Killer Weldz Thread

The picture I previously posted is from a reputable desert fab shop that builds well "respected" race trucks. These types of welds and the ones on the new Campbell buggy make me sick. @MarsFab you hit the nail on the head. The guys that can lay down quality welds have trouble getting paid what these hack jobs are making, even on parts that personal safety depends on them not failing.

:rantoff:/


Some of my stainless practice from this week. Trying to work on the thinner stuff that I have always had trouble with.

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M
 

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@WARRIORWELDING here is a video I got last night of a former student that stopped in. This is walking the cup vertically on some 3/8 carbon. Machine set on 175 amps or so.

In the second half of the video when I get the camera close up, watch as the puddle solidifies on the opposite side of the weld than which the tungsten is on. Make sure you give the weld enough heat So as you sweep to the opposite side the puddle follows you across, but little enough heat that it solidifies on the opposite side. Then the technique is just to pivot the cup left to right by flipping your wrist like turning a motorcycle throttle and then rolling the cup by twisting your wrist and forearm.

Flip to right, roll cup, flip to left roll cup and so on.

Cup size plays a big part in the width of the bead and width of the steps as well as the tungsten stick out and angle. Cup size also matters greatly when "wiggling" the cup in a joint, bouncing off each toe.

It's easier to start with no filler and get the motion right, then add wire by laying It in The center and walking over it or tapping each side as you walk. Typically step up a size in wire that you would typically use for that weld.



Edit: I need to edit the video and play with different shade lenses to get the video image the same as what your eyes would seek the weld as.
 
Scoot. How are you laying a bead that wide and getting such a small HAZ. If I were to lay that same weld the entire piece of plate would be blue! And in the single pass weld I would have the same problem unless I pulsed it.
I pulled out a bunch of mild steel scrap the other day and tried to lay a few beads with the tIG. It wasn't pretty. I guess I'm just waayyy out of practice cause I've been MIG'n everything lately. I flat out could not get the puddle shaped round. No matter what I did. I would feed along and the arc would wander around pushing the puddle in different directions. I sharpened the tungsten about 10 different ways to try and fix it and nothing worked.
 
@MarsFab. The wide bead was done around 65 amps iirc. I keep my tungsten very sharp with the point approaching 2x diameter in length.

The single pass stuff some is foot pulsed and some is machine pulse with no filler back over a foot pulsed root pass with 1/16 filler.

Yep I think it's "cheating" on machine pulsed but I was reverse engineering some welds I have seen on Instagram and came to conclusion even though they look single pass some are two and three passes. Not practical in the real world but it makes for good pictures!!!

There are some people advertising some torch parts that give that effect but the pics they use to advertise are all multiple passes made to look like one spectacular pass.

Foot pulse the first pass with just a small bit of 1/16 wire or no wire just I get the pieces fused together.

Then let part cool and turn pulse on 175 amps , peak time 38%, back ground 15% and 1.5-1.8 pulse per second and quickly run back over first pass with enough pedal to make puddle reach both toes when it pulses on the peak. Move quickly and get the overlaps correct.

I honestly want to make a video calling some of the BS out, but I like staying positive, and most of the sponsored people that are recommending some products have real talent but are using it to push products not techniques.
 
Mac5005 said:
@MarsFab.
I honestly want to make a video calling some of the BS out, but I like staying positive, and most of the sponsored people that are recommending some products have real talent but are using it to push products not techniques.
Click to expand...

If you do this...do it "undercover" it will be mo better.
Or get the welding GF to do to for maximum slap factor
 
I don't think Mike Robinson ever claims to only make single pass welds but his HAZ is so small around his welds. I can get the look of his welds by doing a root w/filler then a heavy fill pass and then a pulsed cap pass with no filler but by the time I'm done the whole piece I'm welding looks like a rainbow colored Dorito! I need too much heat to flow the material and get nice round dimes.
Here's an example of his work but I'm sure most of you have seen it before.
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ok I'm the idiot! who's this dude^?
And thanks for the link.
Me thinks I've been using to small of a tungsten on my Stainless work. Going to get back in my welders bible and study on some set ups.
 
