Welding 101 : post your questions here and we can discuss

tater_thrower76

tater_thrower76

New member
i've had a couple question on welding simple little things... i'm only 22 1/2 but i've een welding since the age of 12 and went to two schools for it and do it everyday....maybe i/ and compD can help some of you homers learn alil and do a lil better job on some projects. anyhting from wire to what gas and tungsten... POST YOUR questions and comments here please and thanks
 
I'm wondering if I made a mistake by buying a big bottle of 70/30 gas for my MIG when maybe tri-mix might have been a better choice. Are there applications where tri-mix would be a bad choice?
 
70 argon 30 co2? is so it's a pretty versitile gas... good arc control w/ lil to no spatter, great penetration... w/ tri mix my experience is not worth the money... but when welding s.s w. mig a stain mix is needed.... for odds and ends you have "the perfect gas"
 
Burner said:
Cold or hot, what's the better weld?
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depends on what your welding... preheat is key to a strong weld so the metal grains don't crystalize making the metal weak a weld should never break it should be the metal in the heat effected zone... does that help?
 
Burner said:
Is a tig really stronger than a mig weld?
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no... tensile strength comes from filler metal so if your using a er80s-2 tig filler verses a er70 s-6 wire in a gmaw application yes... but if your mig welding something for strength make sure you travel up hill w/ the weld pool and not down, for penetration purposes... gtaw is an art more than welding... you have total control of weld pool, how much "heat and where it goes, and how much filler is added where wire welding is more set the machine @ volts and wire feed and run it... does that anwser your ? filler metal determines strength in"as welded apps... not the proess being used
 
tater_thrower76 said:
i've had a couple question on welding simple little things... i'm only 22 1/2 but i've een welding since the age of 12 and went to two schools for it and do it everyday....maybe i/ and compD can help some of you homers learn alil and do a lil better job on some projects. anyhting from wire to what gas and tungsten... POST YOUR questions and comments here please and thanks
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i forgot i also won SkillsUSA national welding contest @ kanas city in '05 got some nice machines out of it, but like an idiot turned down the chance to go to the world comp... and anybody feel free to correct me if i'm wrong or disagree w/ waht i say, i'm no metalurgist j/ a pretty good weldor ... i'm j/ trying to help some people make some better descions be4 messing up a nice piece of work...
 
a common misconsuption is i'll turn it up and burn it in... this doesn't work... it might for some but the amount of material being deposited has to penetrate the metal... by "turning it up" on mig the weld tends to not penetrate towdard the edges of the weld....your better off running a multi-pass weld on something than doing that and you'll have better control of the weld puddle and that means a better looking weld too. usually if it looks good- it is good... but you have to know what a good looking weld is too...lol
 
Man, I have seen a few 'pretty' welds that just don't hold. LOL they will break off like two different parts that were glued together. ....rust, I welding rust. LOL
 
Burner said:
Man, I have seen a few 'pretty' welds that just don't hold. LOL they will break off like two different parts that were glued together. ....rust, I welding rust. LOL
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yeah that is a big part of the problem people in general don't know what clean metal is.... mill scale causes a lot of porosity (donno how to spell today) but i've never seen a good weld on rust until the rust has been removed be4 hand lol
 
Try welding upside down with your non dominant hand holding the mig gun what the other hand works the trigger on paint and seam sealer covered galvanied metal.

With a mirror.

My job is fun.:hehe:
 
roachie said:
Try welding upside down with your non dominant hand holding the mig gun what the other hand works the trigger on paint and seam sealer covered galvanied metal.

With a mirror.

My job is fun.:hehe:
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I wish I could do that....but I'm glad I don't.
 
im 21 and i only been welding for a couple of years and i have never touched aluminum but my dad for work just bought a mig welder that says it can weld aluminum i wana make some stuff but what wire do i need and gas?
 
srt cummins said:
im 21 and i only been welding for a couple of years and i have never touched aluminum but my dad for work just bought a mig welder that says it can weld aluminum i wana make some stuff but what wire do i need and gas?
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does the welder have spool gun and what thickness are you plan on welding? er5356 for or 5000 series alum. works well need 100% argon... i myself would j/ tig weld it... much better weld do have the model of the welder
 
if you do decide to use the spool gun... i'd preheat the weldment to at least 400 degrees to insure better start and stops.... (a temp stick works well) to soften the aluminum use a acetylene flame and cover the metal w/ the soot flame... and heat to about 300 and let cool slowly, this changes molecular structure and makes it easy to manipulate/ bend the metal w/out stress cracks.... this works well on 3/ 16 and thicker while bending tight radius angles especially on 5 and 6000 series alloys
 
i can use the tig my dad has but he wont sit down and show me how to use it. i dont wana break it then have to spend money and try and fix it. i will get the model number on monday when i go to work.
 
You're not worried about the soot in the weld or making a 'dirty' aluminum weld? I thought the 100% argon was there for a reason?
 
Burner said:
You're not worried about the soot in the weld or making a 'dirty' aluminum weld? I thought the 100% argon was there for a reason?
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Any aluminum you plan to weld is brushed or cleaned just prior to welding, the soot is cleaned off.
 
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