Big noob with a Small welder...

[Chesterfield250]

Hi,

My first post, my first small step into the world of welding.
I received my welder today, its an Esab Buddy 180 MMA/TIG Inverter.
I wanted something that would be portable for a few small jobs and is certainly not getting used for anything more than hobby.

My dad has just retired from a lifetime of welding. He started as an apprentice in the shipyards, moved to structural welding (buildings and things) then to agricultural vehicles and finally retired while working in stainless steel fabrication. He is very experienced and if I could be 1/10th as good as him, that would be just fine.

While I could ask my dad to teach me to weld, and at some point I'll no doubt want to learn from his experiences, I really want to start out on my own... making my own mistakes and learning from them.

So today I found myself unpacking the little yellow welder and plugging it in.
I grabbed the only bit of metal I had to hand (about 10mm), stuck a 6013 2.0mm rod in the holder, set the amps to the rod recommended 55A, and went to work.

I had no idea how quickly rods get eaten, looks like I'll be ordering more this week :-0
The first pic is of just a few beads I did first (never picked up a welder till today mind, so go easy on me:-( )
I worked from right to left.

The first line I thought was maybe done a bit fast, so I slowed it down for the next two lines.
It made no difference, so remembering something I read online in the tutorials I figured I maybe needed more Amps. So I stuck it up to 80A. Instantly realised it was too much as it splattered all over for the first 10mm of the next bead, so I backed it off to 65A. I then seemed to get a lot better welds.

The last few beads I found the slag was just peeling off on its own, so I hardly needed hammer.

Last bead (single pic) I dropped the Amps to 60A.

My question is;

On the last few beads, I seem to get penetration but am wondering if I am going too slow now, given the quite wide and tall bead.

Any advice would be appreciated, and hello :-)

 

[Robotstar5]

Can't see any pics

...and welcome to the forum.

 

[Chesterfield250]

Can't see any pics

...and welcome to the forum.

Hello,
Fixed.

 

[gordon stephenson]

I really can't understand your logic, Your dad seems to be very well versed with lots of experience, surely being tutored and guided by him is a much better way forward than the route you are wanting to take, Welcome to the forum Chesterfield250

 

[Kent]

Heck, unless the old man is a right pain in the neck- your wasting your time teaching yourself. I am confused by the rod size 2mm? do you mean 2.5mm? Sure you need burn time but its better to start with some hands on instruction.

 

[Bill Edwards]

2mm rods do exist, I used to have some. Not nice thing to use mind.
Learn on either 3.2mm (easiest) or 2.5mm, 2mm isn't going to make life any easier for you and experienced welders will rarely choose to use them.

Your later beads don't look bad to me, and where the slag peels off by itself you have a sign that the power and speed are spot on.

Get some more rods, and do some more practice. Move onto a bead pad where you lay overlapping beads, this is good practice. Then you can start to look at simple joints.
Also, have a read through of the arc welding tutorial by clicking on arc at the top of the page, it'll probably be helpful.


Your best way to learn should be tuition from your father, but if you want to begin by yourself then you can certainly get some basic sorted.

 

[Chesterfield250]

2mm rods do exist, I used to have some. Not nice thing to use mind.
Learn on either 3.2mm (easiest) or 2.5mm, 2mm isn't going to make life any easier for you and experienced welders will rarely choose to use them.

Your later beads don't look bad to me, and where the slag peels off by itself you have a sign that the power and speed are spot on.

Get some more rods, and do some more practice. Move onto a bead pad where you lay overlapping beads, this is good practice. Then you can start to look at simple joints.
Also, have a read through of the arc welding tutorial by clicking on arc at the top of the page, it'll probably be helpful.


Your best way to learn should be tuition from your father, but if you want to begin by yourself then you can certainly get some basic sorted.

Thanks Bill, something positive to work on.
I've just been looking at the guides today actually, very useful. I'll get some more rods as suggested, though I'll use the 2.0mm ones up for practising on if I'm unlikely to use them.

To clarify, only if both power and speed are right does the peel come off on its own?

Nice to see a reasonably local member, I'm just in Malton.

 

[Bill Edwards]

I wouldn't use up all the 2mm rods as you'll never need them, as one day you might come across some nasty, thin piece of metal to weld and need them.
But they aren't easy to work with and it's pretty rare to actually need them and you're better off practicing with something less difficult. I'd stick them somewhere dry and know where they are if you find a job for them.

When buying rods it's a good idea to get something decent, everybody has their preferences but it's well agreed that some of the cheap brand rods can be poor, and certainly don't make it easier when trying to learn the basics. Keeping them dry is also very important.

Slag peeling off is the best indicator that the power is right. Travelling too slow with the right power can still give easy slag peel off, but the weld will look pretty fat and you should be able to notice that you need to speed up.
If slag curls up by itself, you aren't far off.

Perhaps some of your welds are a bit slow, but I don't think you should concern yourself too much with that right now. Just make sure you're reasonably close and practice, there are a lot of things to get used to with stick welding - keeping a tight arc, consistent speed and keeping the rod angle right as it shortens.

Yep, likewise it's good to see someone not too far away. Seems a bit lonely out this way at times!

