What do ya of these welds?

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Title of post should have been What do ya think of these welds.   ><So, this is a couple of pics of my second project. My first one being a mig cart. This project is a couple of wheel dollies made of 2" angle iron.These are photos of the second dollie cart after I really got the welder dialed in.Please critique!I used a Hobart handler 140.GMAW 75/25 gas. Voltage setting to 5 (max). Wire feed was set to around 40ish.ER70S-6 wire. 0.030"2" angle bracket 3/16" thick.Last edited by Kryoclasm; 09-05-2014 at 01:24 AM.Reason: title
Reply:I think someone forgot to strip the scale before welding. Weld like a "WELDOR", not a wel-"DERR" MillerDynasty700DX,Dynasty350DX4ea,Dynasty200DX,Li  ncolnSW200-2ea.,MillerMatic350P,MillerMatic200w/spoolgun,MKCobraMig260,Lincoln SP-170T,PlasmaCam/Hypertherm1250,HFProTig2ea,MigMax1ea.
Reply:Originally Posted by shovelonI think someone forgot to strip the scale before welding.
Reply:What process, machine, filler, and settings?GravelThe difference between theory and practice is that in theory there is no difference.
Reply:Originally Posted by GravelWhat process, machine, filler, and settings?
Reply:Originally Posted by KryoclasmI used a Hobart handler 140. GMAW 75/25 gas. Voltage setting to 5 (max). Wire feed was set to around 40ish.ER70S-6 wire. 0.030"2" angle bracket 3/16" thick.
Reply:Beads are cold. That little machine doesn't have the output to do material that thick despite what the manufacturers lit might say.Keep in mind with 110v migs to pay attention to the fine print in the manual. These machines need to be plugged into a dedicated 20 amp circuit directly. Using an extension cord or a 15 amp outlet saps the machine of input power and reduces the material thickness that they can weld well. Some guys go as far as putting in a dedicated 30 amp 110v circuit since most of these machines will draw more than 20 amps at max, so the unit isn't being limited any more than is absolutely necessary by the incoming power. That's a bit extreme, but it does allow you to get the most out of a limited machine.Under real world conditions, using a 20 amp circuit and trying to stay under the duty cycle limits, 1/8" is about the max small 140 amp class migs can do well.Oh and I fixed the title for you..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:So the lesson here is, you can set someone on fire with alcohol and other people will just think they are on drugs.
Reply:Originally Posted by VPTSo the lesson here is, you can set someone on fire with alcohol and other people will just think they are on drugs.
Reply:The thing that stood out the most for me is those unwrapped corners.   Where ever possible don't start or stop the weld at an inside corner.  Instead, learn to make the turn and weld thru it.
Reply:Cold, ropey, fat and wormy and bad prep. Other then that they still dont cut it.I hate being bi-polar it's awsomeMy Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Reply:Originally Posted by weldermikeCold, ropey, fat and wormy and bad prep. Other then that they still dont cut it.
Reply:Originally Posted by weldermikeCold, ropey, fat and wormy and bad prep. Other then that they still dont cut it.
Reply:Come on guys, I think you're being a little over critical here because  I honestly don't see any thing all that horrible about those welds.   In fact I'd have to say he did a pretty good job considering the machine he had to work with.   Keep in mind he's just building some wheeled dollies for his shop and not something the space shuttle will get transported around on.As to this always having to remove the mill scale before welding well,  while it never hurts I don't see it as always being necessary.  In fact I hard wire MIG weld over that kind of mill scale quite often with out problem.  Most of these wire's are designed with enough deoxidizers in them that they'll tolerate it.  Notice how his silcon islands are light brown in color?   That indicates to me that, that weld metal is pretty fully deoxidized.  When those silicon islands end up black that's an indication that you've got to much oxide (mill scale) present for the wire to deal with.  When that happens it's telling you need to do a little more pre weld prep to insure you get good metal laid down (or get a wire with more deoxidizer in it).
Reply:Walmart sells an angle grinder pretty cheap, probably even less if you are in the US
Reply:Originally Posted by GravelOuch. Don't sugar coat it. Kryoclasm, if you want to get a little more heat out of that 140 use fluxcore wire and shield it with CO2.
