Yeah i reckon a bit of aluminium sheet might be the go instead of copper sheet or stainless flat bar. might just have to hunt for some offcut/scrap and screw it down to the steel frame. On another note, I've noticed on one corner of the SHS frame, the top weld has cracked longitudinally, the whole l...

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I have a about a metre and a half of 50x50x6mm angle (2"x2"x1/4"), I reckon what i'll do is cut it up and weld a few braces running widthways across the frame, will fit about 3 in there, then use 1/4" flat stock and run it lengthways across the to...

Hey guys, been welding for a while now, took a few classes over the last 4-5 months got a few basic certificates and only recently I bought a little stick/tig inverter to play with at home. Here's my first attempt at fabricating something meaningful, a basic little welding table. I have made a few f...

something I do when i'm having trouble starting an arc is get a piece of scrap and run the rod really quickly and really lightly over the surface, too fast to start a stable arc but basically sparks a bit and leaves a big black arc strike on the scrap after doing that it's much easier to strike on t...

yep i'm with you on that, definately helps with the inclusions turning it up a bit so thats what i'm doing. gets the job done quicker too

Thanks Rick. I always thought the opposite though, like the first message on jody's tips page there, "stainless steel takes about 1/3 less amperage than carbon steel!.. " I'll have to try keeping a very tight arc with the heat cranked up a bit more, when i get a theory in my head i tend to...

Hi guys, I've been playing around with a welder at home now, playing mainly with stainless using 2.5mm (1/10 in) 316L electrodes welding 3mm sections. I'm having some dramas with slag inclusions mainly when doing fillet and lap joints. ive done plenty of fillet/lap joints on mild steel with 7018 and...

thanks steve!

Hey guys, had my tig class tonight and played with the aluminium for the first time, i found it much more fun than steel :twisted: and got some nice looking beads done here's a butt weld i did after running a couple of beads on a plate (i hammered it flat hence the bead being flattened on the surfac...

thanks anthony, it passed the visual and im just waiting to find out the results of the x-ray now. i think the biggest problem i had on the cap was going too slowly, was kinda not all there by that stage of the day and on the practice runs ive done before+after that piece i got a much better looking...

thanks for the responses, i have since fitted some scrap leather around the bottom of my helmet and have found it has stopped the problem. i'm no longer seeing the light flashing inside the helmet from up under the helmet and no more raw feeling, also find i have a clearer view of whats going on wit...

thanks for the replies, i've got a scrap bit of leather and fixed it to the bottom of the helmet, so it hangs down and makes kinda a bib. will road test tonight and see if the inside of the helmet is still getting lit up kerm i burn pretty easily in the sun and the last thing i wanna do is continual...

Hey guys, just wondering if it's possible/likely to get UV burns from arc light coming through the bottom of the helmet? every now and then after a long session i tend to feel a little raw/burnt around the face, particularly under the eyebrows, under the eyes themselves and under the bottom lip. alw...

went back in today, and finished a full plate root run went perfectly, did 2 runs stopping once in the middle ground it down completely flat and removed any tiny little notch or crevice and did 2 fill passes, grinding down to completely flat and smooth metal after each then did the cap. i was very d...

cheers Otto, i much prefer running the 7018s but for the course i was doing they decide what rods ya gonna use and when so didn't have much choice. I've got green lenses in my helmet, it's an auto dark (uni mig) wasn't sure if the inner lens could be replaced easily but will ask the guys at the shop...

hi rick, i had 2 backing plates as you described on them, but the gap still closed up a bit. maybe i spaced them too far apart or something the gap only closed slightly but it was enough to cause a small problem over that 5-10mm strip, next time i should just open it up with a 2.5mm cutting wheel be...

i had my second day practicing for a 3g open root xray test in mig today, made heaps of progress over the first day lol. almost had a plate worth sending off for the xray but dropped the ball with a very stupid mistake did 75% of the root run well with v good penetration and fusion, then after a lon...

had another crack- beads were coming out nicely, this time i just didn't let the weld pool slag and all get thicker than 1.5-2 rod widths. ran the 6013 first on ac at 125ish amps, the bead looked very nice on AC but it was harder to run than on DC so i switched over. had to run faster and faster as ...

thanks for that mate, i will keep that in mind- i guess i was waiting for the flux to build up before my mind would accept the 'puddle' is getting ahead of the arc. will try and set my speed on the width of the deposit next time and see how i go

thanks again this is a great forum

thanks for the input, i am running flat stringers no weaving and attempting to go just fast enough to stay infront of the puddle (or what i percieve to be just fast enough to stay infront) have you got any tips for properly recognising when the puddle is getting close, maybe i am watching the slag a...

cheers guys, yeah fair enough about the slag. i haven't used 6010 rods, i have used 6013, 7016 and 7018 (although they are called different things in australia depending on who sells the electrodes) i was doing some random beading with 6013's last night and struggled a bit differentiating the slag f...

Hi guys, Been a while since Ive jumped on the forum. Since last time i've achieved basic certificates in stick, mig and safe workplace practice and i'm thinking of entering the industry as a 2nd class welder while completing further training modules on the side to get my boilermaking certificate a f...

Thanks for replies, That's how the instructor put it, but I guess I was confused as to how much overkill this would be in the field- before I grind it down I'm whire wheeling and getting all the visible slag out, its just any ridges caused by where the ripples meet the edge of the bevel, the instruc...

thanks again kermdog, its not so much inclusions and holes that i'm finding in the middle of the bead after grinding away a bit, but say along the edges where it meets the plate, each ripple on the edge of the bead might cause a tiny little pocket i guess? or say a little shelf where after grinding ...

Hi guys, another noob question, I'm practicing for the 3G test in stick, open root currently I've finished the root pass, and 3 passes ontop of that, have a few more passes before i can do the cap. the instructor has got me grinding each pass perfectly flat, all the way down until there are not litt...