Beat up a noob!

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Hi.  I just got a used Lincoln HD 3200.  Yep, it's the 110v model, but at least it's the most powerful 110v that Lincoln offers, at 135 amps max.Here's my first test beads with Lincoln Innershield NR-211-MP .035 flux core.  It's on 1/8" steel and all penetrated to the back.  I had the welder set to the highest amperage and the wire speed to the suggested 3.5.I was having a really hard time seeing the puddle because of the darkness of the helmet.  I also wasn't in a good position because I don't have a proper welder's table (now I know why there are so many of those in the project forum) and because I was ready to be showered with hot metal and possibly zapped.  I welded the wire to the plate a few times, because my stick-out was too long.  Otherwise, it seemed easier than I expected.So, how visible is the puddle when your helmet is set properly?  I started at shade 14 and moved down to 10.5, but I still couldn't see the puddle terribly well.  My eyes did kind of tingle for the rest of the day though.  What shade would you guys use for this scenario?Thanks!  Now, anyone want to beat up a noob?  Here are my ugly welds! Attached Images
Reply:Define "all penetrated to the back" please? Those welds all look cold. Post up what you had the machine set at as far as power and wire speed so we have an idea how you were set up and can suggest differnt settings.  Looking at lincolns chart on the sp135 I believe it shows that you should start at G-3 on the settings for 1/8" with FC wire.Try and set your self up to be as comfortable as posible. Try and rest your arms to support yourself. Push the gun as you go. Try and maintain a steady pace as you weld.It's a bit easier to identify good vs bad welds if you run them in the same direction rather than all over the plate. Don't forget to let the plate cool down between beads, the residual heat from previous welds will affect how the machine needs to be set. I would grab 4 or 5 pieces to work on so same can cool as you weld others. A bucket of water will aslo work but you need to dry the plate before you begin to weld again.Keep at it and post up some more of your work as you go along.Good luck.
Reply:Originally Posted by clearchris... I had the welder set to the highest amperage and the wire speed to the suggested 3.5.
Reply:Opps, don't know how I missed that.  Guess it's getting a bit late for me.
Reply:Chris ,First of all welcomeSecondly what is your "Stick out"? ie how far away are you holding the torch from the weldment?A good guess is better than a bad measurement
Reply:Chris, the first thing you gotta do is square away your gear...So, how visible is the puddle when your helmet is set properly? I started at shade 14 and moved down to 10.5, but I still couldn't see the puddle terribly well. My eyes did kind of tingle for the rest of the day though. What shade would you guys use for this scenario?
Reply:Hi Chris, welcome aboard. I am with everyone... the welding hood, eyes tingle thing makes me not trust your hood right now too much. If the hood is a Lincoln, Snap on, Miller, etc, I would suggest batteries may be a culprit, as these are all decent hoods. If it is a $30 auto darkening hood from Harbor Freight, just toss it in the can. Your eyes are worth far more than a junk hood. Get a fixed lens, non auto darkening hood if you don't have the extra cash for a good unit, that way you are at least protected.As for the welds: I would not change any settings yet. Learn your machine a bit more just like it is set up, and then maybe you'll wind up going faster on wire speed a bit. Some advice- slow and steady. It takes a little practice, but at first, 2 hand the gun, and try pushing the weld with the gun slightly angled, maybe 20 degrees or so. Slow and steady is how it starts. You'll hear it burn in properly, you'll feel it, and with a good hood, you'll see it happen. Maybe you can use a SLIGHT forward, pause,forward pattern to start out with. No circles, no 'C' cup patterns. Your first job is a straight, clean weld. Then, stick a bunch of scrap together, and then you are ready to experiment. From there, the sky is the limit.And don't let anyone tank you for the 110V welder, they do a fine job as long as you aren't welding tractors, or aluminum.And then, after so much work...... you have it in your hand, and you look over to your side...... and the runner has run off. Leaving you holding the prize, wondering when the runner will return.
Reply:Define "all penetrated to the back" please?
