*** ** ******sparks!!!**** ** ****

[jimFPU]

OK, here you go the first few shots with the new welder. I now completely understand Cycle Time. Once I got going I didn't want to stop!!

If you can see the numbers of the order these were welded in it may give you an idea of progress. I didn't do any clean up except to knock of the slag, and wire brush to see the welds. Pretty thick metal, so no holes or even heat marks on the underside, but #8 was a continuous triple-pass weld, that set my work bench on fire!! (Have to get a metal plate soon...LOL!)

The last 4 were done for my DD who wanted to watch and see if I was ready to start building a bike...she is so excited! She dressed up and used the cheap mask to watch me, but took the pic with my helmet.

How come none of you told me this was easy? Thanks.:eek:
http://i353.photobucket.com/albums/r399/jnk6/DSCN0396.jpg
http://i353.photobucket.com/albums/r399/jnk6/DSCN0395.jpg
http://i353.photobucket.com/albums/r399/jnk6/DSCN0397.jpg

[jimFPU]

BTW this is really the first time I've welded...

[trikeman]

Congratulations!

From the looks of the welds, I would say you have too much stick out on your wire . It creates a lot of spatter and makes the weld skip around. You are probably also going too fast (we all did that at first). Don't worry about burning through at first - just worry about getting the metal to form a molten pool you can see and control.

The first welds look cold (no fusion). The second set are getting much better.

Its good for your first beads though. For me just knowing I could strike and arc and sort of control the machine was a major mileston that overcame the fear of welding. Concentrate on seeing the puddle and making sure it is wetting out the sides and forming a nice liquid pool. It takes some time to stop watching the arc and start looking for the puddle.

Keep up the progress.

[jimFPU]

OK, thanks. It did seem like a lot of wire (about 3/4 to an inch were hanging out each time I stopped). Wire speed too fast I suppose? I could start to see some puddle on the last ones, but I think my mask was set too dark also. Looks like more tweaking. This could be fun.

OK, it is fun.:D

[trikeman]

You might find some of the videos on this site useful. I would also recommend the Wall Mountain welding videos they sell at Northern Tool. If you are going to use flux core they have one for that. You can also rent them, but I like watching them more than a few times.

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

[jimFPU]

Yes, those videos have been watched many times at this house... LOL!

[jimFPU]

OK, now I can burn through!! I hacked apart some old bikes that I got as donors...they were brazed together. Must have been really thin, 'cause burn through was real easy. I tried all the wire speeds and just couldn't get that burn through to stop. I'll try to get some square tubing and get to welding the good stuff. I did get a pretty good weld one a newer steel frame that I hacked apart and the welded back together differently...

We'll see, DW wants me to build the shelving units in the game room...maybe I can convince her to wait until winter...

[trikeman]

OK, now I can burn through!! I hacked apart some old bikes that I got as donors...they were brazed together. Must have been really thin, cause burn through was real easy. I tried all the wire speeds and just couldn't get that burn through to stop. I'll try to get some square tubing and get to welding the good stuff. I did get a pretty good weld one a newer steel frame that I hacked apart and the welded back together differently...

We'll see, DW wants me to build the shelving units in the game room...maybe I can convince her to wait until winter...

If you have turned the welder down as much as you can and are still gettting burn-through, you need to move the gun along faster, or get some thicker metal. If you sit in one place long enough, you can burn through most any metal your welder is rated for.

Burn through can be a good thing. I think I learned more about controlling the puddle when I burned through and had to patch the holes, than I did just welding along nicely. You learn what the metal looks like when it is molten, and what it looks like when it is about to burn through. You also learn what it looks like when it is cooling and solidifying again, and how to move it along. Burn through also means you have sufficient power to get full penetration on whatever you are welding.

Normally, I would tell you to turn down both the voltage and the wire speed (wire speed controls the current on a wire feeder), but I see from your owner's manual that you don't have any voltage control. I also see that the recommended wire setting for 16ga metal is a "1," which as low as your welder goes. A lot of commercial bicycle tubing is thinner than 16ga, so you may be asking your welder to do more (or should I say less) than it is capable of. Still, you probably just need to move faster, if you see the puddle showing signs of burning through.

For practice, its better to weld on coupons, which are small pieces of metal (about 2") that you weld together. With a coupon, you can turn it over and see if you got full penetration. You can also cut through the weld at 90" and polish and etch the weld to see what the penetration looks like. Buy yourself a strip or two of 2" x 1/8" steel, or 2"x 3/16" if you can find it, and cut it into coupons to practice on. It is much easier to burn through thin (18ga-20ga) bicycle material, so you are making it harder on yourself while you learn to try and weld it, although it is good practice for the real thing. Welding on something thicker, while you are learning, will give you time to see what is going on with the puddle, before it burns through.

You are making progress, which is a good thing. You learn to weld the same way you get to Carnegie Hall - Practice, practice, practice.

[macka]

if you are getting that much hanging when you stop, you need to get closer to the metal, I usually keep the tip about a half inch from my work and I keep the tip around 30 degrees tilted at the puddle for good penetration. I also was taught by an experienced welder who made me do beads for days before he let me join 2 pieces. Draw some straight lines on a piece of scrap, and try to follow them and keep the puddle consistant and don't be afraid to run too hot at first. If you blow through turn down the amperage 5 amps skip past the hole about 1/4" and start again.