Welding Help Please

[HawkRod]

All of you guys doing great bodywork have inspired me and I am going to try and tackle replacing at least the trunk floor on my 70 Road Runner. One problem: I really don't know how to weld. :sad10:
Well, I have to start learning somewhere, so I cut several "slices" into an old exhaust pipe and welded them back up. I am slowly improving, although I have a long way to go!

The problem I have is, no matter what, I still get a bunch of tiny spatters all over.

Can any of you welding experts help me with the gift of some tips to help me improve? Much appreciate any advice to help me along...

Here is what I got - not the best setup in the world, but it is what I have to work with.
My Results:


My Welder and setting used:


My CO2 Argon mixture settings:

 

[Budnicks]

On my 1st observation I would say... Turn down the wire feed speed some &/or turn the heat up some, looks like allot of weld & kind of cold too, needs more penetration... With those dials or heat controls it will be a little harder, to get a perfect temp & speed thou, slow down & practice, do an oscillating inverted C pattern, watch the puddle & where the molten wire feed metal pool up... Practice makes perfect, there are many "How To Books" available & even "Learn How To Weld videos" on You-Tube, or you can purchase books or DVD to help or maybe take a lesson... Truthfully IMHFO pretty hard to say/comment, just from a single photo on the internet... Good Luck

 

[Coronet 500]

I'm wondering if it is coated pipe. Burning off that coating to get to the base metal will create lots of spatter and difficulty. Try some bare steel, start with 1/8" thick to get a good "feel" for it and a comfortable body position and breathing technique. work your way down to thinner material.

Your starting out on the difficult side with thin small diameter position welding, start easy and build confidents.

 

[BeastlyBirdie]

If you want to install your trunk pan, practice on an exhaust pipe is kinda useless. Get some sheet, 14,16,18,20 gauges. Cut them up, then, tack them together in various ways..like plug welds, lap joints, butt joints, etc. Then, see what problems you have...and post again.

 

[Budnicks]

Get a better helmet or slightly lighter lenses maybe, possibly you can see a little better, an option would be an electronic instant dark type lenses, it makes it, much easier to find your starting point too... the angle of the torch or dirty material, can effect how much spatter your getting too...

 

[747mopar]

It does look like galvanized pipe which isn't the greatest to weld, sand it until the color goes from light gray to dark gray (remove the galvanize) and it will weld better. All that aside I agree, practicing on pipe will do you no good for sheet metal practice. Something I do from time to time for getting the wire speed just right is weld with one hand while adjusting the wire speed with the other until it's perfect. What you really want to practice is plug welds and but welds using sheet metal. For the plug welds drill some 5/16 holes in one sheet and lay it on another, set the welder so that you can start the weld in the center of the hole until it starts to flow then quickly work around the perimeter flowing it out and filling the hole. The trick is getting it hot enough without blowing threw but hot enough that the weld flows out without leaving a big booger. For but welds I leave a 1/16 gap between the panels for a full penetration weld, then it is welded together threw a series of spot spaced out 2"-3" to avoid warping you continue spot welding until it's a solid weld. Hope this helps

 

[Photon440]

Some good tips here. As said, try reducing the wire speed a little.

All that aside, some spatter is not that unusual. You can spray Anti-Spatter spray on before hand to make it easy to brush off. The spray is great on the welder tips and nozzle as well, keeps them clean. You can get various brands almost anywhere you get welding supplies. Example:
http://www.zorotools.com/g/Anti-Spatter Sprays and Tip Dip/00055759/

 

[Propwash]

That is a lot of spatter...These guys have some pretty good ideas. Almost looks like you're running flux core wire with that much spatter. I'd check your wire to make sure it's not flux core, try welding on regular carbon steel, turn up your flow rate a little to 25-30 CFH, keep you gun tip as close as possible without touching the base metal and then see where you sit. Good luck.

 

[Meep-Meep]

Birdie took the words right out of my fingers. Different base materials act differently so try to duplicate the real job.

You might play with the wire feed and voltage to control the spatter in addition to making sure the weld zone is spotless clean. I have found that increasing the voltage (usually the numbers 1-4 on the knob) can really affect the weld quality. Then you dial the wire speed, which is like an amperage control, until you have the desired result. You want the wire to go pretty much into a metal spray when it hits the base material - should sound like bacon frying - so dial as high as you can without blowing a hole right away. Also on the thin stuff it will be necessary to go in short bursts or you will burn a hole because the thin steel can only conduct heat away from the weld zone so fast.

 

[Funship32]

If you want to install your trunk pan, practice on an exhaust pipe is kinda useless. Get some sheet, 14,16,18,20 gauges. Cut them up, then, tack them together in various ways..like plug welds, lap joints, butt joints, etc. Then, see what problems you have...and post again.

I tend to agree. I'm not a great welder either but Beastly is right- panels are a completely different thing than chunks of steal. And Photon 440 made a good point about anti spatter especially for the tip!

Get your self some sheet steal and practice stich welding. You want to get a good weld but not make the metal too hot to where it will warp.

 

[Lowhound]

Dont let welding scare you to much. A couple of years ago my 1st try at welding was building a rotisserie for my Bee. Believe me I was really nervous the 1st time I attempted to raise & rotate the car. But it turned out ok. Since then I have replaced the entire front floor pan & all of the trunk pan. The more you weld the more you learn. Before starting a project I will always find some test materials the same thickness as Im working on. Practice,practice,practice & dont get in a hurry.

