Newbie looking for critique

[alexpops]

Before you get too dejected, try running a flap wheel or grinder over the surfaces to be welded, and clean up where you are connecting the ground the same way. Then try again. It'll get easier & better, but it is a tactile and visual skill. Also, if you are only using flux core, pull the gas nozzle off your torch & put on one of those flux core tips (hobart makes them & TSC sells them) since visibility is easier AND it'llsave the gas tip for when you switch to mig at some point. When you are actually welding, watch the leading edge of the puddle to see what's going on. If you are set on no prepping of the metal, you may be better served with a stick welder. My last tip would be to chop up that angle into 3 inch sections to give you lots of practice & a chance to see how your settings actually perform on your metal. A quick wire wheel or steel brush after your done should clean up the slag enough to see what's going on under the different settings.

 

[BCinVA]

It is a little hard to evaluate your welds when they are not cleaned up. If you chip the slag off them and hit them with a wire brush on a grinder you can get a better idea of what they really look like. One thing I haven't seen discussed previously is some basic info about the welding process. I apologize if you know all this already, but it is fundamental to understanding the process. MIG stands for "metal inert gas" welding. This is because it uses an inert shielding gas during the process. The reason this is necessary is that if a weld is not shielded from the atmosphere it will become contaminated and you will not get a good result. Different welding processes use different techniques for shielding. In your case you are using a shielding flux core wire. The flux core in the wire burns off during the welding process, and in that way, shields the weld puddle from atmosphere. If you were using solid wire, usually in the form of steel, copper coated wire, you would need a tank of shielding gas to shield the weld from atmosphere. The byproduct of flux core shielding is it produces a good bit of spatter and smoke, and usually leaves slag on the weld. So it can be hard to evaluate your work without cleaning that up. Another example of this is stick welding. The welding sticks (electrodes) are coated with a flux that does the same thing as flux cored wire. These electrodes likewise leave a coating of slag on the weld. It can look a little ugly even with a good weld, but once it is cleaned off the actual metal bead revealed can be very nice. The best way to learn something is through practice and experimentation. Keep trying with different settings and speeds, and clean your welds up so that you can fairly evaluate your work. It will be fun to see your progress.

 

[etpm]

View attachment 719445View attachment 719446
Here's my latest "welding" two edges of angle iron and the settings. Still lousy.

i guess I need lots of practice

You certainly need practice, but everyone does. And that weld doesn't look that bad. Now that you are using the right wire and the right polarity there are some other things to consider. First of all, the flux in your wire is there to protect the hot weld from oxygen. It is not meant for cleaning dirt and oxides from the metal to be welded. So always start with clean and shiny metal. Grind the metal surface to be welded as well as the metal surface adjacent to the area to be welded. Though good ventilation is important for your health and visibility you should avoid welding in a strong breeze. The breeze will tend to blow away the protective gases emanating from the burning flux. Make sure you look at the weld puddle, not the arc. Our eyes are naturally drawn to the arc because it is the most visible thing to see when welding, so you will need to be aware of this and concentrate on the puddle. Finally, it is easiest to weld a horizontal and flat surface. So just run a bunch of beads 4 to 6 inches long on a plate laying on the bench.
Eric

 

[LD1]

You have GOT to chip that slag off if you want an accurate assessment

 

[WranglerX]

Another thing is while welding do not try to look over top of gun , cant your head over to about 45 degrees and actually watch the arc, you need to see where it is actually directed to and watch your puddle..... You can actually see arc switch across the puddle to each side and it also helps with your weave....

 

[Clintock]

You have GOT to chip that slag off if you want an accurate assessment

I’m seconding this! You never know what it looks like with slag on top of it. Slag could look like crap and weld be good. Slag could look decent and weld be crap. If you’re trying to get it where the slag rolls up behind you, that ain’t gonna happen with a wire welder. And I only get it to roll when using a 7018

 

[Pixguy]

Yes, I have cleaned off the plate before any welding and I've tried to chip off any slag but nothing really chips off, til today.
here are my practice lines today starting from the left. I raised the speed and heat at first and then slowly lowered both as it looked like there was a lot of splatter.

 

[etpm]

Yes, I have cleaned off the plate before any welding and I've tried to chip off any slag but nothing really chips off, til today.
here are my practice lines today starting from the left. I raised the speed and heat at first and then slowly lowered both as it looked like there was a lot of splatter.

View attachment 719554

It is really best to change only one variable at a time. Your post makes it appear that you are changing two at a time. Your welds are improving though. Practice, practice, practice.
Eric

 

[BCinVA]

I suggest you keep a record of settings. As etpm said above change one thing at a time. Write down the type of material, weld, thickness, settings and result. When you make a change record that as well. Over time as you figure it out you will be able to get to a proper setting quickly, but for now you will have a reference and not be saying, " What was that combination I tried a while ago that worked so good?"

 

[alexpops]

The byproduct of flux core shielding is it produces a good bit of spatter and smoke, and usually leaves slag on the weld.

Sort of the nature of Flux core. you can use some of that spatter spray to make it easier to clean up, or use a grinder/flap wheel to clean up what the chipping hammer or scraper can't free up. But you will get spatter unless you switch to MIG (pure CO2 will spatter too). Those last 3 welds look better than what you first posted, & the spatter on the weld beads is coming from your next over weld so you are getting better. Keep practicing so you learn your welder on different materials. It's coming along better than when I first started wire feed. After you've burned up a few rolls of wire you'll see. There is NO SUBSTITUTE for actually running the wire & laying down beads so you can see what does & doesn't work for you. The welding videos on Youtube can help a little (What not to do/bad welds & why/Bad welding habits to avoid), but watching someone with 30 years' experience lay down perfect beads through an iffy phone camera/shield set-up never did much for me. Get set up in a comfortable position & spend a few hours laying bead after bead (after bead) & next thing you know, you'll have skills that will serve you well during the zombie apocalypse (assuming you have electricity). At a minimum, you'll be ready to tackle the tractor projects you said this was bought for. They say it takes 10,000 hours of "doing" to become an "expert", I'd say you can become "proficient to fair" in under 100 hours, but "good" won't come till around 1,500 & "consistently good/confident" is somewhere between 3,000 and 5,000. That's why they have welding schools & certification requirements for structural welding. Repetition yields repeatable results, which yields confidence and safe outcomes. Nothing we do on tractor repairs rises to the level of pipefitter or bridge construction requirements, but at the same time I wouldn't want a home-built/repaired implement to take out my or the neighbor's dog/kid/wife because my weld failed. No big deal if only I am at risk, it's the others I worry about.