Check my puddle

admin

22 gauge steel 4 psi on Oxy & Acetylene. No experiance and am reading the "Welder's Handbook" sold at Home Depot.I think this is what everything should look like and the penetration is showing through the back side. I started playing with dipping the rod in the puddle but that didn't turn out well at all. I'd either stop moving the torch and burn through the metal or the rod would stick. That is going to take some practice.
Reply:Why don't you try this, on some 18 gauge sheet steel or even 16ga. if you are less confident, you have 22 use that even but don't make your learning expeience to difficult, take a #1 tip or #0 tip(whatever works for you) and begin running the torch on the steel until you begin to see sparks flying off and cherry red centr and try to make the puddle liquify for long stringers without burning through the steel and continue doing this until you are proficient at it, pull back abit when it gets to hot slightly and keep tip in a circular motion and back to maintain uniform heat and color do not use any filler metal yet, just the torch on steel running stringers,post some pics of the bottom scale so we can see how your penetration is, then butt two peices together and continue doing the same stringers, only adding filler at the beginning, then move onto a 1/16th spacing and add filler to the weldment ahead of yourpuddle with the rod close enough to keep if hot also, but don't focus on it.This will develope your handskills for all types of welding.And it will not take long to accomplish if you have the handskills.