Newbie with flux-core pictures...be gentle

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Okay, I have my courage up and a new pair of asbestos underpants, so here goes.  I've been playing a bit with my new toy welder and diggin' it. Still no projects in mind so I've just been taking small scrap pieces and experimenting with welding them together trying to learn how to weld. The thickness of the metal varies but since this is just for kicks I didn't care and have changed the settings accordingly. Decided to show you my "nothing in particular" piece so far. Yep, used my trusty new-to-me grinder to clean up the slag, etc. -- flux-core works for my needs -- I'm working outside, too. The size of the thing, so far, is approx. 11" x 12" x 7" and 8+ pounds. Going to be a big heavy something or other by the time I get welding figured out:Note: I'll post the toll-free order number later. Here's a closer look at the area I'm experimenting making beads on. I started at the bottom and did two rows per session so what you're seeing is four sessions worth with the two vertical ones being today's session.I'm still learning to see the puddle as opposed to the nice bright light. Suggestions, snide comments, etc. are welcome. Thanks. Warning: I have been wrong before!New small workshop, small MIG, oxyacetylene set with a DHC-2000 that I'm learning to use and really like. Life is good!Typos are there for those that look for them. I try to do something for everybody.
Reply:lol lets see'em before the nice nice brush on the angle grinder trick first!so far so good! keep it up.....zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Originally Posted by zapsterlol lets see'em before the nice nice brush on the angle grinder trick first!
Reply:Feel free to suggest I try something, just not gas.
Reply:I see a couple of beads in there that are showing some really good signs of consistency.I see a couple that look like the wire speed was a bit fast. You may want to try and turn up the amperage a bit or turn your wire speed down....and you may want to even try slowing your hand speed down a bit.Remember, if you're going to start to try new things, change one thing at a time. That way if you don't like the results you know exactly what you didn't like and how to change it back.- Paulhttp://all-a-cart.comWelding Cart Kits and accessories
Reply:I'm experimenting and diggin' it. But flying semi-blind. I have a print of the Hobart weld samples but none of mine look like theirs to my eyes (before or after the wire work):Anyone feel like posting some of their nicer welds to shoot for? Hard to hit a target you can't see.Warning: I have been wrong before!New small workshop, small MIG, oxyacetylene set with a DHC-2000 that I'm learning to use and really like. Life is good!Typos are there for those that look for them. I try to do something for everybody.
Reply:You are doing fine.  You obviously are messing around with the settings and getting some rougher welds here and there, but the good ones look pretty dern good.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:Originally Posted by smithboyYou are doing fine.  You obviously are messing around with the settings and getting some rougher welds here and there, but the good ones look pretty dern good.
Reply:Watch out...if you start looking at welds, you might stop driving over bridges.  There is a thread about this started by Zap.  Before you know it, you will be turning shopping carts upside down and pointing out bad welds to random strangers.  People will look at you funny...they did at me.I just happend go by my dad's today and I picked up one of his busted stump jumpers off his bush hog.  I'll glue it back together with fluxcore and see if I can get a good enough weld to post.  It may be too pitted and rusty to do with wire, but I'll give'er a shot.  At the very least you can get a laugh out of the crappy equipment farmers work with and what they are willing to fix to save a penny...Last edited by smithboy; 12-30-2006 at 08:55 PM.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:Originally Posted by smithboyWatch out...if you start looking at welds, you might stop driving over bridges.  There is a thread about this started by Zap.  Before you know it, you will be turning shopping carts upside down and pointing out bad welds to random strangers.  People will look at you funny...they did at me.I just happend go by my dad's today and I picked up one of his busted stump jumpers off his bush hog. I'll glue it back together with fluxcore and see if I can get a good enough weld to post. It may be too pitted and rusty to do with wire, but I'll give'er a shot. At the very least you can get a laugh out of the crappy equipment farmers work with and what they are willing to fix to save a penny...
