Got my first welder!

[g42guy]

Well with much info from this site I wound up getting a Linclon SP-135 Plus.

Now I need to learn to weld! I have played around with it some. But need to really get the hang of it better.

I know in the past many of you have suggested a VOC. class to learn the basics. Wish I could, but for many reasons right now I am unable.

Any suggestions other than a class would be very helpful.

Thanks
GB

 

[Mith]

not sure how much itll help but in a similar situation i posted this welding thread
it says some of the points that are learned through experince - it might not help you but it helped me in a similar situation /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[JimR]

Nice welder you got there. I have a Lincoln also. Buy the gas bottle for it. You will find that this reduces weld slag and makes welding easier. Your local gas supplier should have bottles in stock. I use a mixture for welding steel. It is CO2 and Geez, I forgot what it is mixed with. Oh well, they know what to give you. The welds are much cleaner using the gas mixture than straight CO2. You can also buy a bottle for welding stainless steel and aluminum. I have bought both. I do not rent tanks anymore. That is not cost effective. The company I deal with just gives me a new bottle for my empty when I go there. For gas welding you will need to clean the parts to be welded first. Just grind them up a little. You should have gotten a video with your welder. Watch it as I think you may learn something from it. Patience, patience, patience is the word when trying to learn how to weld. Don't be in a hurry or expect great results from the gittgo. Keep a steady hand when welding. Stay about 1/2 inch from the surface to weld. You will need to find the right settings for whatever metal you are welding. My normal welding is done with the "D" setting and the feed on "6". This is for heavier metal. Sheet metal, you will use the "A" setting and a slower feed rate. On sheet metal you want to jump around so as not to make a hot spot that will warp the metal. I did the rear wheel wells on our old 86 Honda Accord with very little warpage by welding 1/2 inch sections at a time. Pick up some steel from the scrap yard and sit down and have some fun. Be prepared for a nice sunburn should you decide to use a smaller face shield instead of a full face shield. Never weld without eye protection. You only have 2 eyes.

 

[slydog]

I've got the same welder, and I am also a novice. Just did a little welding this pm on my first real task. Im replacing a gray water tank on my rv and I needed a frame to attach it to the bottom of the rv. The old tank had a molded rim you could screw thru. I found a discarded roll around bed frame driving around one trash day, and I am using that.

The welds I did today today turned out pretty good. I have a bottle of CO2/Argon mix. Bought the bottle and fill at my local NEXGAS distributor. TSC carries them, but I found nexgas much cheaper. I bought a 40 for around 120.00 that included the first fill. Seems like he told me future fills are like $13. (Versus 32.00 at my local hardware which offers bottle exchange.) You definitley should get the gas. Splatter is almost non existent. I'm just a beginner, as you, but from my standpoint of what I have learned:

1. Go slowwww. Watch your puddle and try and not to outrun it. Welding this bedrail thickness, I do several tacks first to avoid spreading. Then, I have been welding down one edge slowly, watching to make sure I have good penetration in that edge. Then do the same on the second abutted edge while at the same time sweeping a little to connect my welds. From what I can tell, the key is to get decent penetration into the material you are welding so you aren't just brazing the surface. At first, it may seem like your wire feed is too fast, but once I got a good arc going, I found I actually needed to bump it up a bit to keep plenty of wire in the puddle.

2. Get a self darkening hood! Made a world of difference to me as a beginner!

3. Put your ground clamp as close as possible to what you are welding, on bare metal if at all possible.

4. Make sure the surfaces you are welding are clean, bare metal. Remove all paint, oil, etc.

5. When using the NON flux cored wire, with a shielding gas, keep a pair of small dikes/wire cutters handy to cut off the ball on the end. (I've gotten to where I just start an arc most of the time without trimming the wire however. Saves a lot of time.)

6. Lastly, follow all the safety instructions that came with your welder, ie, gloves, clothing, eye protection, NO combustibles in your work area. And most importantly....if you need something welded that might put your's or someone elses life in danger..ie...a trailer tongue, an overhead I beam...HIRE A PROFESSIONAL! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif A good looking weld is not necessarily a GOOD WELD!

 

[mark777]

Congratulations. Good advice from everyone. Try some destructive welding tests....see how good they are. Even plug welding thinner (sheet metal) metals are amazingly strong.

Good luck with your new tool....soon you won't know how you got along without it.

Regards, Mark

 

[MarkV]

I’m in a similar situation as GB and going to jump in with some questions if he doesn’t mind. The Mrs. got me a Hobart 180 Mig welding package for Christmas. I wanted a dozer so she got the welder and told me to build one. She thought that was funny. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

So far my experience consist of one T post stuck to a piece of angle iron. I’m a little lost when it comes to the settings for different sizes of material. The chart gives guidelines but what if you are welding say, 1/8” to ¼” material. Do you set for the larger material, smaller material, or somewhere in between?

On my second attempt at T post yard art it was hard to get the welder to arc. These are nasty old T post and all I did was wire brush them. My guess is that I was not getting a good ground. Does that sound right?

Also in my second attempt it looks like I melted part of the tip the wire feeds through. Does that mean I got to close to the material being welded? I’m still having some trouble getting the auto darkening helmet adjusted so I can see.

I have thick skin so it is OK to giggle at the new guy questions. I want you to know though; I have some of the finest T post yard art in the county. The dozer build may have to wait a couple of weeks though. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

MarkV

 

[JimR]

Use a higher heat setting when welding two different thickness metals. Keep the welding head more towards the heavier metal .

Use a grinder to clean the metal and make sure you have a good bare ground.

You are welding way too close if you are melting the tip of your welding head.


Keep at it and you will do fine. At least you are using scrap to have fun with. "PICTURES"

 

[g42guy]

Thanks for the posts guys.

JimR, I did not get a video with the welder /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

Mark, explain what you mean by "Try some destructive welding tests..." If you are talking about welding a couple thinks together then wacking them with a big hammer to see if they hold, I have done a little of that. I was welding a 1" pipe (standing up) onto the back of an old shovel.It took me three tries before a got one that held. The first few time I did not have the power up enough.

That brings me to my main question so far:
How do you KNOW when you get good penetration? I know when I did finally get the pipe welded on, the bead looked different and it "felt" different while doing it, if that makes sence.

I will think about getting gas, but for now I wanted to learn the basics. Once I get better I hope to weld up some (light) equipment for my tractor.

It's fun and I'm in no hurry to be an expert, so keep 'em coming /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Thanks
GB

 

[Tevi]

I got some welding dvd's for christmas but ahven't watched them yet.I'll let you know if they are any good

 

[mark777]

g42guy,

I am (was) assuming that you were using gas, If not, that's ok too. Then you are probably using flux-core.

Destructive testing is just as you described. I usually take two pieces of scrap and butt, or lap weld doing a 5 second pass. I turn pieces over and inspect the color - medium orange regardless of the thickness, let cool and then bend, beat or tare apart. If it is too stubborn to come apart, then your welds are good.

I have a new Miller 210 that I bought last year and I can weld anything from 22 gauge to 5/8. I really like this equipment, but I have used several Lincoln, Solar, and Marquette welders
in the past. So, some are good, some are better...but none is bad. I believe your first couple of days with the welder and should master the strong welds.....and the next couple of days they will be pretty. If you were using gas, then it is just a matter of a few hours with great results.

Regards, Mark

BTW: Many, including myself, will tell you that after some practice your can tell by the sound of the weld how good it is. I would also recommend a jar of mig dip. This will extend the life of your tips and collar.