beginner welder

MarsFab said:
and you will learn great patience :)

My dad had me do a little welding test one time that I think is pretty cool. Lay piece of paper on a table in front of you. Then put a sharp #2 pencil in each hand, holding them about midway up. If you're right handed use the pencil in your right hand to draw small overlapping circles traveling to your left like lowercase cursive "e's". With your left hand do a zig zag line on top of each circle as you draw it. Dont let your hands or elbows touch the table. do it for 4-6 inches. When you can do that and end up with all equal sized circles in a straight line and a zig zag line on top of them you will be able to make a pretty tig weld.

I'd like to see some of you guys try this out and see how well you can do it. It's much harder than it sounds. I've sat for hours practicing and it's still hard as hell.

This exercise is meant for TIG welding but it will teach you excellent hand and arm control which is a solid base for any process. I think of laying a bead just like a golf swing. In order for it to be pretty/work you have a hundred things to go over in your head before you even start the bead. The more you do it the easier it will come. It's all about muscle memory.......... to make it pretty. Making it strong is another story.
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Now I know what I can do in my spare time, thanks Chris!
 
MarsFab said:
and you will learn great patience :)

My dad had me do a little welding test one time that I think is pretty cool. Lay piece of paper on a table in front of you. Then put a sharp #2 pencil in each hand, holding them about midway up. If you're right handed use the pencil in your right hand to draw small overlapping circles traveling to your left like lowercase cursive "e's". With your left hand do a zig zag line on top of each circle as you draw it. Dont let your hands or elbows touch the table. do it for 4-6 inches. When you can do that and end up with all equal sized circles in a straight line and a zig zag line on top of them you will be able to make a pretty tig weld.

I'd like to see some of you guys try this out and see how well you can do it. It's much harder than it sounds. I've sat for hours practicing and it's still hard as hell.

pretty cool, it is fairly hard to get right.

This exercise is meant for TIG welding but it will teach you excellent hand and arm control which is a solid base for any process. I think of laying a bead just like a golf swing. In order for it to be pretty/work you have a hundred things to go over in your head before you even start the bead. The more you do it the easier it will come. It's all about muscle memory.......... to make it pretty. Making it strong is another story.
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sound like a pretty good exercise! Another good Tig activity is take a piece of filler with you to the couch ar a section of coat hanger. Hold between the thumb and forefinger balancing alittle weight on the third finger of your hand. Now "feed' the rod using thumb and forefinger using the third finger as its resting point. Start at one end feed to end flip using fingers of same hand repeat. Do it enough and it will become subcontious and second nature. Do it enough and you'll never have to stop to grab that next handfull of filler during mid weld. Smooth and consistent like a singer sewing machine! Here's another tip, trim the stamped end off the filler if very very consistent fill is needed and cut the rods down by half if your working with flimsy or even heavier fillers. Your fingers will get less fatigued and the buisness end want be dancing around from trying to balance the longer pieces.
 
Another tip I learned was that if you grew up with Saf-T-Pops for a good reason, and have a bad habit of letting things in your had find their way into your eyes, not only should you cut the stick in half, but also roll a loop on the stamped end, then feed the other. This way you're less likely to put an eye out. I did this for about a week before realizing it wasn't necessary, I'm not that accident-prone. However, if you recognize the potential in yourself to stick sharp things in your eyes, you might want to consider it.
 
This is one of the better threads for the beginner welder question. If the bad advice & name calling was edited out, this would make a good sticky. :)
 
PAT Ventures said:
This is one of the better threads for the beginner welder question. If the bad advice & name calling was edited out, this would make a good sticky. :)
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Ill second that, would be a very nice sticky to have.


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I aggree, I don't ever get tired about debating or answering questions on welding technique or knowledge. Their have been several such discussions on the board that I recall. I would love to see the board expand and offer TRUE tech section on welding, fab (tube, sheet, plate ect.),how toos, tips, don'ts, tool discussion and uses specific to the shop. I realize we have some sub sections but I also believe this is a core topic in our hobby.
 
Yea a fab section would be nice. Almost all the board members I know at least do some of their own fabwork.
 
