My O/A steel welds

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Ran a few quick beads yesterday in prep for weld-o-rama as I haven't touched my torch in like 6 months.  Been praticing alum only but new project will be all steel so need to start praticing that.  It feels like its slow motion with steel and I think I was rushing it.  Also maybe using too small of a tip?  When I tried to turn the torch up more it was blowing around the puddle.  Also maybe filler rod was too thick as it seemed like it was cooling the puddle too much?  Also didn't prep the steel other than wiping with acetone first.  Just wanted to make sure I remember how to use the torch before showing up to weld-o-rama.  This was the best out of the 4 pratice welds I did.  Looks cold to me, didn't check the back side of it.  3/16" cold rolled steeloxy 10 psiact 5 psivictor torch #2 tipNuetral flame
Reply:Looks like a cold 6011 electrode used on a 110v machine.   "Hey I didn't come to look and learn, I came to turn and burn.... If I can't light up, I'm gonna light out!"-JodyIdealarc 250 "Fatman"MM 252MM 211 "Little boy" Victor Torches
Reply:For oxyacet it looks good to me.  How was the other side of the joint?Miller Dynasty 200DXMiller Spectrum 250DMiller Millermatic 200Bunch of old blue dinosaurs....
Reply:Originally Posted by ANVILLooks like a cold 6011 electrode used on a 110v machine.
Reply:That tip is way too small for 3/16" steel.   #2 Victor is a 56 drill size and good only up to about 1/8" sheet.Also, for a #2 tip, the pressure for both oxygen and acetylene should be between 3-5 psi according to Victor.  Although some folks will disagree and set their pressures differently.  The settings are important for a number of reasons, not the least of which is to prevent oxygen from flowing back into the acetylene line.http://victortechnologies.com/IM_Upl...__Sept2009.pdf
Reply:Ok tried again with #3 tip, 5 psi oxy, 4 psi acetKept blowing out the flame.  I think I was overheating the puddle or filler rod.  Does that mean I am holding it too close or maybe I still need to go to a bigger tip size?first weld2nd weld, stopped after blowing out the flame.  back side
Reply:Remember two ways to cool a weld:-more filler rod-less heatAlthough uniform, the bead looks cold.Miller Dynasty 200DXMiller Spectrum 250DMiller Millermatic 200Bunch of old blue dinosaurs....
Reply:It's fine and I like your efforts. Keep in mind: This type of welding is melting the 2 pieces together and adding filler ONLY to maintain thickness. Nothing more.For a lap weld/no filler is needed. For a butt weld, the molten pool needs filler /just enough to maintain the thickness of the two pieces being glued together. Sometimes my friends cackle when I light my torch. "porque no uso de MIG Dooglas'I just go out and fuse it together----walk away.Oxy acet is the finest form of welding. Tungsten is a distant second.Stick is awesome. MIG is for lazy, no can weld, basstidz.Bubble gumTooth pixDuct tapeBlack glueGBMF hammerScrew gun --bad battery (see above)
Reply:Originally Posted by BurpeeIt's fine and I like your efforts. Keep in mind: This type of welding is melting the 2 pieces together and adding filler ONLY to maintain thickness. Nothing more.For a lap weld/no filler is needed. For a butt weld, the molten pool needs filler /just enough to maintain the thickness of the two pieces being glued together. Sometimes my friends cackle when I light my torch. "porque no uso de MIG Dooglas'I just go out and fuse it together----walk away.Oxy acet is the finest form of welding. Tungsten is a distant second.Stick is awesome. MIG is for lazy, no can weld, basstidz.
Reply:I'm certainly no expert, but when I was having issues with popping and the torch going out, I was holding it too close to the metal and getting the steel way too hot.
Reply:Originally Posted by DeuceTrinalI'm certainly no expert, but when I was having issues with popping and the torch going out, I was holding it too close to the metal and getting the steel way too hot.
Reply:thanks for the reply guys.  I think I might be too close, I am not touching it but I don't know if I am 1/8" away.  Next time I will try and put a 1/8" piece of alum next to the weld while I am welding and maybe that will give me a guide on how far away to keep the inner flame.Tried again last night and I think I got better results.  Didn't use as much filler and adjusted the torch angle out more.  I think I had the torch angle too steep and that was part of my over heating problem.  When I lessened the angle I was able to keep the puddle going longer with out popping.  It only popped once but that might have been becuase I was too close.
