picture worth a thousand words

[flusher]

thanks guys.
i picked up 6011 rod sat. night they did not have 6010 but when i started to weld with it { again } the rod kept sticking several times i noticed when i could not release the stinger ? fast enough the flux burned off the rod { went up in smoke } what`s with that & then i had to pitch the rod.

candyman

Fresh 6011 rod--start by scratching it quickly on the side of your welding table a few times to burn the glob of flux off the end of the rod (don't mess up the surface of your table by doing this there). Turn up the amps in 5 amp steps until the sticking stops. Use DC positive. Concentrate on holding the arc gap to about 0.1". Angle the rod about 30 deg from vertical.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Welding is like riding a bicycle, if you can barely ride and stop, then you will have to re-learn to start again. If you ride for years and stop for a decade or 2, you can still ride it. Welding is the same way, if you burn a few tons of welding rods over several years time and stop, you may be a little rusty, but unless your alzheimer's is kicking in, you still remember the basics and can pick it back up easily. My hands arent as steady as they were at 22 years old, but I find that proper bracing makes up for some of the unsteadiness. What I used to do with one hand while drinking a cup of coffee with the other and "feeling" the rod burn rather than watching it takes me at least 3 hands now so I have to brace up and keep the hood down. Making pretty welds that are xray quality takes constant practice, but for the majority of welding we are talking about here, pretty doesn't count for much other than compliments. Strong is perferable to pretty any day unless you are taking a welding test then it has to be pretty first to please the inspector so you dont get looked out and strong when the bending takes place.
Practice makes perfect but only if you are doing the right process. You really need an instructor to coach you along. Just like in golf, if you learn a bad form, it is hard to break. You will reach a certain proficiency and that is as far as you will go without expert coaching. That is why I alway suggest beginners get at least a bit of coaching rather than just burning tons of rods blindly.

 

[candyman]

flusher,

welding table. ?? how do you go about making one. ??

gary,

coach would be nice but out where i live { on a mud farm } no welders around, so i`m on my own.
did not make it to town tue. i`m gone today & get a selection of rods & welding apperal if they have any.

candyman

 

[IslandTractor]

flusher,

welding table. ?? how do you go about making one. ??

gary,

coach would be nice but out where i live { on a mud farm } no welders around, so i`m on my own.
did not make it to town tue. i`m gone today & get a selection of rods & welding apperal if they have any.

candyman

Re welding table. Lots of plans on Internet. Depends on needs and budget. Usually done with heavy duty angle iron and a piece of 1/2 plate but many variations possible.

 

[sixdogs]

I'm a "newbie" welder with 25 years of remote rural "experience" but finally took a welding class. Wow. IMHO, lots of great info in post below that would have helped me years--no decades--earlier.

Welding is like riding a bicycle, if you can barely ride and stop, then you will have to re-learn to start again. If you ride for years and stop for a decade or 2, you can still ride it. Welding is the same way, if you burn a few tons of welding rods over several years time and stop, you may be a little rusty, but unless your alzheimer's is kicking in, you still remember the basics and can pick it back up easily. My hands arent as steady as they were at 22 years old, but I find that proper bracing makes up for some of the unsteadiness. What I used to do with one hand while drinking a cup of coffee with the other and "feeling" the rod burn rather than watching it takes me at least 3 hands now so I have to brace up and keep the hood down. Making pretty welds that are xray quality takes constant practice, but for the majority of welding we are talking about here, pretty doesn't count for much other than compliments. Strong is perferable to pretty any day unless you are taking a welding test then it has to be pretty first to please the inspector so you dont get looked out and strong when the bending takes place.
Practice makes perfect but only if you are doing the right process. You really need an instructor to coach you along. Just like in golf, if you learn a bad form, it is hard to break. You will reach a certain proficiency and that is as far as you will go without expert coaching. That is why I alway suggest beginners get at least a bit of coaching rather than just burning tons of rods blindly.

 

[deereman75]

I put up pictures of my welding table a while ago. The frame is mostly an old angle iron shelf from an industrial salvage yard, with some 3/4x3/4 box for bracing, and some heavy pipe for legs. The top is 1/4 inch plate. I would have liked a bit heavier, but the piece already cost my highschool student wallet $130, and the table is already too heavy for me to move. It was all done with an angle grinder, porta-band, ratchet strap, and a lincoln tombstone. Just do a search for welding table, and you will find it.

 

[candyman]

i picked up some 1/8 rods today 6010, 7014, we`ll see what happens..

on welding tables anybody got any pix & measurements. also got some xpanded metal to weld on the back of my grapple to keep debris from falling thru. i`ll weld a piece of the back of the hood guard on the tractor .

candyman

 

[Shield Arc]

on welding tables anybody got any pix & measurements.

Excuse my shop, it's generally not such a mess! At the time of this picture, (quite a few years ago) I had a few projects going at the same time.

 

[Gary Fowler]

A welding table is nothing more than a wooden table that you would build with plywood top, 2x4 frame and legs. You just substitute steel plate for the plywood and angle iron for the 2x4 frame. Legs are your choice, pipe or what ever you have available. Sheild arc's pictue of what looks to be an 8'x4' table is typical but depending on your shop size can be cut down to about any size you want. You need room for a vice on one corner. I like to put a shelf underneath (this can be angle iron frame with 3/4" plywood decking) to store the miscellaneous tools so they are out of the way but close at hand. There are all kinds of customizing that can be done after you get the basic rectangular table made. You can add angle iron in the shape of V on one side to lay pipe and steel in when fabricating, put electrical receptacles under neath so your dont have to have extension cords running every where, since you alway need at least 2 or 3 power driven tools to do any welding activity, that would be 2 grinders-one with brush other with blade and a drill motor, maybe a chop saw, band saw, jig saw etc. Then where your underneath shelf comes in is keeping squares, level, maybe some socket sets for disassembly work prior to welding, channel lock pliers, vice grips, pry bars and of course the trusty shop hammer for adjusting the fit up a bit, chipping hammer or needle gun for cleaning the slag, dont forget the faceshield for grinding, safety glasses, welding hood, cutting googles and marking pens or soapstone. This is usually what I end up having out for a simple repair before I am thru.

 

[candyman]

i asked about the table before i searched, ooppppsss.

are there ac & dc rods. ?? if so what is the difference. ?

the rods i got wed. are, i don`t know.

candyman