BXProject

[Philhod]

Err ...I thought I'd said it!

[Vanny]

the welder is working again, Kazaa;



Left hand middle line is the start point, power on high/low (settings high or low / high, low, med) and gas on a frankly rediculous 20lpm. Wire feed aint smooth but then its a cheap as welder so thats no surprise. Holes where caused by too much gas and hanging around too long. Ended up about 10lpm on the gas and low/high. Then tried something else;



It's a piece of the galv 2mm sheeting, snipped off, partially ground down (clear colour difference) then had a bit of a go. Tacked in far right first with a bit too much feed and resultant burn through, then went far left and tried to make another hole, played with the gas some and then did the middle bit. Flipped it over and did the opposite seam which can be seen above the first welds. Strikes me as a touch too much penetration? I assume the orange bits are a result of the galv.


Either way i'm much happier about welding the plates onto the car now. Might have a touch more practise though!

I'd be grateful for some comments!

[docchevron132]

The orange shit almost looks like flux! Could be the monitor though, everything looks shit on it right now!

The bit on the right looks better, but maybe a tad too much wire speed, or not moving the torch fast enough for the wire speed.

The bit on the left looks like poor penetration really...

As with all things, practice makes perfect...

Smooth wire speed helps, as does a steady power supply, as I found out with the bus!

[Vanny]

Well i have neither mooth wire speed nor steady power control, but fuck it, it will do. Might try changing out the liner, but i suspect it will be too small!

[Philhod]

The orangy bits are a product of the process and occurs on most welds. It's a reaction with the manganese in the steel and the almost pure Argon you are using. Not an issue.

Try turning the juice down one notch and slow the feed 2 notches (well 1 at least)

keep the end of the gun at 45 degrees to the direction of travel and gas 10 ltrs/min.

Are you left handed? The weld on the right on the galve looks like you've been pulling Lto R.

Don't forget this process only works pushing
The gas pressure didn't cause the holes, by the way, that was down to too many amps and pilot error.

[Vanny]

Are you left handed? The weld on the right on the galve looks like you've been pulling Lto R.
Don't forget this process only works pushing

Not left handed no, but yes drawing left to right, pushing you say, interesting

Try turning the juice down one notch and slow the feed 2 notches (well 1 at least)

Wire feed is analogue so no notches to play with, its also wonderfully jerky. Will have another crack in a short while.

[Philhod]

Sometimes when it's jerky, the wirefeed clamp is either too tight or too slack.

Also check if the wire swage is the right one, ie. .6 or .8.

If you take the umbilical sleeve out, check the spool is running free and everything lines up as well, when you reassemble.

It's surprising the difference a bit of attention to detail makes.

Pushing is the only option with Mig Vanny, if you try pulling it takes the leading edge of the weld pool out of the gas shield.

You can move back and forward if you are welding in the O/H position and therefore have the gun 90 degrees to the work.
You can use that technique downhand as well but only in spray transfer mode. On the amperages/feeds and thickness you are working on, the set will be operating in dip and spray which means push only technique.

[Vanny]

It's surprising the difference a bit of attention to detail makes.

Oh hell yes, the SIP/Cosmo unit i have is notorious for having a shite feed as the feed motor is tied directly to the arc supplies, so you press the button and it feeds, create an arc and it slows down, get some heat down and it speeds up and so on. There is a well documented fix for £20 but i can't be arsed.

It's been apart about 10000000 times already, biggest problem is that it has a full size reel in place of a 1/4 reel which doesn't do the fucker any good, not to mention the feed rollers aren't braced so twist as they start to feed

Also check if the wire swage is the right one, ie. .6 or .8.

I do not understand this.

Thanks for baring with my naivety though. Mush prefer the arc

[Philhod]

No stick (no pun) with it ! Mig is by far the best process for this type of work.

Good technique helps but is far outweighed be getting the settings and set up right.

Get better at this and it really is point and shoot, semi automatic welding.

There really is no substitute for practice on said bit of scrap till you have the best set up you can get.
on most sets where the wire goes into the outer sleeve the drive wheels have a groove in them the right size for the wire and therefore need changing to suit what you are using.

[Vanny]

just fired her up and had another play, this time in wide screen!




This was all done on lowest setting, 10lpm ish, verying wire speed, angle, and gun movement speed.

Turns out i do normally push forward, so must have learned something at some time. God knows what i was on yesterday, possibly trying to stay away from the galv. Citroen paint burns rather well i've discovered!

on most sets where the wire goes into the outer sleeve the drive wheels have a groove in them the right size for the wire and therefore need changing to suit what you are using.

I gets ya, going by the instruction manual its setup with the right wheels/wire/groove combination. I forget what size it is though, either .8 or .6.

