welding for dummies

[Maliboost]

thanks for the info guys. this post is turning out to be a really good one.

Bob

[gregh]

Pc3

I have some VHS tapes that came with my miller welders, basicly introductions to MIG welding. I've never even opened then but you are welcome to one if you want it.

PM me your address & I'll drop it in the mail.

[Pc3]

thanks for all the replies guys.spent most of the day yesterday yanking out the rear and looking for twist on the tubes ,the right looks like it might have twisted a bit 1/8 or so that is how much its off from the welds on the retaining bracket,the welds on the housing look fine dont see any stress there.
I,m still thinking if I get a torch and heat the existing welds that they will seep in.. and smooth out then mig them again ????????????
Gregh you have paypal??

[gregh]

I just looked when I got to the shop this morning, I have 2 different Miller Mig tapes you can have. I wish I had a VHS machine & I'd hook it to my computer & make digital versions of these but I don't.

Shipping should only be a few bucks so don't worry about it, just send me your address.

[John Wright]

I played with my new digi camera a few days ago, and tried to take some video with it. The vids are to dark, I need to flood the area with light so you can see the gun nozzle and the surrounding plates and such. But here it is if you want to see some 1/16" FCAW w/ 100% CO2 in action. One vid is dragging and the other is pushing the puddle. It may give you an idea of the gun angles...if you can make it out...they are dark vids, taken through my welding shield. I just didn't have enough hands....LOL

dragging technique:


and pushing:


edit:
some of the quality of the vids got lost in hosting them on Photobucket...they are much clearer and not anywhere near as grainy in thier original format on my computer.


edit#2: Here is the joint that was being welded in the vids.

[Maliboost]

I see the B4, now lets see the after of both the push & the pull.

Bob

[John Wright]

Originally Posted by Maliboost

I see the B4, now lets see the after of both the push & the pull.

Bob

That particular piece has been shipped to the jobsite and is several floors off the ground with cinderblock resting on it over a window

Most of our guys use the drag technique unless the material is really thin, pushing the puddle decreases penetration due to the digging action of the arc being softened by the molten weld puddle.

edit: He used a drag technique in this case to run the root of that joint and the force of the arc helps hold the puddle back to help him build a good sized puddle, but then to cap it off, he used the push technique just to wash in the cap and blend in the toes and make it level out so he didn't have alot of grinding to get it ground back down flush with the surrounding metal.

[John Wright]

Ok...I ran out to the maintenance shop and tacked a couple pieces of 3/8" thick scrap together really quick with a self-shielded .035" fcaw wire and a little 110v Miller 140a machine. I was rushing so you can tell by my shaky stringers that I ran trying to hurry up and do this, get pics...all before the boss catches me in there playing around....LOL

[Maliboost]

the drag looks prettier, but the push looks like it gets better penetration.

thats what I get with mine.

I get all confused with this FCAW, GMAW, GTAW, etc ..........

all I know is stick welding, which does not have gas
MIG welding with gas
MIG welding w/o gas
TIG welding with gas.
OA Torch welding/Cutting
Plasma Cutting

is there a simple way to line that up with the proper abreviations??

Bob

[John Wright]

SMAW (shielded metal arc welding) = stick

GMAW (gas metal arc welding) = mig (solid wire)

FCAW-Gas (fluxcored arc welding) = tubular wire with flux inside and requires external gas shielding. These wires are designated by the numbers on the end ending in 1,2 or 5 (ie. E71T-1)

edit: to break down E71T-1:
E = electrode
7 = 70,000 psi tensile strength
1 = can be used in any position
T = tubular wire
1 = chemical/operating charactaristics

FCAW-Self (fluxcored arc welding) = tublar wire with flux inside and doesn't require an external shielding gas. These wires are designated with numbers on the end ending in 3,4,6,7,10, and 11 (ie. E71T-11)

OFW (oxy/fuel welding) uses oxygen and some type of fuel(MAPP, PROPANE, ACET...ect

OFC (oxy fuel cutting) uses oxygen and some type of fuel like OFW does.

GTAW (gas tungsten arc welding) = TIG and uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode and requires an external shielding gas, add the filler by hand.

There are so many more, but these are probably the most common to most of us car guys.

[John Wright]

Originally Posted by Maliboost

the drag looks prettier, but the push looks like it gets better penetration.


Bob

Well, the push tends to be more of a concave bead and the drag is more convex.

[John Wright]

Ok Bob here is a macro etch of the push and drag fillet welds....

cut the samples up....



Push: the weld nugget on the right side.



Push: with straight edges so you can see the amount of penetration:


Drag: macro etch, the weld nugget on the right:



Drag: with straight edges so you can see the amount of penetration:

[John Wright]

eh, that camera we have here at work doesn't do macro shots very well, sorry about the blurry pics...it's hard to see in those pics. The really dark area is the HAZ(heat affected zone) and the weld nugget is a little more noticeable in the drag pic duw to the clarity of the pic, see if you can spot the different shades of grey. Dark grey is the HAZ and the slightly lighter grey is the weld nugget.
If I used a larger diameter wire the difference in weld nuggets and penetration would be alot more pronounced and easier to spot, but I was trying to demonstrate that lil 110v, 140a machine with .035" FCAW wire on 3/8" material(large heat sink for that size machine to overcome). That .035" wire is about the limit of that lil 140a machine. People knock those lil machines and also FCAW wire, but it can be used on most mild steel jobs.

[Maliboost]

Dude,

this little pictoral is awesome (@ least I think so, LOL).

is this Mild steel? (I would imagine so)

Is this FCAW with gas or w/o?? from the lack of splatter everywhere, Im saying it was with gas.

I dont think I have bigger than .032 wire for mine. are you saying that the larger the wire the better the penetration?? It seems to me like the thicker the wire Im using, the more voltage I can use & not just keep blowing the wire into pieces.

how would you rate the penetration you got??

it looks like in this example the push did get a little better penetration than the pull. is that typical or just this time??


thanks again
Bob

[Pc3]

thanks John learned a bit ..the penetration looks good..
I never motioned back and fourth when I welded "jabbing" didnt know anybetter.
John? I am allmost done grounding them ugly welds the penetration was horrible some pieces just fell "useing die grinder"
my question is since the existing metal that has been ground now has smoothin and NOW I cant visually see the original seam would it be wise to take a torch to the seams and kinda melt them into the jiont.

as you can see someplaces the seam is showing and that is where chucnks just fell off but if you notice on the upper section the weld is blended and unable to see the seam I am thinking with a torch melt that into the seam