new to the forum and have a few questions

[flatmajor]

hi all, great forum.

ive been welding for about 7 months and have built 1 trailer. my fillet welds are not so good i need to improve on them, also some times i need to weld vertical and would like some advice on my fillets and vertical welding. over the weekend ill put some pics up of my new project (restoring an old farm trailer) and some practise beads and fillets ect. so any input would be great as i would still call my self a beginer. thanks for reading

 

[madkayaker]

hello and welcome. The best thing for welding is practice! vertical is all about timing and trying to get the bottom bit to set before placing more on top.

 

[scarecrow]

Welcome flatmajor stick up a few pick of the trailer I rebuilt my old tipper trailer a while back there is A lot of vertical welding involved in a job like this but like mk says it is practised once you have the right rods and settings

 

[bawjaws]

have a good look through the arc welding section, lots of good info on fillets and verticals eg http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=10161 also get some decent rods as apparenty they make a big difference

 

[flatmajor]

thanks for the welcome guys. ill have a look about the forum. ill put some pics up during the weekend and thanks for the tips. cheers

 

[flatmajor]

here some pics of the trailer im restoring

heres some pics on my project ive been doing for the past week or 2. my welding is not great, im still a beginer. i have built 1 trailer before this from scratch out of old trailer parts and new angle iron and various other bits and bobs. feel free to coment. cheers

 

[scarecrow]

Make sure to check that the Chessie isn't rotten I presume the top picture is where you welded on the hitch frame if you look at the centre of the Channel it looks very rusty and could be pitted knock off the rust with a hammer just to check also before welding clean the joints with a grinder and knock of the flux to make sure the weld is okay

 

[Welderpaul]

Yeah, knock the slag off...let us have a look!

 

[flatmajor]

ahhh forgot to do that before i took the pic. ill upload some more pics tomorow. yes the frame is pitted on the chasey, ive been going over with it with a grinder, wire brush and swett. the chasey does not seem that bad, i had to replace a few bit of steel and maybe strengthen the frame a bit more. thanks guys for your replys. cheers

 

[flatmajor]

here some practise beads before and after

have a look and please leave a comment. the first 2 is of a vertical up weld, the rest are flat pos. cheers

 

[flatmajor]

this lot are flat position

flat

 

[flatmajor]

can anyone comment?

please give us some feed back and point outs. i need some pointers on doing a fillet weld as im sh*t basicly. cheeers

 

[scarecrow]

Your flat weld doesn't look too bad but could probably do with a few more amps
your vertical weld is promising as well but if you noticed the ridge is to one side which probably means you hadn't the rod at right angles to the plate and penetration seems low along the edges have you tried doing a u weave. Pausing at the top of the u I presume you are using 2.5 6013 which are fine for vertical at about 70 to 80 amps

For fillets it will be easier using a 3.2 rod the problem most people have with fillets is holes in the weld where it seems to be stuck to one side of the joint this is usually caused by trying to make to make to big a weld try to remember you have to heat both plates the easiest place to heat both plates is right in the corner and don't try to weave
Move the rod along slowly as the weld pool fills try to watch the weld pool just behind the tip of the rod you should be able to see it fill up and just as it reaches the rod tip move the rod a little and let it fill again you can use up to 140amps which will make it easier post a few pic of your fillets if you're still having problems and just practice practice practice

ps what make of rods are you using as they look nice

 

[asmeix6g]

ok mate ill try and give you a few pointers, ill give advice on the last picture you posted.
1st of all dont weave on the flat (downhand) save any weaving for the vertical. the run that goes to the bottom of the picture needs more amps definatly!
for a fillet you generally need quite a few amps because you will lose the heat fairly quickly.
always drag the rod slightly and keep your eye on the pool to make sure the slag is away from the pool

 

[malcolm]

From a learners perspective, arc length is a thing to watch for. Need to keep it short with arc welding, and bear in mind you don't know where the end of the rod is as it can burn off before the flux covering.

Drag the rod on the flat. That's the top of the rod being closer to you than the bottom when welding towards you. For vertical up welding you can push the rod a little (the rod holder being a little lower than the end of the rod). That's the tip that helped me most with my vertical up welding.

 

[flatmajor]

Thanks guys for replying and the feed back. my rods are from boc, 6013s ,they are nice rods, cost me a bit for a box.

 

[scarecrow]

Thanks guys for replying and the feed back. my rods are from boc, 6013s ,they are nice rods, cost me a bit for a box.

I thought they looked quite nice what's size rods are they probably 2.5 or 3.2
you could really do with both

 

[flatmajor]

I thought they looked quite nice what's size rods are they probably 2.5 or 3.2
you could really do with both

there 2.5 nice easy strike. cheers

 

[scarecrow]

i thought so fillet welds will be easier with 3.2. if you are doing them with 2.5 use about 90amps and maybe a bit more until you get the hang of it

 

[flatmajor]

ok cheers