Reply to Thread

Re: 16 Hours of GMAW Training/Instruction?

Originally Posted by Sberry

It takes long stickout and speed the wire up if it has porosity.

Yep you're right, thank you sir. I increased the wire speed to 30 and the beads are nice and smooth now although it tripped my breaker again lol. **** I should have thought about increasing wire speed/volts.

Re: 16 Hours of GMAW Training/Instruction?

It takes long stickout and speed the wire up if it has porosity.

Re: 16 Hours of GMAW Training/Instruction?

Attachment 1732942
Attachment 1732943
My self shielded flux core looks like ****ing ****! I have porosity and the edges of the top piece is jagged from the puddle. What’s the best way to get the top piece to melt uniformly? Flux core is harder for me than solid wire. I should have taken the stick course

Re: 16 Hours of GMAW Training/Instruction?

Originally Posted by old miner called Pop

Make your own table...good fabrication project puttin to good use evrything you are learning

Oh that's true, I already forgot about my plan to build a table lol. I've been watching videos and reading about the various types of steel so when I eventually go to steel supplier I'll have a slight idea of what to say/ask for.

If I monitor FB, CL, Offerup, etc., what kind of things should I look for? I can probably find used appliances for cheap/free, maybe some steel shelves. Not sure what else to look for. Although I guess it will depend upon what I want to make/build.

Messed around running some beads last night, neighbors thought it was some kind of Halloween lighting. They were all outside, including my wife, sitting around a fire handing out candy. They saw orange flashes of light coming from the garage windows lol. When I replace this garage door I think I'll get one without windows.

Attachment 1732883

I can see my beads lack uniformity and I'm still struggling with running long straight lines. Usually end up terminating the bead around halfway then restarting from the other side of the piece. My real, number 1 weakness is trying to weld without support. Tried to practice welding while kneeling/standing can feel myself swaying back and forth, totally jacks up my tip to work distance.

Re: 16 Hours of GMAW Training/Instruction?

Originally Posted by Ambull01

psacustom was gracious enough to invite me over and taught a few tips on MIG welding.

You did very well and as I mentioned, much better than many others I have helped.

Now you just need some practice.

That heat/glove shield I gave you will help make the gloves last longer. The shield is only $6-10 or so online. Here is a link for replacements:
https://www.weldingoutfitter.com/pro...8aAkthEALw_wcB

Feel free to reach out again if you need a hand with anything.

Re: 16 Hours of GMAW Training/Instruction?

Originally Posted by Ambull01

lol, thought those were oversized giant q-tips. Damn, I really suck at eyeballing metal thickness. That looks a hell of a lot thicker than 1/4" to me. Good thing I bought a cheap thickness gauge. I'm going to stick it on my keychain and measure metal whenever I can. It will affirm my wife's opinion that I'm kind of crazy but oh well.

I really wanted to fire up the Hobart tonight but spent too long messing with this stupid rusty *** transmission table/poor man's welding table. I just bought a 230V multi-volt plug and a 3M respirator. Wire wheeled all the heavy rust off the table and blowing out black crap from my nose now, good times. Hopefully the electrician and install the new receptacles soon, just read a bunch of old posts about plugging into the dryer receptacle. I don't really want to mess around with making a plug for it.

I'm jealous too, nice looking table! I like the design of those tables where there's so many clamping points. Once this little 1/8" welding table kicks the bucket I hope I can find one that's a bit more substantial.

Make your own table...good fabrication project puttin to good use evrything you are learning

Re: 16 Hours of GMAW Training/Instruction?

Originally Posted by Oscar

Nah, that is 1/4". You can tell by the size of the q-tips in the background, as well as the blue mark-all silverstreak pencil. You might be looking at those pictures on too big of a computer monitor, lol.

