Okay this is all the practice I got today but what am I doing wrong

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Okay these where my first today, settings for 1/8 inch per LincolnThis run I turned down the heat a bit because I was melting away the bar on the first runThese three I tried pushingTried to show the profile hereI have not had any time and this was rushed. I did make the time to bottle some applejack I made today :-) but that's another forum. TimSent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Reply:The better question would be what aren't you doing wrong. More info needed like settings , material thickness and rom the pictures cant even tell what process. If you made those beads 1 after another without cooling that would explain having to turn it down.Miller xmt304,  Miller S22 p12, Miier Maxstar SD, Miller 252 w 30A, Miller super32p12, Lincoln Ranger 9, Thermal Arc 181I with spoolgun, Hypertherm 10000 ,Smith torches. Esab 161lts miniarc.
Reply:Oh I see, okay Lincoln 110 flux core .035 heat set to D and wire speed at 2Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Reply:Electrode hooked to negative, about 3-4 inch stickout and drag your bead. The material may be too thin for your setting. The manufactures charts are a good starting point.Miller xmt304,  Miller S22 p12, Miier Maxstar SD, Miller 252 w 30A, Miller super32p12, Lincoln Ranger 9, Thermal Arc 181I with spoolgun, Hypertherm 10000 ,Smith torches. Esab 161lts miniarc.
Reply:I was going with about 3/8 stick out, the chart said D/2 for 1/8 so that's what I was going with. Last time I tried I was going too fast, this time maybe too slow. I just haven't had time  to practice. I did that today in like 10 minutes. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Reply:I'm by no means a pro so take my advice for what it's worth to you. I have a Lincoln weldpak 100 and use flux core in. Drag the bead with flux core. It looks like you need to work on consistency because the bead doesn't have a uniform thickness. Brace your hands comfortably before you start welding and it should be easier. Also you may want to play with the settings. For my Lincoln welding 1/8inch I usually set it to "c" and I almost always have the speed set to 2ish. Keep practicing and it will get better.
Reply:Thanks dman, yes I was really just getting to know the welder, I have only even touched it twice and was in a hurry both times. I also have never used a welder before,.Just have a lot going on. What year is yours? Mine is a 1991, it was never used, and I have a mig kit for it. The book says for 1/8 to 5/16 use setting D-2 with flux core wire.  I'd like to spend an hour a day, I'm lucky to get 10-20 minutes a day. What is your experience with thickness limits? Guys here all say 1/8 is the practical limit, but I have friends with wire welders that say they do a little thicker. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Reply:You need to understand the mind set that goes behind the thickness question.The average home owner or 4x4 guy just looks at it that if things don't fall apart, the machine is capable of welding that thickness. Some look at the back and if they see heat marks, they think they are getting good penetration. Others look and if the welds look "pretty" they think they are good.However a person who is a "pro" has a bit higher standards. 110v migs are known for producing "pretty" looking cold welds. Some one who knows and understand what this means can quickly point out things like cold toes and poor fusion. Things the hobbyist won't see or understand. When they are setting thickness limits, they are talking about working to standards that when used show a weld will pass specific industry standard tests like form the AWS, not just " I hit it with a hammer and it didn't break..." These sorts of tests are designed to be repeatable. If you are doing a tensile test for example, the steel itself away from the weld should fail, not the weld itself. If we are talking about bend tests, when the piece is bent, there shouldn't be signs of poor fusion, slag inclusions and so on. these tests are designed to give people a given standard so that when welds are done, they know the weld is NOT the weak link in the chain.There is a difference between the two. The home hobbyist doesn't usually care if the yard art he builds breaks because a weld is cold. So it really doesn't matter if he welds 2 pieces of 1/4" together with a 110v machine and they stay. However a "pro" today has to understand liability. You can't just stick 2 pieces of 1/4" together on critical things and "hope" it holds. You can't just pile on more poor welds and expect that it's good. The welds are still anchored to the base material with the poor welds underneath.Thickness ratings are hard for hobbyists to understand because they usually have just a couple dozen hours of welding done. Guys that have a couple thousand hours of weld will usually know the difference.I hope this helps.Even if their estimate of max thickness is low, it's not really low by very much. Instead of 1/8", you might get a tiny bit more, but we aren't talking about going from 1/8" to 1/4". The extra is typically so small it's not really worth the difference..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:DSW, I hear you, I guess I want hear what I want to hear. Just trying to understand, and I am going to take the class so I will know how to weld the right way. I am by the way just as interested in "yard art" as I am building a trailer or a good cooker. I do very much value what your telling, and I just was looking for his 2 cents. We talked about my power source outside, you where correct, no neutral, 2 hots and a ground. So I'm going to make that a 30A 110V plug. For what I have today to practice with, that's all I need. I do have a power cord, that plugs into my drier at 220V that I made for my generator, I know that's not the right way to back feed, but it worked just fine when turning off the main and the manual disconnect for the house at the meter can. I live in Florida, and hurricanes can ruin your day. I also have a generator that's running at 5 kw and peaking at 7.5 with a twist lock 220v so I could use that for a power source too?  I'll make up a power cord for a 220 welder when I get one. My plan was to learn and master one type of welding at a time, that's why I started with the HF stick welder. Then I bought that tig torch, then I got that Lincoln and I haven't focused on any of them really. Just been all over the place. So I think the best thing for me to do is go back to my original plan, hell I can't weld well enough to even build my own welding table to practice on. Also I'll just need to buy a proper regulator for that tig, I read the manual on the Lincoln and that regulator is not adjustable, it's factory preset for the MIG conversion of the flux core to solid so that's where I'm going to use it. Sound like a good plan?Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Reply:If it were me I would make sure the welder is plugged into a dedicated 20 amp circuit, after that I would try turning up your wire speed for .035 wire. Seems to slow for me.