Actually. That's a good thought. I use 1/8" for everything. Mostly because these days the only time I drag the tig out is for aluminum.
I bet part of my problem on steel is just that. Guess I'll have to make some practice time at the shop tomorrow smh.

Mike Robinson is just a dude that post a bunch of his work on Instagram. (You guys who don't have it should really really get it). He's pretty damn good. I've learned more and gained a much bigger appreciation for fab work in a year on Instagram than in all of my 15 years of welding in my own little world. There's some pretty amazing stuff on there to say the least.
 
Really, Instagram? Maybe that's why my wife is always critical of my work. She spends a ton of time on Instagram, and spends a ton of time telling me what I'm doing wrong. I guess it's time to cancel her data plan...:popcorn:
 
Everybody who's anybody in the fab world uses Instagram. If you do quality work and don't mind taking a few pictures while you work you can really make a name for yourself outside of your normal realm of viewers.
 
You can search for specific usernames. Good ones to start with are weldporn, mikerobfab, ztfab, cdaven271 or even just search the word weld in the username search box. Once you go to their page you click follow at the top. Then anytime they post something it'll show up on your news feed.
The other way is to search hashtags. #weldporn will get you thousands of pictures. Pic pictures you like and go follow the user that posted it to see more pics of theirs.

I no longer use google images when I'm looking for build ideas. I just go to Instagram and search there. I find more useful images and can narrow down my search easier without getting all the bs.
 
Food for thought, Chris - Even though the heat and the torch itself, needs to be set up "good".... Don't put too much emphasis on it. If you want single pass welds to look like that, the gold lies in the other hand.
 
This may not be the place to ask for advice, but then again it just may be the best place to ask. I am wanting to get a small 110 volt wire welder, and the hobart 125's seem like the best mix of price and features. It would be used for general around the house/farm/shop repairs, for tacking some things together on a current project until I can get it to a friends shop for him to finish welding, and maybe some sheetmetal repair on said project. My skill level isnt that high, but I can get two pieces to stick together and sometimes look ok in the process. I would be confident in building a small utility trailer for myself, but not in welding a cage or suspension components together. My main area of concern is the smaller amp rating. The welder says it will weld up to 1/8 with gas or 3/16 with flux-core (if i remember correctly). I know a larger welder will have better controls allowing the heat and speed to be dialed in with more precision, and will have a better duty cycle; but if most of what we do here is made out of .120 wall tubing (with an occasional piece of .188 or .250), do I really need 180-210 amps output? Also, I have a large hobart stick welder, but do not have a place to run it nor the skills to make decent welds with it.
 
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The best input I can give you:

On regular occasion we weld 3/8 thick carbon steel in 3 passes with anywhere from 105-135 amps. The proper technique means more to the soundness of a weld than the output current of the machine. The biggest difference between welding 3/16-1/4 plate on a small 110v machine and a larger 220v machine is the duty cycle and the wire spool size capacity. With the right technique you can competently weld what you desire with a 120 amp machine, just plan on only welding 2 minutes out of every 10. A larger machine in that amperage range will most likely have a duty cycle of 60-80%. A larger machine will also allow you to run a 40 pound spool of wire instead of the 10 pound size or smaller.

Just my .02. I typically tack a lot of items to be welded with a 110v Lincoln machine, for the portability and size of the smaller gun. I feel comfortable welding everything up to 5/16 with it, but typically finish weld everything with my larger miller, that I can weld for hours an not hit the duty cycle.

With mig, technique is everything. Keep the arc on the front edge of the puddle and do not let the puddle insulate the arc from penetrating the base metal, that would be similar to using metal caulk in the joint.
 
Anyone in this thread looking for some work? I need a welder to give me a hand. Preferably someone that can come to me.. but if it's close enough I'll make the trip. If you are looking for work, or know someone that is.. send me a PM.

Thanks!
 
progress pics from class!
 

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