All things welding

[AirborneTexasRanger]

YesWelder MiG 205DS (110/220V). I’ve watched multiple videos on the settings and haven’t found out how to adjust the wire speed.

Maybe I just need to practice more at moving faster, but it’s like the wire is coming out way to fast and so it builds up so the surface of the weld is always convex. But I don’t feel like I’m going slow compared to videos I’ve seen of others welding.

Do you have the machine in synergic MIG mode?

 

[AirborneTexasRanger]

Agree. I did that and at our community college, the class was not very well done. They had nice equipment but poor to no instruction. They just turned everyone loose. Not only was it not so helpful, it seemed dangerous. I’ve more on this forum and from @AirborneTexasRanger

Thank you sir for the compliment. I'm glad that I can help.

 

[JMT]

Do you have the machine in synergic MIG mode?

I’m going to call YesWelder on Thursday. I can’t find a switch from synergic to manual. I have the model that is blue and white and I noticed they have a black and red that’s the same model # too, so they may be different. I’ll get back. Thanks.

 

[hosejockey61]

@AirborneTexasRanger
I was out practicing some welds for an upcoming project. This is 3/16". I was practicing speed as well as start and stop on the same welds. The arrows and heat marks show the start/stop. What can one do to make start/stop welds look seamless other than the heat pattern?

Lastly, welding 1/4" to 1/4"on a 90° with <1/16" overlap (no pics). I have practiced and found what works best for me is to turn down the settings some. What's your input on this topic?

 

[AirborneTexasRanger]

@hosejockey61
To get your starts/stops to be seamless it's all about prep. You want the stop to be slightly slopped which sometimes means grinding a little bit off. Ideally, if you know you're going to restart the weld, you would taper off the weld like this

But most times the weld ends like this

No big deal, just take a grinder or burr bit & make you a little slope like this

When you want to restart the weld you would strike the arc a little ahead of the old bead, go back until it ties into the other pattern, then start welding in the other direction. This takes quite a bit of practice. When you do this little back & forth maneuver if you go to slow the weld will pile up, but when you get to the unwelded point in the joint you would resume your normal speed.

Sometimes it comes out great

Sometimes not

Cosmetically it looks better, but it's also stronger. Starts & stops are the weakest part of the weld because the base metal is "cold" so there's less penetration. By striking the arc in the weld path, you put more heat into the weld & you're also welding over the arc strike (another weak spot). This method works for GMAW, GTAW & SMAW.

 

[AirborneTexasRanger]

@hosejockey61
For your second question, are you talking about an outside corner joint?
You could do a couple of things:

• Turn down the settings & weave
• Turn down the settings and make multiple passes
• Increase travel speed
• Put an aluminum backer on the other side of the joint

It all depends on what you're comfortable with & if it works for you. The main thing for this joint is to not melt a big hole but still get good penetration. Again, this takes practice.

 

[hosejockey61]

@hosejockey61
To get your starts/stops to be seamless it's all about prep. You want the stop to be slightly slopped which sometimes means grinding a little bit off. Ideally, if you know you're going to restart the weld, you would taper off the weld like this
View attachment 573997
But most times the weld ends like this View attachment 573995
No big deal, just take a grinder or burr bit & make you a little slope like thisView attachment 573996
When you want to restart the weld you would strike the arc a little ahead of the old bead, go back until it ties into the other pattern, then start welding in the other direction. This takes quite a bit of practice. When you do this little back & forth maneuver if you go to slow the weld will pile up, but when you get to the unwelded point in the joint you would resume your normal speed.
View attachment 573998View attachment 573999
Sometimes it comes out great View attachment 574001
Sometimes not View attachment 574000

Cosmetically it looks better, but it's also stronger. Starts & stops are the weakest part of the weld because the base metal is "cold" so there's less penetration. By striking the arc in the weld path, you put more heat into the weld & you're also welding over the arc strike (another weak spot). This method works for MIG, TIG & Stick.

What you described is exactly what I was doing. More practice for me

 

[hosejockey61]

@hosejockey61
For your second question, are you talking about an outside corner joint?
You could do a couple of things:

• Turn down the settings & weave
• Turn down the settings and make multiple passes
• Increase travel speed
• Put an aluminum backer on the other side of the joint

It all depends on what you're comfortable with & if it works for you. The main thing for this joint is to not melt a big hole but still get good penetration. Again, this takes practice.