 

[premmington]

I wouldn't use up all the 2mm rods as you'll never need them, as one day you might come across some nasty, thin piece of metal to weld and need them.
But they aren't easy to work with and it's pretty rare to actually need them and you're better off practicing with something less difficult. I'd stick them somewhere dry and know where they are if you find a job for them.

When buying rods it's a good idea to get something decent, everybody has their preferences but it's well agreed that some of the cheap brand rods can be poor, and certainly don't make it easier when trying to learn the basics. Keeping them dry is also very important.

Slag peeling off is the best indicator that the power is right. Travelling too slow with the right power can still give easy slag peel off, but the weld will look pretty fat and you should be able to notice that you need to speed up.
If slag curls up by itself, you aren't far off.

Perhaps some of your welds are a bit slow, but I don't think you should concern yourself too much with that right now. Just make sure you're reasonably close and practice, there are a lot of things to get used to with stick welding - keeping a tight arc, consistent speed and keeping the rod angle right as it shortens.

Yep, likewise it's good to see someone not too far away. Seems a bit lonely out this way at times!

Bill Edwards is right!

You want 3.2mm 6013 rods in DC at 120amps and some 6mm plate to play with.

I have been welding with 1.6mm x 250mm 316LP today on 2mm tube. It is not easy, save you thin rods for when you improve abit!

3.2mm 6013 rods in DC on 6mm plate down hand, then progress to lap joints down hand, then butt joints, then fillets in position, then vertical up. Then re-practice with 2.5mm rods at lower amps. Finally progress to welding butt joints in tubes and pipe joints in position!

Avoid playing with tube or box section till you get the hang of setting the amps and controlling arc length.

I am a car mechanic, it is all MIG MIG MIG.

But I find MMA welding quite addictive...

 

[Chesterfield250]

Thanks, I'll be sure to take your advice and come the weekend I'll get some practice in.

3.2 it is. Where's a good place to get scrap metal to work on?

 

[rich r]

I agree- learn with 2.5mm on 4mm steel (or 3.2mm if you can get hold of thicker metal to practice on), then you'll be able to use 2.0mm (or even the hated 1.6mm) when you need it. I have used 2.0mm a few times to repair things like garden spades, but they're a lot harder to get right than 2.5mm, despite only being slightly smaller diameter. Keep hold of them for when you find 2.5mm are just too hot. If you can master 2.5mm (which looking at your photos of 2.0mm, you shouldn't have too much trouble), then you'll find 3.2mm and 4.0mm easy.

(btw - I was born in Chesterfield, and now live in North Yorkshire )

 

[Chesterfield250]

I agree- learn with 2.5mm on 4mm steel (or 3.2mm if you can get hold of thicker metal to practice on), then you'll be able to use 2.0mm (or even the hated 1.6mm) when you need it. I have used 2.0mm a few times to repair things like garden spades, but they're a lot harder to get right than 2.5mm, despite only being slightly smaller diameter. Keep hold of them for when you find 2.5mm are just too hot. If you can master 2.5mm (which looking at your photos of 2.0mm, you shouldn't have too much trouble), then you'll find 3.2mm and 4.0mm easy.

(btw - I was born in Chesterfield, and now live in North Yorkshire )

Ok thanks.

This is the Chesterfield I'm talking about;

 

[Bill Edwards]

Thanks, I'll be sure to take your advice and come the weekend I'll get some practice in.

3.2 it is. Where's a good place to get scrap metal to work on?

I'd try driving round your local industrial estate. I rarely go round your area, but I'd expect to find some fabricator places.
Go and ask them, I tend to find they can be wasteful and may well have a skip full of off-cuts that they'll let you rummage through for not many pound coins.

Don't approach them with 'I'm looking for scrap' as you'll probably be sent away sharpish with an iron bar following you out of the door as people tend not to like scrappies.
Just go and explain you'd like a few bits to learn welding on.
If they don't have a bin of suitable stuff they'll probably sell you a length of flat bar, say 6mm thick and 50mm wide. It's pretty cheap and if you ask them to cut it short enough to fit in your car then £20 will probably give you enough metal to stay occupied with 3.2mm rods for a lot of hours.
Then you can just chop it up into pieces maybe 100mm long and crack on. In fact, if you get a helpful chap they might even sell you some flat and chop it on the guillotine to little pieces in front of you.
It'll depend on the place/person.
If you pay cash you might be able to get it cheaper still.

 

[kelvinjouhar]

I really can't understand your logic, Your dad seems to be very well versed with lots of experience, surely being tutored and guided by him is a much better way forward than the route you are wanting to take, Welcome to the forum Chesterfield250

THIS..

One day, you will show your Dad your welding and he will say what the fk is that !! ?? Why didn't you ask ME to show you how to do it properly.... Etc. etc.

 

[Richard.]

THIS..

One day, you will show your Dad your welding and he will say what the fk is that !! ?? Why didn't you ask ME to show you how to do it properly.... Etc. etc.

There might be a good reason why he would rather not be tought by his dad. Welds look great for a first strike up. The advice given above on rod size is worth following. Have a go with a 3.2 rutile,