddle flow into the material like explained above, otherwise you will never get consistant sized "coins" The technique differs but usually it's either a forward/backward motion or a side to side one, it depends on what you're welding. Side to side is usually done on a fillet weld after the root pass when you're building up with several overlapping passes, it allows you to weld in larger open areas with less passes.
If you can get consistent beads that flow nicely into the material then you can try to do some weaving techniques to get some pretty beads like these:
It's not hard to do but you have to be able to see the weld puddle flow into the material like explained above, otherwise you will never get consistant sized "coins" The technique differs but usually it's either a forward/backward motion or a side to side one, it depends on what you're welding. Side to side is usually done on a fillet weld after the root pass when you're building up with several overlapping passes, it allows you to weld in larger open areas with less passes.
Race Director
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 16,945
Likes: 9
I see you actually did make a fillet weld, the one at the very top. See the left of the weld? Looks like you went slower there, and of course the plate was already considerably hotter if you started at the right. Penetration is much much better there, the bead flows nicely into the parent material. On the right you only have fusion no penetration.