 

[HawkRod]

THANK YOU for all the great advice - much appreciated! That's what's great about this forum - some real advice from guys (and gals) who have been there...

So I guess the scrap pipe wasn't the greatest to start on, although I will still say that even that helped my welding. Having said that, it makes great sense to get some sheet metal and practice the kinds of welds that I will be doing. I assume that mostly I will be doing butt welds and simulated spot welds by drilling 5/16" holes and welding them up.

Also, as suggested, I will try to turn up the voltage, turn down the wire speed and increase the Argon/CO2 flow a bit. I'll try to do that one step at a time to see how each improves the weld.

When doing butt welds with a gap between the panels (maybe 1/16 or so), is there benefit to having copper beneath it?

Thanks again! :headbang:

Hawk

 

[snakeoil24]

Your Wire Feed welder was meant for coated wire. It looks like one your not getting any gas for the clean weld. Second your low on heat poor penetration. Don't worry about galvanized just grind it off and go to town. I f you have a retro fit on the wire feeder check polarity for using solid core vs rosin core.

- - - Updated - - -

THANK YOU for all the great advice - much appreciated! That's what's great about this forum - some real advice from guys (and gals) who have been there...

So I guess the scrap pipe wasn't the greatest to start on, although I will still say that even that helped my welding. Having said that, it makes great sense to get some sheet metal and practice the kinds of welds that I will be doing. I assume that mostly I will be doing butt welds and simulated spot welds by drilling 5/16" holes and welding them up.

Also, as suggested, I will try to turn up the voltage, turn down the wire speed and increase the Argon/CO2 flow a bit. I'll try to do that one step at a time to see how each improves the weld.

When doing butt welds with a gap between the panels (maybe 1/16 or so), is there benefit to having copper beneath it?

Thanks again! :headbang:

Hawk

Yes copper reduces blow thru. also soaks up Heat.

 

[747mopar]

I've used copper before but for but welds I like to leave a little extra weld on the backside for a little extra strength. I made a special set of vice grips that has a copper bottom jaw and a forked upper jaw "works awesome for plug welds". Bottom line is just start playing around and you'll be welding like a pro before you no it. Enjoy

 

[MoparBill]

Your Wire Feed welder was meant for coated wire. It looks like one your not getting any gas for the clean weld. Second your low on heat poor penetration. Don't worry about galvanized just grind it off and go to town. I f you have a retro fit on the wire feeder check polarity for using solid core vs rosin core.

- - - Updated - - -



Yes copper reduces blow thru. also soaks up Heat.

X2-check your polarity on the machine. You should be using .023-.025 wire for sheet metal. Your vertical welds should be performed downhand as heat rises. Make sure your drive roller in the machine matched to the wire diameter. Your first order of business is you have to get your machine setup properly. I believe that's half the battle!

 

[Crusty]

If you are only welding floor pans you don't need a argon mix. With just tin, any machine will have enough balls to weld it without the argon which makes a hotter weld. If you miss a little paint or rust when cleaning the material you are welding to the mix will not knit to it as good as CO2 will. I would go to a CO2 gas and .023 wire and you will have a better looking weld and less splatter. I have a bottle of each that I use depending on how thick the material is I am welding. Practice on the same thickness/type of material you are going to weld on.Take the practice piece cut a strip a few inches wide and try to break it off in a vice to see how strong the weld is.
Just my 2 cents Good Luck

 

[Funship32]

THANK YOU So I guess the scrap pipe wasn't the greatest to start on, although I will still say that even that helped my welding.
Hawk

You got that right! Any practice is good practice! Play with it, have fun with it. Then, as I said earlier, get something more in line with what you will be working on and practice with it. By the time you are ready, it should be fairly smooth sailing!

:grin:

 

[Donny]

Is there any Community Colleges nearby you that offer welding school as a curriculum? I wish I could stress how important learning and practice is as a welder! In the US Army Ordnance Center and Schools Metalworker course (I did this) you first must master Oxy/Acetylene welding flat coupons in many types of joints/welds in the flat position, when you do these proficiently, you moved to vertical doing the same types of welds, but with the added challenge of having the metal want to run back at you, then, when mastered we moved on to the overhead positions. We could not move on to Stick welding until we mastered this discipline, which also included cutting with the torches. So, given this is a LOT of work to master, and you can, I recommend if you want to really learn welding, take some courses. Here's some advice, turn the heat up, the better you get, the hotter you'll run your torches and Amps...but, the welds usually are better this way.

 

[Photon440]

Donny is right. Probably the biggest mistake made by beginner welders is to weld with the heat too low, thinking that they'll prevent sags and blobs. What they end up doing is preventing proper weld penetration.

 

[scotts74birds]

Lots of great advice from everyone! I had forgotten about the reversing of polarity when going from flux-core to solid wire. That spatter is unusual. Is your gas working? Are you using flux-core wire with gas? Since it's a trunk floor, have you thought about just using "structural body adhesive" with just a few welds? It will also seal the joints, so you wont have to worry about rust forming. Lots of videos on Utube about it. I work at the factory, and we use it everywhere.