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I posted this in my member thread, but wanted some general feedback from the OL crew.........
For the 1st time ever yesterday I was given the opportunity to try welding
Bit scary at first as i had no idea what to do Sounds a bit weird for most you guys that weld a fair bit, but for a guy with little mechanical aptitude it was a big step
Anyway, I got to lay some beads down (see, already got the lingo down pat ) on the floor pan of the buggy
not to bad for a beginner your main problem in the fillets looks to be overoll witch is the big lumpy bit in the bottom part if the weld, this can be corrected a fair bit by turning the wire speed down a little and there is also some undercut in the top toe of the weld this could be caused by holding the gun on the wrong angle you just need to lower the angle a little to help correct it .
also after a second look it seems to be running a little cold too
and always remember its better to run hot and look crap than run cold and look good. as you get more practice you will be able to run it hotter than you thought was possible
no penetration on one side of the steel. you need to focus on the whirlpool when welding to make sure that BOTH sides of the metal are melting together as you can see on most of your welds that the heat is directed to only one side of the job.
Practice on something else rather than the job would be my advice... til you get it right then go for it.
custom bar work, 4x4 parts, trailers, anything out of steel/alloy :D
I tend to agree, particularly with Daisy, and think that the weld will probably break.
I tend to think that every man and his dog has a different technique in welding, and I know how I weld is different to the next fella at work. I can tell you what I would do there, knowing that others do it differently and successfully. First I like to run a lot of heat into the job and get good penetration. I then weave a broad weld into the job over both pieces, by laying the gun over and pointing it at the bottom pience laying the lower part of the weld and then bringing the tip up onto the upper piece of the job, working your way along. Don't go too hot for the material otherwise you will blow through the job or produce undercuts into the job, the weld should flow smoothly onto the job surface.
This said, its all about practice, practice, practice, but you have to get penetration. You can tell it hasn't penetrated as the weld looks like its sitting on the job, like a bead of water sits ontop of a waterproof surface with the meniscus undercutting the weld.
Damn I thought I did alright. Guess I will have to get the experts to go back over my work.
Thats a cool link Tom - cheers
Thanks for the advice guys - as I said it was my first attempt, so I didnt expect rave reviews But after having a play, it has certainly got me interested.
Daisy wrote:no penetration on one side of the steel. you need to focus on the whirlpool when welding to make sure that BOTH sides of the metal are melting together as you can see on most of your welds that the heat is directed to only one side of the job.
Practice on something else rather than the job would be my advice... til you get it right then go for it.
its all good man it was welded underneith.. so it will not break..
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see in the pics the steel is arranged so that you are welding in a gutter stronger than a perfect right angle correct me if i am wrong but it is stronger to weld a verticle weld from bottom to top not as neat but stronger.
not too bad for a beginner
welds look like it was welded a bit cold and a bit of over roll which i think is either tooo much wire or you had the gun to far away from the job , but not too bad
try truning ya corse up a tad and starv the wire a lil so that you get that nice spray look and a nice crackle sound this is how i weld alot of the time,
im a 2-3year boilie apprentice, and i have been shown diferent ways
but mainly from 4 guys 2 of which worked in the mine over in the west and up in QLD and the other german and auizzie justr been in the trade 20years+
chin up lots of practice and ya could be shit hot
80lsy gq wrote:well how do these ones look then...critique my welds
these were all done with a Mig o Mag 240 on various sizes of material from 2mm up to 10mm
dave
they dont look too bad , but should of learnt by now not to stop at the edge of the plate and continued around the squre pipe corners a good 10mm, and blend in the stop starts, only reason i been told this is its the first place the weld will fail, iv been told by tradeschool teachers Darryl and rob v from noble park and tradesmen alike
Modified Toy wrote:see in the pics the steel is arranged so that you are welding in a gutter stronger than a perfect right angle correct me if i am wrong but it is stronger to weld a verticle weld from bottom to top not as neat but stronger.
not sure, but if you were that worried about strength it would be better just to stick weld it. Youl always get better penetration with a stick welder than a mig.
not necssarily ....... ive seen some of the welds on this forum as verticle downs ... as said before a nice birdie up... yes practice before you do this either on mig or stick..... tig what can i say yeah its great but time consuming on positional welds ....
as for gas welding (oxy work) pfft almost non existent these days....... come to the 21st century guys.
as for the welds in the above post as in 80lsy gq welding is a little cool and slight over roll
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So Dave , if you actually did those welds , I take my hat off , very neat and tidy , and no I am not taking the piss , I will now look at you with another light , and when are you going to post up ypur 4wd , cause if it,s as good as your welds it should be good Cheers Paul.
Shadow wrote:Youl always get better penetration with a stick welder than a mig.
i've heard this before. but i haven't heard it explained why. i think its an old wives tale
serg
Well I was told it buy an accredited site welder who can lay incredible welds down when hes hanging upside down 3 stories in the air with slag burning through his forearm. So i believe it.
Micka..whatever....i dont claim other peoples work as my own....and i certainly wont be claiming your efforts on cookies buggy as mine
Mart..sorry to devastate you mate but they are actually mine..i knew you would be all over this thread like a fat woman over an icing covered donut... ..
anyway..this is a flame shorty thread..i have enough threads flaming me already
80lsy gq wrote:Micka..whatever....i dont claim other peoples work as my own....and i certainly wont be claiming your efforts on cookies buggy as mine
Mart..sorry to devastate you mate but they are actually mine..i knew you would be all over this thread like a fat woman over an icing covered donut... ..
get a room will ya Dave and settle this
anyway..
this is a flame shorty thread..i have enough threads flaming me already
dave
Some people should weld others should not Dan take the second advice ....stick to what ya good @ ....mmmm what the fark is that actually
Sounds a bit weird for most you guys that weld a fair bit, but for a guy with little mechanical aptitude it was a big step 
) on the floor pan of the buggy 
I thought I did alright. Guess I will have to get the experts to go back over my work.
