27 replies to this topic

[trafficface09]

hey all hows everyone doing? good i hope, anyway i finally got the balls to learn to weld. its awesome! so fun, like a big glue gun that crackles

took some pictures



some of them are too far away others just buggered up. no holes though, and some are actually quite good

i built a box frame today 5 2x2s welded quite neatly (in places) then bolted my fibreglass canvas on it

[trafficface09]

sorry to bump but i just wanted to know if anyone had some tips, or if anyone thought this was a good 1st attempt

[Scallywag630]

No clue to whether its good or not, ask shifty or someone that knows, but all credit to you for trying.

[trafficface09]

thanks for the kudos im defiantly not ready to do anything crazy but i have some mrk1 light conversion plates i might try out whats the worst that could happen *cough*

[kez_19]

bit hard to see to say how good they are as the pictures are a bit fuzzy and far away

but the little i can make out it looks good

as for tips

get a good earth
clean metal is a must
clean nozzle and clean tip is also a must
good vision plenty of light
sit/stand comfortably and relax
steady hand
practice practice practice practice

hope this helps

michael

[Shifty]

Some of them look a little "fast"

Be steady!!

Also don't try and do long runs, on thin stuff its better to do a short run and then pause. This stops the heat building up too much and then it all turning into a molton mess!!

Pulse welding is a good way to get a feel, short run, long pause before re-starting, as you get better the pauses get shorter.

[trafficface09]

i get really nervous when the mask is down, i feel like if i bugger it up then more work for me, as a result i start shaking ha ha, best to get it right 1st time. i will get better pictures tommorow

is there such a thing as going to slowly? surley a fat weld is better then a thin "fast" spotty weld?

Edited by trafficface09, 10 March 2010 - 08:57 PM.

[liam_italian]

i get really nervous when the mask is down, i feel like if i bugger it up then more work for me, as a result i start shaking ha ha, best to get it right 1st time. i will get better pictures tommorow

You'll relax the more you practice. I'd say welding is alot easier to pick up than people think. But the only way to get good at it is to practice

[Boycie]

As above, can't really see if they've penetrated properly but keep going

For me, the biggest tip I can give is buy a decent, light-sensitive mask/ helmet. The handheld ones are no good unless you have a super-steady hand!
The reaction helmets automatically darken when the arc strikes, leaving you to concentrate on where the torch is going, what angle you're holding it at and how fast you're moving your hand.

[trafficface09]

i agree its not that bad, i think everyone should give it a go

i also have a slight problem with accuracy twice i have missed the join between both box sections instead welded a pointless line next to it

oh well, all in all practice some more im sure i will get better over a a few weeks.

thanks for all the kind words

[Kam]

First time? Thats very good actually, quite impressed! Well done my first time was errm shall we say very different!!!

Bought a secondhand welder couple of months back, never even held one before but thought sod it I'll give it a try, what can go wrong? All I had here as scrap was a cone compression tool where the threads were gone so as it was useless I decided to join it together, couldn't be bothered grinding down to bare metal, just wanted to know whether the welder I bought worked. As I had no instructions I done a google search to get it setup and find out what the settings meant







Currently at





Don't get me wrong I dont think I'm awesome at the moment but getting better

Addictive - yes, check out Clicky

[davidv]

Good go. A bit slow on the run and just a bit cold.No holes to spin in and you can grind down.

[kez_19]

here is a tip that i posted to someone a while ago about how to weld panels together

firstly they should be but jointed (ie they are next to each other and level not over lapping each other)

and secondly

lets imagine that

0 = a tack ("blob")
- = the join you are welding together

start ----------------------------

1st 0------0------0------0-----0

2nd 0--0---0---0--0--0---0--0--0

3rd 0-00--00--00-00-00--00-00-00

4th 00000-000-000000000-00000000

5th 0000000000000000000000000000

this method will add as little heat and tension to the panels you are welding and hopefully not distorting the panels in any way

ideally you should grind each weld after you have done it and it is cold but this will take time so its up to you how much time you want to spend on each weld



hope this is some help to you

michael

[Shifty]

Kam, that looks pretty good to me dude, I've seen worse "PRO" welds.

[trafficface09]

As above, can't really see if they've penetrated properly but keep going

For me, the biggest tip I can give is buy a decent, light-sensitive mask/ helmet. The handheld ones are no good unless you have a super-steady hand!
The reaction helmets automatically darken when the arc strikes, leaving you to concentrate on where the torch is going, what angle you're holding it at and how fast you're moving your hand.

oh i have one, its quite strange to say the least, i can see now its black and i can just about make out the arc direction, um i was mostly doing 90 degrees but occasionally i forgot and did 45s instead