Reply:Chris,FYI, you had the VOLTAGE knob on the highest setting (D), and you had the wire speed (which is pretty much the amperage setting on a wire-feed machine) on 3.5 (out of 10).My looking at the parameter chart shows D-3 as suggested for 1/8 inch steel with that machine.Looking at your beads, you need to slow down on your travel speed and let the arc and the weld bead 'do their thing'.  You also need to get comfortable, and to get a nice uniform travel speed as you weld.The comfortable part, as you discovered, is why a welding table or platform is one of the first things many people make.  You can generally make a better weld and do better work if you are not all uncomfortable and bent-over and kneeling on the ground all the time.  Not that there aren't times when you'll have to be uncomfortable and bent-over and kneeling on the ground anyway.The heat discoloration on the back side of the plate was just that, heat discoloration.  The slight 'suck-up' was from the weld on the top of the plate cooling and contracting as it cooled and solidified.  It's not really indicating penetration (which is when the arc or other heat source melts the parent material completely through as the weld is occurring).  If that were actually occurring, you'd have a 'keyhole' right in front of the the arc as you were welding as the arc completely melted the parent material.Yes, keeping the stick-out distance close and consistent is part of the learning and skill of welding.  And 3/8 inch (10 mm) is the right recommended stick-out for that wire (size and settings).Regarding the 'tingling' eyes, that's not right.  Something (besides the shade setting) on the helmet isn't right.  Maybe you have a small gap around the lens and some arc light is blasting into the helmet?  Or a wall or other surface right behind your head is reflecting the arc light into the helmet from the back?A shade of 11-13 should be OK to let you see the puddle.  You do have to learn to look -at- the puddle (which is the molten metal that is being welded) and not at the bright light of the arc itself.  It takes a bit of practice and concentration to remember to look at the puddle and not the arc (the eyes try to look at the bright spot until you do otherwise).And the lens will kind of make everything dark and green (or other colors) because that is the color of the lens.  The video was either color-corrected or shot through a different filter and thus the colors may look different than what you see through your helmet.Practice and slow down.  Post some more pictures, get feedback, and practice some more.
Reply:For MIG welding the #14 glass is what you want.Maybe you could use a 12 but the 10.5 is definately too light.The 10-11 would be used with the TIG process.Use a magnifier 175 and see how much easier it is.Especially if you are over 40.To practice your welding you need to be welding a joint, NOT A FLAT PLATE.Weld plates together. Tack first on each end.Also make a "T joint and practice a fillet weld.Welding on a flat plate does not tell you much and as the plate heats up you would have to change welding settings constantly.The weld profile would look too high and cold when the amperage and travel speed could be right.Weld seams or joints NOT on top of a flat plate.
Reply:Donald,Where did you get the shade numbers you suggest below? Is this just your experience or is it recommended by a manufacturer or other source?I ask because I have always welded at shade 10. No matter the type of welding, MIG or Stick (I don't have TIG yet) and never had any problems even after welding most of the day.If I set to #14 I doubt I would see anything good enough to make a decent weld.Your 10.5 is too light comment has me wondering since I use #10 at all times.I have tried 9 before and it DEFINITELY was to light.I will have to try these darker shades and see if I can do anything at all at those settings."Use a magnifier 175 and see how much easier it is. Especially if you are over 40."Since I am over 50 I guess I need a 275, right?  Actually I see pretty good for an old man and never tried a magnifier.Bob
Reply:D Branscom: Yeah, I started on shade 14, and all I could see was a dim white spec for the arc and nothing else.  I'm 31 and my eyes are pretty good.  I'll try out a magnifier anyway, thanks for the tip!Has anyone tried a polarizing film in a helmet?  I would think cutting down on the glare from the arc would also make the puddle more visible.  I searched for polarized welding lenses but couldn't find any.  I did however find some polarizing film that could be attached to a standard lens inside the helmet.http://www.polarization.com/cgi-bin/.../polarshop.cgiTo practice your welding you need to be welding a joint, NOT A FLAT PLATE.
