Mug stick welding 8mm steel rod

[Scally]

Hi all
I have been reading you stories for a while and recieved advice from time to time.

I muck around making drums from time to time.

see here
https://www.woodworkforums.com/f98/dun-duns-73848

I have a couple of timber cylinders ready to have the skins put on them.
The cow skin is on its way.

I bought several 6m lengths of 8mm steel rod.
These are bent into a cirlce, just bigger than the drum, and welded together.

I was on my way to Bunnings to buy a GMC welder but dropped in to Gabbetts sale last week.

They have an Italian made home brand. The salesman was very helpful and sounded believable.
Now I have a 130am stick welder, auto welding shield, 2mm rods, brush and hammer.

I did manage to weld a couple of pieces together but very ugly.


Some advice if you would.

What bevel should I put on the ends of the steel rods and should I run the bevel all the way across the ends?

[spooled]

Can you put up a pic of your weld?

Practice running beads down a flat heavy plate first, then try joining together 5 or 6mm thick sections with a fillet weld. Joining together the bar as you mentioned is a little difficult for a beginner.

[bsrlee]

As Spooled said - practice, practice, practice. I've found a bit of thick aluminium can be helpful then welding difficult shapes - just get a bit of heavy Ally 'V' stock, and clamp the rod into the 'V'. Weld away at high amps and if you get a bit carried away the ally acts as a heat sink as well as catching any bits that melt off & stops them going down your socks - been there, done that, have the scar. You will still have to carefully ship out the slag from the joint tho'. I've welded down to 1.6mm and sometimes, on a good day, 1.2mm sheet with a stick welder using an ally backer.

[Scally]

No pic yet.
After you stopped laughing you would tell me to get back to woodworking.

I will find some heavy plate and get practicing.

[Scally]

OK,here are a couple of pics of my Arc welding.

The flat is about 4mm thick and the rods are 2mm.

I have the welder set as low as possible.

I just tried to do a straight weld. It ran OK and the weld looks useable in parts. Obviously trouble with uneven movement along the run.
What else?

I welded up the 8mm steel rods into rings. This was much harder to get a decent looking weld. The gap between the ends was variable and you don't get much of a run to get a feel for the weld. I tried to keep the rod on the weld longer so I could burn into the steel instead of leaving the weld on top of the join.

There is a pic of the welder. It is actually 150 amps.
The specs say it is fine on a 10amp circuit. I didn't blow any fuses.

More practice....
I like these auto helmets. It has an adjustment knob.
What does this do?

[spooled]

Doesn't look too bad. Obviously a little unsteady line and travel speed. You'll get that with a little more practice. Get yourself comfy, sit down if you have too, try putting the electrode cable over your shoulder to take the weight off the holder. What rods you using?

When welding the 8mm rods you want to have a small gap of about 1 or 2mm between the ends. Then attach the earth directly to the ring (which I assume you do cause you have a timber bench) so you can rotate it while welding. Once welding keep a really short arc and turn the ring as you go.

The adjustment on the helmet will be sensitivity ie how much light is required to darken it, or the shade if its adjustable.

[Grahame Collins]

Hi Scally.

Reading the weld in pic 1, I would say you can bump the amps up between 10 and 15 amps.

In addition to that you can make your travel speed a fraction slower. Your arc length appears to be OK.

When you get the flux peeling off in the fashion of a scorpion tail, you are there.

Grahame

[Scally]

Thanks for the comments.

I was tricky trying to keep the full length rod steady.

I found Listening to the crackly of the welding was the best indicator of the arc length.

Travel a little slower, OK, thanks.

Up the amps 10-15, OK. Is this to get more heat/weld down into the metal.

A "Scorpion tail"!! Now that is dreaming but I will keep it in mind Grahame.

Spooled, the rings of 8mm rod were a pain.
I had to clamp the ring to hold the join closed so wasn't able to weld around the rod. And I couldn't arrange a seat.
I tacked one side then tried to hand hold the ring and rotate it a bit as I welded the other side.

I tried to hold the arc in one spot to burn into the 8mm of rod.
I ended up with big lumpy welds on each side of the rod and a gap between the two sections of weld.

Next time I will trying the shorter arc and see if I can rotate the rings and get a bit longer weld. I will try the lead over the sholder to see if that helps me hold the rod steadier.

With the sensibility know on the shield I rotated it but didn't notice any difference. I am deep in the garage so it is relatively dark. The adjustment mighten make much difference.

Thanks again for the help and I will see how I go next weekend.

[fenderbelly]

Hi, For that diameter rod i would have thought no gap needed as it will burn in anyway.

so weld your joint then if a smooth finish is required grind the excess off.

Weld two scrap pieces together and grind then try to snap it. You will be surprised.

Cheers Fred

[Scally]

Thanks Fred
The gap varies from nothing to a few mms. They weld OK so I haven't tried the grind the join to be parallel.

I am not coordinated enough to rotate the ring and hold the welding rod steady at the same time.

I weld one side , turn the ring over and weld the other.
The do the inside and outside.

It looks messy but it is strong. I haven't been able to break the weld.