tougetuned_ef

so i purchased a mig flux welder from harbor freight recently and i wanted to stat learning how to weld so i figured the best thing to do would be to just dive right into it. i had some problems but i managed to get the welds air tight (i think). i have had a problem with my cheap ebay header has been pointiong my cat to the graund and its just been too low for me to lower the car where i want it. i took it and made 2 pie cuts to kind of offset it. so here are some pics of my cherry popping welds. i wasnt too worried about appearance because it was going to be wrapped anyway. so be gentle and please leave some constructive opinions.







i had some problems with this hole that blew open while doing my final welds on the first connection. i then realized that i had the welder set on max and there is only 2 settings, min and max. i then cut a piece of scrape metal to make a patch and then set it on min. worked much better!







this header is temp till i have some money to buy another one. ive been putting my cash towards bushings and brakes. thanx for looking!

v8killaz

needs gas

ninjaturtleEG

niiice.

ninjaturtleEG

I would suggest welding on a piece of scrap metal with the same thickness before you weld on the actual piece. That way you can practice and also look at the underside to see if you're getting enough penetration.

jdmadam

iTrader: (2)

clean the metal before welding it.

akurtzer57

get a practice piece the same thickness and get your heat setting and wire speed correct.

ek9+eg6=me

v8killaz, its flux core not hard wire,pay alittle closer attention, but anyways practice makes perfect, i could teach a retard to use a wire machine pretty decent in a week. clean the metal first get a test peice about the same thicknes use to get the machine set, if you blow it out your machines to hot ,but if you do sit there and dab it with the trigger like spot welding to fill the hole

tougetuned_ef

i used a grinder wheel to clean the metal after i made my cuts. and i periodicly grinded down my welds as i filled it in to re weld any gaps or holes on a nice flat surface. idk if this was the correct thing to do but it seemed ok. im also thinking about taking some welding classes at the community college in my area. this welder in an electric welder that was $130 with a 2 year warranty. my buddy just also gave me another welder that i think is a step above my new one but from 5 years ago. its kinda dirty. i would love to have gas but im in an apartment with a neighbor between me and my garage. its 4 apartments with 4 garages across the bottom. if i had gas i dont think my landlord would like that too much. i have 3 fire extinguishers around my garage cause im terrified my grinding or welding could start a fire. im about to add automotive work to my plumbing insurance. iive just been buying tools like crazy recently. i just cant help myself. ive been trying to expand my automotive abilities.

ninjaturtleEG

It doesn't look like you grinded it good enough. It looks like you just ran over it a bunch of times with a scuff pad. It should be grinded down to bare metal where you make your welds. For the grinder, you should be using at least 40 grit. Yes you should go take a welding class.

v8killaz

yeah just saying it would come out better and cleaner.

mig is pretty easy once the settings are dialed in. I learned in about 5 minutes if that. we use a shitty lincoln hd140 which is not bad. of course this is gas. the welds come out pretty damn smooth for short circuiting, id def. suggest you get that welder its a great beginner machine.

wouldnt worry too much about gas, i weld in my basement and all i have is a window. just have good airflow and you should be good. i mean flux core is just as bad.

i took a couple classes and learned alot but nothing close to grabbing a gun and going to work. it is very fun when you have everything working and getting good beads

i dont know how flux works but for gas short circuit we just get the machine set so we hear a consistent buzzing when welding. you have to get a feel for it and mess with the settings

essex

man it looks good for your first time, and if its actually strong and doesn't leak that thats great.

tougetuned_ef

it has that white look to it cause thats after i did some welds. i def used a grinder to grind the metal down to a clean surface.

jdmadam

iTrader: (2)

I can see the grinding marks now. For some reason you are getting alot of spatter. Try moving slower.

tougetuned_ef

yeah i think i was going way to quick. im kind impatient. i know i will get better at it over time. i just need to get some thicker scrap metal to practice on.i have an old pice of test pipe that i dont really car about. i will start with that. i will cut it into smaller pieces so that i can see the other side. and then i will post those pics.

