Tell me why I shouldn't just do straight line
They all look the same

>>2973045
because each one has different applications
https://www.arccaptain.com/es/blogs/article/welding-weave-patterns

>>2973045
The weaves are slightly wider.
>Tell me why I should use one weave over the other.
There is no why. It doesn't matter.

>>2973048
>There is no why. It doesn't matter.
you'd fail a steamfitter job for sure

>>2973050
So I'm told.

Haven't welded in about 2,5 years now. Ever since I moved and got an office job.
I'd like to buy a TIG but I know I won't use it often. Not enough projects around the house :(

>>2973045
Avoid square weave technique unless you have a reason to do it.
The bead width variation isn't worth it. Inspectors judge bead width, based on most narrow measurement.

Square weave pattern will commonly fail inspection if you ever push the weld pool too far. Not worth it.
Stick it consistent bead width, if that means a different weave technique, so be it.

Weld superiority isn't subjective.
You use the correct motion for the application, and you achieve a perfect bead output.
No one cares how you actually maneuver your electrode tip, except the inspector when they find bead inconsistency.

Equal fluid movement of the weld pool at consistent bead width is the way. Anything else is the dark side.

>>2973196
Not to say it's bad, it's just that other motions can make up for a mistake like slightly pushing your pool too far.
If you do it with square weave, you're going to become a grinder instead of a welder.

So, use the other motions, as they will forgive/cover up your mistake of inconsistent travel speed.
Square weave will not forgive that, as your pool will be beyond the toe of your last wave crest. Missing overlap within your own bead line is CRAZY and isn't even a possibility with most motions.
Square weave can do that, if you think about it, you are missing overlap, on the same bead you are making. From an efficient professional welding standard, this is bumfuck crazy and makes a mother fucker wonder, who even invented square weave? It's shit, unless you have to make that motion for a riveted/equally spaced bolted edge, there's almost NO REASON to ever square weave.

>>2973061
Why not just get a simple cheapo stick welder?

No gas canister. You can buy rods at local hardware stores. If you need a weld to look pretty, just grab some 7018's. If you need wire level/precision work, use a soldering iron kit.

SMAW stick welding is good enough for 99% of home level work.
Can be done for much cheaper, low cost stick unit, cost of rods, no gas to worry about. For home project/sporadic use, you really can't go wrong with stick.
(No rod oven though, better stick to the resilient stuff, men and children are separated by whether or not they are comfortable with 60x0 rods.)

I want to make a test sample for dye penetration.
I was thinking doing a weld bead that cracks for sure (preferably invisible that only comes up with dye), grind and polish to flat.

What would be an "ideal" way to do this? What filler what settings would work?

>>2973061
>>2973204
just get a stick/mig machine with flux core wire
then you can dual shield if you want later

>>2973207
Welding cast iron with mild steel filler rod will crack for sure.

>>2972986
The third one is best right?

>>2973204
if you can mig why the fuck would you stick?

>>2975498
I prefer stick welding over mig for lots of the stuff I weld. You don't have to clean stuff up as carefully because 6010 or 6011 will burn right in anyhow, get better weld penetration on thicker material, and don't have to worry about your shielding gas blowing away.

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>>2975525
>don't have to clean
>will burn right in anyhow
>get better weld penetration on thicker material
>don't have to worry about your shielding gas blowing away
haha innershield at 300a go brrrrrr

>>2973045
when you go to test for aws certs they recommend you use a straight line. you should use it and produces strong welds

>>2975559
>haha innershield at 300a go brrrrrr
I've tried flux core exactly once.... Not my cup of tea. I do have a small spool that came with a welder and another 10 or 11 lb spool that I should probably use up sometime.

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Picrel: worth it or not, for beginner hobbist? Just read a little ftom link here >>2973047; what can it do, metals/thickness wise, and what can't it?

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>use 6014 rods
>hate it and they suck ass

>get 7014 rods
>works great

>>2975787
>what can it do
120A, that would be 6mm 1/4" absolute maximum
>what can't it
gas. that machine is gasless only and thin wire too, which for a lot of applications is pure dog shit.

I worked in a welding supply shop for 10 years of my life. I realize people want to spend as close to $0 as possible and get a machine that can do everything. I would not recommend a machine like pic related unless all you want to do is 3mm plate on trailers and fencing.

>>2975833
Yeah, just browsed yt and there's s lot of videos about it and mostly praising it (ex : https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LariCNWmY1w(, hence why I was wondering.

>>2975836
Those power electronic machines usually fail when one or more of the power transistor fail. If it happens, figure out which ones failed with a multimeter then order replacements. Cost me $20 to fix a $300 machine.

muricans cannot fathom the 7018 open root

>>2976891
canucks cannot fathom a good fitter and a 7010 hippy rod downhill root

>>2976922
>fitter
murifats never did end the slave trade after all

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>297692aight
>the helper thinks its allowed to talk

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>>2972986
>be lowlife scum dropshitter
>wait 22 days to dispatch my fba order
>send chinkshit instead of genuine as ordered and paid for
>get negative feedbacks removed because they were all fba orders of garbage middlemanned through amazon delivery
>continue doing monkey behavior for peanuts margins
and here i am being fucking retarded just trying to make an honest buck melting metal together

>he doesn't decant acetylene because big gas reddit bots say it's a bad idea
oooOoooooOo scary

>>2978303
an acetylene generator would be neat but calcium carbide has gotten absurdly expensive and they really dont build much over 4psi which rules out running big rosebuds which are the primary gas eaters
and the commercial cylinder filling plants are insane with precision scales in submerged vats because it really is sketch balls over 25psi. and theres tons of trade secrets around acetone saturation measurements and maximum filling rates/time
propylene is supposed to be the best acetylene substitute but a many suppliers dont stock it
i tried propane but it sucks ass. slow as fuck to start the cut and dumps too much bulk heat into the work which makes cutting rusted nuts off without fucking the bolt threads nearly impossible. and it eats oxy like candy. but it cuts really clean on new plate on the burn table

>>2978331
Get a bigger propane tip for your torch. It'll still eat oxygen, but you can definitely pre-heat a shit ton faster.

