Just because the steel stuck together doesn't mean there is proper fusing of the two pieces and the wire

 

Yeah those welds will not hold .

Side note I got the sliders ready for pick up.

 

Looks good!

 

Today, I did the welding on the engine supports for a customer.

First pass, used TIG @ 200 amps
Second pass, used MIG @ roughly 150 amps

 

So clean I could eat off it 8)

 

[QUOTE=XJwonders;3066346]Today, I did the welding on the engine supports for a customer.

First pass, used TIG @ 200 amps
Second pass, used MIG @ roughly 150 amps

Very nice work!

Curious why you choose mig for the second pass and not a weave with the tig since you already had the machine set up?

 

[QUOTE=bentandtwisted;3067068]I think it was probably for comparison's sake. BEAUTIFUL looking welds though.

 

because the customer spec'ed it.

If I did a wide weave on second pass, it ll put a really lot of heat and I run the risk of warping it. Running it with mig at lower amps with higher feed, I can achieve the same results with lower risk of warping.

 

Alright finally got my Hobart 190 set up and found the time so the welding commenced. As per Hobart recommendations, machine set to 6 power and wfs 40, maybe a hair less at times with .030 Hobart flux core on 1/4".





All just practice and i know i have a lot to learn but what are the thoughts for the first time ever even touching a welder? Advice and comments greatly welcomed.

 

Clean the steel up. You're getting a boat load of porosity. Other than that, not too bad for your first time. I have a 190 and it's my go to welder for most projects. It's a really good welder and a hell of a work horse for the price.

 

x2

At the very least clean your welding surfaces and where you're going to put your ground. Wire brush typically makes best work of mill scale and surface rust.

Also like BNJeepsta stated you're getting a lot of porosity, which is all with all the holes. You basically have no tensile strength on those welds.

 

Listen to these guys, on the money...clean steel is happy steel

 

Thanks guys. I was doing my best to get it as clean as possible, but time was a factor as well just for trying it out. I did get one side of all the metal as clean as possible but it was just scrap that has been rusted and pitted pretty well. The side with the most welds had a grinding disk taken to them until shiny. I have a pretty crude set up at the moment, my welding table is an old piece of 3/8 with surface rust on two sawhorses haha. But when I get more time I'll clean that up and work on upgrading. Just figured I'd try it out just to get a feel and see how bad i was, and to throw some pics up for initial feedback. Thanks for the help so far, it is greatly appreciated

 

My ex-girlfriend's parents own a duct work shop that I used to work at and I got a to weld the last few months I was there. Did a lot of down-beads with black iron and galvanized steel. Got to play with 1/4" a good amount too. I think I was doing pretty well before I had to quit. This is already wire wheeled.

 

Hey, cool I was right! Still learning myself as well, but when I saw them I was thinking porous and the cause being rusted steel. Makes me feel a little better about what I'm learning. VERY glad I joined up on this thread.

Get a 4.5" angle grinder with a flap disc... makes getting the rust off very easy and quick. Switch to grinder disc to grind down welds.