First time welding

J

jeff88

New member
I'm planning to build some drawers in the back and decided to try out welding since it's a relatively inconsequential project and it gives me a little more drawer space than thicker wood.

A mechanic friend of mine gave me a quick 5 minute how-to the other day.

The weld in the red circle was an actual weld. The other stuff was just him showing me what dirty metal does and what the different settings do.
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He also had me fix a bad weld. He purposefully made a hole in the seam and then had me cover it up.
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I know they aren't perfect welds, but for a first time-five minute lesson I think they're pretty good. What do you guys think?
 
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Not bad.. most welds don't look pretty. The objective is to melt the metal together..:)


When i weld, I like to see the weld areas glowing.. Seeing the metal glowing slightly, is a very good thing. As the weld needs to penetrate both pieces of metal to really bond..:)

Rusty metal is alot harder to weld. The more you do it the better you get. :D

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The more you do the easier it gets. Spending the time to clean the metal well is worth the time it takes to make things go easier. Getting started make sure to pay attention to your body position and the angle you’re holding the gun at. Being in a comfortable position where you can see and move is important. Play around with the settings and see what works and doesn’t. Once you’ve done it enough you’ll figure out what wire feed speeds and voltages match up good.
 
Nice welds - as others say go for strong first and pretty later. However over time I am sure they are both.

I've been hobby welding for several years. I can't say I'm at "pretty" yet but sometimes it does all come together.

Body position is key, and make sure it's at a height you can work with if at all possible.

80 grit flap wheels are your best friend too.

Jason
 
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The heat setting was too low on your pass circled in red. Slow down and more heat. Should sound like a sizzle.

The good wire feeder setups are just about point and shoot if your material thickness and heat are correct. Width just depends on what your butting up. If extra width is needed make a swirl pattern or a U pattern on a wire feed. Envision a slinky going back and forth or just use circles that never we end making it look like dimes are kinda laying on each other to form a bead. It’s difficult to explain, but very easy to see in person.

Also your mig gun needed to be more perpendicular to the work on that pass. Try not to “drag the tip”. It focuses the heat in the wrong direction. Perpendicular or up to about 45deg forward to assist in pre heating the up coming work.

The one where you fixed the bad weld, your be needed to be about two to three times the width it was.

The only way to get better is with practice. Clean prepared metal, good ground, good gas pressure, and clean consumables (tip, cup, and anti slag grease) are the keys for success on a wire feed.
 
It’s all about practice and getting to know how your machine works , just keep practicing and your welds will only get better.
 
You started that a good thing, check out campus bookstores that cater to skilled trades.
The textbooks are good for filling in knowledge gaps that vids and DIY miss.
Welding vertically upside down blind sometimes with a mirror are handy skills.
Robotic Laser Welders are bad ass.

Things like pushing pulling uphill downhill
 
Another thing I learned welding frames on vehicles. You have be able to weld in every odd position you can think of. Really teaches us how to weld. As it's easier to weld on a bench. Agree that the more you weld. The easier and better you get at it. :)

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brillo_76 said:
Another thing I learned welding frames on vehicles. You have be able to weld in every odd position you can think of. Really teaches us how to weld. As it's easier to weld on a bench. Agree that the more you weld. The easier and better you get at it. :)

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Ive been thinking about this a lot and I am not looking forward to welding in awkward positions, LOL.
 
Soon you be able to weld like this. This is my license plate bolts that snapped. One was long enough to screw on a nut. The other a built up enough to use vice grips to remove
5e4f644f12e530c78ff8cc834c65517b.jpg


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brillo_76 said:
Make sure you get good leather too. Weld burns hurt. You sometimes have to weld upside down....:)

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Upside down!! I'm getting vertigo just thinking about it. Thanks for reminding, I need to go pick up a new jacket and better gloves.
 
Been welding for work and fun for almost 20 years. Practice, practice, practice.

Trust the settings on the inside of the door, once you can do great with those, then try your own.

A good welder can do good work with cheap equipment. It's a hell of a lot easier with good equipment though.

Your local community college probably has night welding classes. Those could be valuable just in money spent on consumables.

90% of new welders problems come from them moving too fast.

Good luck, anyone can learn, it's all just seat time.
 
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