New Welder looking for feedback

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Hola,I am just learning to mig weld with a Lincoln 175. I have used it a few times for sheetmetal repair on my scout and now would like to move on to welding tube joints. I bent and fitup my cage last winter and after fully procrastinating for about a year I am ready to start practicing and get on to welding up the cage. These are a practice run on 1 3/4 .120 wall HREW using the factory settings "E" and "7.5" with 0.030 wire. Any advice you experienced welders can provide would be greatly appreciated. After welding I put it in a press and bent the arms down to try and get the welds to fail. It pretty much just crushed the tube. After that I cut the tube in half. It's not getting full penetration and you can see where the heat was lower at the starts/stops. Would the lack of penetration be considered normal for a fillet weld on tubing? After cuttign the tube in half I fully bent the arms in the other direction and the tube tore at the toe of the weld. It seems as if the weld is acceptable but I'd like to really dial it in before I start welding up the cage. Attached Images
Reply:Ahhhh yes..Here we go.....zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:I see all sorts of issues with the welds in pict #2. Looks like you were too cold on the upper ones and the lower ones didn't tie in together well among other things. The other ones show you are not moving consistently around the joint and either pausing or starting and stopping.If you want to learn to weld tube, 1st learn to weld flat plates well in all positions.  Once you can make good solid welds in all positions on plate, then start with the basic tube positions like horizontal (2G) then progressing to vertical  (5G) and finally (6G) where the tube is at a 45 deg angle vertically. Then move on to tube clusters.Tube is much harder than flat plate, because you need to transition between overhead, vertical and then flat as well as possibly horizontal depending on the joint position. With flat plate it's "easy" since you can keep the gun angle relative to the work the same as you go with no issues. On tube, you must constantly change the gun angle, to maintain the same gun angle in relation to the position on the joint where you are welding. I see lots of people try to hold the gun at the same angle relative to themselves as they weld tube instead of maintaining the same relationship to the work as they rotate around the joint..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:Originally Posted by DSWI see all sorts of issues with the welds in pict #2. Looks like you were too cold on the upper ones and the lower ones didn't tie in together well among other things. The other ones show you are not moving consistently around the joint and either pausing or starting and stopping.If you want to learn to weld tube, 1st learn to weld flat plates well in all positions.  Once you can make good solid welds in all positions on plate, then start with the basic tube positions like horizontal (2G) then progressing to vertical  (5G) and finally (6G) where the tube is at a 45 deg angle vertically. Then move on to tube clusters.Tube is much harder than flat plate, because you need to transition between overhead, vertical and then flat as well as possibly horizontal depending on the joint position. With flat plate it's "easy" since you can keep the gun angle relative to the work the same as you go with no issues. On tube, you must constantly change the gun angle, to maintain the same gun angle in relation to the position on the joint where you are welding. I see lots of people try to hold the gun at the same angle relative to themselves as they weld tube instead of maintaining the same relationship to the work as they rotate around the joint.
Reply:Thanks for the comments. I definitely need the practice. Any tips on improving tie ins when there is a stop/start?
Reply:DSW not trying to be a jerk here - trying to learn more.  Looking at pic #2 I see what looks like good tie-in.  Not sitting on top, welds look melted in nicely.  Can you point to things on the pic that tell you otherwise?Thanks!-DaveXMT304 with: 22A Feeder, or HF251 Hi Freq DC TIG air cooled
Reply:Originally Posted by davecDSW not trying to be a jerk here - trying to learn more.  Looking at pic #2 I see what looks like good tie-in.  Not sitting on top, welds look melted in nicely.  Can you point to things on the pic that tell you otherwise?Thanks!
Reply:Gotcha.  Thanks-DaveXMT304 with: 22A Feeder, or HF251 Hi Freq DC TIG air cooled
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