>>2978303
I do, I have a 5L bottle i top off every time I get the 50L one replaced and have been doing for years. Have I slowly increased the acetone contents of the small bottle? Maybe, I'll replace it too when I notice a difference.

Why do my welds don't scab? I got 6010 and 6011 and neither form a crust after welding like I've seen in all the welding videos I've watched.

>>2978446
there is slag, just rake it off with a chipping hammer. or you got some really old, oil soaked electrodes and most of the slag is trapped inside your weld.

>>2978446
6010 and 6011 slag sticks a lot harder than 6013 or 7018. Its on there and just takes more chipping or a wire brush on an angle grinder to get it off.

>>2972986
Corkscrew ftw

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>>2972986
Yay! My people! My brothers!
Pictured: Cross Section of GMAW corner joint.
8"x1"x1/4" flat bar mild 2x
.035 ER70S-6
20.5v 370WFS

I am a new welder, just in the middle of my cert program.

GTAW was invented by retarded masochists and I hate it.
MIG is God's gift to Earth.
SMAW is easier than people think, but not all rods are created equal.

Lastly:
Fuck aluminum.

>>2979228
1F , by the way.

This was my VERY FIRST GMAW corner joint.

>>2978446
If you mean like snakeskin freezing, that really is rod dependent.

There is a WORLD of difference between 60xx rods and 7018.

Try a 7018, that'll be more what you're looking for, probably.

>>2977537
>Buying gas lenses

Gas adjustment accessories for TIG are the welding equivalent of penis enlargement pills, except for the Unicorn farts but even those are just process dependent and don't work for every weldment.

Change my mind.

>>2975559
I wasn't aware they sold Giraffe neck MIG guns.

>>2979236
try and weld some titanium and then tell me laminar flow doesn't matter

>>2975498
Because Stick > FCAW by skill

If you don't want to be a skillful welder and you just need shit to stick together FCAW is fine, I guess, but I prefer NOT buying entire spools of wire for home use.
With a welder for home/sporadic projects, you may need different rod/filler alloy on hand.
By going with stick, you just buy a few different packs of rods.
With MIG, you have to buy spools, and if you're trying to save money and go this route, you'll end up getting a spool gun, and lots of little spools for it. Self winding is such a bad idea, no welder will tell you to do it, unless you're a serious penny pincher with an erection for GMAW setups.

Aka
Cheaper to buy rods, than to buy whole new spools, just to work with different base metals.
Which means stick is the cheapest way to go for "miscellaneous" welding scenarios.

Also, some base material just really doesn't fucking FCAW, but the proper rod will penetrate through a fucking bunker.

>>2979240
I make less than $30/hr

If someone wants ME to weld titanium, they have already made a grave miscalculation before we get there.

You are probably right. I haven't fucked with that material yet. If that's when it matters, noted. Thanks for the info.

>>2979244
large gas lens or a purge box or you have to jerry rig something around your cup to trap gas and you can't see shit

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>>2979236
wait wait lemme guess
i doubt youre a mega geezer running an og airco/union carbide/linde jumbo beerbottle handle 500a torch hooked to the water faucet for cooling and have the helium cranked up to 100 cfh to fire off the 1/4" tungsten with a genuine pyrex dinner glass cup
so that means you come from a 2nd world establishment where you cant imagine anything different than a silly yuro style torch for limp wristed edamamebois. which you enjoy because it reminds you of when your wifes bull lets you hold it before he puts it in
and you must not pay for gas because a stubby lens runs clean at half the flow of the junk straight cups from the heliarc dinosaur days
just wait until you find out about newfangled shit like different length back caps and wedge collets and foot pedal controls

>>2979305
NTA but IMO if a part needs welded at 500A with TIG then it's badly designed.

>>2979324
>he haven't tried TIG carbon arc gouging

I am tired of this bullshit.

Some ass hat hooked my MIG contact tip up backwards, and melted the fucking threads.

I'm so pissed, who the fuck does that, why?!?!?!

>>2979305
Ok, you are going to have to explain to me why your torch has a fucking gear wheel.

Go.

Also, I'm just a student. 1st world, shitty public trade school though.

Also, let me ask you expert welders.

Why hasn't PIG taken over TIG?

Plasma Ionized Gas welding.

Take a plasma cutter, down the input energy so you don't punch through, make a plasma weld pool and add filler metal.
Fuck sharpening Tungsten.
Why aren't we just using plasma instead?

Modern plasma cutters and TIG torches are almost the same fucking thing.

Is the plasma cutter energy output too high? Is it the gas flow rate?

Someone can engineer TIG into obsolescence if you can configure a plasma cutter to maintain the pool.
We won't even fucking need Tungsten anymore.

Why isn't anyone doing this?!

I'm going to. I'm going to patent it.
Fuck you.

PIG > TIG

>>2979596
I don't know how controllable the puddle would be... Who knows though, you might be onto something. Someone else has probably already tried it though.

