Newbie looking for critique

[Pixguy]

I have a couple of tractor projects I'm looking to do so I bought a 110 140V mig welder.

My budget and future needs dictated that welder so here we go....

I grabbed a pic of steel I had and started practicing going gasless. I really have little knowledge of settings.


My first try.

A few more lines. Started from the right/bottom. The surface started off brushed clean.

I'm looking for constructive criticism or advise.

 

[Tinhack]

Not enough heat. Is it cranked up all the way? Maybe too much wire feed too. It doesn't look like you're getting any penetration.

I can barely do 1/4" with my old Century 140 (110A). I bought it for sheet metal and it does well for that. For thicker stuff, I break out the old Craftsman Stick Welder.

 

[4570Man]

It’s too cold. The surface prep isn’t good enough either. You need to use a grinder and take it down to new metal. A stick welder will burn through that level of rust but a wire welder isn’t very forgiving about dirt.

 

[Pixguy]

I did brush clean the thick steel with a wire wheel but it got dirt as i went along.

The first 90° is less than 1/8 thick and that weld actually tacked it to my metal table.

I will test more.

 

[Pixguy]

The latest. Started from top right. To me it looks like I'm pulling back too far but it doesn't seem like it when I'm welding.

 

[jaxs]

Any amount you fall short welding you more than make up for with your torch cuts.

 

[amhicks21]

is the polarity set right? mig and flux core use opposite polarity.

 

[the old grind]

Leaning the torch too far back? I do that to see the bead better and get the same look when I do. Better that I weld L to R than say toward me to keep my angle closer to 90 deg.

btw, If that's gas-less, why does it look like you didn't chip the slag or wire brush after welding? Inquiring rookies want to know.

 

[Pixguy]

Any amount you fall short welding you more than make up for with your torch cuts.

To be honest, the material came from the transfer station where it was scrapped. See the pics below. I'm assuming it was plasma cut.

I then cut off the lettering and got this.

 

[Pixguy]

is the polarity set right? mig and flux core use opposite polarity.

Not sure how that works. More education is due.

Leaning the torch too far back? I do that to see the bead better and get the same look when I do. Better that I weld L to R than say toward me to keep my angle closer to 90 deg.

btw, If that's gas-less, why does it look like you didn't chip the slag or wire brush after welding? Inquiring rookies want to know.

Possibly.
I did not chip of slag or wire brush.

 

[amhicks21]

it also looks like theres a bunch of porosity. usually flux core is pretty forgiving on surface prep. what type and size wire are you using? what amperage and wire speed are you set at? what works well for me is moving like im drawing lower case cursive letter e's. I naturally have pretty shaky hands but it'll look something like this.

 

[amhicks21]

to change the polarity you have to physically swap the 2 big wires that are usually located inside the door that covers the wire compartment. there will usually be a settings chart in there showing which polarity to use for which type of welding

 

[Pixguy]

it also looks like theres a bunch of porosity. usually flux core is pretty forgiving on surface prep. what type and size wire are you using? what amperage and wire speed are you set at? what works well for me is moving like im drawing lower case cursive letter e's. I naturally have pretty shaky hands but it'll look something like this.View attachment 719149

I'm unsure of wire speed but both other dials were turned all the way up on the thicker material

 

[Pixguy]

to change the polarity you have to physically swap the 2 big wires that are usually located inside the door that covers the wire compartment. there will usually be a settings chart in there showing which polarity to use for which type of welding

The wire is the .30 that came with the welder. 2 wires? I only have the one .30.

 

[amhicks21]

the wires that im speaking of are the one for the ground cable and the one that powers the mig gun. these will usually be connected to terminals inside the door of the machine labeled positive and negative. if you are welding with shielding gas you'd want the electrode wire (the one to the gun) connected to the positive terminal and the ground wire connected to the negative terminal. since you are welding with flux core wire you'll want to make sure that the gun is connected to the negative terminal and the ground connected to the positive.

in my experience, some flux core wire is garbage. I actually made the mistake of buying it at harbor freight once and literally returned most of a 10lb roll because it was unuseable. Ive had good luck with hobart and lincoln wire but i rarely weld with flux core anymore unless im welding something outside.

 

[Pixguy]

the wires that im speaking of are the one for the ground cable and the one that powers the mig gun. these will usually be connected to terminals inside the door of the machine labeled positive and negative. if you are welding with shielding gas you'd want the electrode wire (the one to the gun) connected to the positive terminal and the ground wire connected to the negative terminal. since you are welding with flux core wire you'll want to make sure that the gun is connected to the negative terminal and the ground connected to the positive.

in my experience, some flux core wire is garbage. I actually made the mistake of buying it at harbor freight once and literally returned most of a 10lb roll because it was unuseable. Ive had good luck with hobart and lincoln wire but i rarely weld with flux core anymore unless im welding something outside.

Ok, I'll check but I'm fairly confident the wires are correct and plug into the front of the machine. Where is a good source for a beginner to but good but not expensive wire?

 

[amhicks21]

unfortunately flux core wire is like twice the price of mig wire. you can get it at pretty much every home improvement store, tsc or amazon. im not an expert on wire types, so i just stick with .030 lincoln or hobart wire. Truth is, flux core welding kinda sucks compared to mig welding and the extra cost of the wire more than covers the cost of the mig gas. I'd seriously consider setting it up for mig unless you'll be doing a bunch of outdoor welding.

 

[the old grind]

Can you show us more about the welder, make, model, pic, etc? I use .035" wire down to 18 Ga. Using all ten thumbs I may tweak either wire speed or amperage and hope to have a 'sample' to practice on before I expect my work to look good once painted.

btw, what the man said about laying down a 'pattern'. If you're getting older and/or never were too steady of hand little e's, circles, arcs, vees etc can be easier to guide with vs trying to hold a perfectly straight bead with the wiggles.

If you can adapt to gas and use solid wire you'll appreciate not having a flux puddle to confuse your weld puddle. That bit is why many of us choose wire over stick when we can. I use CO2 and 75/25 interchangeably and randomly with similar results. that's not to say I use them well.

 

[Clintock]

What brand welder is it? I have the Lincoln pro mig 140. The polarity wires are the wires on bottom left of wire compartment. Should be a diagram on the lid to indicate what wire goes where. And a chart to help get started on wire speed and voltage setting. The chart gets you close and you will have to fine tune the settings as you go. I have found that cheap flux core wire isn’t worth the plastic is wrapped in. As stated before get it set up for mig. Bottle rental in my area is 100 bucks a year plus the 24 bucks for the gas. A full bottle lasts me about 6 months depending on how much crap breaks. I’m no pro as you can see in the pic. This is with 75/25 gas. I too use letters. But I do the letter c. Working from one piece to the other. Plenty of vids on tube you to watch.

 

[WranglerX]

Good help here...

Welding Tips and Tricks - TIG, MIG, Stick and a pantload of other info

Down and Dirty Welding tips and tricks , No PhD's allowed

weldingtipsandtricks.com

Four things, 1> How much stick out (about 1/4 to 3/8 inch) >2 Gun angle 3> Wire feed speed 4> Weave of puddle...

For flux core wire its electrode negative (DCEN)
For solid wire and shield gas its electrode positive (DCEP)

IF you can not change polarity its probable DCEN or crappy AC....

Also the quality of the wire will make a big difference..... Stay as far away from Harbor Freight wire as you can....

IF you are getting older, cheater lenses ( 1 or 2 diopter) in hood and a lot of bright light on area you are welding...