06-13-2012, 03:35 PM
Hello All,
I'm going to try something out here.
This is for all those guys that have a stick welder under the bench but never use it and think that they just can't weld, they probably tried it once or twice and just made a mess, so gave up.
Well, here's your chance
The problem with welders describing what they are doing on a post is that once you can weld, the process isn't something you think about, you just do it.
To an accomplished Welder, describing how you do it, is like trying to tell a Toddler how to walk, "come on Junior, pick up your right foot and move it, yeah good, now the other one, Doh, don't fall over"
With Machining or Sheet metal forming there are discreet steps, like cutting a thread on a lathe, you can break the whole thing down into bite sized chunks, but once you start welding you're doing ten things at once , Maintain angle, feed direction, Arc length, Weave, Speed, Watch the heat, Regulate deposition, watch your shield gas, keep on track.
So compared to "Step 7, engage clasp nut" it's really hard to put it into words.
Personally I think the tried and true method of learning how to weld is the best way, get some clean scrap, emphasis on the clean, and then a welder, for starting out stick is as good as any thing, use the simplest consumables, steer clear of the unknown welding rod picked up at a swap meet, buy some 2.5mm, 4824s or in the old measure 10guage, 7024s and just start laying down some runs, only do an inch at a time, if it's not working change just one of the ten things you are doing and leave the others alone, pretty soon you'll be welding.
The number 1 mistake is welding over rust, galvanizing or paint, the surface should be so clean that you wouldn't think twice about painting it, most guys think that a brown surface isn't really rust but when welding it is, you want to see silver reflective steel.
The number 2 mistake is using welding rods that were found somewhere or bought cheap, to save money while learning. don't risk it, old rods will be wet, not dripping but not dry either and this will make it harder, and to dry them properly in an oven takes many hours, and even then the wire inside will have a fine layer of rust that will muck you around, buy your first pack of rods new, why I say 4824s or 7024s (which are the same grade, 48 is metric and 70 is inch designation for steel medium tensile strength, the 2 is designation for "down-hand welding" that means welding something sitting flat on the bench and the 4 is code for the flux material I think 4 is "iron powder" these rods almost weld themselves, professional welders consider them to be like cheating, I use them whenever I can, why, because it's like cheating, they are easy, I weld to join steel not to impress other welders with my skill.
The number 3 mistake is trying to weld too thin a base metal with too heavy a Rod, as a rule of thumb never weld steel with a Rod that is more than 2/3rds the thickness of the plate, you will burn through, this means that even with 2.5mm rods you should be welding thicker than 4mm steel, A lot of guys use "Found" rods on their first go, these are more often than not "Found" in an industrial fabrication shop, Fab shops work on structural steel of 6mm or 1/4" or more so their most common rod is 4mm or 6 guage. keep to the 2/3rds rule and you'll be OK.
The number 4 mistake is going too light on the Amps, there are so many reasons this happens that it's just sad, I'll use bullet points;
* Home welders only supply limited power,
* Found rods are designed for professional welding machines,
* Because the big rods burn through thin material the new welder is scared of Amps,
* The "I'll start light and do less harm" myth,
* There are so many more but I'll stop here,
You need Amps with which to weld, if you don't have enough you can't make an Arc, the new pack of electrodes will tell you in a panel on the side how many Amps to use, it'll say in a panel 2.5mm down-hand use 70-100Amps, or something like that, start with 100Amps and turn it down if it's too much, always go with the big number,
Low Amps limit penetration, causing Pigeon Poo welds where the weld material sits on top, Low Amps causes Slag inclusions, Low Amps means sticky start ups, High amps causes Spatter around your otherwise easily started, well penetrated weld with no inclusions. I'd rather chip the spatter off of a weld that will hold than deal with low amp drama.
The number 5 mistake using the wrong angles, arc length and feed rates, this is where the 4824 wins hands down, these have a lot of flux coating on them, so you literally drag them on the surface, you can almost let them sit there on the surface and they will weld nicely, as for angle go with 60 degrees above horizontal, arc length is about the same as welding wire diameter which on a 4824 is the same as the flux thickness so it'll just look after itself, with feed rate on 4824s at 60degrees they just seem to feed themselves, it is really difficult to get it wrong.
The number 6 mistake is using inadequate safety gear, it makes you uncomfortable, use thick gloves, cover your arms well I use and old motorcycle leather jacket rather than a suede welders coat, they are a lot more comfortable, and because they are lined they don't drag on your clothes inside the sleeves, never ever use a hand shield to cover your eyes, if you want to splurge on an auto shield go ahead you won't regret it but I use a manual flip down version on the job, they get stolen less often on site and I've always used one, but at home I use an auto as it is easier.
The number 7 mistake is trying to weld in an uncomfortable position, you wouldn't try to type on your laptop while crouching beside it on the floor, so why would that be a good position to learn to weld, but loads of hobby guys do all their welding on the floor, put the job on a solid non flammable bench, even if that means cover your normal bench in a few bricks and a sheet of light steel , and make sure your leads reach, that is another comfort issue.
OK, Now there is more to it than that but seriously give it another go, and remember;
Trouble = Stop + clean + adjust + try again = success
Clean your base metal, use good rods of a known origin less than 2/3rds the thickness of the base metal, 60degree angle, use the highest recommended amps, get comfortable and have fun.
Best regards
Rick
I'm going to try something out here.
