welding class

[apples]

FC can produce nice welds, it's just not quite as dummyproof as standard MIG welding. But with enough practice you can get good at it.

Here are some flux cored gasless mig wire welds that I have done. Welds done with gasless flux cored wire.

Peter

 

[soonenough]

Just a little clarification, GTAW (TIG) uses (I *think*) a variable current power supply while GMAW (MIG) uses a variable voltage power supply. I could have that backwards, but my point is that it is rare for a power supply to be capable of both.

You had it right, the foot pedal you use when TIG welding varies the amperage, whereas one of the adjustable knobs on a MIG welder controls the voltage / wire feed speed.

 

[craig333]

I did the same route, course through the local JC. I'd had friends try to teach me, but just because you can weld doesn't mean you can teach.

I was struggling. Rod was sticking, ugly *** beads. Finally the instructor came up from behind, grabbed my hands and showed me how to control the puddle. It was like a light switch was thrown. I control the puddle, it doesnt control me. I'm sure the instructor would have much rather bent over some fine chick, but I'm glad he took the time.

Btw, he had us start with 6013, if you can't make a nice weld with that you might want to give up.

Mig, tig and all is great, but if you're broke down in the middle of nowhere, and all you have is your dual batteries, a set of jumper cables, and a stick you're ready to weld.

 

[Dion B]

Good Looking Beads. Keep at it, practice and someone to tell you what you are doing wrong is what makes the welds look good. I was fortunate enough to go to Lincoln Welding School for 12 weeks (it sounds like Blain went there too). I sent my 2 week test home to my Dad and he said those were some of the best welds he had seen.

I'm not sure if you will be doing Vertical or Overhead but if you do, get a leather cape, welding hat and wear ear plugs. 6010/11 spatter accumulates in the crook of the elbow when going vertical and overhead and really smarts. Once you switch to 7018 you will love that rod, it is a dream to weld with...........when the rods are dry:sombrero:

I have a small Lincoln 110 that is ancient and I use flux core so I can weld outside without loosing my gas or carrying around a bottle. My recommendation for anyone for welding would be an engine driven stick welder using Propane so it can be used for welding and auxiliary power when the hurricane/tornado knocks out the power for a few days or weeks. A Miller Bobcat will be one of my purchases very soon.

 

[Warhead]

to the OP looks like you are on the right track,nice work now for the critique you weld looks either a little cold or you were traveling a little fast. An easy formula for stick welding is use the rod size for your starting amperage
example= 1/8 rod (.0125") start at 125 amps
3/32 rod (.09375") start at 94 amps
then go up or down from there depending on you base material thickness

With 6010/6011 rod you are going want to "whip" it a little, about 1 1/2 times the rod diameter(not too much or you will get slag inclusion in your weld). Keep at it there nothing more satisfying as doing it yourself:victory:

Next thing you know you`ll be making welds like this:
6061 MIG

6061 TIG

I have been a welder/fabricator for 18 or so years:ylsmoke:

 

[Nullifier]

So here is a question. When I whip the electrode out of the pool. Do I let the pool dry up before I come back in. Or due I reintroduce it before the pool is still molten.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

I can't comment too much about your stick welds you've shown, other than: Don't concern yourself too much about the "stack of dimes" look in the welds. Much too much emphasis is placed on that by vehicle fabricators, and it's really meaningless. In fact, a smooth weld bead will be stronger than a pretty stack of dimes anyway. The dimes create stress concentrations.

 

[Warhead]

So here is a question. When I whip the electrode out of the pool. Do I let the pool dry up before I come back in. Or due I reintroduce it before the pool is still molten.

you don`t want to go all the way out of the puddle, if you leave the puddle you will have slag inclusions. just whip far enough forward that you see the base metal melt creating a void then pull back to fill the previous void(slight pause).
It is hard to explain with words, I hope this helps

 

[Nullifier]

Thanks for all the continued feedback. It has helped for sure. Here is last nights first run at actually fusing metal with a T joint. Things definetely got more difficult. I was overthinking it in the begining and spending to much effort managing my angles with the rod. Later on I slowed down and got a much large weld pool that filled in the joint better. However I think I am long arcing a bit after looking at some of the work since I am getting a bit of an undercut on the vertical plate. I'm going to try and modify that on Thursdays class.

 

[o0synge0o]

I bought a 120v Lincoln setup a couple years ago with the intentions of putting it to use and just never got around to it... This thread has got me itching to dig it out, go buy a few more tools, and start practicing!