Recent content by Doug_B_928

Nice tips. The patch looks great!

Great reply, thanks! So, since these are a series of tacks, based on your explanation of "undercut" (great to know that this has a name) my next move should be to increase the wire speed to introduce more material, correct?

So, there is one niggling problem with my practice welds. In my earlier attempts I thought I had messed up the grinding, and I did, but the reason was that I was trying to get out these small depressions just to the side of some of the tacks. They are the dark spots shown in the pics of...

Robert, are you grinding the backside of the tacks at the same time as you grind the top side? Despite planishing, I'm getting little valleys on either side of the weld bead. I'm thinking that maybe if I grind the back side of the weld too I'll be able to get those valleys out as I go.

Buening, you were absolutely correct about not getting enough gas to the weld. I tried to increase the amount, but there was no improvement. However, it turns out that the guy who set up the welder (me :( ) didn't get the gun line seated properly in the welder. So, the gas was escaping at the...

Wow, thanks for the additional pics Robert! Below are pics of today's attempt. I tried very hard to get the kind of penetration you do, but, as you will see, it was difficult for me. What I'd notice is I'd get a good orange puddle of a tack, then when I'd stop the puddle would "**** down" and...

Thanks for the feedback and advice, Robert. I will do exactly as you've suggested and report back. One question in the meantime: When you "planish," what determines how hard you hit the tack? Are you trying to flatten it a bit?

The pics I've attached to my previous post keep disappearing when I post/edit my post. So, let's try again:

Robert, thanks for your tutorials and for your willingness to help me :). Below are the only pics I took (should have taken more). I did two welds at the same time. The one on the left was with a tight fit with a bevel on the pieces (I think you had indicated in one of your early posts in...

I double checked and the polarity is set correctly for MIG. Any other ideas?

The machine comes set for flux core, so I switched it for MIG. I will double check though to make sure it is correct.

This is my first post. I'm a newbie to welding. Before Christmas, I bought a Lincoln MIG 180 Dual. I've been playing with it in my spare time in preparation for my first car restoration. I have been struggling with how to weld sheet metal. I found this thread yesterday, read the whole thing...