Becoming a better welder...

[Shran]

Cool. You gonna run flux core wire or get a gas bottle right away?

Speaking of the cost of welding... I can sure tell when I've got projects going on by looking at my electricity bill. I have a separate meter on the shop so I can break things down a bit. The 2-3 weeks last winter when I built my bumper cost me about an extra $30. Crazy.

 

[sgtsandman]

So, I'm looking for someone to weld up an off road bumper for me. You wanna do the job? I got $100 for ya!

 

[Uncle Gump]

Shran... I didn't have enough in my pocket to buy a filled tank that day... again I was there for tomato plants. So I did buy a roll of .030 flux. I wanted to see if I could pickup a tank on the cheap... but I haven't had time to look. In fact... the cart got put together... welder unpacked and set on cart... welder registered online and never even plugged in. Mama says I can have a filled tank for fathers day... but I'm gonna run some flux core through it too.

Sandman... The way things in my near future look... I'm gonna be lucky to find the time to finish what I want to do to my own truck this summer. Once I get set up back in Michigan... I will be more of a full time tinkerer.

 

[Uncle Gump]

So... I've been playing around with flux core a bit with my welder and I think I can stick to pieces together. I'm using Hobart brand flux an the amount of smoke coming off that stuff I'm sure is affecting my vision. Maybe i"m getting to close but that stuff coats my hood in about a minute.

I was looking around for a good deal on a tank and argon and happened onto a source for 55 CF tanks filled for $102. Cheapest I've found so I picked one up on my way to work. Tomorrow I'm gonna spool up some solid wire and see how that does.

 

[pjtoledo]

do you put the parts in a pizza oven for pre heating?

 

[Uncle Gump]

No No... I learned my lesson putting cylinder heads in the dishwasher.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Argon is for aluminum welding.

MIG Welding Gases - Choices and Options for Most Metals

This is a overview of the gas choices for MIG welding most metals. It covers the most common electrodes/wires and what gas to use for them.

gowelding.org

 

[Bird76Mojo]

So... I've been playing around with flux core a bit with my welder and I think I can stick to pieces together. I'm using Hobart brand flux an the amount of smoke coming off that stuff I'm sure is affecting my vision. Maybe i"m getting to close but that stuff coats my hood in about a minute.

I was looking around for a good deal on a tank and argon and happened onto a source for 55 CF tanks filled for $102. Cheapest I've found so I picked one up on my way to work. Tomorrow I'm gonna spool up some solid wire and see how that does.

Sounds like you need to hit up your local Rural King and switch your setup over to gas shielded mig. Once you pay the initial payment for the bottle, the future payments are very low at Rural King because you're only paying for the contents of the bottle. Gas shielded MIG is far superior to most amateur flux core processes..

Also, you don't want 100% argon.. Unless you're welding aluminum full time.

 

[Uncle Gump]

I should have said 75/25 mix... I didn't get 100% pure argon.

I went to Rural King and priced their tanks... it was over $200 to get started with an 80 CF tank. I will probably use Rural King to exchange my tank when it's empty.

 

[Bird76Mojo]

I also should have specified that I've MIG welded with 100% argon before because it was all I had on hand. It worked perfectly. I believe that most of the reason it's not done on a regular basis is because of the additional costs of 100% argon compared to mixes.

 

[RangerFabWorks]

The more argon you have in your mix. The less spatter you get.

Normal mix is 75/25. But in high end fabrication shops. It’s common to see 90/10 tanks being used.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Well I spent a little time the last couple days with the new welder with shielding gas and solid wire. What a difference. I think I'm actually getting the hang of this. Not gonna say I'm a welder... but for the first time I feel like I stand a chance at being fairly proficient. Just gonna take a few more years of practice...

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I can't remember asking; do you have any other welding experience? If you've done oxy/acet then the wire feed will be pretty easy. Just watch your puddle and move it to where it needs to be. The more light you can put on the welding area the better you can see your puddle while welding. Especially when you go to strike the arc.

 

[Uncle Gump]

My welding experience is minimal... I've always had someone else in the shop that was a good welder. I would typically tack things together and let them do the real welding. Welding was always a skill that I wanted to learn and get good at.

 

[Curious Hound]

I can't remember asking; do you have any other welding experience? If you've done oxy/acet then the wire feed will be pretty easy. Just watch your puddle and move it to where it needs to be. The more light you can put on the welding area the better you can see your puddle while welding. Especially when you go to strike the arc.

Never thought much about lighting. I always assumed the process itself is creating a lot of light. But seeing what's going on is often my problem.