Reply:This one looks much more washed in, but it got hotter at the end and your travel speed needs to speed up to compensate. The crater near the end is probably the metal popping from overheat. You can also pop or put out your torch by putting the filler rod right into the inner flame. tanglediver said it, keep the rod out of the inner flame, and melt it with the puddle, not the flame.
Reply:Originally Posted by DeuceTrinalThis one looks much more washed in, but it got hotter at the end and your travel speed needs to speed up to compensate. The crater near the end is probably the metal popping from overheat. You can also pop or put out your torch by putting the filler rod right into the inner flame. tanglediver said it, keep the rod out of the inner flame, and melt it with the puddle, not the flame.
Reply:I use a #5 tip(V100) on  3/16. 5-6 lb acct/13-15 O2R45 3/32.Bubble gumTooth pixDuct tapeBlack glueGBMF hammerScrew gun --bad battery (see above)
Reply:Originally Posted by BurpeeI use a #5 tip(V100) on  3/16. 5-6 lb acct/13-15 O2R45 3/32.
Reply:Victor has a good chart here, page 2 shows what pressures to use for which tips, and which tip for what metal thickness range. It also shows the flow rate, which is important for Acetylene. Never exceed 1/7 of your cylinder's capacity in cubic feet per hour. That means if you have a 100 cf tank, you should not exceed 14.2 cf/h. That means you can just barely use a #4 tip.
Reply:Originally Posted by DeuceTrinalVictor has a good chart here, page 2 shows what pressures to use for which tips, and which tip for what metal thickness range. It also shows the flow rate, which is important for Acetylene. Never exceed 1/7 of your cylinder's capacity in cubic feet per hour. That means if you have a 100 cf tank, you should not exceed 14.2 cf/h. That means you can just barely use a #4 tip.
Reply:Originally Posted by RodJ+1 to what Duece says.  I was reading through and just about to bring this point up.  What size acetylene cylinder to you have?Popping seems to occur for me when the tip gets too hot like when the flame is oriented too vertical and the heat bounces back.  That last weld looked a lot better but I think belevling will help a lot.  Here's a link to ESAB book.  This page and next page.  http://www.esabna.com/euweb/oxy_handbook/589oxy12_2.htmVery cool of you to spend time learning OA.  I found it frustrating but this makes me want to go back and spend some time with it and get better.  Something very soothing about it.EDIT - how are you supporting the work?
Reply:Piano or harp ? Welding also takes practice.You'll be fine.Really, you've got it already. Just keep doing it and work with options, tips,pressure, heat, prep etc. Build some stuff.Anything.Trash can lockup. Shade house.Animal trap.Thin barrel smoker. Get some firebrick(refractory brick)to sit the heavier work pieces on. Keeps a steel table from stealing your heat.It will actually allow a smaller tip, giving you slower travel yet more control.Go get some exhaust pipe, cut it up and weld up a snake.Or a light work table or gate or.... Great practice with a torch.Bubble gumTooth pixDuct tapeBlack glueGBMF hammerScrew gun --bad battery (see above)
Reply:Thanks for this discussion.  Weather is supposed to moderate and I'm looking forward to O/A time.Jerry30+ yrs Army Infantry & Field Artillery, 25 yrs agoMiller 350LX Tig Runner TA 210, spool gunLincoln 250/250 IdealArcESAB PCM 500i PlasmaKazoo 30"  vert BSKazoo 9x16 horiz BSClausing 12x24 lathe20T Air Press
Reply:Yes, that size cylinder is going to limit you to 1/8" mild steel maybe a scoonch more as a practical matter.  Preheat, uphill, and beveling will help a lot on if you want to keep working with the 3/16".  Don't be discouraged at all, though.  Those are not BAD welds.  Right now I'd be pretty happy with that. Don't know how much practice you have, but there's nothing in those pictures to be discouraged about.  Not at all.So, try beveling the butt of each so you have about 1/16" nose and an included angle of about 60 degrees (take off 30 degrees off each piece).  Keep a maybe 1/32" gap, use your #3 tip and fill 'er up like burpee says.  Oh, and suspend the pieces between two fire bricks so they're hanging in the air so to speak.  If you want you could try a little uphill by stacking the bricks and leaning the tacked up pieces between the table and the top of the stack.Damn, I'm going out to the garage and fire up my torch.  You'll feel a LOT better when I post up some pictures.
Reply:Your last bead may have been kind of flat, but I don't know how the back side looked. Aside from overheating & burning through the back and dripping, it is better to get good penetration to start, because it is hard to try to go back and get that later. It is easy to run a second pass to build weld metal.I always enjoy torch welding, unless it goes bad, but that never happens. jk, Always trying to improve.City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny