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Thread: Arc Welding

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    Default Arc Welding



    So today I got off school early and decided it was a perfect day to teach myself how to arc weld. So I cleared the welding bench of crap and started with some 1x1 tube scrap and tried to make some beads. Some of em were alright, I still need to practice sparking the arc though.

    Here's just some shots of what I got accomplished, yes they are mostly awful.





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    Default Re: Arc Welding



    Also, now I realize why you NEED a chipping hammer

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    Default Re: Arc Welding



    Hey...looking pretty damn good Matt! Turn up the juice a little and slow things down a wee bit. Can't be in any kind of hurry welding. It is a slow process! If you turn the juice up and go a little slower the welds will be less 'on top' and more into the metal. Watch the heat bluing on the sides of the weld for an indicator, too. If you get a bluing on both sides of the weld, you are getting good penetration.

    Like I said, these look pretty damn good.

    If you want steel to practice on, go to Altitude Steel and rummage through their throwaway scrap bin. This stuff is free. Tell doug what you are doing, you are from FR and know me. He is cool...

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    Default Re: Arc Welding



    Yeah I've talked to Doug before, he's pretty reasonable about things. I did notice it was much better when I was welding on the "High" setting than the "Low". I'm not 100% sure on what thickness I was welding on since it was just scrap I nabbed so I could practice some beads. I gotta say that there is a pretty large learning curve from MIG -> ARC. I can lay muchhhhh better beads with our MIG.
    I do like the Arc welder for it's simplicity though, just plug into the wall, throw a electrode in the gun, ground it, and you're good to go. No need to bust out the gas cylinders or anything.

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    Default Re: Arc Welding



    That's actually pretty good for a first try. I'm glad you didn't let it eat your lunch for you. LMAO

    I'm also glad you started a seperate thread. You will gain a lot of versatility once you get the hang of this.
    ___________
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  6. #6

    Default Re: Arc Welding



    i do know that a really clean surface helps out tremendously. so grind that b!tch till it shines then try!

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    Default Re: Arc Welding



    Also if you have a grinder, throwing a wire wheel on it. It really helps clean out all that slag, and makes for much better tie in's, Also what winky said is dead on, clean surfaces help A LOT. Looks Pretty Good Though.

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    Default Re: Arc Welding



    Yeah I didn't really wanna bust out any tools on this, just kinda screwing around. If it was for an actual purpose other than that, I probably would have gotten the grinder and cleaned it up a bit.

    P.S. If you've never used one, the auto-darkening hoods are fantastic. We have a Jackson one and it's pretty much the most handy thing in the world when you're welding.

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    Default Re: Arc Welding



    Them auto darkening hoods are pretty sweet! I might get one, but till then i am sticking with my #12 Gold Lens. Is one shade? or does it have adjustable darkness?

  10. #10

    Default Re: Arc Welding



    looks pretty good for a first try its been a long time since ive done any stick but that looks pretty good.
    if you wanna talk auto darkening hoods i will say that by far the best auto darkening hood money can buy is a speed glas (made by 3m)

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    Default Re: Arc Welding



    Fordboy77 previously posted:
    "Them auto darkening hoods are pretty sweet! I might get one, but till then i am sticking with my #12 Gold Lens. Is one shade? or does it have adjustable darkness?"

    The one we have is adjustable darkening. and you can also delay the reset (how long it takes to go from dark to light again) just in case you still got some arcs afterwards.

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    Default Re: Arc Welding



    I just checked and it's variable darkening from 9-12.

    It's nice because it has multiple light sensors on the front that pick up lights really well. I basically test it before arcing by moving it from inside the garage to outside (since most of the time its bright outside).

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    Default Re: Arc Welding



    Thats awesome! I like that adjustable feature, the stuff at works varies a lot, from just mig, to tig, and every once in a while using a plasma, so thats why i always go so dark. But If i get one of these adjustables, should take care of that!

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    Default Re: Arc Welding



    Yeah. It's well worth the money, you could probably even find em on CL. It runs on 2 AAA batteries and has a low battery light so you dont torch your eyes by mistake (unless you forget to turn it on....durrrr)

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    Default Re: Arc Welding



    I am doing a little more research on them now, i'll probably get a solar one with battery back up. Sounds like speedglass is the way to go like porkchop said. Even made in the USA

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    Default Re: Arc Welding



    I believe this is the one we have. It looks the same, I'm just too lazy to go into the garage (again) and check

    http://www.jacksonsafety.com/linkdet...roupid=3002513

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    Default Re: Arc Welding



    Thanks matt for the info

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    Default Re: Arc Welding



    Harbor freight has an auto darkening on sale right now for $50. It is the one I use and I am fairly happy with it. Adjustable darkness and delay time (short and fast). It is the one with the blue flames on it. I beleive it is all solar, but mine spends a good deal of time in a dark garage and I never have problems with it staying charged.

  19. #19

    Default Re: Arc Welding



    it will be tough to learn what your doing wrong if you dont prepare the surface like you normally would.

    then you will see how good you really are! <---meant as a compliment.

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    Default Re: Arc Welding



    Get any more practice?

    I did some work on a project I've had sitting around. I tacked my stuff with the little hobby welder that I kept, then used a bigger machine to run my finish pass. I'll see if I can get some decent pictures before I grind off the welds from the smaller machine.
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