Decided it was time to learn to weld. Bought a cheap 90 amp flux wire welder this afternoon and picked up a few pieces of 3/16 steel. I'm leading myself to the slaughter here, but I have no shame. This was the first time I've ever touched a welder and want to learn.
So those of you with experience, what do I need to improve, do differently, etc? This is .030 wire, max power, and an 8/10 wire speed. Not sure what imp that translates to.
The spatter - it's heavy, I know. I think this is mostly due to a cheap welder, cheap wire, and the fact that as a beginner, I tend to have at least 1/2" of wire out while welding. Still learning how to watch the puddle with less wire out during the weld.
edit: these welds were left to right, dragging the tip at about a 45 degree angle. I can't figure out why the ends of my welds are so large. I think I might be looking for the end of the metal, thus slowing down and creating a bigger puddle?
and after knocking off the slag:
So those of you with experience, what do I need to improve, do differently, etc? This is .030 wire, max power, and an 8/10 wire speed. Not sure what imp that translates to.
The spatter - it's heavy, I know. I think this is mostly due to a cheap welder, cheap wire, and the fact that as a beginner, I tend to have at least 1/2" of wire out while welding. Still learning how to watch the puddle with less wire out during the weld.
edit: these welds were left to right, dragging the tip at about a 45 degree angle. I can't figure out why the ends of my welds are so large. I think I might be looking for the end of the metal, thus slowing down and creating a bigger puddle?
and after knocking off the slag:
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