you want a nice fillet weld with flux core you can almost get it 2 run semlessly after some practice ive actually learned 2 love it compared to mig it dosent shoot bb's everywhere after you get your heat and wire speed tuned in

 

I personally prefer flux core over gas for my type of welding i do ive used gas before i dont have the patients to dial in gas i just turn it to what i set with flux core clean the metal and burn it together plus flux core burns hotter then gas wire

 

nice beads , simplest advice from a trade welder to a beginner . is spot welding . you can get spots in and make it clean dot by dot , and the structural integrity is better due to not overheating one area or putting on access or air bubbles . use a chipping hammer to knock off slag for heavy beads. and once you got a clean bead down its pretty straight forward .
but again as you seen in thread everyone has different techniques

 

good looking weld man. i think for thin stuff flux core is great. i also love running dual shield. at work we used spray arc mig. super hot super fast and super deep pen. but you need to be welding 1/4 inch or thicker or you will just blow thru.

 

What your calling dual sheild you mean flux core with shielding gas? Because that lays beautiful beads we don't ren any mig bet we do alot of 1/2+ welding

 

wouldnt he have to stop between each "dot" and clean the flux off of the last "dot"?

 

i would think you would have alot of incomplete fusion with the spot weld idea also...

 

Uh oh, now you guys are starting to confuse me! spot welding would be good for long continuous welds, right? Not for that 3"stretch I posted??

 

i know this is gonna start an argument but spot welds arent as stong as they dont melt the metal togeather as well, all depends on what your welding, and for a beginer your spot welds are probably going to be stronger than an actual bead,but as you get better you want to concentrate on running full beads with no stops and starts,also thinner metals you can get away with spot welding it

 

also being its a bumper bracket strength could be an issue if your going to use it as a recovery point i would suggest grind about 80 percent you your weld off on the first pass and run a second pass aittle slower over it just 2 help burn every thing togeather this is known as a root and hot pass process

 

i agree, just didnt want to start an argument

what 0999 is talking about is trigger welding you basically just tack your whole weld joint together. i would not recommend welding this way, as outlaw mentioned alot of incomplete fusion and just a bad habbit to get into.

 

I always use gas with solid wire when doing really thin metal flux core burns through easier

 

everyone has valid points , spot is definetly not the best way . but its a good way to learn , if you can naturally lay a good bead than spoting shouldnt be an issue at all and shouldnt be a procedure . its just a learning step until you get a nice steady pool and bead runnning without melting a hole

 

i agree i even use the spot method on exhaust pipe cuz its so easy 2 burn through and dosent need much structural integrity, and you can make it look like tig if ur slick.. ok im getting

 

Fight, fight, a mig welder and a flux! Lol, seriously though, this advice really helps!