Don't worry, just stick with it and try to get practice done whenever you can. I'm just a hobbyist welder/fabricator, but you wouldn't be able to tell from the looks of my garage. Makes [some] people here sick down to their stomach with jealousy with the firepower I have on tap.

lol, thought those were oversized giant q-tips. Damn, I really suck at eyeballing metal thickness. That looks a hell of a lot thicker than 1/4" to me. Good thing I bought a cheap thickness gauge. I'm going to stick it on my keychain and measure metal whenever I can. It will affirm my wife's opinion that I'm kind of crazy but oh well.

I really wanted to fire up the Hobart tonight but spent too long messing with this stupid rusty *** transmission table/poor man's welding table. I just bought a 230V multi-volt plug and a 3M respirator. Wire wheeled all the heavy rust off the table and blowing out black crap from my nose now, good times. Hopefully the electrician and install the new receptacles soon, just read a bunch of old posts about plugging into the dryer receptacle. I don't really want to mess around with making a plug for it.

I'm jealous too, nice looking table! I like the design of those tables where there's so many clamping points. Once this little 1/8" welding table kicks the bucket I hope I can find one that's a bit more substantial.

Re: 16 Hours of GMAW Training/Instruction?

Originally Posted by Ambull01

Ah yeah I saw that in some weld.com YT videos I believe, or maybe it was weldingtipsandtricks. Is that 3/4" steel? That looks huge! Thickest metal I've messed with so far is only 1/4", don't think my little Hobart could handle 3/4.

I would love to set-up a welding shop in my garage but I would have to actually know how to weld first lol. I think I'm hooked already though, I could spend all day just messing around running beads.

Nah, that is 1/4". You can tell by the size of the q-tips in the background, as well as the blue mark-all silverstreak pencil. You might be looking at those pictures on too big of a computer monitor, lol.

Don't worry, just stick with it and try to get practice done whenever you can. I'm just a hobbyist welder/fabricator, but you wouldn't be able to tell from the looks of my garage. Makes [some] people here sick down to their stomach with jealousy with the firepower I have on tap.

Re: 16 Hours of GMAW Training/Instruction?

psacustom was gracious enough to invite me over and taught a few tips on MIG welding. I need A LOT of practice with vertical up and down. Staying in the leading edge of the puddle on vertical down welds is a bit of a challenge. Vertical up, pretty damn complicated. Tried to do the triangle tracing but blew holes everywhere. I have to do the zigzag technique I saw from Bob Moffat on YT. I still screw-up with penetration, over running the weld pool, not pausing on the edges to make the weld flat, etc. So much **** to think about when you're welding.

The pair of gloves I bought a few weeks ago are already jacked up.
Attachment 1732822

Re: 16 Hours of GMAW Training/Instruction?

Originally Posted by Willie B

I don't like overlapping seams, or more specifically, I don't like rust repair that overlaps. I'm in the rust belt. State & Town crews start early November dumping brine on the roads every night. When it snows they dump rock salt. All summer it's calcium chloride on gravel roads for dust control. That crap is corrosive & if there is an overlap it'll get in there & rust worse. A butt weld is less vulnerable to salt corrosion. Be sure to use something on the back side for rust prevention.

I bought some auto panel adhesive, was going to use that to repair my truck rear panels. Damn adhesive was almost $100 for a smallish tube I believe. Supposedly the adhesive inhibits rust, not sure how though. I may return it since I want to try and weld it on.

Originally Posted by Sberry

I tend to agree with the post about adding a panel. It does a couple things. Instead of long circuits,,, for 120V it allows short and gives local breaker control.. It also bypasses existing wiring for tool circuits, allows easy tailoring and additions and doesnt add much cost if a guy uis contemplating a 6 or better wire anyway. It can actually self pay,, especially on long run by allowing aluminum cable to be used which can be even better as a number 2 cost about 1/3 as much as a 6 copper. a 6 or 8 space panel allows a welder circuit, air comp and a couple 120 tools.

