Rusty, how can I post anything with Bass showing his stuff. I'm an amateur compared to all the folks that have posted their welds.
I can't believe I'm even going to post a weld in this thread. At the risk of proving what a rookie I am, I thought I would post on of my "pulsed" MIG welds, since we're on the topic. I want to learn TIG welding as soon as possible, but just don't have the scratch for another welding machine right now, so this will have to do until a TIG comes into my life... I've only recently been experimenting with this. I found this result can be had by turning the heat up a bit and just keep the pulses quick and concise. My lense barely has time to switch back to daylight (if at all) before the next pulse happens. Seriously though, there are some absolutely amazing welds here and I'm not claiming to be any kind of expert. I just like to weld and look forward to learning new things about it as well as new techniques. I see some stuff here that really reminds me why I love welding so much.
Geeze some of these welds are amazing, i have my own welder but have yet to master a good weld- i worked for twelve months as a welders offsider (TA) (a bi::h in the welders eyes). he and he alne was welding water pipes, the guy welding used a large flux core mig run off of a large geny . and no joke one of the horozontal welds he did had no"fish scales" it was round and uniformed like no other i had seen, and i mean round i actually took photo's and showed them to a bolier maker i know- he actually drove out to the site to have a look at it himself - he said to the guy welding, that "in 35 years welding he'd never seen a better weld- and what a pitty it was welded by a complete ars.hole"- I couldn't agree more. tyler
Very cool, I messed around with this a little myself but wasn't sure that I was getting good penetration...It looked pretty..but I didn't feel things were burned in like they should have been. Are things holding up ok? Thanks Jerry
Car's not on the road yet, so I'll have to get back to you. HAHA! Looking at the weld from the back side there appears to be plenty of penitration. The key really was to turn the settings up since it doesn't really have a chance to make a big multon metal puddle like you would have if you ran a straight bead. It was really important to me that this weld looked good where it's at also. It will be very visible and grinding it down was not an option. Just worked with what I had. Again, only been playing with this for a short time. So far so good. By visual inspection, I would say everything is A-OK. Maybe the welding gods will prove otherwise though. I chose not to do any of these welds on anything really important until I've learned more.
I'll "trigger" weld with a mig once every great while, but not where it's going to be bearing a large load. Usually it's on an out of position joint that doesn't really need welded but I want to cover up and don't want to grind. Mig welding is the most susceptible to cold starts, and every time you stop and start there is the potential for that. If you keep the "dimes" overlapped tight and keep the puddle hot you can alleviate some of that, but really(other than on sheet) it's best to run a continuous bead. I like to use a circular motion, or sometimes a half moon, or even a little whip. A lot of guys don't even like that, but I keep my heat up and my wire speed low and move relatively slow. -Josh
When you say "soft stop" are you refering to backing out of the pedal but at the same time keeping the arc and allowing the aluminum puddle to become solid or less chrome like? and "The Pit" meaning the pit in the center of the finishing bead? Im curious because Im a student at a local school for welding and Im trying to better myself with sights that I see but dont know how to fix them.. These past few weeks I've done nothing but Aluminum tig, just trying to get the feel of things and were running Miller Dynasty 200 series machines. And it seems like everytime I try to "soft stop" the pedal to pulse the machine (by pedal) it creates this pit in the center of each dab.. How do I stop this or is it an internal problem that the welder needs to be fixed of. Im not sure and thats why I'm asking here since it looks like you boys know what your doing and Im still trying to get the feel for things.. They want me to go to state competition in 3 months and Im still trying to make something out of knowing nothing.. My instructor isnt the best at explainin or showing and the aluminum on here is crazy good... Thanks in Advance - Kyle
the best thing to do when you want to "pulse" a mig (and let's face it, you're only doing it because the caterpillar looks cool) is to PREHEAT the fuck out of the job, and then keep the heat into 'er... mig's no good when too cold, so keep that sucker warm, and you'll have a strong joint...
I'm no expert, but I do the same thing sometimes when I'm welding thicker things with my TIG -- especiallly when I have a thinner piece being welded to a really thick one (like a 1/4" strap being welded to a 1" bar). I've found that if I get my Oxy/Acet rosebud torch out and put some good heat into the thicker bar, then the welding is MUCH easier and I get much better penetration. I've never been to welding school, but have watched some good welders working on thick cast pieces, heavy equipment, etc -- and of course old-time "blacksmiths" . . . don't know if many others do this, but it sure helps from my limited perspective.
My thoughts exactly! I don't trust these like I do a full, continuous bead. This partictular one I showed, I did exactly as you mentioned; heat high, wire speed slooow. In this case I had sort of a circular/oval motion at each pulse and everytime I let off a "puddle" I would dip right back in with the next pulse before the puddle changed colors.
Shouldn't kid yourselve's, guys. Do a fillet fracture test using that pulse / spot weld / break like a candy stick method and see what the outcome is. TIG is not the same as MIG. Might look right, but it's not. MIG can be very very funny. If you got the high heat & dumpin the wire, that fillet weld can just look beautiful, but still just pull away from the base material like it was never stuck there in the 1st place. Carl Hagan
Man, I need to get another digital camera to get shots of my work. Welding is one of the most freeing things there is in my opinion. Some days I can't decide whether I like spraying, or welding more. Some awesome looking welds on here, too. Great to be on a site with so much other talent.
this thread makes me depressed..haha, and I'm a fabricator/welder full time..some awesome stuff here guys
just went through this thread and viewed some increadable welds. the welding that impressed me the most was when i was in welding school and the guys that worked in the local shipyards would weld around corners with mirrors! some of the guys that repair heavy equpment in the field are pretty amazing also. i have a cousin that is in the aluminum industry that does all the horizontal welding repairing pots and watching him weld is really amazing.
I've had to use a mirror a few times doing maintenance repairs. That's not really the hard part; usually you have to use a mirror because the spot is hard to get to in the first place!
I'm with you - just stated TIG welding last winter (my own hot rod stuff) and it really grows on you. I think it is a classic case where there are always problems to resolve, things to learn and you have to relentlessly pursue perfection. My main concern starting out was good heat penetration and strength -- the beauty thing comes in second. But, there are so many thicknesses of metal and infinite welding angles/setups . . . there is much to learn. (I don't know if you'd ever be done learning.) This thread is an inspiration to me . . . there are so many tallanted folks to learn from.
For sure! I haven't been doing this for a very long time, but I've had the good fortune of being around guys that were great teachers and experienced welders(20-50 years). The guys with the most experience, in my experience, are usually the quickest to admit they don't know everything! The guys who know just enough to be good usually think they have it all figured out
Dont be coy kev. i just wanted to see some good looking welds. I never thought this thing would turn into what it has.
Oh, I'll be coy mister. I can't take all those up close photographs like the other guys. No all they look like is blurry photographs of two parts that mate.
This is a MIG weld I did on a 23 year old 225 amp L-Tec welder with 100% CO2 gas. The L-Tec (now ESAB) is the best MIG welder made in my opinion. It has been in constant use in my fab shop for 23 years, and has never failed me. You can see the rest of the fab work involved with this weld in this thread: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=320516
Great welds! Jesse James, I have been thinking about the piece you posted. Why did you choose that technique and what are you doing with the filler and torch to produce that weld? Just curious because I have never seen that approach. I'm not a veteran, I'm only 27 and have no formal welding education. Okie dokie, here are a few of mine...
Not to be a jerk or anything, but to all those welding thick stuff, try welding some thin stuff like 16 or 18 guage. It's humbling. Ask me how I found out.
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