[Hollywood1]

nice

[Hollywood1]

your welding looks great. I did not have any hand rest that's a good idea!

[Rick_H]

Repairing a section of damage on a bottle machine...cut out bad section, fab new one with studs and then weld it all back in. 1/8" 316L Stainless

[CornerStone]

Getting some welds done

[Rick_H]

Did final clean up today...I love my Metabo burnishing tool

[subwayrocket]

Just a beginner here, i'm having fun learning though. Awesome welds on this thread guys !
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Welded this corner joint yesterday, just cut up a bunch more practice scrap today.

StainlessWelds.jpg (60.28 KiB) Viewed 1966 times

304L_PracticeMaterial.jpg (64.41 KiB) Viewed 1966 times

[MosquitoMoto]

Sub -

Your practise scrap looks better than my project stock!


Kym

[subwayrocket]

Thanks much Kym ! After watching Jody's vids for about 6 months I finally turned on my machine,
been using it about a month now. I practice after work 2nd shift, couple times a week, bout an hour or two.
The learning process is alotta fun...really lets me "decompress" too.
~Again, awesome welds in this thread and hats off to you guys !
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some practice from last week .

Alum_tooHot.jpg (51.84 KiB) Viewed 1924 times

[big gear head]

Looking pretty good. Keep welding on it until it's completely covered with weld. Weld around the top edges of the tubes. Weld flat, vertical and horizontal all over it.

[subwayrocket]

My boss liked my aluminum pen holder so I decided to make him his own .
Made this last night, wasn't purged, just a chill block underneath.
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PenCup.jpg (80.99 KiB) Viewed 1869 times

Cup2.jpg (75.48 KiB) Viewed 1869 times

[big gear head]

Suck Up

Looks very nice.

[ex framie]

That's a $10 raise right there.

[Otto Nobedder]

33rd rule of aquisition... (yes, my "geek" is showing),

"It never hurts to suck up to the boss."



Steve S

[DeepSouthWelder]

Made a sculpture today for my grandparents, when I tried to post pictures it said the board attachment quota has been reached so I posted pictures in Welding Projects.

[TamJeff]

We're still banging them out. Last night I treated myself to a shave, as it occurred to me that I had not seen my own face since last weekend. It's nice to come to this thread and see others getting to weld and nice work to all who keep on.

Here's the gist of what we are into currently. You would think I had enough of this welding stuff and yet to look at yet more welding on a forum dedicated to the subject.

Left handed and right handed. I wonder if they will even notice that we tried. lol No, it's not textbook, but the pace is intense. To get an idea, you can see the weld to the right where I was outrunning the shielding (the little black whiskers) and had to stop and think about wtf I was doing. My son set the stopwatch on his phone and timed it at two puddles per second and at times, heading for three. At this point, I am afraid if I throw down a noticeably nice weld, they would want them all like that. Admittedly, this is not just what I welded today, but from Tues till today and tomorrow is going to be a long one to add the remaining parts to these, which adds up to 120, machined parts by tomorrow evening.

[big gear head]

Wow, I'm glad I don't have to weld under that kind of pressure. Nice work.

[MosquitoMoto]

Hey all. Newbie welding here, the latest of my 'make useful stuff as you practise' episodes. Practise battery box for motorcycle. Box is 1.2mm mild steel. Using 40 amps, 70S6 filler (1.6mm) and 1.6mm 2 percent Lanthanated electrode. Fit up was rubbish in some places with gaps here and there because I wasn't being too serious about things, but lesson learned...if you want decent welding, do decent prep work.

By all means hit me with feedback/comments/abuse. I have thick skin!

Kym

[LtBadd]

Hey all. Newbie welding here, the latest of my 'make useful stuff as you practise' episodes. Practise battery box for motorcycle. Box is 1.2mm mild steel. Using 40 amps, 70S6 filler (1.6mm) and 1.6mm 2 percent Lanthanated electrode. Fit up was rubbish in some places with gaps here and there because I wasn't being too serious about things, but lesson learned...if you want decent welding, do decent prep work.