>>2979596
https://forum.millerwelds.com/forum/welding-discussions/15282-anyone-familiar-with-plasma-welding
plasma welding was going to be the next greatest shit in the world circa 1978. thermal arc (wonder where that brand name originated) sold a bund of high dollar systems for nuc shit and r&d. it worked but was cantankerous and took special gas blends that nobody stocked back then. it shined on super thin parts like .002 stainless bellows and oddities like 100% fusion butt welding copper to titanium in an inert environmental chamber. otherwise tig is easier and cheaper in every aspect except dipping the tungsten

>>2979324
>if a part needs welded at 500A with TIG then it's badly designed
lol
lmfao even
if that was true then miller would have no reason to make dynasty 800 boxes. ive personally struggled getting a puddle going with a dynasty 350 full pedal on 1/4 x 4" copper bars. the heat is just wicked away
i worked at another place that did industrial food processing equip. theyd weld up custom ss rect box tubing in the shop that you couldnt buy. brake up c channel forms from 3/8 plate then fuse the backpurged joint with a tig machine torch hanging off an airco beetle hooked to a 1000a old p&h xfmer box with an hf451 arc starter running a 3/16 tungsten at like 50 inch a minute weld speed
>>2979595
>explain to me why your torch has a fucking gear wheel
its an awkward amperage control on the faggy torch and a gas valve on the others

>>2979596
Plasma cutters operate in a different voltage range, much higher than TIG. Like 5 times higher. TIG is simple and it just werks.

>>2973061
Why not, it doesn't have an expiration date. I also have a tig that I love a lot despite not having used it for a year, will do some work this summer hopefully.
>>2975058
Not if you beat the shit out of it with needle scaler in between short welds and have it cool slowly in sand
>>2979236
I run criminally low gas flow rate with gas lens and welds turn out fine on steel and alu, it saves money

God welding is the most beautiful hobby in the world but the shittiest real job you can have :/
I'm gonna go drive a truck I guess

>>2979228
Congratulations and nice dog
> GTAW was invented by retarded masochists and I hate it
Don't obsess over it, tig is easy when you learn at your own pace and not follow everything the experts say to the letter. What's bothering you about it?
It's the only reliable way to weld aluminum without losing your fucking mind or having the welds look like shit

>>2972986
Hello anons, I've been thinking of hardfacing and got an idea:
Could spring steel wire (or music wire as some call it) be brazed/welded on with tig on an edge of mild steel piece to create a hardened edge for a diy knife?
I've once managed to do this with a drill bit on an axe head and it worked but drill bits but it's not reallu cheap and easy to burn through drill bits like that

>>2980707
Fuck my spelling was retarded here, basically I have a leftover spool of spring wire that's all kinked up and I got no use for so I thought about using it for this task

>>2980709
you want to use the wire as filler?

>>2980720
Yeah, melt a few layers of it on the edge and grind it down so I have a quality edge on a cheap piece of steel that I can shape

I have an old Lincoln Electric SP100 that works fine but I'd like to get back into TIG. Would a multiprocess welder be an upgrade or will I end up with a shittier MIG machine? I'm looking at the Omnipro 220 or the Power MIG 215. Light fab/hobby use.

I'd get a dedicated TIG box but I'm pressed for space.

I can't get the hang of tig. All my pieces have suckback.

>>2980733
The omnipro 220 is a kickass little mig and stick machine. I have not tried mine for tig yet as I have a dedicated ac/dc Hobart tig machine. But you should not be disappointed in its mig/stick abilities as far as I'm concerned.

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>>2972986
im building a single place motorcycle trailer, but with cool coilover suspension. these are trailing arms(not done yet). the axle stub fits in the bigger tube im using car wheels so I needed that offset and then hopefully the gusseted dogleg will help with side loads. I have a pair of harley vrod shocks, I havent worked out the angles but I think it'll work. Imagine a central 2x3 beam and then two other 2x3s sticking out like a cross and these arms will be hanging off the ends.

>>2981719
neato. hopefully itll dampen out ok

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>>2981757
Thanks, I think it'll work. that harley weighs the same as my yamaha and the trailer weighs as much as a fat couple and looking at how laid over the shocks on the harley are, they could be put more upright and be more effective. Now Im at the point where I need to figure out how I should align everything. Maybe put the wheels on and block everything up to ride height and then align the tires to the frame? Im going to sleep on it

>>2980721
Yep, ive faced cheap hammers with small broken drill bits, spring steel will do what you think it will, hardenable edge for a blade or a hardened face
When i faced the hammers their mass was enough of a heat sink to quench harden the drill bit steel, so you might have to do a seprate quench and temper for a blade edge

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>>2981907

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>>2982057

>>2972986
They arr rook same

>>2982244
shock mount uprights look too wimpy

Unironically what's the point of stick for anything outside of structural welding?
There is no project where I wouldn't rather use flux/mig/tig
It's a pain to use, especially on thin metal

>>2982602
Welding aluminium outdoors?

>>2982609
I have no use for onions metal

>>2982602
I love stick welding. Burning through shitty paint and rust with 6011. Zero fucks given. Also quite handy to stick the electrode deep into narrow spots you can't get a mig gun into very well. Thin metal can suck, but get yourself some 3/32" rod and turn the amps down and its doable for stuff you don't care about much. I wouldn't try stick welding on body work because that would be a nightmare of warpage and burning through....

>>2982602
> What's the point of the cheapest and most environment independent welding process?

