After a bit of a glitch, I finally gave it a go (pics)

[Sphinx]

Once I'd prepared some steel to practice on and set everything up, I fired up the welder and gave it a go.
However...after I'd ruled out my novice skills being the cause for some terrible welds I realised there was no gas getting through, so after a bit of a fiddle (pipe had popped off inside the machine) it was time for take 2.

Here are the pics:

Reverse side:

At this point I was just playing around with various settings and found that I could get a decent enough (in my humble opinion) on either of the lowest settings with a variety of wire speeds by just adjusting my speed. I still find the lowest setting and going fairly slowly produces my neatest work.

Then I tried some butt welding and overlap welding. I find them both tricky at the moment but overlap joins are the hardest for me.

One of the biggest things I noticed was; it's all well and good getting some neat welds laid onto a single sheet of steel but things get much harder when you actually try and join things together lol

 

[shenion]

Looks good.

Joints are a different world than just laying beads The prep really helps. A sharp edge will draw the arc off to one side, so remove any burrs. Closer and more even the gaps are in fitting together, the easier it will be.

 

[Sphinx]

Looks good.

Joints are a different world than just laying beads The prep really helps. A sharp edge will draw the arc off to one side, so remove any burrs. Closer and more even the gaps are in fitting together, the easier it will be.

That would explain a lot! After I'd cut all the pieces to join together I gave the edges a go over with the flap wheel to take the REALLY sharp pieces off, but I was left a 'V' shaped edge which I thought was preferable for some reason. I guess that's only for really thick stuff.
I shall give it a go with a nice flat edge tomorrow

Thanks for the positive comment.

 

[Sphinx]

Day 2:

I tried some vertical welding
I found I needed to up the wire speed and hold the torch horizontal to the surface to get the best results.

Couldn't quite get the hang of a T joint but tried some butt welding again with the edges completely flat which was easier than yesterday.

Penetration wasn't what I wanted as I was trying the 'thin metal' technique in the tutorial section. I can get good penetration when I get a seam going, but not when i try the 'weld-wait-weld-wait' system.

 

[malcolm]

The thin metal thing is only for when you blow holes using a continuous weld. If a continuous weld is possible it is always better.

Could you load your photos from last night back up. I see "This image or video has been moved or deleted" below. You are welcome to load them onto the forum.

 

[Sphinx]

I was just practicing for when I inevitably have to do some car bodywork lol I'm going to be replacing a section of rear arch on my car soon and it's about 1.0mm thick which is a bit less than what I've been working with now.
I had a bit of a photobucket re-shuffle so hopefully the pictures should be back up now.

 

[Drains]

Sphinx - it looks like you've spent a lot of time cleaning the steel. If it's not painted or rusty, then that's seldom required, unless you need to do engineering grade welding. It will improve the chances of a weld being sound, but for practice purposes - you're only wasting time!

 

[Sphinx]

It was all painted with a layer of primer, I threw some on to stop it rusting in storage, it's all been taken off with a flap wheel before any of the practice welds.