My first weld !!

[draper]

well after having my welder for a year-ish and only getting a mask last week i sudennly got some inspiration earlier and set it up, got a scrap door out my 'store' and had a bash !!

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g161/draper01/weld1-1.jpg

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g161/draper01/weld5.jpg

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g161/draper01/weld.jpg

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g161/draper01/weld4-1.jpg

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g161/draper01/weld2-1.jpg


the pics arent very good because i took them on my phone. The biggest problem was setting the welder up, to low a wire speed and it blow holes through, to fast blows holes through. dont even know what the other dial does or the hi - lo setting lol also i need some proper equipment to clean the metal around the weld - although im gonna go to the local engineering shop down the road and ask them if i can raid there skip :thumb:

[bump]

What welder, settings, gas / gasless, hand held shield of full face?

[draper]

a clarke mig150 welder, gas, full face sheild

as for settings, thats what i need to spend time playing with

[olix99]

Hi - Lo will be the amps used, higher amps means hotter weld for thicker material.

90 amps does 4mm plate steel i think.

but higher power means if you a decent welder you can use higher amps on thinner material to do the welds quicker - easyer to burn holes though

[draper]

that makes sense

[olix99]

try setting the hi - lo to about the middle, same for wire feed speed and just dont move too fast.

about the middle on a 150 amp MIG will obviously be around 75 amps, whcih should be plenty for the thickness of car panels etc. Maybe higher if welding up holes and things in the chassis under the car as the material is thicker.

Also dont start the weld with too much wire protruding from the tip of the torch, about 20mm is plenty, then you can hold the torch closer and have more control over the weld

:thumb:

- those welds arnt bad either for a first atempt - not very tidy but look pretty strong

[bump]

Go for lowest power with wire feed at 4, use curcular torch motion with 1sec pause at the end of each circle. Get the gas running at 10L/min (assumed 0.8 wire)/

Look at http://www.mig-welding.co.uk (http://www.mig-welding.co.uk) for more info

[bump]

For car panels 30 amps is more usual. 20mm is also a bit on the long side for stickout, also use pull over push for car panels except on vert uphand.

[olix99]

/\ i beleive the clarke MIG150 is a gasless unit

[olix99]

/\ just what i got tought at college buddy

[bump]

90 amps does 4mm plate steel i think.

If you double V and root it perhaps.

[draper]

no its not gasless, well theres a gas bottl eon th eback lol

the hi-lo setting is just a switch

whats push over pull and vert uphand ??

[bump]

/\ just what i got tought at college buddy

75 A is about suitable for Land rover chassis sections, as a Nova is made from 18 gauge then it will obliterate it.

[bump]

Push is going forwards with the torch, more penetration and better gas shielding, pull is the opposite, for panels penetration is rarely an issue.

vert uphand is working vertically pushing into the weld, just basic positional really. best is to bring wire speed down slightly for both vert up and overhead, you'll get use to both on a Nova.

[draper]

aha i get you know, thanks for the help :thumb:

[bump]

No worries mate, have a look at the link I posted earlier. It's a good forum, both me and MikeySR are on there. Plus Malc's put some really good tuitional vids on there.

[Adam]

Look at mig-welding.co.uk (http://%22http://www.mig-welding.co.uk) for more info
Link doesnt work??

[bump]

Sorry..

Edited now

[Philsutton]

Its took me fooking ages to learn to weld properly , its still not 100% perfect but im happy with it. Its all in the setting up, once youve got it set right it'll rip through it.

[Paul]

I know this speaks for its self, but practice on old **** as youve being doing before you go near your car with it. Make sure you prep down the surface properly and take your time.

It takes a lot longer to grind the welds out than it does to get them in!

[draper]

I know this speaks for its self, but practice on old **** as youve being doing before you go near your car with it. Make sure you prep down the surface properly and take your time.

It takes a lot longer to grind the welds out than it does to get them in!

yeah, ive got an old door here, gonna get some scrap metal aswell

[L14MNP]

Nice one!

If you want to practice, I suggest buying a Nova which has rotten front panel andfloor pans, then if you still haven't learned your lesson, by a crash damaged mk1 fiesta which needs a repair section welded in the inner wing, two front floor pans, new front panel, crossmember, inner and outer sills. etc etc lol

Well that got my welding good! It's very hard to weld on certain parts though! Even the decent metal [no rust] is pi$$ easy to blow holes through! :S

As for needing special tools to clean up the metal before you weld, don't you just use a grinder?

[Philsutton]

use a wire brush an drill to clean the metal up, grinder is a little over kill lol

[L14MNP]

use a wire brush an drill to clean the metal up, grinder is a little over kill lol

Depends where it is imo! Underseal etc is a biatch to remove!

I always take the edge off with the grinder, never had any problems lol :confused:

[L14MNP]

Maybe I'm biased towards the grinder as I get all my discs for free? Meh

[bump]

I'm a flap wheel in the grinder kind of guy, can be gental or harsh depending on how you use it.

[L14MNP]

I'm a flap wheel in the grinder kind of guy, can be gental or harsh depending on how you use it.

:thumb:

Flap wheel/discs are awesome for getting everything nice and flush :)

[craig green]

Go Mark! This is something I need to learn.

I'd never be seen again if I had all the fabrication facilities I need.

[L14MNP]

Go Mark! This is something I need to learn.

I'd never be seen again if I had all the fabrication facilities I need.

That's Drapers name? lol

I know what you're saying CG, I make do with what I have, but if I had a secure unit with a 4 poster...... :cool:

[Martin]

Just keep at it dude.. i need to buy me a welder

[coombsey]

i learnt to weld on cars my self quite quick then i went to work and learnt to production weld and production welding is way easyer but the welders at work are harder to set up tho

[L14MNP]

i learnt to weld on cars my self quite quick then i went to work and learnt to production weld and production welding is way easyer but the welders at work are harder to set up tho

What type of production welding mate? I used to work at Nissan factory in the bodyshop, spot welding with PSW's and programming the robots and MIG welding when the robots blow holes in the shells lol

[coombsey]

mig welding all done manually not but computers or machines

[bump]

If you can MMA or TIG then your laughing. I still miss oxy/acet, but just don't have the use for it to justify the cost anymore.

[coombsey]

im learning to tig weld in 2 weeks or so wont cost me a penny too