>>2981914
I did the exact thing with drill bits on an axe head, I use it to beat the shit out ot everything from wood to coal and mortar and it's still sharp, it's insane, didn't need any heat treatment.
I'm not sure how spring steel will behave since it's different than HSS and probably becomes way different when melted together with mild steel.
I'd really like to avoid having to quench it because I suck with that and there's too many ways to screw it up.
It's probably gonna be way better than a soft edge

>>2982616
Skill cope

>>2982692
NTA, but aluminum is a pretty shit material for a lot of things. It does have some good qualities and applications where it shines.

>>2982694
That's true for every metal. Mild steel rusts, stainless isn't as strong but as heavy as other steel, aluminium is weak by volume, etc.

>>2975833
doesn't it have like some liquid inside the thread like solder that helps no not corrode like shit? And when it burns it uhh forms to a gas or somethin

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>>2982277
Yeah I just ran out of filler rod. Im thinking about adding a few lightening holes, for looks but i dunno. The shocks seem to work good. I weigh 240ish and on the lowest preload there is barely any sag and I cant bottom them out jumping on it

Bought a $150 stick welder off amazon that according to a youtube video can hit 170 amps reliably and is decently built. I also snagged 1500 pieces of 20' long 1"x3/4" square tubing at a liquidation for $300

What are some projects I can do to make a bit of money and save up for a nice welder? The welder I bought was a hone 185d.

>>2983200
Garden fence panels, chairs and tables, gazebo frames, chicken coup frames, deck railing, shop shelving/work benches. Suggest you get a bunch of 3/32" E6011 if youre new to stick welding and a good number of lense covers, 6011 throws sparks everywhere but a easy to see puddle, 6013 and 7014 may leave a smoother bead but their puddles are hidden by heavy slag and tend to get slag inclusions plus when they fail they just snap while 6011 beads bend before breaking. 7018 is great but takes some skill and 6010 just does not like to stay burning on small inverters

>>2983200
>1500 pieces of 20' long 1"x3/4" square tubing at a liquidation for $300
dang 30,000 feet of steel for 300? and a welder is 150?

>>2983341
yeah I got a lot and i need something to do with it, everyone went for the machines and had no money at the end so I made out like a bandit I think. 0.06" wall thickness, they're rectangle tube not square and 0.75" x 1" in size. too bad I fucking suck at ideas but luckily anon above gave me some stuff to work with

>>2983358
Im above anon, .06 wall will be hard with 3/32" 6011 rod you will have to do the series of spot welds to not burn through or moving fast down hill, 1/16"or 5/64" 6013 or 7014 will work with a decent amount of practice, mock up a bunch of joints and practice before you make a mess of a actual job, some advice will be to have a very steep drag angle with the rod, like 15° to keep from blowing through and stop slag inclusion, and fit up will have to be perfect, the slightest gap will have you chasing blow outs, so a mitering chop saw will be a much needed tool

>>2983364
hello above anon, I guessed that number but just checked, they're actually 0.085-92, I take it my 6011 will still be a bit difficult to use?

I'll get a chop saw this week. I believe my friend is selling one. Thanks for all the info

>>2983364
Oh and to be clear do not have a steep drag angle with 6011, that will blow a massive hole on thin tubing, but is how you get deep penetration with 6011

>>2983365
Oh thats better, 3/32" rod on 3/32" material will be fine, just fit up mock ups of the joints youll be making and practice until it clicks, and to save you from learning the hard way as soon as a hole opens up just break the arc and let it cool, you are not gonna fill it haha

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lookin better than how it came

>>2983884
all that work for something that will rust out in a season

>>2984010
goddamn i love living in a place where salt rust doesnt exist

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>>2984010
meh probably wont get used enough to start rusting looks better though. still thinking about paints and primers. im probably gonna use vht epoxy primer and red rustoluem. I got ~140lbs for the tongue weight so thats good so far

>>2983368
I finally have my first project in mind, a simple stand to hold my propane torch. I'll give pics of my first attempts at stick welding when it's assembled.

>>2983358
Ramps for loading 4wheelers/golfcarts into a pickup. All the ones you can buy are sketchy/short noodle grade aluminum because mfg's try to cheap out. Trailer ramps, garage tire racks, landscape trailer accesory mounts for blowers/rakes/shovels etc. SxS spare tire mounts. Treestand ladder sections. Garden benches. Ideally stuff you can sell on FBmarketplace for cash.

>>2984273
Cool, dont worry the welds will look like poo but you can always take a hammer to your practice joints to assure yourself to their strength

>>2979596
>>2979605
>>2979630
>>2979649

I'm the guy that posted about replacing TIG with controlled plasma arcs instead.

Ok, so here's the REAL reason that we haven't lowered TIG into the grave and replaced it with open plasma arc welding instead. But let me point out some details about this.

1. The idea works. We can 100% GET RID OF TIG ENTIRELY. From a technical standpoint, it is possible to just use controlled plasma beams to do EVERYTHING that TIG does.

2. Patents and companies closeting the necessary tech. Yep. Two corporations from two different nations are the reason that the world is still using Tungsten rods for welding, even though we can technically get rid of tungsten entirely, in practice.

3. (Don't be antisemitic.) In the 90's, an Israeli R&D grant into plasma arc technology funded a company that patented the correct technology for the right type of control and function for a form of plasma arc welding that could replace TIG.

4. That company produced no viable products for it. (Though it maintains at least two related patents.)

5. That company sold its majority ownership years ago, into a welding corporation in Mumbai, India. (They don't know what they are sitting on and haven't made a viable product with the tech and/or they do know, and do not want to bring it to market since it would cannibalize their TIG offerings.

