Ok so im a welding virgin and i need some pointers and some clarity on some things.
Ive gotten access to a harbor freight welder. I know they are shitty.
its a 90 amp welder that uses strictly flux core wire
its got speed settings 0-10
its also got min and max switch for voltage(?)
so i was testing my luck with some metal that i cut out of an old door.
I was just trying to basicly get a feel for using the welder and just trying to inscribe some letters into the sheets.
Im ultimately confused about what settings i should be using. I dont know what gauge metal i am using and so i have no idea where to start for tuning the speed and setting the correct voltage.
can anyone give me some basics as to what settings to use for this type of metal?
should i start on some other type/thickness to learn?
would anyone be willing to come help me out over the weekend and test out my setup and get me on my feet?
EDIT: sorry mods but i have no idea which forum this belongs in. i figure this is kind of a do-it-yourself project so i went with this forum.
get a lil bit of a thicker piece of metal to start with its easier. put the heat or voltage setting abot 3/4 up and the speed on 2 as it will be the easiest to start with to get the feel. id also suggest eventually getting a lincoln thats what i have and i love it
looks the the lowest voltage setting on this bad boy is around 63volts
from what i have gathered, for body panels i will need to go down around 30, so that is why i am struggling with burn through , i guess this shitty welder isnt going to do it for body work, or its just gonna be a pain in the ass.
Sometime you can overcome high voltage by holding the nozzle farther away from what you are welding esp. with flux core. sheet metal is usually welded with .025 wire if its flux you can prolly use .030 just keep practicing oh and when it come to welding Cleanliness is next to godlyness. wipe down what your welding with lacquer thinner or prepsol etc…of course wait for it to flash before you start the arc
First off, get ride of that fucking door. Chances are it has some kind of paint on it and is totally screwing with your weld. Weld and paint don’t get along to well. If the door doesn’t have paint, hopefully its a door you can weld (steel or stainless).
If you can’t get the machine turned down enough, try to get your hands on a piece of aluminum and put it under the spot your trying to weld. . .It will act as a backer (so you won’t burn threw & also as a heat sick).
Where ever you happen to put the wire on your welder, chances are there is a chart that may say some kind of ball-park settings to start at. The door is probably something like 20ga - 16ga, depending on what kind of door this is.
One other thing you may be able to try is welding down hand. Flux-core doesn’t like this either, but for what you want to use it for I think you’ll be fine. Just stand the metal up, start from the top and drag it down. Good luck!
And if none of this helps, go to wal-mart and buy some stenciles & paint your letter onto your door.
ok, as for the door, i used a grinder to grind the paint off of the part i was welding as well as the part where the ground clamp was going. and there was a chart with some speed settings, but i was not sure what size metal i was using so i didnt know what settings to use.
My friend’s dad taught me how to stick weld, which is similar to flux core arc welding. He has been working for the long island railroad for over 30 years he knows more about heavy metal welding than probably most people in the nation and is a certified instructor.
I helped him build a trailer that day. I wish I had pictures, my welds ended up looking pretty damn good by the end of the day for an arc weld.
The most important thing I learned other than choosing the proper amperage is:
Heat rises, start your weld on the thickest metal when welding 2 diffrent thickness metals. This way you get proper penetration on both metals.
Holding the torch at a proper angle is essential. Think of your weld as the base of a right triangle. The slope of the triange is the angle of your torch. The back side of the triangle is the distance between the top of the stick if stick welding and the end of the weld. If your torch is angled appropriately all you need to do is keep the torch at the same angle and travel downwards. As the stick gets smaller the weld will travel backwards to your endpoint.
Keep your arc consistent. You dont want the arc to vary distance too much or you will get an inconsistent weld.
Not a bad site. A lot of that stuff I just take for granted. I have been welding for about 12 years now including two years of school. I do mostly T.I.G, S.S pipe welding. Whenever I use MIG or FLUXCORE I have ran a TIG root then backgrind and burn the shit out of it with the fluxcore to ensure 100%. About 75% of the shit I do is x-rayed and about 100% is for some kind of pressure vessel.
shit welder and good welder aside, with out proper instruction it will take a lot of practice to get good. With some instruction it will still take alot of practice.
, i guess this shitty welder isnt going to do it for body work, or its just gonna be a pain in the ass.