Reply:For those who have heard of a stump jumper, but have never seen one...well, here one is.  My dad has a 10' bush hog that uses two of these.  This one is rusty, pitted and warped, but he is attached to this one and wants it repaired...So, I figured I'd give it a shot with some flux core for this thread.  There were some big gaps that needed filling, which was kinda tough with flux core, but it got done...not pretty, but done.  The pan is about 1/8th inch thick, but that varies because of the wear and rust.The prep was surface grinding and vee'ing out the cracks/breaks.  I clamped/hammered everything back as close as possible and tacked in strategic locations, then welded.  Notice the shorter beads...I didn't do as good a job cleaning out the rust there...see how crappy those welds are...I'm not the best welder by a long shot, but good prep definately makes a difference.  If there was a chance it would make a difference, I'd probably go back and fix those welds, but if I know my dad, he will figure out some way of breaking the gearboxes before this thing breaks again. Attached ImagesLast edited by smithboy; 12-31-2006 at 04:31 PM.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:Originally Posted by smithboyThis one is rusty, pitted and warped, but he is attached to this one and wants it repaired...So, I figured I'd give it a shot with some flux core for this thread.
Reply:For the money, this thing probably should have been scrapped, but you don't know my dad.  He claims to hate environmentalists, but I bet the greenest of greens aren't as committed to recycling, reducing and reusing as my old dad.  I am 37 and he still has the same chevy truck he bought when I was 7.  I'll have to post a picture of his trucks...they are beyond repair and he still drives them everyday.For welds where safety is an issue, if you attempt a weld and it goes bad (visually), the best thing to do for safety is grind it back out and start again.  As you grind it down you can see how well you actually welded.  If you come across slag, voids, cracks or other imperfections, you know you really need to get it back to the base metal.  That's why starting the the cleanest you can get the base is always the best route with wire feed processes.  Stick is much better in the area of rusty or dirty metal.  Normally, that's what I would have used on this job, but I just happened to have a roll of fluxcore that needed to be used (wire will go bad if you don't use it).  Typically, if I make a really crappy weld in an area where safety is a concern, I will grind the bead flat, then vee it out along the crack to make sure of good fusion on the next attempt.Gaps can be a problem with fluxcore.  It burns digs deeper and can actually make the gap bigger if you aren't careful...well, at least that's been my experience.  Mig is a lot easier to fill gaps.  If the gap is too big to weave across, I will run a stringer bead along the side of the gap to build it up and close the distance until I can weave it.  Once the gap is closed, I will grind the surface flat, grind the back side if accessible (vee it out if necessary) and weld the back side.Don't try to weld over a crappy weld.  It tends to get worse and worse.  Multiple passes is fine as long as each pass is a good one.  The grinder is your friend.  Get a half dozen good ones (not necessarily expensive ones) and leave them all over the shop.  There are several threads about grinders that are very informative.  I spend about as much time with the grinder as with my welder.Lots of folks here can add to the "best practices" discussion in welding.  This is just my personal methods, so don't take them as authoritative.  Read as much as you can about the methods for making sound welds.  It will be time well spent.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:Funny you should mension the looking at welds issue smithboy. Two years ago my dad bought a new boat. After we put it the water we happened to start noticing the welding. Both of being "frame" welders at John Deere it wasn't long before we had the grinder and welder out making "repairs". Keep up the good work visorblue' you came to the right place for advice!!
Reply:looking pretty good, somthing you might want to keep in mind with those welds you got off the hobart site are probably gas welded and not flux core....i dont know if the welds will look alot different. iv only done flux core once and i wasnt impresed with it so i usualy just stick to a setup with gas if im using mig...keep it up!
Reply:Originally Posted by yotawheelerlooking pretty good, somthing you might want to keep in mind with those welds you got off the hobart site are probably gas welded and not flux core....i dont know if the welds will look alot different. iv only done flux core once and i wasnt impresed with it so i usualy just stick to a setup with gas if im using mig...keep it up!
Reply:Good First GO man.  I was to wimpy to post my first welds, I think their buried in the back yard somewhere..I havent used flux core yet.. but I tell ya it gets easier with practice.  What I would do in your shoes is try and figure out how to make a cart to easily roll in and out of the house so it will be easier for you to practice, and of course you get that practice by fabricating the shrine which will uphold your monument of power..Do the best you can on it, dont worry if some of the welds look shoddy, just try and do better on the next weld.  Its not like your making a rocket car or something, but try to do it the best you can.Anyway, slow down a little.  Id crank the voltage all the way up, then wire speed about 3/4 (that is a 175amp machine isnt it?).  Slow it down and try to get a 'burn through' (I take a peice of scrap and just hold a stationary puddle for a while and just feel when to stop and take a peak on the other side, if I got a bulge, I know Im close.  That way youll have a feeling about how fast you have to move, or if you need to reduce the voltage a bit...  Your voltage settings may vary with flux core, maybe not quite wide open, maybe start out 3/4 open on voltage and match the wire speed dial with the voltage.  I have yet to be able to burn through 1/4" but can on 3/16".  BTW a couple of fire bricks are handy to have around to prop your work off the table top for doing crazy stuff.I think they will look rougher, but it will have better penetration.Various GrindersVictor Journeyman torch200cf Acet. 250cf oxygenLincoln 175 plus/alpha2 gunLincoln v205t tigLincoln 350mpEsab 650 plasmaWhen you can get up in the morning, Its a good day.Live each day like its your last.