There you go.
Two companies. (One plasma research corporation, that used Israel government funding.) and (One welding corporation in Mumbai, India.)

They are the ones that have the patents that could enable PAW/PIG to replace TIG in it's entirety.
We've been able to technically DO IT, as a civilization since the 90's.

Someone will get around to phasing out TIG eventually, because all the pieces exist, someone will just have to put the puzzle together and cut deals with those two corporations.

Once they do, the TIG market will buckle pretty fast, since avoiding using a rare Earth metal is becoming a bigger and bigger deal.

>>2984733
Investors, mid-term Tungsten short, as soon as someone starts talks with those two companies for patent access. (One of the reasons I won't publicly say which companies, but it's not hard to figure out with what I've posted about each of them.)

My tech and market predictions always come true.
I'm a savant genius at microeconomics, and I pay close attention to shit.

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>>2984733
>>2984739
>anon cant get the hang of not dipping the tungsten
>schizos out on irrelevant tech
show me on the doll where tig touched you

>>2984744
Ok, point to the Tungsten tree, that Tungsten grows on.

You have your points, but you might as well be shilling for Oxy Acetlyne Torch Welding, broskie.

It's inferior tech because it costs us something that we can't replace.

>>2984771
one $4 7" stick of tungsten can make a 1000ft of weld easily so its fractions of a cent per minute
this is versus having to stock 2 different gasses and 1 is an odd blend that isnt stocked. so at 10cfh on a 280 that costs $150 for the gas that's $5/hr conservatively consumable cost for the arc medium. which is an order of magnitude higher than the tungsten consumption
tig is like 6010 5p red rod. its been around forever. anybody with 1/2 a clue can run it. and it does its intended job fantastically

>>2984775
It's great, sure.
I can walk the cup.
But you know what would be a lot cooler?
Getting weldments done faster, with homogenized beads, with no effort. (TIG torch is simple tool, but the future of plasma only welding looks brighter every day.)

I don't mean to shit in the cornflakes of anybody that's been doing TIG for 20 years, but buddy, there were guys that specialized in installing asbestos too.

Just because you're dedicated to a craft, doesn't mean it's the way we should do it forever.

Plasma arc control can be done at a robotic level, in ways TIG will never be able to accomplish.
It is the weld process of the future.

>"Plasma Arc Welding! It'll replace TIG, which uses tungsten"
>*looks inside PAW torch*
>tungsten electrode

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>>2984393
Thank you for the ideas! I'll try some of them out when I get better.
>>2984407
My first fucking arc melted straight through the 3/32", I was on 80 amps so im going to drop it a bit but god, the videos make stick welding look easy this is nothing like mig. I'm thoroughly impressed with the shitbox I bought off amazon, it runs really well so and the arcs strike instantly. We'll see if I can get any marked improvements over the next 200 or so rods I have.

>>2984989
turn hot start down if you have it. my esab rogue will blast a hole on strike even with the amperage set low if hs is cranked

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I want to start welding on a mig welder, inherited this in my fathers shop but it doesn't work when I turn on the generator and feeding system on, would someone be willing to help diagnose it with me?

>pressing the trigger (it's a tweco gun) does nothing
>putting the ground on a piece of metal and touching the tip of the mig gun does not strike an arc
>checked the ~80/20 tank, still plenty full
>wire seems fine, not that this really matters
>generator turns on
>cannot tell if the wire feeder turns on, there is no indicator
>No idea if the fuses are blown

What could it possibly be? I disassembled the mig gun and got nowhere. I do not own a multimeter and I know jack shit about electricity but I'm willing to buy one if it helps me fix this thing and even tip the anon who figures it out some cheddar from my poverty wallet. I made this same post awhile ago but now I have a ton of time on my hand so someone might remember this LINDE welder

>>2985010
And what I do when I start this thing, remember I have basically zero knowledge welding so if something is wrong here please let me know

>turn on generator by flipping the switch
>turn on the feeder by flipping the switch
>press gun trigger, wire doesn't feed and gas doesn't come out

Am I supposed to fuck around with the generator voltage/inductance to make the gun work? I wouldn't think so but I don't know much.

>>2985010
1st off thats a 3 phase machine so wondering if the shop has real 3 phase power. if it has a rotary phase converter that isnt turned on the machine wont be getting all 3 legs of supply and the feeder power may be 120v taken off a single leg of input

>>2985013
Shop is 480v and it's directly hooked in, Tomorrow I could get more pictures if needed

>>2985014
yes determining if the feeder is getting input power through the umbilical is priority. then figure out if the trigger signal is getting to the contactor relay in the machine

>>2984991
don't think my welder has the capability to turn off hot start, I could return it and get a different one though

>>2984989
Oh you are gonna have to turn that down to like 60 amps forgot to tell you suggested amps will be real hot for what your doing, some tips for welding that cold your gonna want to use your off hand fingers to guide the rod like a pool que, those 3/32"s like to jiggle making for a really long gouging arc or just stick, if turning it down and the hot start is still burning through maybe you get some 3/32" 7018 cause that rod loves hot start, run some beads on the tube to set your amps and get a feel for how the heat builds in the metal and how the angle of the rod affects the puddle, you should watch jody's youtube channel weldingtipsandtricks if you havent

>>2985030
id swap for even an innershield fluxcore welder. stick on that beercan thin tube is going to forever be an exercise in frustration
obviously wire feed mig with gas will be the most friendly. gas isnt that hard if you find a 20lb co2 tank from a soda fountain or dope grow

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>>2985040
I have a flux core welder but it's like a decade or two old, one of those harbor freight chicago electric blue ones and that thing sucked ASS. Are they any better nowadays?

