Welding experts how are my welds

[f150skidoo]

So Santa was good to me this year and brought me a Lincoln Electric 140 MIG. So like a kid with a new toy i had to play with it, so after playing around trying to lay some beads i think there starting to not look like complete ****. So i don't really have anyone to show and give me any constructive advice. I don't have any 75/25 gas yet so i'm currently using .035" flux cored wire. Also after i took the pics i put the piece in my vice and started to beat on it with a hammer and weld held but the metal just bent over.

 

[readhead]

Not to bad. Clean them with a wire brush so we can see the weld. Right now I see smoke and flux. They might not look so good after clean-up. Show us the back side also.

 

[kazlx]

You need to knock the slag off, then bandsaw through the welds to get a better look. Overall, doesn't actually look too bad....better than a lot of beginners.

The ones from pic 2 probably look the best, but it's really hard to tell without chipping/cleaning.

 

[Zrexxer]

X3. Not only can we not tell anything with the flux still on there, you can't either.

Clean your welds.

 

[p_mori7]

Nice gift from Santa !

You **** !

 

[tshetter]

Not too bad so far!

The biggest challenges I have had welding are trying to remember/determine the amperage, and the wirespeed for my flux machine. I weld too infrequently to remember them, but luckily my Lincoln ProCore 125 has a little cheater chart inside the access panel.

Stick machine is a little more hit and miss...

Good luck, and keep us updated!!

 

[DanarchyCustoms]

Clean em' up and repost pictures. Otherwise so far they look good. Straight weld with equal width throughout. Keep practicing because you are already steps ahead others.

 

[NASTYZEN]

Practice, practice, practice.

 

[kazlx]

Not too bad so far!

The biggest challenges I have had welding are trying to remember/determine the amperage, and the wirespeed for my flux machine. I weld too infrequently to remember them, but luckily my Lincoln ProCore 125 has a little cheater chart inside the access panel.

Stick machine is a little more hit and miss...

Good luck, and keep us updated!!

Keep a pad by your welder and write it down.

 

[f150skidoo]

So i broke out the wire brush and got the porosity off and i also took a pic of the bottom side of the piece.

 

[bullnerd]

Welding tips and tricks .com...watch all the mig stuff you can

Then practice!

 

[kazlx]

Definitely not bad and would hold a cart together Portions of the top bead are the best. Just more hood time. Work on consistency. The key to nice beads is the same motion start to finish and bead to bead.

Also, once you get a gas setup, I clip my wire before every bead.

 

[rsanter]

Dosent look bad but don't plan to build a roll cage in the next few weeks

Cut through the welds to see the cross section.
Then try to break the welds by clamping one portion in the vise and grab the other part with vise grips, adjustable wrench, or big pliers and start racking on it

Bob

 

[readhead]

Work on travel speed. It looks like you went two different directions on the fillets. The one on the right is better. Practice as much as you can.

 

[zkling]

On my screen.
-A bit hot.
-A bit inconsistent.
-A bit undercut and underfilled.

You should really be running 0.030" wire in that machine, especially when you do run gas.

Practice, practice, practice. Remember no one learned to weld over night, well maybe they learned but they wen't proficient at it.

 

[BD1]

Did you set the machine for the steel thickness ? Here's something from Miller that may help.

http://www.millerwelds.com/resources/tech_tips/MIG_tips/

 

[f150skidoo]

Did you set the machine for the steel thickness ? Here's something from Miller that may help.

http://www.millerwelds.com/resources/tech_tips/MIG_tips/

I just used the chart on the inside door of my welder, thanks fro the link i will have to print off the wire size to metal thickness chart.

 

[HellaFab]

Push the mig into the puddle instead of pulling it away from the puddle.

 

[BD1]

I just used the chart on the inside door of my welder, thanks fro the link i will have to print off the wire size to metal thickness chart.

The chart on the door is great. Here's another.

http://www.millerwelds.com/resources/calculators/mig_solid_amperage_calculator.php

 

[f150skidoo]

Push the mig into the puddle instead of pulling it away from the puddle.

I was trying to keep it close to the puddle but I kept ending up pulling it back when I'm moving it along.

 

[HellaFab]

I mean direction of the weld. Though stick out length is important, it's not as big of a deal with mig as say tig welding.

 

[f150skidoo]

So this morning i went a picked up some 75/25 shielding gas and made a angle iron, the last two pics are of me trying to break the welds in a vise.

 

[readhead]

Looks pretty good. Your motion and speed are already improving. Gas is a lot easier and cleaner isn't it. Practice, practice, practice.

 

[Fab80]

Im not a pro welder but I would say it looks like your doing pretty dang good for first time ever. Amazing what a diff some gas can make huh.

 

[f150skidoo]

Thanks guys and yes gas is so much cleaner. I was going to practice more today but its -14f outside right now and my garage is unheated so i gave up for the day. I'm going to watch some you tube vids on mig this afternoon instead.

 

[pipsters]

What gauge metal are you using

 

[readhead]

Wimp. Your making heat!

 

[lv2tri2]

A good weld includes grinding of the stops before starting again. Watch the edges of the puddle closely, it will help with a straight line.

 

[DanarchyCustoms]

It may be easier to weld shorter passes. Longer ones usually require you to readjust your hands while welding which is just one less thing to learn right away.