welding for dummies

[turbojolt]

Was playing with my new toy today after work and had a crack at welding for the first ever time lol

http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr119/turbojolt/IMAG0289.jpg
http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr119/turbojolt/IMAG0290.jpg
http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr119/turbojolt/IMAG0291.jpg
http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr119/turbojolt/IMAG0292.jpg

The welds were very weak I could snap them by hand :( I soon realised that I was trying to rush the welds worried about the welding blowing thru the metal, so stopped being a big girl and started laying down a thicker slug of weld

http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr119/turbojolt/IMAG0293.jpg
http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr119/turbojolt/IMAG0294.jpg

This worked a treat the welds are a million times stronger now, propper chuffed with my first attempt at welding :)

[brainsnova]

Are you using gas

[turbojolt]

No mate its a cheap gasless welder got it gprs 40 quid yesterday to mess about with

[brainsnova]

Ah I'm **** at welsing but gas less is ment to be crap and gas helps the welds flow

[turbojolt]

I will be looking.for a gas one if I want to.do any welding.on cars but pedal bikes and gocarts I think it will be fine

[steviegsi]

I don't know shlt about welding but fair play for having a go.

[turbojolt]

Cheers matey

[mowgli]

were you working under a turkey roost?

https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRccZ_enOONAiKhfR5Po7AiBWfIwy_9x wBukoTSOLcgZTVHCYr2

[turbojolt]

Come again ?

[mowgli]

just visualise what you think turkeys crapping from a high perch looks like....................


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your welding lol lol lol

[turbojolt]

i will get there if I stick at it lol

[Pistol Pete]

coo coo...lol

What is that metal??

[mowgli]

turbolocks, i think you need to slow down a bit, and slow your wire down a bit too

[turbojolt]

This welder only has two options high and low for wire speed and i did have it on high :S so maybe your right

The metal I was using was from work its old gas meter brackets

[_Jake]

is it cored wire?

[turbojolt]

I don't know what cored wire is mate?

[Pistol Pete]

Is the metal plated? As in is is just normal steel. It looks coated. Which could be affecting the welds!

[turbojolt]

Yer mate there is.some sort of anti rust/galvanized finish to the brackets I did try to wire brush it up clean but didn't do it that great tbh Im waiting on my new new wire wheel heads for my drill to really clean stuff up better

[Bubba]

cored wire has flux in it...same sort of effect as using gas on normal wire. the flux creates a sheilding. and welding galvanized stuff is shocking lol, need to grind it off back to the steel

[_Jake]

cored wire has flux in it...same sort of effect as using gas on normal wire. the flux creates a sheilding. and welding galvanized stuff is shocking lol, need to grind it off back to the steel
Yeah you need cored wire for a gasless mig. & You shouldnt really weld galv either, the gases are poisonous and ive heard storys of peoples knackers swelling up because of having a reaction to the fumes lol

[Bubba]

if you grind the zinc off first you be fine :D or wear a mask lol

[_Jake]

You never really get rid of it though, but maybe some people like the idea of bollocks the size of tennis balls lol

[Keif]

Good on you for having a go, but.......

Step away from the welder. They're not just plug and play.

[mowgli]

tj, have a look at the local tech/community colleges, see if any do an introduction to mig welding course.. i took one years back.. also get some offcuts of thicker steel & learn how to weld that, then try thinner stuff.

[jonn]

every one has to start somewhere and dont forget practice makes perfect

[turbojolt]

Good on you for having a go, but.......

Step away from the welder. They're not just plug and play.

whats thw worse that can happen i had water to hand, gloves, welding mask and my work top and bottoms on desingd to protect me from mains fuses exploding

the brackets arnt propper galvernized i think its more of a protection coat they dip them in comes of with a wire brush

[steviegsi]

Water and an electric welder you crazy bastid!

[turbojolt]

lol was thinking more about if the dog caught on fire

[Prey]

just need to practise, i've seen worse get moted tho lol!

slow down and get a weld 'pool' going, if you don't blow through loads when you start you're going too fast, the welds should be much more even and flatter - you need a slight circle/zigzag type of motion to do this without blowing through - and you should be getting a good constant sizzle when welding. what's the back of it look like? i'm guessing that hasn't penetrated (oh err).

i'm no pro welder but they should look a little more like this (admittedly done with a reasonable hobby mig with gas):
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i144/prey001/corsa%20derv/IMAG0254.jpg

mig-welding forum is really good for putting pics up and the experienced guys will tell u exactly what you're doing wrong just by looking at it! i found it very useful to do this and also reading other guys 'whats going wrong' posts

[Stuart]

A friend of mine was taught to weld, well I say taught, his dad unstop the welder and gave him 1mm sheets of steel to weld..... He spent 2 weeks trying to weld 1mm sheets together and once he mastered that he was able to do the thick stuff with ease. He did say he almost cried daily for the first week lol

[turbojolt]

cheers prey im going to give it another go when i get in, going to clean the metal better and put the wire speed on low hopefully this will get better results, got to say trying to teach myself something new is alot more fun after work then drinking beer and watching crap on tv lol

[Keif]

You won't clean galvo off, get some mild steel and weld that.

Oh and the worst that can happen is you killing yourself, obviously!

[turbojolt]

i was talking to a work mate and the brackets are mild steel just have a coat on them ment to protect them whill in transit

[turbojolt]

Had another bash at it today and took a lot of your advice slowed down and had the wire speed on low

http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr119/turbojolt/IMAG0295.jpg
http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr119/turbojolt/IMAG0297.jpg
http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr119/turbojolt/IMAG0298.jpg

Worked wonders imo were as before I could snap the welds by hand now I can stand (even my fat ****) on the stuff
http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr119/turbojolt/IMAG0299.jpg
lol

[scott.parker]

Show off! lol

[Stuart]

Paving slab isn't cracking, you aren't a fatty :p

[turbojolt]

Still got along way to go but hopefully will be getting atless one bike from my birds mum this week end to cut up and weld back together lol

I have ordered a welding magnet off eBay to help hold stuff aswell, welding is fun :)

[turbojolt]

I've run out of wire already :( , what wire do I need to buy? As I don't have a clue other then gasless wire lol is there any brands to look out for or for that matter avoid cheers guys

[16v Nova Kev]

0.6/0.7 mm flux cored wire (ebay)

[turbojolt]

Are there any plus sides to either 0.6 or 0.7?

[autoworksnovasport]

not really either is fine easyest way to tell the difference is the one you want is silver wire

[Andy]

Tbh there arent any plus sides to gas less at all lol

[turbojolt]

Cheers guys I will buy some tomorrow then, might need some help working out how to replace the wire

[Andy]

its easy to replace it

[turbojolt]

I was thinking it would be tbh after opening up the case seems to me I just need to undo the real and feed the wire to the two wheels and just let the motor do its job and I'm guessing I will have to pull thru any excess wire left from the last real first

[16v Nova Kev]

yep there is always a bit of waste

[turbojolt]

I was thinking can I buy uncorded wire and use the canned flux I use when soldering copper

[swedge]

just keep the cable part straight when feeding the wire through to start with

my welder is getting bad for slipping when feeding the wire, mines is gasless im not the best welder in the work but thier strong enough

most of my welding i do get ground down anyway so im not too fussed what they look like

i wish i bought a gas welder not though, saying that ive fitted a strengthening kit 2 new sills front panel and various patches using it