My Practice welds

[stiffman]

Hey all,
I thought I'd post up some pictures of my practice welds to get a bit of feedback. I've recently moved up from practicing running straight beads on plate, to trying to join pieces of steel.
Hopefully these Rate my welds aren't too annoying for you all. I've been reading the forum for a while, and figure this is the best way for me to get better.

In an effort to improve my welds, I've started documenting at least some of my welds, taking notes of what I was trying to achieve, what went wrong etc... this welding session I've turned my auto welding helmet down from max darkness so i can actually see the weld pool. Most of this session was trying to keep my hand steady, and to watch the weld pool.
One thing i've noticed is that when i stop looking at where i'm going, sometimes I get a bit unsteady, and move around all over the place, but i guess with practice, I'll get better at that too

all the welds I've done are with 2mm E6012's by Gemini. I'm welding 25x3mm bar which i've cut into 10cm lengths. I thought they would last me a lot longer then they did, i've burnt thru 3m worth so far, and I only have 4m of the steel.

Weld one has a fairly cold looking start, and a fairly messy crater in the finish
I feel like I'm a bit unsteady with my hand at the moment, so I'll keep practicing

Weld 2 still has the cold start, and a fair crater in the finished, It was done slower than the first weld. I'm still working on keeping the rod steady

Weld 3 I think has a better start, I need to remember to let the weld pool heat up before beginnning the weld. also the crater in the finish is a bit better, but still there.

Any constructive criticism would be appreciated,
Cheers,
Matt

 

[stiffman]

I should note, every second picture is the back of the first one. usually you can see some other welds in the pics too

edit: actually, it looks like every second one is the TOP side of the weld, the first one is the bottom weld

 

[Lewis Medlock]

They look great Matt! The penetration on the 3'rd photo is awsome.

Try and brace yourself against something solid and practice the juggling act with electrode angles/travel speed/arc length, that's why the weld beads aren't quite uniform.

If it's any conciliation I get through many metres of metal trying to improve my skills. If your welder'll handle it, try some bigger electrodes and thicker steel.

Also have a flick through the welding wiki about angles etc.
http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/learning-arc.htm

All the best, Jim

 

[stiffman]

Cheers. I've been trying to practice pretty seriously, even though, its really just for my own benefit.

so, is that the kind of penetration I should be aiming for?

I've got a packet of 2.6mm and 3mm rods that I use too. The 2mm rods are new. I wanted to give the smaller rods a go, as most of what I'm likely to weld on is fairly thin.
I do like the fact that the lower amps needed to drive the smaller rods means even my crappy little welder can solid on for ages without cutting out on me. I'd only get a few of the 3mm rods burnt before I'd have to take a break to let the welder cool down. I've only got a cheap Cigweld Compact transformer. I'm eyeing off a small inverter, its just a matter of justifying it to myself, and my wife.

I've got a few thick plates that I've been running stringers on, and building up pads. I'll have to cut some into pieces so I can weld it back together.

This website is so fantastic as a learning reference, I've seen the tutorials linked in a few places.