Black Bear said:
Any tips/tricks for welding (MIG) vertical up and overhead? I have made my share of metal-cicles.
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Difficult to explain. If you find yourself coming to out to Lincolnton I can show you. I used to teach these techniques to our new hires at work when I was in production.


For the vertical up, you will zig zag back & forth climbing about 1/16" at a time. Pausing each side to allow the puddle to catch up.

Overhead, whipping method works best for me. Especially with the larger beads of 1/4"& up. Whipping about 1/4 back & forth. Moving to the bottom as you go forward & to the top as you go back. so the weld pool has a place to sit as it freezes. Just don't let the puddle get to big in one spot at a time.

Gotta stay in but just out of the puddle, heat setting need to be right, especially with hard wire. If your using C02 shielded flux core it's much more forgiving. However undercut can be an issue..
 
I do run verticle mig slightly cooler on thinner material and hotter on the thick stuff and change the speed to suit. Thin= cooler, slower precise movements, thicker=hotter, faster precice movements. U, Z, or verticle movement pending on joint configuration and desired fill. You just got to learn to move on and not stay put. Burn it in and get with it. Even when manually pulsing you have to keep it hot and a bit fluid or each stitch is surounded by a degree of cold lap. Over head is 90% travel speed, I weld over head at exactly the same settings as flat in ANY process. The only thing I alter is travel speed, this inturn alters weld size or deposited metal. So using the stringer bead mentality if the joint requires a degree of reinforcement or weld size I just run more of them. They don't have to be a certain size just a certain quality! (if you get my meaning). Gravity only effects what it can pull on, which is the molten pool. So keep it smaller and more concentrated. Same applies for verticle. I once watched a guy run all of his 1 inch test plates in half the time as other students running twice as large passes. His where controlled and uniform= easier to weld, easier to cap pass, took less time to input, all where consistently burned in with no overlap(cold fusion) or under cut. Larger passes create high build, stress risers, under cut at the edges and most of all HEAT. The longer you expose apart to a weld even at lower settings the more time a part soaks it in and retains the input. Higher settings along with higher travel speeds actually leave the part cooler allowing greater puddle control and less deformation of base metals. Most run into trouble piling on more filler than needed so before long it either drops out, droops, or flows past the arc causing shallow to no penetration. Remember you got to melt the base metal not just smear a pretty pool of melted filler over a part. MY FAVORITE SAYING IN CLASS: Flat is just like overhead just upside down. Once you believe this you'll see how how travel speed is the only difference. The joint is the same. Just stand on your head you can't tell a difference.
 
You guys weld overhead and uphill?!?!?! I just built a big rotisserie that I can roll the vehicle around on to weld it up. :flipoff2:
 
MarsFab said:
You guys weld overhead and uphill?!?!?! I just built a big rotisserie that I can roll the vehicle around on to weld it up. :flipoff2:
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Meh, we have them but they take up to much production time so we only let the rookies use them..;)
 
I've always done a vertical down. 7018 back & forth weave with a stick. More of a zig zag with a mig spray arc. I run pretty hot & fast either way. Try to avoid overhead. Usually catch myself on fire. Don't claim to be a welder, but it has been forced on me several times.
 
Remember gravity only effects the molten part of the weld. Practice the small circles but step forward slightly further and then back a little more than normal to make more of an oval shape. This will keep the puddle molten but not as long and as large of an area to be effected by gravity. Also a little less heat and I prefer even less wire speed than in the flat position.


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sgtbriangreen said:
Every time I weld overhead, I get red hot blobs that fall in my belly button or burn the earwax in my ears. Still confuses me how that crap gets in my ears past my shield.

Belly button lint fires are no joke.
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neither are burned out ear drums, friend of mine's dad has no ear drum from a accident. I have finally broke down and got myself a welders cap. you can turn the short bill over your ear. Next to ear plugs this is the best advice. I've burned holes in mine that healed, but today I had major rconstructive surgery on my left ear for a tissue growth inside my ear. Doc says scar tissues or a variety of issues could have caused it, but who knows. I've learned they are like your eyes you got only two. And I'm not going to say how many times I've got my eyes drilled, the number in each is almost embarrassing.
 
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