Go Back   JeepBBS > jeep related stuff only > Fabrication and Metalworking

Fabrication and Metalworking Get welding advice, discuss different alloys, share pictures of your first fabrication attempts, as well as welds you are especially proud of

Reply
 
Thread Tools Rate Thread Display Modes
  #1  
Old 08-31-2006, 06:12 PM
Jerry Bransford Jerry Bransford is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Escondido, California
Posts: 1,238
Welding is fun!

No, no pics yet but I finally started playing around with the new 110vac Hobart MIG welder I got for my birthday Saturday.

First thing I learned is that I need a leather welding jacket, the leather apron and gloves aren't protecting my arms from all my splatter heheh!

Next I learned how smart of a purchase I made in buying the better quality Hobart-Miller auto darkening helmet from eBay rather than using the cheapy auto darkening helmet that came with the welder. Worked fine, no eye problems, pretty awesome! Then to see what the cheapy helmet was like, I tried it. OW! I found that I was squinting through the thing due to how bright the weld point was. Wow I had a big blue pattern in my eyes for about ten minutes afterwards. No adjustments to make it darker, no nothing. That thing is going into the trash unless someone can tell me how to swap its lens for a darker version. I'll buy another Hobart or Miller helmet for my son since he appears to want to learn too.

Some good welds towards the end but throughout this afternoon, I had some trouble with spattering. I think I might be getting it under control a little more by running a little shorter wire length out of the gun. I was using 1/2" but that is from the outer barrel, not the inner tip so it seems better with a bit shorter tip.

Using an argon/carbon dioxide shielding gas at 20 cfm, solid ER70S-6 .030 and scrap stock up to 3/16". Welding at 55"/minute, all the way at the max 5 welding voltage.

I didn't seem to be getting good penetration on the 3/16" scrap steel at first but it may now be getting better. It appears I'm getting much better penetration since going to a shorter stub... makes sense now that I read up on it a little more. Could that be helping reduce splatter too? I'm stopping to cut off the tip to get a fresh point and make sure the tip isn't too long which seems to cut down on splatter but...

So so far, all good but just need more practice. Need to figure out what's causing the splatter. The polarity is correct, the negative post is connected to the ground wire I clip to the work... as my book says I need for solid wire.

Hey, I welded my wife's broken real estate sign stand pretty good for her. It looked pretty good after a bit of grinding and gloss black paint heheh. She's now happy she bought me the welder since I welded her $5 sign stand.

Ok, an another hour or two tonight and I'll take pics Saturday for some critiques.

(by the way, my eyes still seem a bit tired/sore/watery from having used that cheap helmet for just a few beads!)
__________________
See the Geezer II Jeep at
http://www.greentractortalk.com/jerryb/index.htm
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 08-31-2006, 08:56 PM
Joe Dillard Joe Dillard is offline
Moderator
 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: San Diego, Ca, USA
Posts: 3,048
It's nice to hear that your wife went & got you a new toy.

I certainly hope your eye's are okay. I'd be taking a break from welding till you see how serious the effects have been to this point. Perhaps the fumes/gases are causing the irritations. I hope it's nothing more than a minor irritation.

My first personel welder was a Hobart too. I recently sold it to another fellow Jeeper & hope he enjoys it as much as I did. I ended up getting a new Miller & really didn't "need" two welders although I did sometimes use the Hobart after I got my newer welder.

As far as spatter goes, the solid wire I use produces far less spatter than using a fluxcore wire, even if a mix tank is used in combination of the fluxcore.

Oh, have you ever seen what the electric meter looks like when using the welder? Have fun with it Jerry.....and keep an eye on your electric bill.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Why are Wranglers so fun to drive? speaceman Jeep Friends Forum 3 07-07-2007 12:13 PM
.030 vs. .035 solid wire technique differences for MIG welding? Jerry Bransford Fabrication and Metalworking 12 10-21-2006 09:04 PM
Welding on a Currie 9" HD housing and Design ideas... svandell Technical Forum 1 05-02-2005 03:08 PM
Aluminum welding - yuk! Darrell C Fabrication and Metalworking 1 04-04-2004 08:33 AM
Operation Desert Fun, Oct 17-19 eurobob Get Out and Wheel 0 06-12-2003 05:56 PM


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 01:12 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.2
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
We are not affiliated with Chrysler LLC. Jeep is a registered trademark of Chrysler LLC.
©2001 - 2016, jeepbbs.net. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy