Welding feedback wanted

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I think I'm finally getting the hang of this welding thing. Thought I'd post up a couple of pics and get any feedback you all have to fine tune my technique, as I'm trying to get to the point that I'm comfortable welding stuff (like suspension) that has safety implications. Apologies for the crappy cell phone pics, our real camera died. I'm welding an axle off a full size 9" to my old Subaru flywheel to make a stand for my bench grinder. The flange is somewhere in the neighborhood of 3/8" or 7/16". Wire feed was set to 455 and voltage was at 23 on Hobart .035 ER70S-6 wire . Any advice?
Reply:Looks good. Little hot maybe. 23 volts at 455 ipm should have a little more build up than that though. Are you moving really quick through the weld? Also what gas are you using?One pointer I can give that I was taught: at the end of your weld, hold the trigger for a second when you reach the end if your weld. That little extra weld time will help fill in the crater you have. Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk now Free
Reply:That's a lot of bee-bees, but the weld looks OK. Maybe a tad too much wire? Probably should hold till it breaks.
Reply:I'm running C25.  Can't really say if I'm moving too fast, could well be.  I'm largely self-taught, so I don't have much in the way of reference points.  I was thinking that it was a little hot, I've got a small amount of undercut that doesn't show well in the pictures.  I suspect the bee-bees are from some crap on the metal.  I ground it shiny before welding, but still had some stuff smoking on the parts that were welded.
Reply:Maybe weave the pass with a J motion, pausing at the top before whipping it down and back up. Settings look about right. Maybe bump the volts a tad, or lower the wire speed closer to 400, but that's just preference. Travel speed looks good, maybe a bit fast, and it seems like you're starting the tie ins too far ahead. Is the bead up front a second pass? If not then you gotta work on keeping the welds in line (via the bead on the right, that looks more up on the flange than on the base).Overall it's not a bad job. If you have to, get some soap stone/chalk/whatever and draw a line for you to follow. To be honest, I would not use solid wire to weld anything critical. Just my personal views. Try some flux wire if you can.
Reply:sorry, not trying to hijack this thread....how do you guys get the welds to look like that?  what is the technique called ? they look so cool...thanks!!
Reply:The V shape of the bead ripples tells me you need to slow down. Spatter tells me you might need to tighten up your stickout some. On average not to bad, but you need to tweak some things to dial it in more..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 lovetowrenchitsorry, not trying to hijack this thread....how do you guys get the welds to look like that?  what is the technique called ? they look so cool...thanks!!
Reply:thanks! for the info and advice, all I ever see are dime looking welds or something resembling a layered ringI got a lot more research to do...thanks again
Reply:From a non-instructor point of view.. the V pattern in his bead is a straight stringer bead moving relatively fast. No weave or oscillation. Just pull the trigger and move. If you go slower, you won't see the ripples. The dimes you see (from mig welding) are circular patterns. Cursive e weaves, J weaves, circles... etc. Keep in mind no singular pattern is the "right way".
Reply:I got you! I'm just learning how to use what some folks call junk, to FCAW with, just a beginner at age 50, have always wanted to do this
Reply:Thanks for the feedback and info!