This is for all those guys that have a stick welder under the bench but never use it and think that they just can't weld, they probably tried it once or twice and just made a mess, so gave up.
Well, here's your chance
The problem with welders describing what they are doing on a post is that once you can weld, the process isn't something you think about, you just do it.
To an accomplished Welder, describing how you do it, is like trying to tell a Toddler how to walk, "come on Junior, pick up your right foot and move it, yeah good, now the other one, Doh, don't fall over"
With Machining or Sheet metal forming there are discreet steps, like cutting a thread on a lathe, you can break the whole thing down into bite sized chunks, but once you start welding you're doing ten things at once , Maintain angle, feed direction, Arc length, Weave, Speed, Watch the heat, Regulate deposition, watch your shield gas, keep on track.
So compared to "Step 7, engage clasp nut" it's really hard to put it into words.
Personally I think the tried and true method of learning how to weld is the best way, get some clean scrap, emphasis on the clean, and then a welder, for starting out stick is as good as any thing, use the simplest consumables, steer clear of the unknown welding rod picked up at a swap meet, buy some 2.5mm, 4824s or in the old measure 10guage, 7024s and just start laying down some runs, only do an inch at a time, if it's not working change just one of the ten things you are doing and leave the others alone, pretty soon you'll be welding.
The number 1 mistake is welding over rust, galvanizing or paint, the surface should be so clean that you wouldn't think twice about painting it, most guys think that a brown surface isn't really rust but when welding it is, you want to see silver reflective steel.
The number 2 mistake is using welding rods that were found somewhere or bought cheap, to save money while learning. don't risk it, old rods will be wet, not dripping but not dry either and this will make it harder, and to dry them properly in an oven takes many hours, and even then the wire inside will have a fine layer of rust that will muck you around, buy your first pack of rods new, why I say 4824s or 7024s (which are the same grade, 48 is metric and 70 is inch designation for steel medium tensile strength, the 2 is designation for "down-hand welding" that means welding something sitting flat on the bench and the 4 is code for the flux material I think 4 is "iron powder" these rods almost weld themselves, professional welders consider them to be like cheating, I use them whenever I can, why, because it's like cheating, they are easy, I weld to join steel not to impress other welders with my skill.
The number 3 mistake is trying to weld too thin a base metal with too heavy a Rod, as a rule of thumb never weld steel with a Rod that is more than 2/3rds the thickness of the plate, you will burn through, this means that even with 2.5mm rods you should be welding thicker than 4mm steel, A lot of guys use "Found" rods on their first go, these are more often than not "Found" in an industrial fabrication shop, Fab shops work on structural steel of 6mm or 1/4" or more so their most common rod is 4mm or 6 guage. keep to the 2/3rds rule and you'll be OK.
The number 4 mistake is going too light on the Amps, there are so many reasons this happens that it's just sad, I'll use bullet points;
* Home welders only supply limited power,
* Found rods are designed for professional welding machines,
* Because the big rods burn through thin material the new welder is scared of Amps,
* The "I'll start light and do less harm" myth,
* There are so many more but I'll stop here,
You need Amps with which to weld, if you don't have enough you can't make an Arc, the new pack of electrodes will tell you in a panel on the side how many Amps to use, it'll say in a panel 2.5mm down-hand use 70-100Amps, or something like that, start with 100Amps and turn it down if it's too much, always go with the big number,
Low Amps limit penetration, causing Pigeon Poo welds where the weld material sits on top, Low Amps causes Slag inclusions, Low Amps means sticky start ups, High amps causes Spatter around your otherwise easily started, well penetrated weld with no inclusions. I'd rather chip the spatter off of a weld that will hold than deal with low amp drama.
The number 5 mistake using the wrong angles, arc length and feed rates, this is where the 4824 wins hands down, these have a lot of flux coating on them, so you literally drag them on the surface, you can almost let them sit there on the surface and they will weld nicely, as for angle go with 60 degrees above horizontal, arc length is about the same as welding wire diameter which on a 4824 is the same as the flux thickness so it'll just look after itself, with feed rate on 4824s at 60degrees they just seem to feed themselves, it is really difficult to get it wrong.
The number 6 mistake is using inadequate safety gear, it makes you uncomfortable, use thick gloves, cover your arms well I use and old motorcycle leather jacket rather than a suede welders coat, they are a lot more comfortable, and because they are lined they don't drag on your clothes inside the sleeves, never ever use a hand shield to cover your eyes, if you want to splurge on an auto shield go ahead you won't regret it but I use a manual flip down version on the job, they get stolen less often on site and I've always used one, but at home I use an auto as it is easier.
The number 7 mistake is trying to weld in an uncomfortable position, you wouldn't try to type on your laptop while crouching beside it on the floor, so why would that be a good position to learn to weld, but loads of hobby guys do all their welding on the floor, put the job on a solid non flammable bench, even if that means cover your normal bench in a few bricks and a sheet of light steel , and make sure your leads reach, that is another comfort issue.
OK, Now there is more to it than that but seriously give it another go, and remember;
Trouble = Stop + clean + adjust + try again = success
Clean your base metal, use good rods of a known origin less than 2/3rds the thickness of the base metal, 60degree angle, use the highest recommended amps, get comfortable and have fun.
Best regards
Rick
Whatever it is, do it today, Tomorrow may not be an option and regret outlasts fatigue.