I own two huge arg/oxy and a pure argon bottle, bought both at the liquidation and they're basically full. I could buy a gas based mig welder off amazon or even get a tig one, what do you think?

>>2985063
Tig, you can still stick weld with it, look for high freq start with a built in gas selenoid or you might as well get a tig torch with a gas valve and use your current stick welder for tig, good for thin material but requires alot of prep and cleaning for welds to look better than flux core

>>2985063
Pic related?
>90A
No wonder that thing sucked ass, why anybody would even bother making a wire feed welder that gutless is beyond me. Lucky if you could weld 3mm plate with that thing, and that earth clamp would be cooking itself by then.

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>>2985063
>Are they any better nowadays?
yes. lightyears ahead. and way more bang for the buck
id find a 200a class machine in whichever price bracket you want. ill shill for primeweld everyday
i have 2 esab firepower fp200 migs and fucking love them. i mostly run on 240v but theyll run 18v/165ipm/80a with .030" wire on 120v/15a breaker if youre careful which will do 3/16 metal. i keep the other loaded with innershield for quick shit

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>>2985026
Sorry it took so long, here are some pics. The multimeters I own are all pieces of shit and stopped working long ago so I still need to go buy one.

The feeder is a SWM-31, 120V 3A 50/60Hz and the power supply has a good image of it in the photo. Some of the images the gun is detached, that's because I took it apart to see if I could figure out why the fuck it wasn't working. Maybe it's the 3 amp slo blow fuse?

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>>2985217
i assume you have the feeder switch turned on as well
does the voltage gauge on the machine read anything when turned on?
inside the yellow circled plug there needs to be 2 pins with 120v across them to power the feedee. no idea which 2 so youll have to try all the combos
there should be another 2 that switch to 0 resistance when the trigger is pulled. those would control the output relay contactor inside the main machine
can you take a picture of the back of the main box where that yellow connects on the other end?

>>2985219
I'll check tomorrow morning, just bought some 250v 3amp fuses and a multi meter. I did some asking around and I BELIEVE the last time this machine ran someone forgot to turn off the wire feeder itself so it sat for a year turned on. It would have to be the fuse I think?

either way we'll get to the bottom of it and if this fucking dinosaur starts working again I'll paypal you $25 for helping

>>2985220
>feeder switch left on
if the main machine was off there usually isnt power out the control cable. fuse sould be an easy visual check
i might be wise to make sure all 3 legs of the input power are right under the hood. but thats phase to phase voltage checking on 480v which is no joke. i wouldnt try it with a $5 garbage freight meter or at least wouldnt be holding any part of the process in my hands to avoid becoming a dish of fried chicken
did you make sure there isnt a mouse nest inside?

>>2975498
MIG is for sissies

Real men weld stick with Ray-Bans™ and a cigar clenched between their teeth for a respirator

>>2985144
A fair bit more expensive than I expected compared to the sticks. Know anything about the Arccaptain brand? Their flux cores are allegedly 165 amp.

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>>2985228
I checked inside the main power supply, no sign of a rats nest and everything looks fine but I'm no welder technician. I also took off the wire feeder hood and the fuse looks fine as well when pulled out. For the multimeter I bought a Klein MM325 so it hopefully won't violently explode in my hands.

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>>2985326
so you need to figure out if 120v is getting to the feeder. with the main welder turned on, check the white and black wires on the feeder power switch. there should be 120v across them. with that switch on, both sides should read the same showing that input control powere is reaching the feeder
if theres no 120v there then itll be time to open the main welder and check the control transformer

>>2985300
>Arccaptain
>yeswelder
i havent personally run either but theres reviews and videos both good and bad out there. both send out shitloads of free welders to yootoobers to make shill reviews so judge accordingly
for the price and with scamazon returns i wouldnt be too scared but dont get too upset when it stops working

>>2985329
I'm gonna be so pissed if the issue was just a dead gun. everything looks pretty clean. It'll be hooked up on sunday then we will see

>>2985338
possible but theres not much to go wrong with the gun. its just a clicker switch
even with a bad gun switch the jog feed button should make the feeder rolls turn

how many fires do you accidentally start when welding? I want to stick weld in my garage but if I burn the house down my wife may do unspeakable things to me.

>>2985626
Don't be a complete moron and it's pretty friggin rare. You can always have a piece of plywood to set your stinger on or hang it off something not grounded to the work.

>>2985626
You have to really fuck up to start a welding fire. The sparks might be hot but they're also tiny so they cool off very quickly and don't hold much energy. You'd need to have large amounts of fine wood shavings, dry grass, large dust bunnies, oily rags, spilled fuel, etc. just laying about the place.

Even if you use a wooden table as your welding surface, the table is extremely unlikely to catch fire. It'll get scorched to hell and back but lighting solid wood on fire takes a decent amount of effort.

>>2985363
Ok so I tested the gun, it beeps and shows resistance of like .000-0.03ish, definitely not the gun thank fucking god

I also tested the 3A slo blow fuse, got beeps as well and showed similar resistance.

I'm gonna hook up the welder tomorrow and check the wire feed spot you wanted me to, anything else I should check with my multimeter while it's not hooked up?

