Welding Tips and Tricks

ok thanks in advance -

welding a nut onto top of round carriage bolt -
1/4 bolt -

using 2% lanth 1/16 " electrode and 1/16 filler( almost always 2%)
started at 54 - moved to 64 - but nut just gets red hot -
no flow -

any suggestions welcome because I am doing it wrong

Bump your amps way up. I'd give myself prob 120 at the pedal. Hit it hard and then back it right off once you get a puddle going. Also try to get some heat sinking material. Some people use a bolt with antiseize on it. I use a small bit of aluminum pressed/clamped to the top of the bolt if I can. That's not always possible, though.

ok thanks - i will bump it and see - also fyi using no12 furrick with about 3/4 stick out and 20on gas....
wire wheel them both -
i will let you know - did not think to go high or hot and then just not give it all pedal...

mine wrote:ok thanks - i will bump it and see - also fyi using no12 furrick with about 3/4 stick out and 20on gas....
wire wheel them both -
i will let you know - did not think to go high or hot and then just not give it all pedal...

What's the material you are welding/welding to?

Also, a #12 cup and that stickout is probably way overkill for what you are doing. A 6 or 7 cup will suit you just fine for that purpose....unless you have a specific reason to be using a 12 which otherwise may just be making things harder for you.

i really like the 12 because it offers me better viewing - but i can swap it to a 6 or 8 -
the bolts are steel not alum or stainless

mine wrote:i really like the 12 because it offers me better viewing - but i can swap it to a 6 or 8 -
the bolts are steel not alum or stainless

Ok, if they are from the hardware store they most certainly have a zinc or galvanized coating on them then. You must get all of that off completely prior to welding, and that's quite hard to do with small hardware like that. Wire brushing is not nearly enough. Best to go with stainless in these applications.

Edit: And if the 12 makes it easier for you to view then certainly use it. But just be aware of its overkillness for this application.

Use a heatsink if possible, also make a short weld, stop and let it cool then repeat

thanks people - I did try to remove as much zinc - but there was still yellow at end - - I got it to work nice enough but will redo tomorrow with stainless or not coated type....
no filler needed in end for what i t needed - but certainly not pretty to look at...

That yellow is likely cadmium plating.

The yellow is the zinc or tin in whatever coating is on the bolt burning completely up at the weld temps. I see it often at work with coatings or soft solder if a silver solder repair is carried out close to it and the solder gets over heated.



Besides that though if you can get your hands on some muriatic acid (might be also known and hydrochloric) then what I normally do to strip coating off of hardware inside and out is submerse them in the acid and just wait for the bubbles to stop.


Don't do it inside without good ventilation and depending on hardware size sometimes a small piece of stainless wire helps a lot to tie the hardware to.





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