Arc for a first timer,

[maritimesbob]

Been playing with the Clarke today. Have welded in mig, tig and gas but this was my first time getting a shot at arc welding.

Wife wasn't happy when I tripped the supply running some bigger rods and higher amps. It ruined the cake in the oven

Actually quite enjoyed it (the playing with the arc welder). Spent an hour burning through a few 2.5 and 3.2 rods doing some basic beads, certainly a different learning curve to other welding fields.

Anyway, please pick apart my first attempts. The beads I am sure are not great. First off, the semi-circle ridges seem very elongated, is this a sign of traveling too fast?

I seem to have picked up on the different sounds, the correct crackle which appears to be crucial in getting an idea of the arc distance etc.

I generally have always been taught to weave when welding, does this apply when arc welding a basic bead, butt weld etc?

Thanks all, please pick away!

 

[Lawnmowerboy]

Basics are there, rod angle about 40 degrees, you need a bit more amps and keep a shorter arc

 

[SiPMerlin150]

Slow down with your travel speed. Arc welding takes time. It is not a fast process like MIG welding, you need to strike the arc, pause briefly and allow the metal to begin pooling and then begin to travel. Its all about watching your puddle and trying to keep it even.

It comes with practise, which in time you will find comes natural

Hey, don't feel worry about tripping fuses, all welders (especially transformer based units like mine and yours), will tend to overdraw current on arc ignition and will overload the fuse. This is normal and switching to a 16 amp power supply will eliminate this problem. Normally you can only use 1/2 the power of a 150 amp welder without blowing the fuse.

Looking good though! Keep it up!

 

[shenion]

The elongated ripples are from holding the rod too low an angle.

 

[backpurge]

I generally have always been taught to weave when welding, does this apply when arc welding a basic bead, butt weld etc?

Thanks all, please pick away!

Thats a bad habit to get into with any process

 

[maritimesbob]

Ok, thank you all.

I was originally welding on 4mm gauge steel (some scrap from the local steel dealer). To weld some 2.5 gauge, lower the amps to avoid blowing through? Obviously speeding up the travel makes for a poor weld in trying to avoid blowing through.

I'm using 2.5 rods, as I can't be bothered changing fuses all the time with the 3.2 and higher amps!

Looking forward to moving so I can get a proper 16 or 32a spur wired in.

Oooops, seems I made a mess of the thread title!!!!

 

[rich r]

2.5mm steel is possible with 2.5mm rods, but yes, reducing the current a little and keeping the arc really short will help keep the heat down.

A technique that works well with smaller rods is to hold the rod at around 70 degrees with the flux coating resting lightly on the surface. Then drag it so the weld pool forms just behind. That ensures the arc length remains at about 1.5mm. It's not the ideal technique for welding in general, but for thinner rods and without lots of experience it often gets the job done. As you practice more and more you'll find you can hover the end of the rod just off the surface and more vertical and maintain the arc length without having to drag it, so getting more penetration and a better quality of weld.

I'm sure the experienced welders will be along with better suggestions though - I only weld occasionally!