first go at arc welding

[pondy]

picked up a cheap buzz box, its only 40-80 amps but was cheap enough to give arc welding a try before I decide if I like it and getting a good machine. I know the duty cycle will be low but after opening it up there is loads of room inside for a fan etc. burned around 4 rods on max one after the other and thermal cut out didn't operate. got myself some 1.6 and 2.5 6013 siftrode rods and had a small go today while I had a spare few mins. its going to take a ton of practice before I can get the hang of this, yet I cannot concentrate on rod angle, speed and keeping a gap between the rod and work piece, it seems I can only do one thing at a time!
thought I would post a picture for you to have a giggle at, progress from right to left, looking forward to getting some more time at it.

 

[cumbriasteve]

Couple of decent enough runs there, what thickness is the steel?.. they seem to be sitting a touch high.

Regarding concentrating on more than one thing.. that will come natural after a while, the distance is just kept right without thinking about it.

 

[pondy]

Its 5mm. its all I had at home, that or some 1.5mm which is to thin? What sort of thickness can you do on 40a with 1.6mm rods?

I think the metal is too thick and I'm getting low penitration causing a proud weld?

 

[cumbriasteve]

I think the metal is too thick and I'm getting low penitration causing a proud weld?

I agree, bang the 2.5 rods in and up the power, you should find the 2.5 much easier to control.

I have done thin steel with 1.6 but it is really difficult even after years of arc welding, so difficult in fact that I would simply not attempt it except for an emergency repair.

In fact I think the box of 1.6 rods I have was bought over 25 years ago and still nearly full, that shows how much use I found them to be.

 

[PTvor]

You can weld 1.5mm with 1.6mm rods but it's tricky and very easy to blow holes. 1.6mm rods are different in their action from bigger rods as well. I'd stick to the 5mm steel and 2.5mm rods for now.

Those beads look pretty good for a first attempt, especially the third from the top. It isn't always easy to tell whether the welds are too hot or too cold from a photo.

It's tricky keeping the angle and the gap and keeping the speed of travel right - while the rod is burning down all the time. It comes with practice. Get comfortable and with the welder turned off, make sure you can execute the pass without losing your balance, snagging a clamp, or some other silly problem. Watch the weld pool and let that dictate the speed of travel. It helps a lot if you have an auto dark helmet because you can use two hands to hold the torch and you can see what you are doing to strike the arc.

 

[PTvor]

I think the metal is too thick and I'm getting low penitration causing a proud weld?

I agree, bang the 2.5 rods in and up the power, you should find the 2.5 much easier to control.

As I understand it, he can't, because it's an 80A buzzbox and those welds were done at full power.

 

[cumbriasteve]

As I understand it, he can't, because it's an 80A buzzbox and those welds were done at full power.

This bit made me think pondy was using the 1.6 rods thinking they would be easier, I may be wrong though:

Its 5mm. its all I had at home, that or some 1.5mm which is to thin? What sort of thickness can you do on 40a with 1.6mm rods?

 

[pondy]

sorry i should of stated, i have 2.5 and 1.6 rods but the ones in the picture was done on full power with 2.5

 

[brightspark]

sorry i should of stated, i have 2.5 and 1.6 rods but the ones in the picture was done on full power with 2.5

try the 1.6 on full power u should get better penetration .75 to 95 amps is about right for 2.5 rods amps

 

[PTvor]

I've got a 40-80A buzzbox like that, to which I've added a 240V 30W box fan out of a mainframe computer. It blows leaves around. It reduces the time it takes to cool after overheating from about a quarter of an hour to six minutes, but it's better to give it an extra couple of minutes. It doesn't make as big a difference as I'd hoped.

I've got an inverter, so I don't use the buzz box much. I drag it out and use it occasionally to keep it aired. 80A, the max power is about right for the several brands of 2.5mm rod I've tried, but it can't run them hot.

