Let's see your welds...

[weldermike]

I have mixed feelings about ZTFab's Mig welds. I can surely appreciate the skill level to produce them. I'd really like to do some DT on them to see how much penetration he actually gets. The welds just look too cold to me. But that might be fine on sheet metal, maybe not so good for structural welding. If I remember correctly he uses a series of cursive "e" technique.

I checked that link out shieldarc, and all I can say is, its a show, ill go toe to toe with anybody that just wants to make (pretty welds). Some of my strongest welds look like a butcher job, but safetey is more important than someones ego, I am a class 1 liscensed stuctural welder and kinda pride myself on being a safe and reliable person to work with. But like you said, you can play with the thinner stuff and be a pretty boy cause penetration is not an issue, but in the real world of a welder, you have a time frame, and your name on everything you weld. Put these guys in a real life, real work situation and lets see what they got. I was laughing thinkin to myself this morning welding vertical up, while looking down, lefty while im a righty from overhead. Pretty, **** No! But did anybody get hurt, no! while we maxed out a comealong with a six foot pipe on it and stretched out a pad eye till it was ready to come apart. Time and a place for pretty bud, this is what I do when I wanna be pretty. Moms birthday! Gotta take care of mom bud!

 

[Shield Arc]

I think a Mig welder in the wrong hands is dangerous, and those 120-volt machines are the worst! People are always trying to figure out how to weld thicker material than they are designed for. Or better yet, never welded a day in their life, run down to Home Depot buy a 120-volt Mig welder, post on a welding forum for advice on how to build a trailer hitch. Then watch the sparks fly!

I've failed two tests in my life. First test I failed was a 6-G open root pipe, with 6010 and 7018, (my first pipe test). The other was a boiler code Mig test, 1-inch 3-G vertical up with 1/16-inch wire. Beautiful welds, just ran it too cold, when the coupons were bent, the imperfections were out of code. Luckily I'd been working there for years, so my job was not on the line, I just had to re-test. But we had to re-test every 3-months on all procedures anyway.

 

[weldermike]

Ditto on what you said about the 120v machines shield. Makes me sick, and with TV, everybodies a welder and fabricator. Outside of my real job makes me not wamna help anyone no more.

 

[Shield Arc]

Here's my idea of a Mig weld. .035 wire, 207-amps, 29-volts, on 1/4-inch flatbar.

 

[deereman75]

Here's my idea of a Mig weld. .035 wire, 207-amps, 29-volts, on 1/4-inch flatbar.

That spray mig?

 

[Shield Arc]

That spray mig?

Yes it is.

 

[sixdogs]

That spray mig?

What is spray mig?

 

[deereman75]

What is spray mig?

I kinda understand it, but cant really explain it too well. I think weldingtipsandtricks did a video on it, search for it on youtube, he explains it well.

 

[cschulz]

Man you guys are rough on ZTFab. Yes the subject always comes down to strength. But you have to consider the simple heading of this thread and ZTFab fit in. You also have to consider what different people do for a living as welders. As a pipe welder it is all based on strength and integrity. But as a fabricator it is also important to have knoledge of many things more that welding.
The thread is "Lets see your welds" thats all.

Chris

 

[Gary Fowler]

As I understand the MIG process difference between short circuit (globular transfer)and spray is more or less, you just keep cranking the amps till the wire no longer pulses. By pulses, I mean that this is where it contacts the weldment, melts the short wire section between the weldment and contact tip which turns to a molten globule that then transfer into the weld puddle due to polar attraction. In spray arc, the amps are so high that the wire becomes a constant arc and vaporizes into a spray that is transferred to the weld puddle which pretty much eliminates any possibility of cold lap and makes for a very smooth weld with very, very small ripples. Unfortunately, this is too many amps to run root passes with on open butt and without rolling it like a subarc, it is too hot to fill with. This then lead to the pulsed arc that can use higher current but still allow it to cool between pulses similar to the short circuit method (supposedly if you believe the hype from Miller and Lincoln)