The behind lap I mention is similar to the picture above but imagine trimming the back off with snips so its BARELY lapped. I also live in brine central. Hey Willie, I asked in another thread about the beautiful 580,,, do you have covered parking also?

I'll ask my electrician about adding a panel and see what he says. The two outlets (230 and 120) it will be within a few feet of the existing panel. I think there's some spots open for dedicated breakers/circuits or whatever you call it. Don't know **** about electrical stuff lol. I'll do most, if not all, of my welding in the garage so there should be no recurring need to use an extension cord. I may mess around with some flux core in the driveway eventually, just to showoff to neighbors and act like I know how to weld.

I like all your air tools! Looks like a surgeon's table.

Originally Posted by Oscar

Replicate the joints you plan to weld, using scrap. Then slice them up, polish them up using surface prep pads on a 2" angle die grinder, and use Naval Jelly or similar rust-removal gel after having warmed up the polished cut-away.

Why not? You scared?

Ah yeah I saw that in some weld.com YT videos I believe, or maybe it was weldingtipsandtricks. Is that 3/4" steel? That looks huge! Thickest metal I've messed with so far is only 1/4", don't think my little Hobart could handle 3/4.

I would love to set-up a welding shop in my garage but I would have to actually know how to weld first lol. I think I'm hooked already though, I could spend all day just messing around running beads.

Re: 16 Hours of GMAW Training/Instruction?

Originally Posted by Ambull01

When you weld load bearing ****, how do you know if you have enough penetration? I was wondering about that today while welding tiny 1/4" pieces lol. I kind of want to build a trailer or something eventually, don't really need one but I think it would be fun to make. I don't want it to fall apart on the highway though if my welds break.

Replicate the joints you plan to weld, using scrap. Then slice them up, polish them up using surface prep pads on a 2" angle die grinder, and use Naval Jelly or similar rust-removal gel after having warmed up the polished cut-away.

Originally Posted by Ambull01

lol. Damn man, I'm not trying to set up a welding shop in my garage.

Why not? You scared?

Re: 16 Hours of GMAW Training/Instruction?

The behind lap I mention is similar to the picture above but imagine trimming the back off with snips so its BARELY lapped. I also live in brine central. Hey Willie, I asked in another thread about the beautiful 580,,, do you have covered parking also?

Re: 16 Hours of GMAW Training/Instruction?

I tend to agree with the post about adding a panel. It does a couple things. Instead of long circuits,,, for 120V it allows short and gives local breaker control.. It also bypasses existing wiring for tool circuits, allows easy tailoring and additions and doesnt add much cost if a guy uis contemplating a 6 or better wire anyway. It can actually self pay,, especially on long run by allowing aluminum cable to be used which can be even better as a number 2 cost about 1/3 as much as a 6 copper. a 6 or 8 space panel allows a welder circuit, air comp and a couple 120 tools.

Re: 16 Hours of GMAW Training/Instruction?

The overlap in the behind method is so minor it is consumed in the same nature as a backup wire used in some pipe joints. I agree laps are a problem for corrosion.
No, that 7 inch is NOT a cut off wheel, its a sanding disk and I also keep guards on. I use another 4 inch like the one with the wire wheel on it for cuts. I dont like straight for cuts, often puts the user behind the wheel vs off the side.
As for the guy and the welding hood. He is wearing real safety glasses and hiding the arc behind the cup. Watching the trailing edge of puddle or tack. The guys you see not wearing any glasses are ,, well,,,

Re: 16 Hours of GMAW Training/Instruction?

I don't like overlapping seams, or more specifically, I don't like rust repair that overlaps. I'm in the rust belt. State & Town crews start early November dumping brine on the roads every night. When it snows they dump rock salt. All summer it's calcium chloride on gravel roads for dust control. That crap is corrosive & if there is an overlap it'll get in there & rust worse. A butt weld is less vulnerable to salt corrosion. Be sure to use something on the back side for rust prevention.

Re: 16 Hours of GMAW Training/Instruction?

