im starting out at mig and i can start a bead but my welds have alot of slag...looks like...****. any good techniques to help me out?

 

The biggest improvement is probably increasing the amperage setting, slowing the feed, and cleaning/prepping the work..

I tried this along with welding slower and bracing my hand on something so I could make a slow steady movement, and it has made a huge difference, even with flux core..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by GaRn &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The biggest improvement is probably increasing the amperage setting, slowing the feed, and cleaning/prepping the work..
</TD></TR></TABLE>

amen to that! Turn down the feed and go with it.

 

Are you using a sheilding gas?

 

flux core = no shielding gas

 

Lots of practice on different settings helped me. And also as someone mentioned before, haveing something to lean your hand on.

 

move slowly. have the amps up. and start with a slow speed till you get used to it... then move to a mid setting so you can move a lil quicker.

but the biggest problem i see when im teaching people is that they move way too fast.... just move along slowly...

listen to your welding. the sound should sound pretty consistent not erratic.... that maybe a lil hard to understand but if you move slowly you might understand what im trying to say.

 

i can oxy/acetelyn and stick weld but my flux core either looks like crap or burns through the metal...oh and the metal is not thick...its probably 1/16".

 

Mess around on something thicker than that.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sleepingEg8 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">amen to that! Turn down the feed and go with it.</TD></TR></TABLE>


Best advise to give, more heat, and slower feed. The difference is night and day.

 

Having actual shielding gas instead of flux core wiring is night and day.....post up some pics.

 

advice i'd give, is practice welding thin metal to thicker metals...you'll learn real quick that you can easily burn through the thin stuff, and learn the dare i say, the finess of welding. Dont be afraid to change the settings on the machine, and just pay attention to the different characteristics of the welds being produced after each change...in a nut shell, screw some **** up and see how you did it...

 

i would get sheilding gas but then i'd need a resevoir, regulator and extra things...yeah im working with thin metal right now...i'll post pics tomorrow.

 

I did my 1st welding with 16ga steel and .035" flux core wire today, and it weld fairly well. Its a bit thinner than 1/16", so here's what I'm seeing. I move making circles maybe 1/8" around, so I get a nice wider bead, distribute the heat a bit, and don't burn though as easy. Obviously they don't look too good w/o cleaning, but they're nice under the junk with minimal spatter. I think my machine is set at ~25 amps, feed near the lower end (as fast as an ant walks lol).

When I didn't make the circles (is that like mini-stitch welding?) it would make a narrow tall bead and sometimes meld through, so I think you should give it a shot. Sorry I can't help too much, but one beginner to another.

 

flux core wire burns really hot, and you are gonna have spatter unless you get shielding gas, and if you do a dual shield.. in that case, it will be like pouring metal onto what you are welding!
dual shield flux core welding is super fast, and very efficient!

btw, most mig/fluxcore welding machines dont have an amperage setting... just volts, and wire speed (which controls the amount of current flowing through the work piece aka amperage)
if it is a 1/16" thick metal, you are gonna have trouble not burning it.. but if you have a voltage setting, set it around 12-15 volts, and play with the wire speed/amperage..

oh, and one more thing.. weld a bead, and use a wire wheel grinder to knock off all of the spatter, you might see a pretty bead underneath all the ****!

 

pics are up...









penetration




ahh a worm.



well tell me what you think...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 9295EJ-t &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">flux core wire burns really hot, and you are gonna have spatter unless you get shielding gas, and if you do a dual shield.. in that case, it will be like pouring metal onto what you are welding!
dual shield flux core welding is super fast, and very efficient!

btw, most mig/fluxcore welding machines dont have an amperage setting... just volts, and wire speed (which controls the amount of current flowing through the work piece aka amperage)
if it is a 1/16" thick metal, you are gonna have trouble not burning it.. but if you have a voltage setting, set it around 12-15 volts, and play with the wire speed/amperage..

oh, and one more thing.. weld a bead, and use a wire wheel grinder to knock off all of the spatter, you might see a pretty bead underneath all the ****! </TD></TR></TABLE>

Anti-spatter spray works wonders with flux core.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Mugencrxsir1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Anti-spatter spray works wonders with flux core. </TD></TR></TABLE>

x 20 billion

 

anti spatter spray? they come in spray paint cans right? and they should be at the store at the welder section?

 

The only thing I question with your penetration is that you are not filling a gap. Unless you cut it with a wheel before you laid the bead.



Looking at the above picture I can see I can see the penetration you made on the seam from pipe to pipe.

At 1 o'clock you can also see a whisker peaking thru.

If you have this pipe I would get a sawzall or hacksaw and practice welding those together. That is when you will see how to get your proper penetration and fitup.

Fitup is the gap that you set between the two pieces of metal before you weld. A rule of thumb is your gap is the same as the thickness of your filler metal.

An easy way to get this set up is to take some wire off of your wheel. Cut it off with a pair of dykes. Make it 8 inches. Then bend it into a v. Take the bottom piece of pipe and place the V on top of the pipe. Then take the second pipe and sandwitch the v.

Throw 3 tacks on there so they will stay together. Take out the V.

Weld your pipe together.

I have a lot of photos from when I was at school and when I work. I will get a host and post them up. There are a lot of setup items that will help you when you are welding.

When laying straight beads you shouldn't have to make circles if the fitup is right.

Here is a beginner exercise that we did in school that will help you.

Get a piece of flat metal. Go to a ironworks or scrap and get a peice of flat stock. Cut it so that it is rectangular.

Lay the piece of stock flat on the ground or on your workbench.

Start at the upper left hand corner with your bead. Run a bead straight left to right.

Then lay another bead under it.

Continue until you have covered the whole plate.

This will work on keeping your beads solid and straight. It will it train you to learn where the start and end of your beads are.

Right now you are just laying to lay.

After that piece of stock is full do the other side.

Get another peice of flat stock and do it again.

Later on take the both of them and lay them like so:

_I_

One will be flat and the other will be on it like an upside down T. That will give you two 90s to fill. Throw a bead from left to right in the bottom of the crease.

So do one.

Then cover the one with two. One on the bottom to fill up to 1/2 of the first bead. Second covering the 1/2 to the top.

At school it was all about pounding rods. Speed/Angle/Heat. You have to get the proper mix. You have to have some **** stock to play with and just practice. I found puddle control was just like painting without taped boarders.

You are controlling a puddle and trying fill a void.

Get me on aim anytime. I keep most of my books with me and love helping where I can.

-Stanley

 

yeah i cant do gaps yet. do you just do it like laying down flat beads or do you have to make circles and stuff? if i go slow then i'll burn through.

 

It is a Z pattern.

It is rough to explain with out having pictures but lemme try.

You have the two plates standing up facing you like:

] [

The gap is the flat spot.

So you start in the lower right hand corner.

Shoot to left. Pause.

Shoot to the upper right. Pause.

Shoot to the left. Pause.

Shoot to the upper right. Pause.

Speed and heat come into play. Gravity as well.

When you start on the right you start your pool. Carry the pool to the left bridging the gap. Then shoot to the upper right letting the pool connect to the first jump. Then shoot across building more up.

Gravity will pool the filler metal in the middle.

Heat will melt your base metals.

Gravity and heat will also get you penetration.

This is using mig or stick.

TIG

I would do the same but the filler is dropped in by hand as you "walk the cup".

Walking the cup is laying the cup: O

In the area of the gap: V

**** I will take some pictures and set up my site so you can see this all.