Reply:I run the exact same machine, and I use a #10 shade in my lincoln helmet.I will try to get pics for you, but I had to run about 5 lbs. of wire through the machine to get a feel for it.Now I am just a noob myself, but it looks like you could prob. slow down on the weld travel.ESAB MIGMASTER 250and a No Name AD Helmet from my Local Supplier...In the only color that matters...CAMO
Reply:Chris, I use an adjustable shade hood and find that I mostly keep it around 10-11, but if running higher current I will increase it, and likewise decrease for lower current work. My rule of thumb is to run the lightest shade that keeps me from having any discomfort.I think the actual shade # may vary from person to person. Some are more light sensitive than others, as Danny pointed out.Last edited by daddy; 06-28-2008 at 07:47 AM.
Reply:I'll disagree with not welding on flat plate. You need to learn what the machine is doing at first, rather than complicate things with other paramiters like joint gap, joint position and so on. Most people I know who have learned to weld in a class setting learned to run beads on flat plate or in the V of and angle first then moved to joints. I must have filled 2 3" angles with pads before I moved to joints.Can you just jump into joints, yes, but it's kind of like learning to juggle 6 balls right from the start. Start with 1, then 2 and continue from there. Once you have run a bunch of beads on plate and have things like speed, stickout, power and wire speed control down so that you can control your puddle THEN move to joints in my opinion. I feel to many go to joints to fast then can't understand why they have problems and poor penetration. They never learned to control the settings in a simple enviroment so now theres now way they can understand why they are haveing issues, let along correct them.Don't forget to change thicknesses as you practice. this will help you get used to resetting the machine for different thicknesses. You don't need to do this every other weld. MAybe just 1/2 way thru your practice once you begin to have confidence inthe skills you have developed on the thickness you are working on. Also as said before remember that heat of the plate affects your settings so try and work with cold/warm materials as opposed to HOT ones.
Reply:I saw that chart too Donald and it isn't worth the paper it is printed on. I used a 14 and sometimes a 15 when I was 20. Now it's a 9 or 10 (sometimes higher for larger electrodes) and that depends on the light around me. I use the same lens for mig, tig and stick, but with the new hoods it's easily customized for the conditions you find yourself in. Never skimp on your hood. As a welder you make your living with your eyes so you take good care of them. If you need a cheater you need to get the one that fits your eyes. Some are one piece and some are two piece so you can fit each eye. If you need a cheater you probably need glasses anyway. I wear glasses (now bifocals) and no cheater. On a side note for the more advanced welders. If you start busting x-rays for no apparent reason go get your eyes checked. Happened to me. Got my new prescription in and it stopped.The difference between art and craft is the quality of the workmanship. I am an artist.
Reply:I slammed the welds with a welding hammer (axe?) and though it put some nicks in the weld metal, nothing chipped off.  I hit it hard enough to regret not thinking to wear earplugs (oww my ears).  Next, I cut it with an angle grinder.  I couldn't see any striations or difference in the metal where the welds were.  Next, to weld the pieces back together and see how I do.
Reply:Ok, so I chopped up my plate into 3 pieces.  Tried a fillet weld (both sides) and a square groove weld.  I didn't bevel or clean off the mill scale, but I did leave a gap between the pieces about 1/16 to 1/8 wide.  Welds didn't look pretty, but seemed pretty solid.Then I tried a few straight welds on the plate.  I turned the shade down to 10, and wow, I could see!One thing I noticed is that I left the fillet weld and the groove weld with a "C" shaped hole at the end of the weld.  Is that my taking the arc away too fast?Also, I noticed my welding gun seems to have a hair trigger.  Has anyone replaced the spring in there with something that might provide a little more resistance to a gloved finger?Thanks!
Reply:chris you are doing just fine.  you have made some great strides and improvements.  keep practicing.  the best thing i can say is build some projects.  it will keep your welding interesting and you will have something useful in the process.  some of my first projects were yard implements, wagons, garden trailers, repairing tools and making custom tools.  i also did small stuff for friends.  you will find that welding projects will force you to weld in a variety of positions that will ultimately make you better.