ek9+eg6=me

LIKE V8KILLAZ I WOULD ALSO SUGGEST THE LINCOLN HD 140 GREAT MACHINE FOR A BEGINNER, and with your machine you either got the wire to high or to low , take a piece of scrap metal pull the trigger arc up adjust wire speed until it hums consistently and dont stutter, practice , v8killaz there is a very big difference in knowing how to slap dodo on a piece of pipe and how to weld a piece of pipe, go look at mike at synapses welds on best welds a man truely skilled at his job

v8killaz

we do bend tests on nearly all of our welds on flat peices, all my welds pass, they may not look pretty but work well so i could care less
i dont weld pipe anyways and if i do id tig it anyways
im a beginner welder

K7-1Ktrevor

I have the same harbor freight flux core welder. it actually works pretty well for $109 brand new with wire. Iv done quite a bit of welding but Im not one whos super picky with looks on the welds as long as they seal and hold.

it looks to me like you need to put the heat on max, turn the wire speed up a tiny bit or just work slower and use the heat to your advantage to smooth the welds out (your not going to be able to do solid beads but more of a tack ever 3 or 4 seconds) you'll see what i mean, you wanna get it just hot enough to all smooth together but not to burn through.

but ya for the money you really can't beat that welder. the only thing I HATE about it is the wire is always hot, whether the trigger is pulled or not.

CRX Si69

yes.. atleast take a wire wheel to it
my millermatic 135 is on flux core.. and i still use welding gas to stop all the spatter..

K7-1Ktrevor

that much splatter is very common for flux core, its just something youll learn to deal with.


I like to think of welding as water drops, you need to get a ball going then move the tip to the other part your trying to weld to and have another ball going till it soaks into the other part of the metal.

norcarsol

iTrader: (3)

looks straight for first time
function over form
if it doesn't leak and holds pretty well
consider it a good piece

if being header wrapped ugly welds don't matter.

ek9+eg6=me

v8killaz, im 3g 4g certified to. and on the splatter it comes with practice you will eventially get good enough that it will hardly sling buckshot on the metal even with fluxcore, a good machine in the rite hands can look just as good as hardwire anyday

TheRappist

I have the same welder and you can run long clean beads with it just fine. Looks like you need to slow down, turn the wire speed up, and keep the stickout under 1/2"

ManBearPig4silly

Wow....this entire thread is just a cluster**** of nonsense responses. I had to dig just to find someone who had even a rough idea of what is going on.

No one can weld that horseshit material and make it look pretty. It's rusted to **** and by the time you ground the rust off you have taken so much material away it's almost not weldable by the average person. You don't want solid wire on material that dirty. You would have been fine with just a good solid wire wheel and tight fitup with .030 fc wire.

tougetuned_ef

i had my buyy weld this thing once before me. he welded it right up in ten min with gas and it looked great. i dont have much money and dont plan on doing major projects with it. its just to practice and do small projects. like minor tack welds and such. i was just bored and had to come up with a solution to my header problem. i know i need a new header if its a problem but the car has much more important things to deal with first. i you check out my build thread you can see what my buddy did about months ago and the rest of my basket case car. yeah i wasnt concerend about the looks too much i just wanted some opinions as to why i had the hole burn through. some one just said that i needed it set on max. well when i had it on max i was getting the burn throughs, but when i turned it down it stopped happening. i figured since this machine is rated to do up to 3.8" metal that max was too much for header piping. i dont know how old this header it cause it came with the car when i got it 6 months ago. its a pace stter header that is temp till i have to buy new one. i dont plan on buying another welder anytime soon since i now have 2 of these machines. i think the other one is a step up tho and does 1/4" to 1/2" metal. im going to look into classes to get some basics. there is about 15 classes to take on the class selection but im just gonna take the first one or 2 classes

v8killaz

i have the harbor freight stick welder that thing runs beads like none other, i can weld pure rust and it will run a smooth and beatiful bead. i got it for like 100 and it works great for everything i use it for.