Yes, outside joint. Ok that sounds good. I had the settings turned down just a little, but wanted to make sure I would still get a full weld, not a good looking top weld.

 

[hosejockey61]

Thanks for all your guidance in here!

 

[srimes]

 

[Jamesval035]

A few tig passes today in class on 1/4” steel. I don’t think they look too bad. Any advice?

 

[AirborneTexasRanger]

A few tig passes today in class on 1/4” steel. I don’t think they look too bad. Any advice?

View attachment 577632

View attachment 577633

Are you doing a free hand weave or walking the cup?

Other than the few spots of porosity, the welds look good

 

[Jamesval035]

Free hand weave. I see what you’re taking about. Got a little shaky

 

[lBasket]

I was butt-welding two exhaust tubes the other day using stitch welds and was having a problem I couldn't figure out. Maybe it is a common issue?

I'm using a MIG welder with flux core wire. I was welding a new SS 8" flex pipe onto a used mild steel pipe. I was grounded on the flex pipe, not the old dirty pipe.

Basically, whether or not it would actually "arc" was super inconsistent. Sometimes, I'd get a good arc 10x in a row. Sometimes, it wouldn't arc at all so I'd have to cut the wire back down to the right length and then maybe it will work, maybe it won't. And most annoyingly, sometimes it won't arc, the wire will push into my piece I'm welding and my hand will move a little bit THEN it will arc, in the wrong spot.

I don't know if this is operator error, maybe my harbor freight machine just doesn't work well, or maybe something else entirely

 

[sab]

Mild steel exhaust components are often aluminized, and that makes welding difficult. Even grinding it off doesn’t always work. Is it aluminized?

 

[lBasket]

Mild steel exhaust components are often aluminized, and that makes welding difficult. Even grinding it off doesn’t always work. Is it aluminized?

I honestly do not know. It is OEM Toyota tube, I think that's a thing OEMs do?

I did not realize that could be it. I suppose my research was more about IF you can weld dissimilar metals, not whether or not it was more difficult.

 

[AirborneTexasRanger]

I was butt-welding two exhaust tubes the other day using stitch welds and was having a problem I couldn't figure out. Maybe it is a common issue?

I'm using a MIG welder with flux core wire. I was welding a new SS 8" flex pipe onto a used mild steel pipe. I was grounded on the flex pipe, not the old dirty pipe.

Basically, whether or not it would actually "arc" was super inconsistent. Sometimes, I'd get a good arc 10x in a row. Sometimes, it wouldn't arc at all so I'd have to cut the wire back down to the right length and then maybe it will work, maybe it won't. And most annoyingly, sometimes it won't arc, the wire will push into my piece I'm welding and my hand will move a little bit THEN it will arc, in the wrong spot.

I don't know if this is operator error, maybe my harbor freight machine just doesn't work well, or maybe something else entirely

Most likely a bad ground connection

 

[AirborneTexasRanger]

Welding dissimilar metals shouldn't affect the arc so there's either a non conductive coating or there's damage to your ground clamp. Sometimes the cable gets a carbon buildup which can prevent an electrical connection. You can usually cut a few inches off the end of the cable & reattach the ground clamp.

 

[lBasket]

Welding dissimilar metals shouldn't affect the arc so there's either a non conductive coating or there's damage to your ground clamp. Sometimes the cable gets a carbon buildup which can prevent an electrical connection. You can usually cut a few inches off the end of the cable & reattach the ground clamp.

Maybe that is it, it is starting to look pretty crusty at the end. I'll have to try that next time I pull it out. And maybe the new flex pipe had a coating making things even worse, I didn't think to grind it because I figured it was clean metal.

 

[hosejockey61]

@AirborneTexasRanger I see that they make a large commercial application for a pipe roller for welding, but do you know of any for small work? I'm going to be welding bungs into new control arms and thought it would be nice to have the DOM on rollers with a small motor turning the rollers effectively rotating the pipe while I weld. A small controller could adjust the speed until it is dialed in perfectly.

I think my only concern would be trying to weld it all in one go. I've read plenty of stories where people didn't have issues but more where they have. @mrblaine has stated on other threads that you WILL have to clean the threads regardless. I have taps to chase the threads after, but are there any other concerns with the idea?