Welding 1/4" steel- Mig or stick?

[RobJ]

Allright I'm pulling these out from the Hobart sight.

When you have something big, and you want it to hold...you stick it. Those white things in the pics are in fact 3/4" welding rods.

 

[2manyrocks]

The welding capacity of the particular machine with a particular rod or diameter of mig wire/gas combination can usually be found on the manufacturer's web site. Clean the steel to be welded and follow the mfg's directions for your set up.

Next to politics, why do the welding threads stir things up so much?

 

[Scooby074]

Allright I'm pulling these out from the Hobart sight.

When you have something big, and you want it to hold...you stick it. Those white things in the pics are in fact 3/4" welding rods.

Ive seen those pics before... Its pretty amazing, something like 1000+Amps. I think they were welding a large stamping die if i remember. The guy that posted them, thats all they do.. weld extremely thick metal..

 

[nunyabinis]

I just ordered the material to fabricate a Grading Scraper to maintain a dirt road. ALL the metal will be 1/4" thick and I'll be using a Lincoln 220volt 175 amp MIG welder using .035 flux core wire.


I guarandamntee you it'll hold together no matter what I put it through. I also guarantee you it won't pass any xray tests and won't qualify as a professional looking job..... but I don't need it to. I just need it to hold together.


It'll be a farm implement.... not a Nuclear Submarine.

 

[RobJ]

It'll be a farm implement.... not a Nuclear Submarine.

Thank Goodness it isn't!!!!!!!

 

[AndyMA]

Next to politics, why do the welding threads stir things up so much?

Because so few people actually have actual training in it and make it up as they go along. As we were taught in school antidotial evidence does not make something a fact.

Andy

 

[RobJ]

Because so few people actually have actual training in it and make it up as they go along. As we were taught in school antidotial evidence does not make something a fact.

Andy

And perception is NOT reality!!

 

[Dargo]

And perception is NOT reality!!

True. As some know, I've been welding for about 30 years and my father has welded for far longer. In the past I've had to be certified by AWS for structural welding, pipe welding and welding at any angle with most machines. What I never did was submerged arc welding or underwater welding. My welds had to pass X-ray testing, dissection testing, destruction testing and strength testing. I never had the use, but I understand that underwater welders make big bucks welding underwater on oil rigs. Unfortunately, they don't have a very good life expectancy. My welding has been limited to pipe, structural and heavy equipment welding besides hobby welding.

I've seen a lot of stuff posted here that simply makes me laugh and some good advice. As someone commented previously, telling a guy that his welding technique or output looks like bird crap only seems to inflame them rather than help them, so I just keep my mouth (and fingers) quiet. I'll just tell you that, for the vast majority of cases if not all cases, a really bad looking weld is almost always a bad weld. If it looks terrible there is a reason. It didn't just happen that way by chance. Either the materials weren't properly cleaned, the equipment used was not proper, the settings weren't correct or the welder just flat didn't go an acceptable job. It's a pretty good rule of thumb that if the weld breaks before the parent metal, the weld wasn't very good. Take it for what you will.

 

[greenmule]

Very,very true.

If you got an ugly weld,it is generally[almost always] ugly clear to the bone,and in most cases[almost all],shows that the welder making it,can't weld.

But,for 90 percent of what most guys weld on here,nobody gets hurt if it breaks or fails,and most of what a amature gobs up will stay together[at least for a while],so it generally serves the purpose.

But it does amuse me to read these welding posts and see how guys who bought a welder last month,describe how to do this and that and post pictures of their globs.

 

[AndyMA]

Just for reference, assuming you are using the recommended wire size/type and gasses it's all in the amperage. I use a Millermatic 251 rated to weld 1/2 plate steel. A 675 Amp Millermatic MIG is rated to weld 1" plate steel. Of course you can build up a weld in layers.

Amdu