Originally Posted by Sberry

I use a modified flange for most of that rather than a true but weld. I dont have many good sheet pics but can make it almost consumable and leave it looks like a root bead on the back. It makes it a lot stiffer and easy to finish.
Body guys often commented on the patches and ease of finishing and how close it came. Another thing is,, not every repair has to be made from thin steel. For truck work lots of pieces can be done in 16 ga, maybe not skins but hidden work, makes it easy to fit, holds its shape, adds strength and ease of welding.

I don't get this flange thing you're talking about, can't picture it in my mind. I'll have to look it up.

Yeah that Fitzee guy said something similar to that, about using a thicker gauge sheet metal. Evidently he says it's easier to use a thicker gauge sheet metal with the thinner metal on a vehicle. Evidently it's easier to weld that way. I may try a thicker gauge on the inner wheel well metal. I'm still trying to work out how I'm going to cut it out and fit/fabricate the replacement piece.

Originally Posted by Roert42

I'll have to take a look at that video later.

If I am going to do a butt weld i like to hold the panel up and cut the old out while also cutting the patch at the same time. That way they are the same shape. Gotta use a reall thing wheel though or you end up with a big gap.

Also, that guy wasn't wearing a hood while welding.

lol yep I believe he mentions not wearing a hood in another video. I guess he just closes his eyes sometimes since he's mainly doing tack welds on sheet metal. I'm loving my helmet though so I use it all the time.

Originally Posted by Sberry

I dont watch a lot of vids but that was good. There is another way I might like as well or better in where the donor is slightly bigger by 1/8 or more to start, cut and finish the hole and pull the patch in the back so to speak and bend a little flare in the donor. There is no gap, no place for the wire to shoot thru. Similar to the whiz that does this on GJ grind the weld fussy like with a small wheel rather than wholesale with the big sander. If I gotta do this really rather use air. So easy to throttle and torque. I have a 5 inch sander but fave is this 7 with 36 and use the 4 for cut off.
A good thing the guy in the vid does is use right angle for cut off.

You mean making a flare in the donor patch that sits behind the sheet metal of the vehicle? So when you tack weld the metal from the wire contacts the donor piece, vehicle metal, and the flare of the donor piece that's resting on the backside of the vehicle? So hard to explain what I'm thinking though a forum post lol.

Is that thing on the right a cut-off wheel without a guard? If so, you're brave dude. There's no way I'm taking my guards off my angle grinder.

Originally Posted by bcguide

If you are going to put a 50 amp outlet and a 20 amp in your garage you might be better off to put a sub panel in.
Then you could easly add a few more outlets for grinders and such.
I had outlets about every 6 feet in on shop. It is nice to not have exstension cords running all over the floor.

lol. Damn man, I'm not trying to set up a welding shop in my garage. It would be nice to have more outlets though. I agree about the extension cord thing. Not only is it a pain, I think it can be a hazard as well.

Re: 16 Hours of GMAW Training/Instruction?

If you are going to put a 50 amp outlet and a 20 amp in your garage you might be better off to put a sub panel in.
Then you could easly add a few more outlets for grinders and such.
I had outlets about every 6 feet in on shop. It is nice to not have exstension cords running all over the floor.

Re: 16 Hours of GMAW Training/Instruction?

I dont watch a lot of vids but that was good. There is another way I might like as well or better in where the donor is slightly bigger by 1/8 or more to start, cut and finish the hole and pull the patch in the back so to speak and bend a little flare in the donor. There is no gap, no place for the wire to shoot thru. Similar to the whiz that does this on GJ grind the weld fussy like with a small wheel rather than wholesale with the big sander. If I gotta do this really rather use air. So easy to throttle and torque. I have a 5 inch sander but fave is this 7 with 36 and use the 4 for cut off.
A good thing the guy in the vid does is use right angle for cut off.

Re: 16 Hours of GMAW Training/Instruction?

