Noob welding

[leedeerman]

Forget all that, would be better to spend some money on a little training in Arc or MMA, then you can opperate any machine knowing what the knobs do! and be able to get the desired weld.

[Brett]

well, it was niggling at me, so i went and bought it anyway. its a 55-160 amp 'turbo' fan cooled arc welder.

I'm off to the shed to burn stuff.

[treequip]

well, it was niggling at me, so i went and bought it anyway. its a 55-160 amp 'turbo' fan cooled arc welder.

I'm off to the shed to burn stuff.

 

Make sure it's not your retinas:thumbup1:

[Brett]

Make sure it's not your retinas:thumbup1:

 

well i couldn't see anything through that dark glass, so i binned it.

[Highland Forestry]

For doing professional repairs, really you need a 3 phase MIG set.. The new inverted sets are fantastic, and you can use MIG for welding very thin sheet right up to inch or even inch and a half plate - the bigger the parent material, the higher amps and bigger wire you need to run, with multiple passes etc.

 

For DIY stuff, an arc set if probably best as the smaller single phase mig sets that use the gassless wire are pretty much a waste of time unless you really know what you are doing.

 

Tip: Using an arc set, starting the rod is easier if you strike it like a match, and you pull the rod through your weld - it should sound like bacon sizzling in a pan and you're set up about right.

Using a MIG, you push the wire through your weld

 

Good luck burning stuff

[wisecobandit]

 

Tip: Using an arc set, starting the rod is easier if you strike it like a match, and you pull the rod through your weld - it should sound like bacon sizzling in a pan and you're set up about right.

Using a MIG, you push the wire through your weld

 

Good luck burning stuff

 

Good tip to remember and so frustrating when you see people doing the opposite and then wander why there weld isn't smooth.

[Brett]

well that's me out of my first set of rods, not a natural talent but think i'm starting to get the idea - get the current set just so, so you are just more or less 'laying' the rod down at the right speed as it burns.

 

welding brake discs together and then testing by jumping on them is actually more fun than i would have imagined.

[fergusonforestry]

surely brake discs just crack? speaking of welding masks the light activated ones are a good investment

[Highland Forestry]

well that's me out of my first set of rods, not a natural talent but think i'm starting to get the idea - get the current set just so, so you are just more or less 'laying' the rod down at the right speed as it burns.

 

welding brake discs together and then testing by jumping on them is actually more fun than i would have imagined.

 

Nah, what you're doing by doing that is just wasting the rod.

 

The strength of a weld comes from the make-up of the weld pool, which is why you use techniques like 'weaving' in order to get the weld to wett out, or lap up to the parent material.

If you just lay the rod down into the weld as it arcs, then you will get alot of under-cut, and essentially you're just burning rods.

 

When pulling the rod into the weld, try pushing it forward a few mm, then pull back 10mm, then forward a few mm again and pull back again... it will give you a far better weld.

 

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[Brett]

surely brake discs just crack? speaking of welding masks the light activated ones are a good investment

 

old motor bike disks. bend rather than crack