first ever MMA weld

[harvey639]

as some of you may remember i got a cheap Chinese 3 in one tig,mma ans plasma cutter
http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=33706&page=3
so after finally getting a lead to use it i thought i have a go at arc welding. i have to say i think i prefer it to mig

what do you guys think? all i did was chip of the slag witch was very easy only light taps were needed. (good thing i think?)

 

[SiPMerlin150]

Not looking too bad there. Just lots of practise that all!
Perhaps moving a little to quickly, notice the chevron curves in the centre of the bead? That normally means you are travelling to quick.

what brand of rods are you using?

I am the other way around, started with arc welding, then moved to mig, but still prefer arc welding.

 

[harvey639]

thanks glad to know im doing something right not sure on the brand i only got a small pack of 11 rods 2.5mm i think they were 6013
i had my welder set to 80 amps
i had no worm holes with i found surprising
i was welding a peace of 25mm square tubing with a 4mm wall
the tubing wasn't clean it had some paint and other stuff i was too lazy to plug in my angle grinder

 

[SiPMerlin150]

thanks glad to know im doing something right not sure on the brand i only got a small pack of 11 rods 2.5mm i think they were 6013
i had my welder set to 80 amps
i had no worm holes with i found surprising
i was welding a peace of 25mm square tubing with a 4mm wall
the tubing wasn't clean it had some paint and other stuff i was too lazy to plug in my angle grinder

Arc welding isn't too fussy about some surface rust as it will happily burn through it. Sometimes its best to whack the practise metal pieces with a grinder to eliminate a contamination to your welds, As otherwise they can cause slag inclusions or a wandering arc called arc blow.

Small packs of rods do work out to be expensive (especially when a 5KG pack of 2.5mm are £14-15 (you get 340ish rods) but depends on how much practice you do

 

[harvey639]

i burned all 11 rods in about 10 mins so i went and got a 5kg pack of 6013 cant remember the brand will have a look tomorrow burned about half the box today there is now no scrap bits left untouched most have several passes on.
what rods would you recommend

 

[Engineer1964]

i burned all 11 rods in about 10 mins so i went and got a 5kg pack of 6013 cant remember the brand will have a look tomorrow burned about half the box today there is now no scrap bits left untouched most have several passes on.
what rods would you recommend

6013 rods are about the most common rods available, used for everyday welding, and ideal to practice on.

Try welding a tee piece and getting a nice fillet, seems your doing a good job on the striaghts

 

[backpurge]

Pretty good for first attempts, as has been said it's all about practise, playing around with different settings, rod angles, tavel speeds etc but you look like you have made a good start

 

[harvey639]

Thanks for all the good feedback guys
I will try a few joints all I need is some steel plate does anyone know any cheap suppliers in Suffolk?
I have been working on slowing down my travel speed witch seems to have improved the look of the bead.

 

[rich r]

See if anyone's got any old bits of 3mm or thicker mild steel lying around - fence posts, angle iron, shed roof trusses etc. Don't forget you can always grind your welds off and reuse the same bit of metal for practising on.

For practising, you don't really want to be buying brand new steel plate, unless you can afford to of course

 

[Engineer1964]

Thanks for all the good feedback guys
I will try a few joints all I need is some steel plate does anyone know any cheap suppliers in Suffolk?
I have been working on slowing down my travel speed witch seems to have improved the look of the bead.

Pop round your local engineering factories and
Ask if you can have a bit from the scrap bin

 

[harvey639]

I have managed to pick up some used brake discs to practice on will have a look at the brand of rods later.

 

[SiPMerlin150]

i burned all 11 rods in about 10 mins so i went and got a 5kg pack of 6013 cant remember the brand will have a look tomorrow burned about half the box today there is now no scrap bits left untouched most have several passes on.
what rods would you recommend

Been there plenty of times, Either plenty of rods and no steel, or no rods and lots of steel I see you're practising plenty to do 1/2 box of rods in a day!

I take it you have a inverter welder rather than a buzzbox?

 

[harvey639]

Yea running a Chinese inverter mma tig and plasma cutter see link in first post
Yea been practising too much according to mum was up untill 1am last night managed to run the whole 5kg box in 2 days

 

[PTvor]

For rods I suggest you go for major brand white box, (Murex or Oerlikon) or major brand budget range ESAB 46.30, UTP (Bohler) Phoenix or Lincoln. See what the local welding suppliers have to offer.

I'm tempted by these

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-BOXES-E...873?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3a7a924e81

They also sell single boxes and threes, 2.5 and 3.2mm.

I think they are the same as Murex white box, but cheaper than my local supplier considering the drive to get them.

As others have said, buying new steel for practice is ruinous and a waste. If you can find a local fabricator or engineering works and explain what you want it for, they may well let you have a forage through their scrap bin and take a box of offcuts away. I'd say that a box of bits of plate, angle, flat, box section is more use for practice anyway.

 

[SiPMerlin150]

Yea running a Chinese inverter mma tig and plasma cutter see link in first post
Yea been practising too much according to mum was up untill 1am last night managed to run the whole 5kg box in 2 days

Chinese or not it seems to be doing well on its duty cycle, I use an old 'buzzbox' AC welder that needs 10 or 15 minutes to cool down after 5-6 2.5mm rods. It would explain why you are going through them rods like you are!

 

[harvey639]

I have been using Hilco red extra rods they are the only locally available ones that I can find

 

[harvey639]

Yea I have been very surprised with it duty cycle it seems very impressive

 

[PTvor]

Chinese or not it seems to be doing well on its duty cycle, I use an old 'buzzbox' AC welder that needs 10 or 15 minutes to cool down after 5-6 2.5mm rods. It would explain why you are going through them rods like you are!

A halfway decent 140A inverter will burn rods at 80A all day as fast as you can feed them in and not flinch.

Looking at the ad, it's a bit vague about the temperature and current under which the duty cycle and current are quoted, but it does say the max size of rod is 2.5mm, so I wouldn't try it with 3.2mm, even if the electrode holder will take them

Anyway, my prejudice was that these cheap 3-in-1 machines were an extremely dubious proposition, so I'm pleased to hear that this one is working out.