my first true mig welds

[dan s]

Yesterday i finally stopped by my local gas distributor and picked up a tank of C25. I have been using flux core wire since i picked up my welder (black Friday impulse buy ).

One thing is for sure I'm never going back to flux core unless i need to weld outside.

the following are my newbie (less than 6 hours of stick time) attempts at MIG welding.

My beads still aren't the most consistent.



A perpendicular cut through the bead to check penetration.



This butt joint was 1/8" bar no bevel or gap (my welder is only 110v), i still have an issue with little pin sized gaps.




Is there a simple formula to calculate bevel and gap, for a given ipm/amps?

[Davek0974]

Looks good, check out here...

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/

lots of help and calculators there.

Dave

[Your Old Dog]

One thing is for sure I'm never going back to flux core unless i need to weld outside.

I was told I'd never go back to fluxcore after trying gas and they were right. Someone here told me that. I guess the fluxcore still works outside in gale-force winds I never weld outside.

[torker]

Your weld...not bad. Try to steady it up so you avoid the "sawteeth" on the edges.
Destructive (bending) testing would show a fracture along that area.
With a light welder...don't walk it from side to side (weave)as much...that'll avoid the saw teeth issue.
The "T" joint...in the position shown is a horizontal weld. Don't weave in this position.
Run nice straight beads. You want a wider fillet...do multi pass welds..
If you want a 100% weld your bevel must come to a point. You will also want good preheat...especially for a light machine.
"Rule of Thumb... Fillet size (for that "T" joint) should equal half of the base metal thickness.
If you want I could post some pics of a heavy multi pass weld on a T joint.
Keep at it!
Russ

[dan s]

Torker,

The pics would be interesting to see...

Do any texts exist that cover the different set-ups?

All the books i have checked out of the local library (and university) are either child simplistic, or studies on ways of minimizing costs in a production environment.

I haven't been able to find anything that talks about bevel, root gap size, bead laying etc, in any kind of systematic way.

these two videos are pretty interesting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AZXG5WVw6E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL2H79cgDuo

[oldtiffie]

Torker,

The pics would be interesting to see...

Do any texts exist that cover the different set-ups?

All the books i have checked out of the local library (and university) are either child simplistic, or studies on ways of minimizing costs in a production environment.

I haven't been able to find anything that talks about bevel, root gap size, bead laying etc, in any kind of systematic way.

these two videos are pretty interesting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AZXG5WVw6E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL2H79cgDuo

Thanks Dan.

That's good work that would do for most folks.

To see it better, sand/grind/polish some of those faces in your pics and acid-etch them (almost any "acid" will do) and you will see the changes in colour and boundaries that will tell you how it went. The "miss" or "inclusions" at the roots will do for most jobs.

Torker is pretty well the subject matter expert here and really knows his stuff and really goes out of his way to help - which he is very good at.

A lot of reading, a lot of practice, more reading, more practice etc.

Anyway, some of these links should help.

http://www.thefabricator.com/ArcWeld...le.cfm?ID=1083

http://www.millerwelds.com/education...pamphlets.html

http://www.millerwelds.com/pdf/mig_handbook.pdf

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/tutorial.htm

[macona]

Dont weave at all. Unless you have a tractor with a weaving feature. Most people can not do it with enough repeatably to do it consistently.

http://www.weldreality.com

[tattoomike68]

[QUOTE=dan s]

My beads still aren't the most consistent.



QUOTE]

That looks good to me,for a 110vac welder thats fine. I have seen my friends drive up on new Harly Davisons with welds that make that look the very best weld on the bike.

I know if any of you old guys are crippled up and have a tough time welding all bent over but, an old wheelchair lift with a 4' X 4' plate steel welded to it makes a dandy little welding table.

Welding table hight sure can help you get comfortable and weld real nice.