Learning to weld..er trying to

[JMF]

Never weld more in the morning than you can grind in the afternoon.

 

[riverview]

Does anyone have one of those portable plasma cutters ? I bought one last fall and still haven't rigged it up yet but watched some YouTube and I was impressed. Another question , what do you guys pay for Oxy Acetylene tank lease and fill ? I cancelled my lease when I retired because it seemed spendy but I sure miss it.

I have a plasma cutter not really portable as need 220 and air supply its about the size of a small wire feed welder. pretty slick when needed. use it to cut 1/4 inch aluminum when i bought it.

 

[1lessdog]

You need more heat on the top weld. You need to melt the base metal a little to get a nice weld. You don't want your weld setting on top of base.

 

[lunkerslayer]

I was talking to my neighbor and i was welding up some 3x3 square tubing for my air compressor pumps and he laughed at my weaving patterns , i said that mig welds that are a straight weld are better and that the feed speed and heat are more important especially if you are not filling in big gaps, vertical or upside down. Anyone agree or disagree since im no pro and learned how to weld on the old Lincoln stick welder.

 

[lunkerslayer]

You need more heat on the top weld. You need to melt the base metal a little to get a nice weld. You don't want your weld setting on top of base.

Also if you are joining two pieces together like kdm did that back gouging will remedy a lot of issues where you get a much better bead laid into the heart of the metel.