Critique my first mig welds.

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Im using a lincoln 140 with a 75%Ar/25%CO2 gas mix.  I am new to welding with gas and not a great welder by any means so im looking for a little feed back.  These are some of my first welds with this rig getting used to it and welding with gas.  I appreciate any feed back, i know there wont be much positive, but thats why i am posting, to learn... As a precursor i was playing around after reading through the mig like tig thread to create some of those style welds. You can tell im playing with the heat and wire speed settings  Some issues with speed control on a couple of the welds here ^Last edited by jblackwell; 07-17-2012 at 02:18 PM.
Reply:Lay a couple hunderd 6" stringer beads on some plate and sheet, ln all positions, That will get u started...   burn through a bottle of gas practicing.  Then post up.   U already see you. Are going to fast on the beads on the right...Tiger Sales:  AHP Distributor    www.tigersalesco.comAHP200x; AHP 160ST; MM350P,  Spoolmatic 30A; Everlast PowerTig 185; Thermal Dynamics 60i plasma.  For Sale:  Cobra Mig 250 w/ Push-pull gun.  Lincoln Wirematic 250
Reply:thanks for the comment.  having some problems finding scrap metal that isnt paper thin so im practicing when i can on what i have.  Already seeing improvement from reading this site for a week and throwing down some welds.
Reply:If you need scrap to practice on go to your local steel yard or welding shop and ask, they should have lots, might even give it to you for free, don't pay more than $1 per pound. Don't bother with style yet.Another good way to practice, other than just laying lots of beads (which is the best way), is to weld joints similar to what you plan on doing in you future projects, using small scraps, then break them apart, if you can, and inspect the pentration. If you can't break them, cut them in half across the weld so you can so you can see the weld in profile. These will help you get a feel for what is happening at the bottom of the weld puddle.Ian TannerKawasaki KX450 and many other fine tools
Reply:i do have a quick question, in the first picture you can see that the welds are clean with no build up or coating on them, in the second picture they have a coating that i have to wire wheel off to look "clean"  wondering what could be causing this as it is the same set up.
Reply:Originally Posted by fortyonethirtyIf you need scrap to practice on go to your local steel yard or welding shop and ask, they should have lots, might even give it to you for free, don't pay more than $1 per pound. Don't bother with style yet.Another good way to practice, other than just laying lots of beads (which is the best way), is to weld joints similar to what you plan on doing in you future projects, using small scraps, then break them apart, if you can, and inspect the pentration. If you can't break them, cut them in half across the weld so you can so you can see the weld in profile. These will help you get a feel for what is happening at the bottom of the weld puddle.
Reply:I was/am in the same situation.As was suggested, do a cross section. You can polish it and etch it to see the weld penetration. Best is nitric acid but due to terrorism, you cannot buy it. I tried muriatic acid (30% HCl) from Lowes (around $5 per gallon). Put it in a glass/plastic jar and left outside to warm up. After few hours, you should have a pattern.For me, it was lot of time spent on figuring out what I am doing wrong or how to improve, than actually welding the stuff. One thing I did is, just keep running beads on a flat sheet until it is filled. It is like learning to cycle. Initially you have to worry about stickout, gun angle, puddle, and hundred other things. Eventually, you will get familiar with them. For the record, I am still notHere is a link to the thread I had on my initial welds. There are pictures of etched cross sections.http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=58526
Reply:List as much information as you can if you are looking for help. Machine settings, material and material thickness, wire size and so on. The more we know, the better our suggestions can be.1st set of welds looks a bit rushed and the material looks too thick for you to get decent welds with that machine. Under real world circumstances, the thickest you'll be able to do and get acceptable solid welds with that machine will be 1/8" roughly. That material looks closer to 3/16" from what little I can see. 2nd pict it's hard to tell what sort of prep you did. With a small machine like that prep becomes very important as you don't have much power to waste trying to burn out impurities. Part of that "coating" you see is probably silicon from the wire lifting out dirt and other impurities. Better picts would help determine what's going on there..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 jblackwelli do have a quick question, in the first picture you can see that the welds are clean with no build up or coating on them, in the second picture they have a coating that i have to wire wheel off to look "clean"  wondering what could be causing this as it is the same set up.
Reply:Hi, Mr. Blackwell. Welcome to the forum.You're off to a good start. Your voltage and feed speed appear to be adequate from what I can tell. It would help us to know how thick your material is in each photo and what your voltage and feed speed setting were. Paying close attention to your material thickness is very important with MIG welding.My first advice is don't "weave" or "oscillate."  Don't attempt weaving until you're able to lay down pretty looking "stringer" beads with confidence. Right now you need to be learning how to control your travel speed and gun position and how to watch the edge of the puddle. Trying to weave will distract you from these goals.You looks too fast also. This is a common beginners mistake, not a big deal. Slow down and make yourself a nice round puddle. Slow and steady wins the welding race.Good luck and keep practicing as much as you can. Do post more photos.
Reply:Thanks for the constructive criticism guys! Sorry about not giving all the details, as i am new at welding i didnt even have a caliper to measure metal thickness.  I bought one today along with mig pliers and anti spatter and some 308SLi for some stainless i have to practice on.  I will post back when i have more pictures!  THANKS!