>>2985673
nothing really. basically just make sure its getting power on all 3 legs of the input power from the wall. and then verify 120v power is getting to the feeder
its fundamentally just a simple transformer with wall power on one side and low voltage/high amperage welding current on the other. then theres a small circuit to power the little motor to feed the wire. if those 2 primary things arent happening then itll need more poking and proding
apologies if that was all redundant

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>>2985010
holy shit you get to learn on a monster machine why the fuck are you so lucky you can literally weld anything on that

>t. still using a portable flux 80 amp Lincoln

>>2985649
>You have to really fuck up to start a welding fire.

heh heh, the metals so hot you cant blow the wood fire out. im.glad thats the worst that happened welding a chair with a pressure piston.

>>2985626
The only fires I have started while welding is because my main welding area/vise has a trashcan there and sometimes I forget to dump it before welding. So I will start smelling smoke and stop and pick up the trashcan and take it outside to my burn barrels and dump it in...

>>2985884
>trash fire
gotta clean that car when you homeroll cigs cuz the cherry drops often

quads and the shitty $40 stick welder goes on a hobos nipples

i guees trips

whats the chance on that vintage welder anon getting fried?

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>>2986021
>480v 3Ø
its not 0%

>>2986022
if he doesnt post soon its jober

>>2985749
Hooked up without getting turned into primordial soup. With the welder on neither the voltage or ampere meters work. Gun is clicking and an arc strikes though so I'm guessing it wasn't a problem with the feeder but the ground itself

Who makes welding machines with a classic look? You know, not one that looks like a robot.

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This is the first weld I've ever done. Mystery meat mild steel that I got as offcuts from a local shop, wire is E71T-GS. 135 amps at 20 volts out of that berger machine you can get at harbor freight for cheap. Definitely didn't prep the metal enough, didn't hit it with anything other than a shitty wire brush, gotta work on not going too fast, and actually keeping a steady hand too. Not sure what to do about the undercut at the end of the weld on the bottom of this piece or what I think is porosity at each end. I'm aware my tools are doing me no favors here, but what else should I be aware of and/or work on?

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>>2986440
practice on welding coupons for angle joints.

personally i zigzag "whip" so i make sure i zap both sides. i think holding it more at the end is thr secret but i always blast out the last part of my joints.

>>2986472
Jesus christ... Back in my day I had to cut my own coupons...

>>2973050
Im pressure equipment welder (steam, water & chemicals (p235, p240, 1.4307, 1.4404, duplex, etc)) and weaving is not allowed. Weaving has way higher chance to fail RT scans

>>2986493
What's a good material to cut coupons out of for practice, anon? And since I don't have a skilsaw or chopsaw, is it safe to do so with an angle grinder and cutoff wheel?

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i bought a tig welder a while ago
been messing with aluminum
do you think these are good enough to get me a job?
i can design shit in CAD and weld up lazercut metals
is everyone that makes money doing TIG aluminum an instagram dime stack god or is that just a bunch of BS
?

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>>2972986
Maybe I should post this in sqtddtot, but I figured I would ask the metal guys first.
Can I hammer a piece of stainless round stock to flatten out the end and widen it a little bit, or will I just crack it? I have a torch, but I don't know if I could keep the work piece in a specific heat range, besides for "very hot," if that is required.

>>2986532
You're traveling too far between adding filler, dimes need to be stacked onto each other and overlap more than they don't. But yeah that's good enough for most people to hire you as a welder. If you do get a job just remember that welding is just an entry level position and that you should be focusing on learning other skills. Knowing CAD already is a big plus and more than what most welders can do.

>>2986574
>Knowing CAD already is a big plus and more than what most welders can do.
I've found most welders can't even read a welding blueprint.

>>2986600
Yeah, their job is welding, better to just have the foreman come by with a sharpie and just draw where he wants you to weld.

There's definitely highly skilled welders out there but even professionals know that most engineers aren't are good at their jobs and make sloppy drawings. They have personal preferences to write figuring out weld lengths, size, how to tell people to use specific weld processes. If it says to use process 131, obviously the guy is retarded and actually meant 135 but you know that 138 is best given the fact that you're welding 1 inch mild steel plate. Sometimes it says 141 but it also says to just melt so they're actually asking for 142. Nobody comes by and corrects them unless they've welded somewhere that blocks something else or it warps the material too much or it just looks like ass.

Every so often there are extremely demanding jobs where everyone is a professional and everything is done properly, but that's not a job you'll get right off the bat. That's like 10 years into working as a welder and you've already spent two years sobering up from your first bout of alcoholism and racked up +20k in car loans and credit car debts and you still haven't bought a house yet so you needed to find the jobs that offer unlimited overtime because most welders aren't qualified to do it so they have a chronic shortage which means endless work which means 80 hour work weeks if you want.

can someone shill me a functional not horrendous expensive welding helmet for mainly mig welding?
im not looking to spent more than 200€
had my eyes on the Speedglas G5 03 E, but not seeing much discussion about this on, the Pro seems to be more popular

>>2986864
those cheap ones are ok if you aren't sticking your face in the weld like when you get real close with TIG
i had a cheap one that would flutter on and off from the arc and got cornea burns one time
i bought a miller digital elite after
aside from actually working, i can see so much clearer through the glass with the Miller than the cheap ones
and i don't even think the miller is very good for the money, a lot of people say the Lincoln one is even clearer and has no tint

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my mig welder is arcing but getting no penetration looking like this, I have it on 25 volts for 1/8" and a feed rate of around 145, is my metal just not clean enough?

>>2987064
No. Something else is definitely wrong...