Reply:Originally Posted by MinnesotaDaveIf you are referring to regular self-shielded flux core and also running CO2 I'd have to disagree with you.  Self-shielded flux core should not be shielded with gas.But if you were referring to dual shield wire, kindly disregard
Reply:Originally Posted by GravelActually I was thinking about dual shield when I typed flux core but what ive used with CO2 is solid wire. Late night and early morning don't work together too well for me.
Reply:Originally Posted by MinnesotaDaveCoffee is your friend ...is for me anyway - lol
Reply:hmmm, I do tend to drink more coffee at work - it's already made Dave J.Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~ Syncro 350Invertec v250-sThermal Arc 161 and 300MM210DialarcTried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.
Reply:not bad for everyday non critical welding. in future wrap your corners.i.u.o.e. # 15queens, ny and sunny fla
Reply:Originally Posted by MinnesotaDaveYou may have put this in the wrong thread....or started drinking early
Reply:They are fine for what you are doing and the machine you are using. A 110v mug machine can work wonders if you know the tricks of using them. Clean the base material to shiny, use 0.023"-0.030" wire, and preheat if you can. I have personally used a millermatic 135 to weld 1" plate. It can be done just not recommended, don't let anybody trek you it's not possible.-Hillbilly
Reply:How many times did you pull the trigger to make those welds?
Reply:It is hard to tell from the angle the pic was taken but the first pic the upper weld on the left side looks like it might be have overlap. the second pic the upper left weld looks like it could have incomplete fusion at the start of the weldOk.....Didn't expect to get hit with a big hammer.Just FYI, I have been welding for about 2 days. Bear that in mind, please. Originally Posted by 12345678910How many times did you pull the trigger to make those welds?
Reply:Originally Posted by KryoclasmSorry, not sure what thread should it go in?
Reply:Kinda looks like a silver colored caterpillar, without the fine hairs Home hobbiest:Build all sorts of BBQ pits & smokers (trailer & non)Lincoln 225 Cracker box (antique)O/P torchRedneck tools out the a$$.They get me by!
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWWire wheels as mentioned earlier do not remove scale. You need a sanding disk or grinding wheel to get down to clean steel. A wire brush just burnishes the scale, it doesn't remove it.
Reply:You've been welding for 2 days and made those welds???Very nice! Took me longer than that to make good consistent beads when I first started.GravelThe difference between theory and practice is that in theory there is no difference.
Reply:Originally Posted by KryoclasmOk.....Didn't expect to get hit with a big hammer.Just FYI, I have been welding for about 2 days. Bear that in mind, please.Could please give a bit more in-depth feedback? Cold: I agree the start of the inside corners might be.Fat, ok: How can I put down the weld so I get the bacon sizzle and not go too fast so as to not make it colder?Still don't cut it: Please explain what I would need to to do bring this up to the point it would "cut it".
Reply:Probably the best thing I ever built with my 140 was a couple sets of shelves made out of 1.25" x 1/8" angle. It does well with 1/8" steel. If I had used my only other machine at the time (Thunderbolt stick welder) I would have had a tough time with all those short beads.You'll get more comfortable with the machine's capabilities and get materials accordingly.GravelThe difference between theory and practice is that in theory there is no difference.