Reply:Originally Posted by DoolittleGood First GO man.  I was to wimpy to post my first welds, I think their buried in the back yard somewhere..
Reply:How is it that you can see and follow lines? I'll tack two pieces of metal together and start welding thinking I'm following the line and when I stop I'll see that I did well for a bit and then veered off a bit. The result is a partially piece.I tend to weld from left to right following what someone told me, "If there's slag, you drag."Warning: I have been wrong before!New small workshop, small MIG, oxyacetylene set with a DHC-2000 that I'm learning to use and really like. Life is good!Typos are there for those that look for them. I try to do something for everybody.
Reply:For flats, sometimes it can be hard, but you will learn to recognize the tale-tale shadows around the joint with the light from the arc.  Grinding/beveling the weld helps a bunch (you should do this for thicker material anyway).  If you are doing flats, you can lay a piece of metal (angle, whatever) a half inch from the joint and us it as a guide, until you can do it without.  Fluxcore always makes it a good bit harder to see anyway.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:Originally Posted by VisorblueHow is it that you can see and follow lines? I'll tack two pieces of metal together and start welding thinking I'm following the line and when I stop I'll see that I did well for a bit and then veered off a bit. The result is a partially piece.I tend to weld from left to right following what someone told me, "If there's slag, you drag."
Reply:Originally Posted by smithboyFor flats, sometimes it can be hard, but you will learn to recognize the tale-tale shadows around the joint with the light from the arc.  Grinding/beveling the weld helps a bunch (you should do this for thicker material anyway).  If you are doing flats, you can lay a piece of metal (angle, whatever) a half inch from the joint and us it as a guide, until you can do it without.  Fluxcore always makes it a good bit harder to see anyway.
Reply:Originally Posted by littlefuzzNew lenses help   Sorry.  Until you can tell where the joint is you could use some chalk, soapstone (whatever you perfer to call it) and mark your joint, it helps sometimes.  95% of the time I push a mig.
Reply:I know how you feel!  Decided to try MIG on steel and picked up some C25 so I could push.  Found out it helps a bunch to clean the joint before you weld though.  Nice thing about fluxcore was not having to worry with it so much.  I believe you need to pull as long as your using fluxcore to best shield the pool.  When you get ready to try MIG just get ready to make a few more adjustments.  I think I like it but no more than I weld I'm not sure it was worth it.  Ofcourse, for aluminum I had to use MIG and pure Argon and I can say the arc is so much nicer and smoother.  I suppose that's because it melts at a much lower point and I can experience spray transfer.  Trouble with that is the aluminum is so doggone finicky!Like Gilda said; its always sumpthin, Clay
Reply:Yup, like Clay said...you really need to pull with flux core. You will risk slag entrapment otherwise. After you get very, very good, you might be able to push and get away with it, but it still isn't recommended.If you want to compare pictures, look at Hobart's stick beads. They will actually look closer to the FC beads.Originally Posted by Clay WaltersNice thing about fluxcore was not having to worry with it so much.
Reply:when i first started welding and was welding a butt joint i use to line up a piece of aluminum about an inch a way just to keep me straight!
Reply:Originally Posted by steve28when i first started welding and was welding a butt joint i use to line up a piece of aluminum about an inch a way just to keep me straight!
Reply:Great first beads.  You'll build a lot of consistancy with more practice.  I always tell my kids "its miles, not inches"....  Set up one of our old Hobarts with gasless fluxcore (ER71T-GS Fabshield 23 in .035) when I got all the new Millermatics.  First welder I grab for quick shop projects from 16g and up.Jim
Reply:Originally Posted by Jim RileyGreat first beads.  You'll build a lot of consistancy with more practice.  I always tell my kids "its miles, not inches"....  Set up one of our old Hobarts with gasless fluxcore (ER71T-GS Fabshield 23 in .035) when I got all the new Millermatics.  First welder I grab for quick shop projects from 16g and up.