These are the worst welds you have ever seen

[woodlandfarms]

In ag class in High School we were handed a 6x6 1/4" plate and told to start making beads. Once you got a few perfect lines then you got to put stuff together... Doing two bolts is not the easiest way to learn...

 

[flusher]

The helmet is not self darkening. It has the flip down #10 lens about 2"x4". I was wearing plastic lens no line bifocals under the helmet. I can't see without them. The bolts were plated. I didn't use gas. Should my head be 2'-3' away or closer?

Try a #9 lens for a few bucks or get an auto-darkening helmet from Harbor Freight for about $50

Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

It's not top a of the line helmet, but it's OK for learning.

 

[gordon21]

Toolaholic: Thanks for the encouraging words.

Your 11 year old grandson was laying down good welds in 20 minutes..........

And I have my bolts after the same 20 minutes.


Session two will include flat steel stock using gas and my head a foot or more closer.

 

[workinallthetime]

I ge the joy of teaching my buddy to weld soon, one thing the pipeline welder told me when i was learning was to keep things constant keeping your puddle flow constant and good penitration. im using a hobart 120 that has seen better days with flux core wire, its messy but works good on a CLEAN surface, no paint no galvanized just bare metal at the welding point and the ground clamp. I also grind a 45 degree angle onto each piece im welding when i can then weld the 2 together. get some clean metal scraps and just practice ohh and dont touch the tip to what your welding, lol. i learned building wrought iron fences 5 days a week for 4 years. lots of practice

good leather gloves go a long way

 

[cp1969]

You said the bolts were plated. That probably caused some of the problem.

Like the others, I remember in High School Vo Ag class being given a flat plate and told to start laying down beads on it. Once you can see that you're getting penetration, then you can start joining things together. Start with clean mild steel, the cleaner the better. Also note that new does not equal clean. New steel, lots of times has nasty stuff all over it that isn't apparent (until you grab it).

 

[GT2]

You have to get your head right in there as close as possible. If you need bys or reading glasses put them on.
You need to see what the weld puddle is doing, you cant see that from 2' away.

If your being blinded you may have the wrong shade lens.

One thing to remember: in MIG welding, clean is key! Its not like stick welding with 6011 that will burn through anything.
So grind/ sand/ clean everything!

Oh, one more thing, try to keep your head off to the side, or hold your breath.
The fumes are not good for you in the long run.

Have fun practicing!

 

[BTDT]

They (some welding suppliers) sell magnifiers that snap into the inside of hood. Works ok when you get used to them.

 

[sandman2234]

Everyone has a preference of some sort or another.
I use a #11 lens on normal stick welding, and a #12 when using my Tig machine, doing aluminum or s/s. Yes, I often have trouble seeing what I am welding, and have done quite a bit of re-welding to fix my welds that went off course,etc. I could go to a lighter lens, but my thoughts on it are:
I have plenty of steel (or other materials) and only one set of eyes.
You do the math on that one and see if going lighter than a #10 is really what you want to do.
Best way is to add light to your materials so that you can see without going to a lighter shade of lens.
David from jax

 

[gordon21]

I was welding inside a cargo container with the doors open that does not have electricity. The welder was running off from a 40amp generator sitting outside the container. It was not dark, but I didn't even have the benefit of full sunlight. Next time I will have full sunlight or artificial lights and get my head closer and stay with at least a #10 shade.

I'll admit I was like a 5 year old on x-mas morning. 30 degrees and I wanted to play with my new welder out in the cold.

This kind of behavior is due to all of you guys on TBN. Thanks.

 

[cp1969]

Seeing what you're welding can be a problem.

I dropped in on a friend who was trying to weld up a crack in a grain auger. It wasn't much of a crack but if left alone was not going to get any smaller and might fail while the auger was being used, so a repair was in order. Friend was not having much luck with his stick welder so I volunteered to give it a try. When I was done, I tipped back the hood (no auto-darkening helmets in those days) and was beaming with pride at the bead I had laid down...until I noticed that it was about 1/8" off to the side of the actual crack. DOH!!

BTW, those are not the worst looking welds on record. I might hold that distinction had I bothered to take photos. Possibly my worst weld was trying to repair a broken shift lever off of an early Honda motorcycle. It looked for all the world like a chicken had taken a dump on the weld joint and it didn't even survive the attempt to put it back on the motorcycle, let alone shift with it.