Are these welds OK?

[flowerman]

Hi

I have just started to learn to weld. I use a MIG Clarke 100e welder with 0.6mm wire and argon/co2 mix. I have not been welding long as these welds were done with my second disposable gas canister (won't be buying anymore of them). Being self taught I was unsure whether these welds would be ok to start building my first project.

 

[r_chez_08]

Yeah they look good, most of mine arent that good and I have been welding for 2 years (with stick)

 

[jman231994]

That's pretty good. I agree with r_chez, arc welding is a cow lol.

Have you had any welding experience before? When all of my friends started on a mig their welds looked much worse than yours. I find MIG quite easily personally, but I have been arc welding for a year and a half or so.

Good Luck

 

[Pedro]

Nice, the only advise that I can give is to control the speed, is clear that some times you go fast and some times to slow on the same weld.
Use a plate with 5 or more mm, and fill with weld all along of the plate, and you will see that you should start to control speed.

 

[pat.m23]

welds look goood for a first time welder. if it was me i might run a little more volts to flaten out the beed a little and mayb wash out your weld pool by doing a slight w when welding. and when your welding keep your wire on the front 1/3 of the weld pool. if you dont you run into penetration problems with MIG and what percent gas r u running by the looks it must be 75% argon anf 25% CO2

 

[redsox985]

Is that 2nd weld on a piece of scrap? If so, cut it in half and check for proper penetration. It appears to be slightly on top of the metal. Which means more power or less wire (and slower).

 

[flowerman]

cheers guys for the replies... I will be going to get a big bottle regulator and a 3.15KG bottle of co2, to then start a project. But for now a little more practice.

 

[B-Well]

what i tell everyone that starts welding is to get it as hot as possible before the metal burns away then adjust wire speed so there is a little weld pool build up between 1/16" and 1/8" in height off of the surface.

 

[redsox985]

I'm going to agree with B above me here. IMO, it's better to make a tiny burn through, turn it down, patch it, then continue to weld with ample penetration instead of worry about burn through and just setting the bead on top.

 

[rkcarguy]

Welding is a bit of an art. Everything is changing as you start welding. The part gets hotter as you weld so when you start out you may go slow and side to side to get some wet out, then go faster and less side to side as the piece builds more heat.
If you get the setting just right, you'll get sort of a hissing noise, minimal spatter, and a nice smooth weld.
When welding a couple pieces into a "T" shape, I like to knock the corner off the end of the one tube and start the weld there. It gives you a place to fill and build some heat without making a big tall booger at the start point. On smaller parts like 1" sq tube, I run very hot and stitch weld, so you get good penetration without burn thru.
Most of the problem people run into is not having enough power to lay down a nice weld with the little 110V machines.
For most items over 1/8" thick it's really nice to have at least a Millermatic 250 or something so you can get a nice start.
I got lucky and got a full setup from a business closing for $700.

 

[TorqueRanger]

The best way I learned is to make little loops and watch your puddle and see the dime take shape because it should look like a stack of dime .. We should all post up our pics of the weld we can make ,what do you guys think ???

 

[fowler]

there is a best welds thread already

 

[ghostdog]

Just try whacking it with a hammer a few times. If it stays together then you are doing something right.

It seems like your steel is showing oxidation. I would definitely hit the area I was welding with a good wire brush wheel. It really goes a long way to getting a cooperating weld.