This is with a 2.5mm Siftrode @ 80A - the max - on a piece of plate cut off an RSJ, which I'd guess is about 8mm thick.

It surprised me so much, I took a photo of it. They can definitely weld, but they are a bit limited and maybe they'd turn out to be a bit variable if you measured the current they actually produce when they are set to 80A.

 

[brightspark]

I've got a 40-80A buzzbox like that, to which I've added a 240V 30W box fan out of a mainframe computer. It blows leaves around. It reduces the time it takes to cool after overheating from about a quarter of an hour to six minutes, but it's better to give it an extra couple of minutes. It doesn't make as big a difference as I'd hoped.

I've got an inverter, so I don't use the buzz box much. I drag it out and use it occasionally to keep it aired. 80A, the max power is about right for the several brands of 2.5mm rod I've tried, but it can't run them hot.

This is with a 2.5mm Siftrode @ 80A - the max - on a piece of plate cut off an RSJ, which I'd guess is about 8mm thick.

View attachment 40357

It surprised me so much, I took a photo of it. They can definitely weld, but they are a bit limited and maybe they'd turn out to be a bit variable if you measured the current they actually produce when they are set to 80A.

nice peelers there

 

[1999tig]

why do they do that?

 

[BrokenBiker]

why do they do that?

why do they peel? sign of a good weld, means you have the settings, speed, torch angle and arc gap all spot on, no undercut and no inclusions.

that's not to say that if they don't peel its a bad weld, just means you were not perfectly spot on for the whole run

 

[PTvor]

why do they do that?

The main thing seems to be an even speed of travel and not having the arc gap and angle all over the place, on a thick, cold plate.

The even speed of travel and gap puts down an even weld bead and even slag with no thin spots. The thick cold plate cools and contracts the weld metal quickly and pulls it away from the slag. I think the slag curls because the top cools and contracts faster than the bottom.

It doesn't happen when the plate is hot. Some rods produce peelers much more easily than others and Siftrodes seem pretty good in that respect. It's nice to see.

However, the reason for posting the picture is that I don't believe there's any real problem in putting down a good bead on thick plate with a 40-80A buzzbox with a 2.5mm Siftrode and the buzzbox on its max setting. The problem with those little buzz boxes is the terrible duty cycle and the fact that they are smack on their limits running a 2.5mm rod.

 

[BrokenBiker]

if you want to up the duty cycle a bit, go up a size for the welding cables (torch and earth leads) and look at a fan, even if its a desk fan pointing at the welder. the fan will only really help the unit cool down after it has cut out, but the increase in cable size should help it last at least a little bit longer.

I have a 100 amp hilka buzz box that used to have really thin cables. I put 16mm cables on it and its much better.

 

[pondy]

had another little go today and feel I am starting to get the hang of things. starting to learn the different sounds etc and effects when you change position of rods etc and gap. the guides in the arc section have been a great help also. these 3 are prob the best for today, seem a lot lower and have much less spatter, struggle to keep a straight line so may have to draw a line next time and try to follow it. weld gets thinner and fatter in places as I was messing around with travel speed to see what happens, have also been going in a straight line and other are weaving. they also don't seem as proud as the others. was surprised at how much it has managed to bow the 5mm plate!

 

[Lawnmowerboy]

Try slowing the travel speed down a bit and increasing the angle between the plate and the rod. There's no need to weave on that.

 

[Rrunnach]

Do a vee butt, get a buzz when the root side peels :-)

 

[PTvor]

It's looking good, especially since it's your second session.

That plate looks a bit rusty and it would be worth spending a couple of minutes cleaning it back to bright with an angle grinder. Arc will cut through a surprising amount of rust and rubbish, but it's better to clean back to bright and you don't want any extra problems. Make sure you have a nice bright spot so the earth clamp makes a good contact as well.

 

[pondy]

Taken it all on board, going to keep practicing and see how it goes, thanks for your help