By all means hit me with feedback/comments/abuse. I have thick skin!

Kym

Hey Kym
Looks like you're on a good path, you're right about the prep work, without proper prep the welding can be difficult. It's like many things in life, you need a good foundation.

Richard

[Braehill]

Kym,
You've discovered some value in that overpriced Argon, a lesson in fit up.

One tip I can offer is to trap the Argon using small angles clamped to the box forming a trough, Aluminum foil, Aluminum tape, anything you can to keep the cover gas in the weld zone. An outside corner is one of the worst joint configurations for getting good gas coverage. I know this isn't all that important while practicing, but practice doing it right will lead to better results. That way you'll get to see the desired result.

Use an angle as a backer helps when you have a bad fit up to trap gas escaping through the open joint. Use a dissimilar metal so it does become part of the weld, copper works well with steel. You can also clamp it slightly away from the joint if you only have similar metal, again just trapping cover gas.

Keep a note pad handy and write down what works and more importantly, what doesn't. Become a student while you're practicing, it pays dividends.

Len

[MosquitoMoto]

Kym,
You've discovered some value in that overpriced Argon, a lesson in fit up.

One tip I can offer is to trap the Argon using small angles clamped to the box forming a trough, Aluminum foil, Aluminum tape, anything you can to keep the cover gas in the weld zone. An outside corner is one of the worst joint configurations for getting good gas coverage. I know this isn't all that important while practicing, but practice doing it right will lead to better results. That way you'll get to see the desired result.

Use an angle as a backer helps when you have a bad fit up to trap gas escaping through the open joint. Use a dissimilar metal so it does become part of the weld, copper works well with steel. You can also clamp it slightly away from the joint if you only have similar metal, again just trapping cover gas.

Keep a note pad handy and write down what works and more importantly, what doesn't. Become a student while you're practicing, it pays dividends.

Len

Hey Len.

I really appreciate the tips. And yes, I take notes as I weld...writing is my 'real' job so I'm always scribbling down what works and what doesn't.

Your tip on using angle as backing is great. I normally use a big old hunk of angle I have but I recently picked up some welding magnets and was giving them a try. You're right, the angle backing is the way to go. I will try your tips with foil and tape, too. Great stuff.

Every time I weld I learn, and I love learning so this is such a great hobby. I picked up a TIG to do motorcycle alterations and repairs but I have to say that I am now well and truly hooked just for the sheer love of welding. I can't tell you how tragic my wife thinks this is, but she'll change her tune as soon as I weld her up a kettle bell rack!

Thanks again.

Kym

[Braehill]

Kym,
Something to remember about magnets is that if you get them too hot they are no longer magnetic so just use them to tack then remove them. They also have an effect on the weld puddle itself if they're close to the weld zone.

You'll also not likely convince the little woman the economic value of owning a welder. She'll likely tell you that she could have bought that kettle rack at the kitchen store for a fraction of what you spent making it. As Otto's dad says, "There's only 2 ways to treat a woman and nobody knows either of them".

Len

[Otto Nobedder]

Thanks for that, Len!

I got a smile.

[Braehill]

Steve,
I've never stole a line yet that I didn't like. Even this one.

Len

[MosquitoMoto]

Len -

Yep, got that tip on magnets - just used them to tack. There's even a special term for the temperature at which magnets use their magnetism - I think maybe 'Curie temperature' or some such? Learned that last year when using heat to remove some of the magnets from a race bike flywheel.

As for the wife, two things; I've thus far convinced her that six motorcycles is okay, so maybe I'm in with a chance of convincing her on the welder. Also, the kettle bell rack isn't for the kitchen; my wife lift weights and kettle bells are part of her collection along with barbells and Dumbbells. So if I ever piss her off she can kick my arse.

So far I've avoided taking any beatings...


Kym

[Rick_H]

Thanks for that, Len!

I got a smile.

I second that, needed that after a 14hr day...