>>2987065
im retarded please elaborate, my only other experience welding is with o/a

>>2987068
>>2987064
What's the wire thickness?

>>2987070
Also have you tried reversing the polarity?

>>2987070
.045 wire and ground is negative while gun is positive, I have not tried reversing it yet. should I just up the voltage and inductance?

>>2987072

Is it self-shielded flux core, no gas? Were you just tacking it trying or maintain the arc? How far does the wire stick out?

Voltage should more more than enough might even be too high.

>>2987076
C25 at ~25cuft, trying to maintain the arc and I believe stick out was just shy of quarter inch. maybe my gun isn't close enough? still getting the grasp on mig welding. here is an audio sample of what the arc sounds like but to give a more visual example when I fire the gun the wire will spark for a second maybe get the arc started then that shit doesn't melt and it pushes away my gun then starts melting again/wire breaks off.

the voltage shows it hovering between 20-25 up and down and the amp meter shows 125 all the way down to 50, up and down repeatedly. the audio should explain that better

https://voca.ro/1mUUclB2FGDj

>>2987076
actually its entirely possible I could be retarded and just have the gun setup wrong, everything i read online says the stickout should be measured from the contact tip not the shielding tip, I take pliers and cut off from the shielding tip until a quarter inch is sticking out so my total stickout is probably way over an inch.

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>>2987081
the tip should protrude about 1/8" out past the nozzle for regular short arc mig (non spray arc)
snip the wire flish back to the tip and hold the approximate arc length before you pull the trigger. this gives the gas tim to flow 1st before the arc starts so it isnt just in open air

>>2987092
oh yeah my setup then is FUCKED, i also just learned my voltage is way too low for my wire size, machine is inaccurately showing 20-25 while my clamp meter is showing around 15 volts im going to crank it and I should be fine now. thanks for the image. also do you recommend I get a new nozzle? mine is 3/4" diameter i think it may be too big for 25cuft gas flow

>>2987096
Unless you have a gigantic nozzle it should should fine. You'll know it isn't fine if there's porosity and if it's just start porosity you can increase preflow by a second or so. If that doesn't help, size down.

>>2987096
.045 wire will be unpleasant to learn on because it takes so much heat to burn off
try:
set inductance in the middle
set the voltage at about 3/4 of max
set the wire speed knob at about 1/3 from 0

>>2987110
what wire would you recommend I start with? I'm guessing 0.03"? also the tip clearance was the problem, I had my contact tip over a quarter in under the shielding nozzle, now that it sticks out about 1/8" I am getting some results.

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>>2987123
.030 is nice for general stuff if you mostly do under 3/8 metal and especially for sheet metal
.035 if you do 1/4+
picel is .030 on 3/8 flatbar at 22v/230ipm

>>2987131
really nice welds im jealous

>>2987132
a good ground connection and clipping the ball off the end of the wire every time goes a long ways for improving technique. otherwise its just muscle memory

>>2987135
I try to ground within 4 inches of where I weld and I also clip, just need hood time now and a really comfy chair

>>2979596
If you're going to patent it, figure out a way to call the process NIG welding

what grinding disks do you guys use to remove zinc coating from sheet metal? flaps? there are so many disks to choose from

>>2987227
Scotch brite pads on a die grinder or drill.

Looking to buy a passive helmet because I weld outside, is the Jackson HSL-2 my best bet? It has a flip up lens so I could replace it with another higher end 2x4


the helmet I bought off amazon thats auto darkening and 1/1/1/1 i cannot see shit out of when the sun is up, skill issue?

>>2987437
People don't want you to know this by a pair of oxyacetylene shades and a polycarbonate grinding faceshield is enough.

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Damn, I'm too late for the welding thread :(
I love welding

>>2987442
Sick welds bro.

>>2987442
Sweet welds my dude

>>2987441
I'm welding on mig at 40 voltage for structural work, are those really good enough?

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>>2987443
Thanks!
I just sent this desknframe for my gf to powdercoat. Anyone have recommendations for the most efficient (including clean-up) way to weld or braze ornamental cast iron to mild steel? I wound up using a standard 70s6 wire with a lot of preheat and a low dilution welding method.

>>2987445
Yes. The polycarbonate face shield might melt if you're up close to the weld but it protects against UV and IR and only let's through visible light. OA shades reduces that visible light so you can see what you're doing during the weld, exactly like when you're OA cutting and welding. If your just tacking you can genuinely just use the polycarbonate face shield and just close your eyes.

>>2987446
regular old mig is pretty decent for non structural cast iron. s6 has got a shitload of deoxidizers to deal with the trash on the casting skin
if you have dc tig then 312 stainless or silicon bronze are good. if you have ac tig then aluminum bronze. either way the cast has to be ground brite and everything really clean and its much slower and more expensive

>>2987437
they all suck if the suns behind you. a cape the covers the back of your head and neck is the best except it gets hot as fuck but keeps the slag out of your shirt collar too

>>2987469
Thanks, ya I picked up some sili bronze to tig braze it, but Id already started with the s6 so I can to follow through. Excited to try it on the next build.

>>2987444
Ty

why should I be doing these fancy bead movements on mig instead of just a straight line?

im new and dont understand, straight seems fine no?

>>2987630
Straight is fine if you can make it fine. Zigzags and loops can help keep a consistent travel speed and avoid crowning by smearing out the weld more. Completely straight can be required in some professional applications but those aren't beginner level so you don't need to think about it.

>>2987635
thanks, my straight beads are overall far better so ill keep doing them instead.