[Philhod]

Much improvement!! The runs in section 1 and 4 are nearest to correct. the top 3 you have hand traversed a bit too fast.

The lower 3 a bit too slow, but all 6 are ok for what you are doing, giving a reasonable cosmetic finish and enough penetration
when you are welding a run of more than 2", it's usually your hand speed that lets you down as it takes a bit of practice before you can develop a "style". The right run in section 4 looks about right.
If you do start to get a burnthrough, speed up quick, but if it does go in a hole, stop and fill the hole before continuing.
As you get more skilled this won't happen and you'll develop an even style.

Try and keep the gun angle steady, keeping the end of the shroud about 3/4" away from the arc.
You can come away from the arc up to an inch and a half, so you can see what you are doing in awkward places, but you need to raise the gas to 15+ ltrs / min to compensate.
It doesn't take long to develop these skills Vanny, I recommend about 2 hours practice on the material you are using should be sufficient.

[Vanny]

Just to clarify, the picture is split in two but it is one piece of metal, lower half of the picture is the top side or the side i was welding from, the upper half of the picture shows the penetration on the otherside.

The holes (2) where mostly the result of pratting about, trying to make circles/multiple pools, but simply over heating and burning through.

when you are welding a run of more than 2", it's usually your hand speed that lets you down

Cant agree more, i used to cock it up at a length of an inch when i first started, and could never manage a straight line. I can normally get 4" reasonably straight (on thicker metal) and dont normally find need for more than that.


Biggest problem i have at the moment is fumes/fire. It fills the top of the garage pretty quick, with the door open its too windy, so i'm going to have to sort some ventilation pronto.

[Philhod]

The fumes won't do you any harm really. As far as fire is concerned, this is an issue. By far the best method I have always used, is to have a bucket of water within easy reach, with a couple of large soaking rags in it.
If you do get alight just slap one on the flames and they soon disappear.

The wire feed rolls should be the same as the wire (said he stating the bleeding obvious) I have .6, .8, 1, and 1.2 for mine.

They are not expensive from any welding equipment suppliers.

Yeah, you pick up these skills fairly quickly. After all, welding is a pure hand skill that responds to practice. you just need a bit of instruction as to technique.
You don't need to know any of the technology and chemical engineering that goes with it, unless you want to become a welding engineer.
Although you do pick up a lot of knowledge from the various materials specifications.

[docchevron132]

By far the biggest problem I've ever had with welding was keeping my hand steady, as silly as it sounds I have no strength left
at all in my right arm, and I'm right handed, and even after 10 mins of welding
the torch feels fucking heavy and it all goes to pot.

Trying to weld left handed is really shite, more often than not I fucking miss what
I'm trying to glue altogether!

There's been bits on the bus where I've had to push the torch purely due to angles and
that. I find less juice and a slightly slower speed does ok...

[Philhod]

Yeah. I know what you mean. I said at w/end I can't see any more and down to a 9's glass at that

Pushing is what you should be doing anyway??

Left handed (or right if your that way inclined) welding is again just a matter of practice, If you get used to welding RH till you get tired, then changing over for a bit. You might end up with both arms tired but you get a lot more done

[docchevron132]

My bad, meant pulling...
Had a few beers last night...
It shows huh!

I think the next vehicle I buy will be made of wood, then I wont have to weld the fucking thing!

[Bx Bandit]

Morgan or horse drawn carriage?!

I found welding outside in the wind an absolute arse, I'd love to get choked by fumes instead corners were my biggest problem. Utter shite hawks!

Phil if I don't have a flow meter (not if, I don't.. ) how is best to guage gas flow for outside & inside purposes?

[mat_the_cat]

I don't have one either, if it makes you feel any better. What I do, and I may well be criticised for this(!) is just turn it up till it doesn't splatter. That said, I've never been taught to weld, and the things I've picked up may well not be the best way to do things. I'm trying to learn from this thread, I may post up a photo of some of my efforts, see what the master has to say about it!

[Bx Bandit]

From what I recall seeing the piccies of your Van I thought your welding looked very neat.
Perhaps at the next meet Mr Hod will instruct us all to bring our welders and some scrap
so we can have further tuition and a 'welding cook-off' Out with the whips Mr Hod......please!

[mat_the_cat]

Thanks for the compliment, but I have to admit I've been pulling the torch along, not pushing!

Here are a couple of pics, honest opinions welcome (I think!)




The 'seam' on the right of the first picture I wasn't happy with - the metal was a bit on the thin side so kept blowing through. Also also I use CO2 rather than CO2/argon mix...I just seem to get on better with pure CO2. Can't put my finger on why exactly though.