Welding

[bobodu]

Hah...just remembered another reason I have less trouble these days with shaky rods.
Besides the invention of the auto dark....I gave up the booze 11 years ago.
There were days when I couldn't get a coffee cup to my lips without shaking it all over my shirt...

[GE222]

I have an older 250A stick welder along with a Miller 251 Mig unit. Which do I like better? I don't think I could give a good answer.

I have been stick welding for 25+ years and would be really unhappy if I didn't have it. I would rather give up the wire welder, although i wish that the stick unit had DC capibility.

[jenkinsph]

Originally Posted by oughtsix

If you don't make any ugly welds when you are starting out you will never be proud of your pretty welds when you get the knack.

A good welder can make a good weld on a cheap machine. A novice will have a hard time making a passable weld on a top of the line machine.



Don't get discouraged and don't give up. Everyone I have ever seen started out with some pretty sloppy welds. I am definitely not above making a sloppy weld now and again. :-)

Now that is the honest truth, it takes alot of time to produce top quality welds with consistency. Some of mine look good an the rest are mediocre, and I am always trying to figure out what I am doing right or wrong. Over time though we all can see improvement, I'm getting better.



Steve

[greenmule]

Thats it,but you gotta know what a good one is,if you ain't around somebody who makes better ones than you,you have nothing to compare yours too.

Thats why pro welders are pros,they are welding with other pros. You can always improve,just gotta know how your welds compare with better welds.

Always amazes me when people watch a tv show than go buy a 3 grand welder and in 1 month brag about their welds,even post pictures of the ugly things,and want to know what others think,than when you tell them.

[2manyrocks]

There are so many variables to control to get a good weld. You can develop an appreciation for a good weld just trying to make one.

[The Dougster]

Dunno about the rest of you fellows but I don't break out the welder very often... generally speaking, my welds look a lot like chicken droppings but with enough time and rods, I do manage to get two pieces of metal stuck together enough to hold... It's been like this for years I'm afraid..

[Bedlam]

You can also take a rod and grind off the center flux , and 'grip' it there use the short half and then flip the handle over and use the other end.
This is yet unproven on my part but it seems like a good idea,I know i always felt like more control when it was shorter just never thoguth of another way. Why i hadnt thought of it 20years ago I dont know.LOL

[sizzami]

if you read closely I said I have nothing against stick welding for other people for me(someone who welds every day all day ) there is no denying the superiority of wire feed welding stick welding is used for structural onsite welding in shop welding is mostly mig or submerged arc lots of people like stick because they can blame bad welds on it .

and if your going to start listing things you can do with a stick that I cant do w/mig or tig (tig being the scalpel in the welders kit )I am afraid my list might be longer than yours , Done alot of underwater welding?

[greenmule]

Yep,stick is used in the field for structual welds,but also,its used on thousands of miles of piping every year,in the field [power plants refinories,pipelines,chemical plants]

Most shop welding on pipe is done with combination tig/mig and flux core,but most of field stuff is done with all stick or tig root and stick out.

They have been trying [and with some success] for 30-40 years to do away with stick welding,but will tell you they ain't made all that many dents in it when it comes to field work on carbon steel or alloy steel stuff. Mig is great for some things,but not for others.

[Baby Grand]

there is no denying the superiority of wire feed welding

Actually, I think a lot of people will deny the superiority of wire feed welding. It may be easier.
It may be faster.
It may be cheaper.