Welding Tips and Tricks

I got a new Lincoln Weld-Pak 140HD a couple weeks ago. It had been eight years since welding anything, so I was anxious to give it a try. I had some 1/8" x 1" HRS left over from a project long ago. I cut a few 6" pieces and cleaned them up a bit with a wire wheel on the bench grinder. They were relatively clean, but not shiny. I didn't have a good table to weld on, so I clamped a piece of 1/2" x 2" CRS (very clean) in a B&D workmate, clamped the workpiece and ground cable to opposite ends, and started practicing. I was using .035" NR-211-MP at the setting recommended on the chart inside the welder door, and got terrible results. There was a lot of splatter and porosity. The weld bead was nearly flush with the top surface and the opposite side of the workpiece had a heavy bead of weld protruding out. I wondered if the recommended settings were off that much or if my technique was at fault. I had watched lots of Jody's videos and kept trying different things with my technique, leaving the settings on the welder alone. Yes, the polarity was correct. I was plugged into a 15A circuit that was also powering a small fluorescent light and three battery tenders in float mode. The breaker tripped once while welding.

I have since installed a separate 20A outlet just for the welder, and it's very close to the service panel. I picked up more 1/8" x 1" HRS from the hardware store. This time the pieces were cleaned up nice and shiny with a flap sanding disc. Yesterday I brought home one of Harbor Freight's adjustable welding tables. It's pretty decent for the price. Today, my results were just about perfect. I started with lower settings, but had all the symptoms of being set too low. Returning to the recommended settings, and making small adjustments to my travel speed, yielded some very nice looking welds.

So, I broke my own rule of troubleshooting and changed three variables (new outlet, new table, new material). I'd like to blame the old material, or it's lack of proper preparation, but maybe powering the welder on its own circuit had something to do with it. I doubt the table had anything to due with the issue, but it sure is nice and handy. Regardless of the previous frustration or today's success, I'm pleased with my new toy and just wanted to share.

getting help with a problem is great and easy to do here
but figuring it to by yourself is priceless.
show some pictures of you work.
there are guys here with eagle eyes who can
help you improve even further.
craig

Thanks Craig. I took some pictures today and welcome a critique and suggestions. This is a fillet weld done horizontally on 1/8" HRS using .035" NR-211-MP. Sorry I didn't get the slag cleaned off better. The camera shows stuff I didn't see with my eyes. Much of the spatter above the welds is from previous beads done on the vertical piece before joining it to the horizontal piece.

I thought this one looked good, but the camera shows some porosity. It was done with a "cursive e" weave.


On the next one I progressively sped up the travel speed and I could really see the effect of going too fast.


On the last one I slowed back down and just did a straight pull without weaving. I think it is showing a bit of undercutting. Again, sorry for not cleaning the slag off better.

Weldin is fun isn't it? Now maybe the guys on here who are out freezing in a dirty refinery or in the middle of nowhere on a pipeline would argue but the possibilities of metalcrafting are endless. I sold a machine like the one you have to a guy like yourself that just wanted a new toy and thought a welder would be cool and he still stays in touch and is absolutely having a ball. I was/am a carpenter by trade but if I never cut another piece of wood in my life I could die happy. I love doing repairs and building stuff. Your gonna have fun. I have only used FCAW once so I am far from an expert but the fact that you can see what is wrong with your welds puts you miles ahead on the learning curve...have fun!

http://www.lincolnelectric.com/assets/g ... c32400.pdf

Check out the link that I posted from Lincoln electric regarding their electrode NR-211 MP.
(lots of info included, techniques, positioning, welding parameters,etc)
Page 48 of 76 gives you some suggested welding parameters for that wire. I find that these suggestions are generally very close to optimal. Keep posting pics of your progress...it's nice to see how you are progressing.

Thanks John. I read that document a couple weeks ago and saved a copy. It is indeed a good reference. I find myself re-reading it, and others, after each practice session to keep me moving forward and hopefully not develop bad habits. Last weekend I hooked up a bottle and switched to the .025" L-56 wire that came with the welder. I should have taken pictures of the nice welds. I think my next purchase will be a larger spool of L-56.

Martin