I'll have to take a look at that video later.

If I am going to do a butt weld i like to hold the panel up and cut the old out while also cutting the patch at the same time. That way they are the same shape. Gotta use a reall thing wheel though or you end up with a big gap.

Also, that guy wasn't wearing a hood while welding.

Re: 16 Hours of GMAW Training/Instruction?

I use a modified flange for most of that rather than a true but weld. I dont have many good sheet pics but can make it almost consumable and leave it looks like a root bead on the back. It makes it a lot stiffer and easy to finish.
Body guys often commented on the patches and ease of finishing and how close it came. Another thing is,, not every repair has to be made from thin steel. For truck work lots of pieces can be done in 16 ga, maybe not skins but hidden work, makes it easy to fit, holds its shape, adds strength and ease of welding.

Re: 16 Hours of GMAW Training/Instruction?

I lost two new home wiring jobs one summer to a lower bidder. The difference in our prices work out to the brand wire nuts I use VS his. I can't say how he calculated his bid. Mine would have been enough lower if I had priced cheaper wire nuts.

On another job, a dentists office, my price was $42,000. I lost the job to another electrician who bid $60,000. Contractor admitted electrician was already chosen, but customer insisted on another bid for comparison. I, of course wasted 18 hours planning, engineering, designing, pricing for which I didn't even get a thank you.

I know this feeling. I bid a school like that. As I recall the spec was SDQO and some other things I dont recall exactly now but somehow the other bidder went ahead and either got permission or they dont know any better to use Challenger and or ITE maybe for all the equipment. I wasnt trying to be low,,, I wanted to be second as there was some discretionary room, I think a lot were pissed when they all came low as they thought I might be that guy, saved them a bunch of loot, no thanks there either.

Re: 16 Hours of GMAW Training/Instruction?

Originally Posted by Roert42

Something I found pretty helpful for really thin stuff.
Puts a flange on the edge of the sheet metal, so you can overlap the two sheets of metal, and make a lap weld instead of a butt weld. 100x easier to do on paper thin autobody sheet metal.

I actually have a pneumatic one instead of the pliers that can punch holes for spot welds too. Something like this.

I saw this YT video:

That method seems ingenious. I was planning on trying that once I really get the welder settings dialed in for sheet metal. I have the replacement panels in my garage already, they are pretty big. I think I'll just use a portion of it instead of the whole panel, just enough to cover/repair the rust. Right now I have no idea how I'm going to fix the inner sheet metal, may have to try and fab something up. It will be my first time messing with sheet metal so I'm a bit nervous, don't want to permanently screw up this truck.

Re: 16 Hours of GMAW Training/Instruction?

Something I found pretty helpful for really thin stuff.
Puts a flange on the edge of the sheet metal, so you can overlap the two sheets of metal, and make a lap weld instead of a butt weld. 100x easier to do on paper thin autobody sheet metal.

I actually have a pneumatic one instead of the pliers that can punch holes for spot welds too. Something like this.

Re: 16 Hours of GMAW Training/Instruction?

Yeah I definitely need to get in the attic and check out the other ceiling fans. Don't want another fan to drop out of the ceiling again lol.

I also need to focus on practicing tack welding sheet metal so I can fix my truck panels. A long line of tack welds doesn't seem like a lot of fun though, I would rather practice running beads in various positions. I think my next purchase should be a 6 gauge extension cord, a 230V plug for the welder and some kind of adaptor so I can plug the welder into the dryer outlet (until I get the 50amp, 230V receptacle installed in my garage).

Re: 16 Hours of GMAW Training/Instruction?

Originally Posted by Roert42

This is the kind of box you want for a fan. screws to the rafters.

Actually, the pictured hanger is for new work. If the ceiling has already been sheet rocked, you might get into the attic, or the retrofit fan hangers have a screw you twist in through the 4" round hole. It won't be fun, but you will have a sense of accomplishment afterward.