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As the title says, I'm new. VERY new to welding. I have about 30 minutes under my belt with zero official training. Just watched a few YouTube videos. I'm signed up for a welding class/school this summer, but want to get started. I bought a Titanium 125 from Harbor Freight about a year ago and just took it out of the box a few days ago and here I am. I've been practicing on some new, 1/8" steel. I'm using .030 flux core wire., no gas with this welder. I started with the settings suggested inside the welder. I found I was getting a lot of what I would call "burn through" the backside of the metal. Even some scaling of sorts. I tried playing with wire speed and voltage, but neither made much of a difference. What did seem to work was going with the recommended settings, but moving my hands a lot faster than I thought I would need to. I ended up with a bead about 1/4 wide. (I was expecting it to be wider for some reason - it looked too narrow). I'm using a cheap auto darkening Lincoln Helmet I also got at Harbor Freight. When it's set on 9.5-10, I can somewhat see where I'm welding. If I really "see" the pool, I tend to be really hot. Instead, I do see the top of the pool turning to slag/solid, I guess. It's still really hard to see. Maybe I need a better helmet? I've attached some photos. These are all single runs, except for the one T joint I tried, i went over it a second time... just because. I would love to hear your thoughts, comments, suggestions, advice... Other than "get a new welder". This is what I have for now to see if I like/enjoy it. If the class goes well, I may look at a multi-process welder.

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Reply:Welcome to the group Dave

Originally Posted by LittleTreeGuy

As the title says, I'm new. VERY new to welding. I have about 30 minutes under my belt with zero official training. Just watched a few YouTube videos. I'm signed up for a welding class/school this summer, but want to get started. I bought a Titanium 125 from Harbor Freight about a year ago and just took it out of the box a few days ago and here I am. I've been practicing on some new, 1/8" steel. I'm using .030 flux core wire., no gas with this welder. I started with the settings suggested inside the welder. I found I was getting a lot of what I would call "burn through" the backside of the metal. Even some scaling of sorts. I tried playing with wire speed and voltage, but neither made much of a difference. What did seem to work was going with the recommended settings, but moving my hands a lot faster than I thought I would need to. I ended up with a bead about 1/4 wide. (I was expecting it to be wider for some reason - it looked too narrow). I'm using a cheap auto darkening Lincoln Helmet I also got at Harbor Freight. When it's set on 9.5-10, I can somewhat see where I'm welding. If I really "see" the pool, I tend to be really hot. Instead, I do see the top of the pool turning to slag/solid, I guess. It's still really hard to see. Maybe I need a better helmet? I've attached some photos. These are all single runs, except for the one T joint I tried, i went over it a second time... just because. I would love to hear your thoughts, comments, suggestions, advice... Other than "get a new welder". This is what I have for now to see if I like/enjoy it. If the class goes well, I may look at a multi-process welder.
Reply:For 30 minutes of hood time and that small welder, Id say you are doing pretty good. Fluxcore has a lot of splatter, smoke, and stuttering (in my experience). You should read up on fluxcore and 110v welders here. View videos on WeldingTipsandTricks.com. Then all you need is hood time. Dont rush to spend money on a better welder, yet. Master the machine you have while accumulating grinders, saws, etc. Do not skimp on a good helmet (what you have is probably ok), gloves, and maybe a respirator for fluxcore. Welcome to welding!Burt _____________________Miller Syncrowave 250Millermatic 211Miller 375 Plasma Cutter Hobart Handler 12010FtDrillBit.com |
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