First Time Welder!

admin

I have been looking over the forums a bit & have seen some projects people have done. I just got into welding 2 days ago and have about 2hr in practice so far. I am using a ramsond 3 in 1 welder since thats all i have right now, its a tig, arc and plasma cutter and I also have a lincoln mig welder. I plan on buying a Lincoln Precision TIG 225 within the next few months.The Ramsond doesnt have a foot control so i am limited to an on and off type style for tig [which isnt the greatest, but it will have to do for now.]anyways i do have some pics of my workspace and the tig and mig welder. I also have some example welds from my practice & a pic of the project i have in my garage.
Reply:Hello and welcome to the forum. Nice car.Couple of things to keep in mind when you ask for help.1) Post picts of the welds.2) give us as much info as possible. Metal thickness and type (steel, SS, Alum), mig vs tig, stick. Mig w/ gas or FC. If stick rod used. machine settings amps or volts (1-5 power on mig) and wire speed. size and type of tungsten, pointed or balled. Gas used (100% argon, C25 mig gas ) Position welded  overhead, vertical, flat. The more we know, the less we have to guess, and the better the responses.3) if you change settings be sure and note which picts go with what settings.If you haven't already I would look into a taking a night welding class. It is a LOT easier to learn when you get immediate feed back from someone watching you weld. Most classes are a bargain when you figure that most provide the machine , some materials, and rods/wire/gas. Around me a class runs about $250-$300 for 10 3 hr classes. You can't beat $10/hr with materials/consumables. This also gives you a chance to try out some machines and see if certain features might be better for you.Good luck.
Reply:ok...Tig Welding-------------------Pipe: 304ss Gas: 100% argon No Filler Rod @ 35amps 1/16 308 Filler Rod @ 42 ampsTungsten: PointedWeld Position: 80 to 90 Degree angleill try and get some examples tonight after i finish work with the difference between no rod and with rod most of the ones above are without rod
Reply:You can get away with no filler on SS, but you will have to have a super tight fit up. The filler will let you "fill" holes and gaps. Also you can work with thinner materials by using the filler as a heat sink for lack of a better term right now. I have a pedal on my sync 200 so I'm not  the one to ask about non pedal tig I'm afraid. I also generally work with thicker metals than thin tube.
Reply:ok thanks!
Reply:Yeah nice ride. some of those beads look nice for a couple of days of messin' arround with it.Hobart Handler 140Victor O/A
Reply:So i took a shot at my first project which was my downpipe for my car & i think it came out awesome for me only welding for 2 weeks on and off....Pipe: 304ss Gas: 100% argon No Filler Rod @ 32amps 1/16 308 Filler Rod @ 35ampsTungsten: PointedWeld Position: 80 to 90 Degree angle
Reply:that DP does look pretty good. did you purge it? SS is supposed to be bark purged but for exhaust is probably isn't the end of the world.ditch the auto dark hood
Reply:why would i get rid of the auto dark??? back purge i was looking at something about it but dont fully understand yet if someone could tell me more about it and how i would go about it that would be great.
Reply:i hate auto dark hoods and i thought i would share my hate with you if you look inside your DP you will see a black pile of crap where your weld is. this is often called sugar and it is not good. since you welded it without a purge you have removed the corrosive resistant nature of your joint and it will be more likely to fail as well. to purge those joints i would probably take a CLEAN rag and stuff it in one side of the DP and leave it about 6" away from the joint. i would then wrap my purge line with another rag and leave it in a similar spot on the other side. then tape up the joint with some masking tape and pour the argon to it, leave a little opening on the top of the joint so the dirty air can escape.
Reply:Very nice work, especially for just starting out and not having any amperage control.Miller Dynasty 200DX Tig Welder
Reply:I am impressed.  Car exhaust stuff is what got me started as a hobby welder myself.  I have a serious gripe though.  That 2jz does not belong there!  I am going to tell the Nissan gods on you.  Obviously I'm only kidding and I think that car could wind up being almost scary to drive.  What made you consider the 2jz over the RB-26.Nice work,Rene
Reply:i picked the 2jz because it is KING!!! lol cheaper then an RB...
Reply:just a little word of advice.On back purging when you have a tight seal and are feeding argon into the pipe, the last little bit of the weld may have a blow out on it. The molten metal will blow out towards the torch (not in towards the  inside of the pipe). I had this happen to me once. I welded up 99% of the pipe and the last 1/16" of the pipe I kept  having the metal blow out at me and I couldn't figure it out. I though for a few minutes and realized it was the purge gas flowing out of the small hole and It wouldnt fill the hole will all the gas coming out. So I would purge it for 98% then on the last 1/2" or so that you have left to weld, reach over and turn off the purge line so you wont have that happen to you.
Reply:here are some better pics of the welds and i also started to try out Sch 10 304 ss been playing around on this one test pipe and now i have found the right heat setting and working really well with filler which i have been having a problem with...
Reply:Today i was trying to weld some DOM 1.375 x .095 wall and seems like i was a bit to HOT ...Used filler on both ends seems like i was a bit cheap on the filler on the bottom lol [ filler: 1/16 // AMps: 60 bottom weld  50 top weld // Tungsten: Pointed ]Last edited by RRebelo; 02-22-2009 at 10:05 PM.
Reply:Not Done Yet! Need a cap setup and a level.Dump tube flange to pipeDump tube weld came out a bit bad on that one, but the O2 bung is in!!Bottom part of the dump tube weld