Show Us Your Weld

It's been a day or two since I've been welding and this is a new machine. I'll get details on the machine settings next time I'm out there.
What can I do better next time?

20230302_124234 by Joe with a jeep, on Flickr

 

Is that flux core wire or did you use shielding gas? Also looks like contaminets in weld from metal not being clean. And what Howard said scrap piece and practice…. Alot!

 

Practice on some scrap metal. Get glasses so you can see the weld pool. Watch some U-Tube. Get a good clean surface to weld to. Better helmet with lighter lens.
The recommended settings are a good to go by and adjust from there. Flux wire or gas? Run a short weld and adjust till it suits you. I am no expert and would/could be a lot better.

 

I find when welding, bifocals don't work. I have a specific set of glasses to weld with. With bifocals you are constantly re-directing your eyes in and out of focus. I find its either working well, or its not. I need to get a set of cheaters for my helmet. Sometimes I lay down a nice bead. Sometimes, nothing goes right. If its not working, I take a break and then try again later. I need to practice more also. I cut steel coupons out (I have a drawer full) and I practice until I get in the zone and it starts looking good. Lots of seat time is the key. You can find weld setting calculators on the web that will get you close then fine tune it.

Dave

 

This is a .030 Flux core only machine.
120v 20amp input. I think it was at 80%
The filler plate was new 12ga, Frame is not.
I wire wheeled the parts till shiny.
Auto darkening helmet.

 

You should also de-grease after wire brushing. I usually use acetone. Be careful with brake cleaners as some can break down to poisonous gasses under heat.

The weld looks cold like it's most sitting on top of the base metal. Try more power or more feed to see if either (or both) help with penetration.

Other than that, don't take advice from me. I've never done flux core and I'm a mediocre welder at best.

 

I’ll preface by saying I’m a self taught welder. I have two machines, a 110 harbor freight and a 220 Hobart, both running flux core.

If I were you, I’d try more heat and stay focused on the puddle. Also seems like you’re moving too quickly in some spots - especially the bottom right of your photo.

 

This was the in process shot,



Here's the other side I did yesterday.


I'll grind the passenger side pretty and look away. The driver side I'll test how deep it burned and crank it up. I don't have much more juice to the garage but we will see how high it goes on the 20A breaker.

 

Seems Flux Core is a different animal.
Tried it when I was out of shielding gas, changed the jumpers, and used the small roll of Flux Core that came with the welder. What worked with shielding gas didn't work as well with Flux Core. It's an old Milermatic 130 I only use for patch panels on 18 gauge. I was about at the max current. I would guess the current needs to be a little higher for flux core. Got the tank filled, didn't try anymore.
When I practice with TIG, I lay the hose across the back of my neck. Since I don't have a water cooled torch, if I get in the zone then I know to stop and let it cool down before I burn up my torch. But the time practicing goes slow. Same mistakes, same mistakes, then all of the sudden ... the light comes on and the welds look better.
Went to a Metal Working event and the guy showing us how to weld did it every day for Nascar, Aero Space, professional stuff.
He made it look so effortless. His mistakes I would display on my mantel and show everyone. I love to watch Youtube videos on welding techniques.
Keep practicing.

Dave

 

Not an expert but as has been said not enough heat, moving to quickly, wire speed to high. Or a combo of all three

Also, it doesn't look like you have a place for the weld to go. Meaning the plate isn't chamfered. This will help if you want to grind the weld flat

Lastly, that's a not an easy weld. Welding flat is the easiest over head the most difficult, for me anyways. This is somewhere in the middle.

Watch your puddle, run a practice motion to see if you might need to rest your hand on something while weldy, I like to point the gun in the direction of travel.

I don't use flux core though so everything I said might not apply.

Don't try to make it look like stacked dimes, try to make it consistent.

Keep welding, watch some videos, keep practicing.

Edit:
If you grind that down and leave it you will more then likely not have anything holding that plate to the frame since the weld is sitting on top of the plate. I would grind it down then take your hard disk and cut a channel where the two meet. than weld inside the channel.

 

Crank it up to 100%, maybe turn your wire speed down a bit, ‘drag’ your weld with flux core (point the gun toward the weld pool), and make absolute certain you can see. New/clean optics, bright lights pointed at your work, glasses, whatever it takes to see well. And get your face in there as close as you can to watch the details.

The edges of the weld should appear to flow into the base metal. If at any point the weld looks like it’s just sitting on the base, it is; it’s cold and not getting cohesion.

Try that and report back!

 

Lincoln Electric and I believe Miller Electric have some fantastic tutorials on their websites. Flux core requires more juice so turn up your heat, play with your feed, and slow down your movement. Chamfering when possible helps a lot as you can get down o the root metal and it makes it a little thinner at the weld point so you can get better penetration.

 

I am an awful welder, but… I’ve got a damn good helmet! I have a magnifying lens that inserts into the inside of the helmet. Really big surface to look through. Also, nice lighting helps a lot.
Lincoln Electric Cheater Lens | 2.50 Magnification | 2" Height x 4.25" Length | Compatible with Most Welding Helmets | KP3046-250 https://a.co/d/fuuzK9V

 

Ground flush...

 

Also, not an expert, but had in the back of my mind maybe you use reverse polarity with flux core.

 

Polarity is reverse and not able to be changed on this machine. It will be Monday before I can get back to it. I'll need to get grinding wheels.


https://www.amazon.com/Forney-Easy-...&qid=1677899836&sprefix=forney,aps,302&sr=8-3

 

Stop what you are doing. Seriously, stop. You're making a mess. I know it sounds a bit harsh, but you will thank me in 3 weeks.

Walk away from that jeep frame.

Go find a steel dumpster or find a some steel that is of varying thicknesses, any steel garbage you can find. Set that garbage out there, use that grinder to make it clean and straight, get comfortable in a chair at a table and practice welding it up. Start with a flat position and try to butt weld those plates, then take 2 more and leave a gap between them, weld it up, watch what happens to the steel. does it curl up? What happens when you turn up the amps? What happens when you move faster or slower, what happens when you oscillate the puddle and wire? Is it better for you to lean one hand on the other or use 2 hands to steady the gun? What happens when you move the gun forward and them back fill? What happens when you make C's with the wire? etc..

Now try a T position. Do the same thing. Try to weld thicker metals and thinner metals. What happens? Do you concentrate the heat on the thicker piece because you blew a hole through the thinner?

Also, buy different wheels for your grinder and see what works best for you. I like flap disks because you can blend and it doesn't remove a lot of material to thin the metals..Get a 20 pack of cutoff wheels and WEAR ALL THE PPE.

I taught myself to weld and i'm not terrible at it. Started with an arc welder, then went to flux core, then made my AC/DC buzz box into a scratch start Tig welder and kept moving up the machines until now I have a machine that does everything I need it to.

I even make money welding stuff now.

Just practice and practice and practice on garbage so that you don't wreck something you care about. Its not easy, but its really incredible when you get that pass right, when it looks good, is strong and becomes your art. Watch LOTS of YouTube videos, they really help a lot.

Keep posting your progress. Keep learning and trying.

 

I have nine 6x6 squares and ten 3x9.5" rectangles of 12ga waiting for a scrap pass to go home.