mpc Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 First weld ever (not really, I welded once in 7th grade but I’m not counting it). It’s terrible, it’s awful, but I finally got off my butt and tried. About 3 hours before the Governor decided to close the state for 21 days, I was driving past HF, and decided to stop and buy their cheap welder, so I can teach myself to weld. For fun I was just making sloppy lines (very sloppy) and then wanted to see if I could make 2 pieces stick together. They are stuck and they have not yet fallen apart! It may not be a big deal to you but after almost a decade of school and countless years of intellectual navel gazing it is very nice to be doing things rather than thinking things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 Appears to be stuck, so long as it's not structural. Chip the slag out so you can see how well without testing to destruction. Grinding welds smooth is NOT considered a pro thing. About doing things rather than thinking things. Just don't forget they are NOT mutually exclusive, thinking and doing are actually a pretty good partnership. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hans Richter Posted March 27, 2020 Share Posted March 27, 2020 Congratulations, welding is always an advantage when manufacturing more complex workpieces, preparing fittings and Damascus packages. However, an important tip from me. While welding a handle to a forging piece in my garage, sparks or possibly a hot piece of welding slag fell into a remote plastic container. Inside the container were epoxy residue that burned when I was out and was forging on the fuel forge outside. Coincidentally had to get something in the garage and was just in time to prevent the small fire from spreading on the garage interior with a bucket of water that was ready. Since then, I have a separate place in the forge to weld that has been cleared of flammable materials. SMAW (stick) welding is also possible outdoors with GTAW (MIG / MAG) and GTAW (TIG) unfortunately cannot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted March 27, 2020 Share Posted March 27, 2020 It is surprising how far spudderballs can travel. Yards and meters, not just feet. Spudderballs and sparks can be hot enough to ignite many things flammable, sawdust, dust bunnies, oil rags, and etc. They are hot enough to put holes in plastic containers and sometimes break glass. Good idea on the bucket of water being handy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted March 27, 2020 Share Posted March 27, 2020 1 hour ago, Glenn said: It is surprising how far spudderballs can travel. Yards and meters, not just feet. I seen them used to demonstrate ball lightning and plasma during a weather demonstration when I was in Jr high. It was pretty cool watching them bounce around. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba682 Posted March 27, 2020 Share Posted March 27, 2020 Hit the upright piece with a hammer if it holds ya got some fusion if it don't clean it and try it again do that a few times till ya figure out to run a proper bead ,and remember nobody was a pro the first day... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goods Posted March 27, 2020 Share Posted March 27, 2020 Chamfering the end of the rod will also give more leg length to the weld making it stronger also. Is the vertical plate a piece of leaf spring? If it is, preheating it would be advisable. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hans Richter Posted March 27, 2020 Share Posted March 27, 2020 David, good move -but even than it will be fragile while welded with under matching welding consumables ?! Picture 1 looks like a combination of mild steel and rebar so for me no reason to concern Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vern509 Posted March 30, 2020 Share Posted March 30, 2020 Ask me why its not a good idea to use the same workbench for reloading and welding Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohio Posted March 30, 2020 Share Posted March 30, 2020 Good for you, mpc. Welding is fun. And starting a post in the welding sub-forum with "BEHOLD!" is genius. Those little HF welders are not terrible, but the flux wire that comes with it usually is. It's usually pretty dirty. You may have better results with name-brand stuff (I did) and they sell Lincoln MIG flux wire at Lowes. Your local welding store, if open, may have better selection and better pricing, but at minimum, try a roll of the name brand and see if that works better for you. I have a favorite Central Welding store that's full of knowledgeable, helpful people and while I may be the stupidest customer they have, they are always quick with good info. Again, good for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 On 3/30/2020 at 10:30 AM, vern509 said: the same workbench for reloading and welding Been there and done that, only once though (I'm a fast learner). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanglediver Posted April 1, 2020 Share Posted April 1, 2020 Why is it not a good idea to mix reloading and welding? Is it because the only time you can have too much ammo, is in a house fire, perhaps? ~~ Why are plastic gasoline fuel lines and torch cutting inside pickup truck beds not good company? But, I digress... MPC, keep practicing! Be safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stickman81 Posted April 13, 2020 Share Posted April 13, 2020 Greetings! Congratulations on your accomplishment! I am basically right there with you. I've stuck a few things together (anvil stand and recently the welding cart) and while the welds don't look too good, it seems to be holding up just fine. And, the projects were a lot of fun! Keep at it with a project of some kind. Best regards! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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