Not pretty, but...

[irvingj]

Didn't know if I wanted to put a pic of my welding on here, I'm strictly a beginner!

But I decided that I just couldn't live without hooks on my FEL any longer, and I don't have a large arc welder so I grabbed my oxy-acetylene set and started out....

Did the first hook (center) with my right hand on the right side, then tried the torch in my left hand for the left side; won't try that again. Not pretty, but I think it'll hold OK. Second hook went better, had a better idea of how much heat to use. One more hook to go.

Any comments? (How'd the student do?)

Should I even bother to try the wire-feed I have, or would that just not be up to the task? (It's a Lincoln 115V SP-125 PLUS with no gas, just flux-core wire.)

 

[allenr]

Don't know if the Lincoln would be up to the job but I'd say your welds look good for O/A.

They should certainly hold.

When I have ****** welds I smear some "No More Gaps" in the cavities prior to painting - no one will know!

 

[k0ua]

Don't know if the Lincoln would be up to the job but I'd say your welds look good for O/A.

They should certainly hold.

When I have ****** welds I smear some "No More Gaps" in the cavities prior to painting - no one will know!

Oh sure, let our secret out to just everybody!

Really I think most of the welds look pretty good, the left handed one is not as pretty, but you knew that. I bet they stay stuck!

James K0UA

 

[HiTechTed]

I have a Lincoln Pro 100 wire welder and I use it for everything (including my bucket hooks). I have welded 1/4" and even thicker with it using multiple passes and it works, although I throw the breaker a lot on thicker metal. It's what I have so I use it and so far all my welds have held!

I'd say give yours a try, but make sure to use good wire in it (like Lincoln-branded wire). It makes a big difference. And for the record, your torch welds probably look better than my torch welds would...

 

[gwdixon]

With a little grinding and a cover pass of flux-core that left side weld might look better. You might even use it all around to spruce things up.

 

[Shield Arc]

The first picture looks the best, but you need to add more filler to the crater. All the other welds I'd grind out and do again!

 

[MikeD74T]

The first picture looks the best, but you need to add more filler to the crater. All the other welds I'd grind out and do again!

I second that !! Cleaning it up & knowing it won't fail is better than hoping it won't fail & being wrong. MikeD74T

 

[irvingj]

Thank you all for the great suggestions! I really hadn't thought of adding wire feed as filler before painting.

HiTechTed, thanks for the tip, though I have no idea what brand the wire is- bought the machine used, for a great price.

I, too felt it was more important to get deep penetration (don't we all wish for that- oops, sorry!) than to have it look good, though a smooth appearance is nice. I made sure metal was good & hot and almost melting as I was adding filler; that much I learned --the hard way:laughing:-- from the class I took a year or so ago. Saw a couple of my "jobs" pop right apart with a moderate hammer rap.:ashamed:

 

[Shield Arc]

and almost melting

That's a problem right there! You want the metal melting before you dip the filler.

 

[irvingj]

'K- Thanks for the tip! I wasn't sure if I was remembering that part correctly.:thumbsup:

 

[irvingj]

OK, last hook is done, some paint sprayed on...

Decided to stick with the gas welder. It came out much better than the other two, here's a pic of the "bad" side. Practice does help!

While I had the torch out, I threw on the cutting tip to notch a couple of bars I made up to hold the ROPs in a sort of half-way position, so it would stay out of the way of the 3PH while not having to raise it, lower it, raise it again, etc... (Did I mention I crunched the garage door opener last week with the ROPs up?:ashamed

Seems to work quite well! Holds the ROPs at about a 40-degree angle.

Thanks again to all for the tips & advice!:thumbsup:

 

[Shield Arc]

here's a pic of the "bad" side.

You're satisfied with that?

 

[irvingj]

"You're satisfied with that?"


To quote Arlo Guthrie, "I knew that it wasn't the best song I ever wrote..."

I think so.... though I'll admit it doesn't look it, it did melt up & into the hook.

(Why- does it look that bad?)

And here's a question for you welders... I was wondering if at least part of my problem with cratering was a result of the force of the gas flow out the tip. I used the biggest one I had, but that was a Linde #15. I had to really crank up the flow to get enough heat. Would a larger tip have worked better? (Same heat, but lower gas velocity?) It seemed that the puddle was often blown away by the jet of flame.

 

[Shield Arc]

I was wondering if at least part of my problem with cratering was a result of the force of the gas flow out the tip.

That could be, I know a few times I've O/A welded with a large tip and I had that happen.
In my opinion you're on the upper limits of O/A welding!

Personally I wouldn't trust that hook with much of a load, if you were closer I'd re-weld it for you for free! But then again you may not trust my welding!

 

[crazyal]

I've borrowed a sp125 in the past and I think it's up to the job of welding those hooks.

 

[mjncad]

Out of curiosity, how long did it take to weld each hook with the O/A?

 

[irvingj]

I probably spent less than ten minutes of actual welding time on each one, but did end up using about 5 feet if 3/32" filler rod. But keep in mind- I'm slow!:laughing:

I think one of the reasons the last pic (last hook) looks so flaky is that the only spray paint I had around was Semi-Gloss-- too shiny!

That Linde #15 I used has a hole in the tip that's about 1/16" --maybe. I think it may have been a bit small for the job- any thoughts?

 

[jamtuc]

O/A welding is hard. If I were you I would find someone with a mig to make a couple of passes. I always try to think "whats the worst that could happen if it fails"
Did you make the welds in one pass or mutiple.

One thing I realized is the more I had to grind the better welder I became .

 

[mjncad]

One thing I realized is the more I had to grind the better welder I became .

Good quote, and oh so true.

 

[irvingj]

More interesting thoughts, thanks again for the tips & suggestions!

jamtuc, most of the welds I did --slowly-- in one pass, though there were a couple of spots I went back to try to fill in better. I had limited success in that. I was very carefu to ensure that metal was melting as I added filler, both the hook and the bucket surface.

I love the quote! I don't yet even own a grinder, but that's been on my list for a while. Any suggestions there for a not-too-often-used machine? One of those cheap imports with the right-angle wheel? Is that what could be used to get into a 90-degree joint like on my hooks?