Reply:When I got my MIG machine (my first welder), I saved all the lawn mower and edger blades I could. They are thick enough to practice on AFTER you clean them to shiny metal. MIG wants clean metal.I also save the worn brake rotors that I replace. There is lots of material for welding practice that's no longer suitable for its original purpose as in the examples I listed. Let your neighbors know that you'd be interested in that kind of stuff for practice so they don't just trash it.Best of luck,PapaLincoln Idealarc 250 (circa 1962)Lincoln Weldpak 155 w/Mig KitLincoln Squarewave TIG 175
Reply:Thanks for the tip on the rotors, didnt even think of it... grabbed 2 sets already.
Reply:For your first pic your maybe going a little fast, just slow it down a little. For the second pic on the gas tank maybe a little to much wire. Always remember thou when your mig welding with metal core wire you always want to push your weld and with flux core you pull your weld just like arc welding. Give your base metal a good grinding , mig hates dirt. More details would be nice , like wire size and steel thinknessIt isnt bad for some first tries. Keep posting more pics ..Patrick SylvestreWelding Formanwww.learningtoweld.com
Reply:Originally Posted by PaSyl33For your first pic your maybe going a little fast, just slow it down a little. For the second pic on the gas tank maybe a little to much wire. Always remember thou when your mig welding with metal core wire you always want to push your weld and with flux core you pull your weld just like arc welding. Give your base metal a good grinding , mig hates dirt. More details would be nice , like wire size and steel thinknessIt isnt bad for some first tries. Keep posting more pics ..
Reply:Be careful what you are practicing on gas tanks can be interesting I would wait on the stainless till you are more proficient on mild steel stainless can be a bear. Do you have the correct gas for stainlessMillermatic 252millermatic 175miller 300 Thunderboltlincoln ranger 250smith torcheslots of bfh'sIf it dont fit get a bigger hammer
Reply:Thanks not a gas tank.  Its a resonator out of an sti. I am using Lincoln .025 in. diameter SuperArc® L-56® wire that came with my welder.
Reply:Originally Posted by farmshopBe careful what you are practicing on gas tanks can be interesting I would wait on the stainless till you are more proficient on mild steel stainless can be a bear. Do you have the correct gas for stainless
Reply:Some i laid today after practicing for the week.  Lincoln 140,  Lincoln .025 in. diameter SuperArc® L-56® wire, 3mm thick square tubing.  did not pre-heat it. Realizing i need a better mask than the one i got from harbor freight... sight is very poor. Last edited by jblackwell; 07-21-2012 at 07:56 PM.
Reply:Mig like tig! are you kiddin! Try welding for a few yrs and learning mig like mig, and even then your probably not ready. You want honest critique, you stink!!!!! This is not roller bladeing that you could pick up in a couple weekends!I hate being bi-polar it's awsomeMy Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Reply:Originally Posted by weldermikeMig like tig! are you kiddin! Try welding for a few yrs and learning mig like mig, and even then your probably not ready. You want honest critique, you stink!!!!! This is not roller bladeing that you could pick up in a couple weekends!
Reply:Originally Posted by jblackwellThanks for the constructive criticism.I do understand what you are saying because im sure many here have spent years and years perfecting their trade.  However I have searched on this forum for welds that dont look like tig and found none.  Almost all of the projects done with mig welders looks like they are in that thread.  Im wondering what a good regular mig weld looks like i guess.
Reply:Thank you for the post and information.  heres my first couple tries at PROPER mig welding. The weld on the top right was the first and i can tell im going too fast now.  Ill continue to work on them tomorrow.
Reply:Weld top left looks fairly decent. Now just go do that a few thousand more times...I try and get most mig students to do a nice bead like this with little to no motion. It tends to simplify things for them. All they have to do is concentrate on watching the puddle, maintaining a consistent stickout and travel speed and they can get decent results. The only time I suggest students do "circles" or a cursive "e" is when they seem to be incapable of slowing down.I'll regularly demonstrate a straight stringer bead like Dan did, a cursive "e" pattern and a "Z" pattern and end up with almost identical results. The key is learning to "see" the puddle and manipulate it. Otherwise you are just doing "timing" patterns and you won't advance much past horizontal welds. Vertical and overhead will require that you learn to see and understand how to work the puddle..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:Thank you.  I immediately  see a lot more clearly how important speed and welder settings are, if im going very slowly but the weld almost sits flush with the metal am i going too slow, or could it be a too slow/ too high of setting on the welder?  I am on the highest power setting and wire speed around 6.5 out of 10.Settings seem close, wire speed might go up just a bit, but in reality, I'd need to run the machine to make an exact determination on the settings. Usually if you go too slow, things will pile up. I'm not visualizing your issue. Do you have picts of the problem as an example?.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:I was going very slow on this entire weld, started off as hoped and the longer i went the more it seemed to "fall in" to the metal, after understanding what you meant by going to fast i tried to slow way down, but i think i may have gone too slow or its running too hot for how slow i was going.  I truly appreciate any help and tips.
Reply:Ok, what you are saying makes sense seeing the weld from that angle. Flip the piece over and look at the back. I'm betting you'll see a "lump" where the bead is melting thru and dropping out the back.You definitely need to speed up a bit 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 jblackwellthanks for the comment.  having some problems finding scrap metal that isnt paper thin so im practicing when i can on what i have.  Already seeing improvement from reading this site for a week and throwing down some welds.
Reply:Originally Posted by jblackwellI am buying tri-mix after this tank is gone.
Reply:From my reading it seemed tri-mix was ideal for 304 stainless, is that incorrect? Thanks for the comments and tips!