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWDon't worry too much if the criticism seams "harsh". Most of us are pretty blunt when it comes to appraising welds. We aren't going to hold your hand and tell you it looks pretty when in fact it needs a lot of work. we understand you are new and learning. Knowing you screwed up is how you get better. Telling someone things look great when they aren't won't help you improve at all.The whole bead looks cold. We can tell that from how "humped" the welds look and how the toes tie into the base material. Knowing what you have as far as a machine, plus the material thickness, just confirms what we see in the picts.How you resolve this issue is to crank up the power. Problem is you just don't have any more power to use with a small 110v machine. A bigger 220v machine turned up 2 or 3 taps would burn in the beads better while not having to dump as much wire onto the steel. You only want tyour bead to be the size of the smallest base piece in thickness. This starts to break down below 1/8", simply because it's tough to lay down tiny beads with limited experience, but if you stay at 1/8" on smaller material you are still good. Bigger beads don't add any more strength. In some cases because you over heat the material, they can actually weaken the material and give you a less strong joint. Also when you get large cold beads like you have, the beads are just really sitting on the surface with minimal penetration. Lots of weld may make up for weak beads, but thats sort of like putting the wing back on a plane with  paint sticks and some tape. You really didn't solve the problem, even if it stays in place.best way to learn if you are serious is to look into a night class at a local high school, votec school or community college. When you sit down and ad up what it would cost you in gas, wire, electric and materials, not to mention the better equipment and instruction, a class is stupid cheap. Where I help out teaching, a class brakes down to roughly $11.50 an hour for all the material you can use in class. If you apply yourself it's very easy to use up way more in material than you are paying for the class. Also once you use a 220v powered machine and see the difference the added power makes to getting decent welds on even thin material, more of this will make sense.Not completely true, but pretty close. What happened to you is pretty typical of new guys starting out without any information with which to make informed choices. Small 110v migs are great for sheet metal and small non critical projects, but the vast majority of guy almost imeadiately out grow the machines as they move on to more involved projects. Part of the issue is that manufacturers know guys want to get in inexpensively, and want to avoid machines they can't simply plug into any old outlet. They use this to entice guys to buy machines that really are not well suited to what the vast majority really want to do. Don't worry too much, most of us were in the same position when we 1st started. Put of the replies to you is so others who haven't bought a machine yet can learn from others mistakes and avoid having to go out and look for  abigger welder right away.
Reply:If you browse thru a bunch of the older "improve my weld" threads, you'll find a lot of good info on identifying poor welds. Unfortunately I don't have a great search term to help narrow down the list. I and several others, have done dozens of posts where we identified specific areas of welds to help new guys better understand what some terms mean. Yours don't have any really great glaring examples that make it really easy for me to point out things a new guy would pick up right away.Keep posting up picts of your practice along with machine used ( we forget with the number of posters here)  and settings as well as material thickness and we'll try to help you learn..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:I had boyscout s welding like that in about 15 minutes.  Except we had more power. The "MIG like TIG" weaving makes for a pretty consistent bead. However, I believe it spreads the heat and make it look like it's wetting out when it's not.  If your going to do that, small loops...  As DSW said, the bead should comparable to the thickness of the material.
Reply:I don't remember if it's been said before or not, but check out jody's videos on weldingtipsandtricks.com  lots of good stuff. Your small welder will just have limitations. In order to get enough heat you may try pre-heating to 300-350* first.Teach Ag Mech - Mike At Home:Lincoln Electric AC225Miller Challenger 172Gas AxeWork:eclectic bunch of 90's vintage blue boxes
Reply:I'm no expert but I agree with the others that the welds do look on the cold side. I haven't done much mig welding myself. "Only did so when I was in high school shop class when I was 16" Which was 10 years ago. I wish I would've kept up with mig welding as I was getting good at it in school. One of these days I hope to purchase myself a mig welder. I do have to say though. Those welds you did are fantastic welds compared to the ones on my dad's 2 home cheapo trailers.  Originally Posted by MinnesotaDaveCoffee is your friend ...is for me anyway - lol
Reply:If you bought a 140 with the intent of frequently welding 3/16 you made the wrong choice.Your technique is pretty decent. I don't get all the circle jerks. Pull the trigger and push the puddle. If you were throwing 160-170 amps at it it would be slick.WFO with a 30 amp breaker and 10/3 wire you might have 100 amps. 1/8" welder.Bubble gumTooth pixDuct tapeBlack glueGBMF hammerScrew gun --bad battery (see above)
Reply:Originally Posted by BurpeeI don't get all the circle jerks.
Reply:Originally Posted by BurpeeIf you bought a 140 with the intent of frequently welding 3/16 you made the wrong choice.Your technique is pretty decent. I don't get all the circle jerks. Pull the trigger and push the puddle. If you were throwing 160-170 amps at it it would be slick.WFO with a 30 amp breaker and 10/3 wire you might have 100 amps. 1/8" welder.
Reply:Originally Posted by BurpeeIf you bought a 140 with the intent of frequently welding 3/16 you made the wrong choice.Your technique is pretty decent. I don't get all the circle jerks. Pull the trigger and push the puddle. If you were throwing 160-170 amps at it it would be slick.WFO with a 30 amp breaker and 10/3 wire you might have 100 amps. 1/8" welder.