Thread: first arc welds..advice?

Originally Posted by montiee

Hoping someone can give some advice on the welds I've done. I know, they're a bit of a joke but you have to start somewhere.

I have some questions in general.

a) How wide in relation to rod size should a good weld be. Say I use a 2.5mm stick like I have here for instance.

b) How deep should it penetrate based on rod size? I assume increasing Amps will increase penetration? If so if the rods say to use 50-85A is there a problem going higher?

I setup it up so that the electrods (stick) is positive and the material is negative. Is this correct and the optimal way to do it?

Hi Montiee
don't knock yourself
For starters you have not done too bad at all for a beginner.

You have managed to run a relatively straight bead right off the bat
That's not easy - well done !

Secondly the bead width is relatively consistent. Again not easy for a new bloke -well done again.
Thirdly even the height seems consistent -

What can you do to improve it? Swap the connections over to get electrode negative. Your arc length appears consistent which is good. Run square to the plate with about a 20 degree off vertical in the travel direction.

Lets try to improve your stops and starts .

What you aiming for is no break between the ripples and the way to do it is to strike slightly ahead of your last arc crater- lets say 3-4 electrode widths and lift up quickly to say 8-10mm arc height and quickly settle back until you see the edge of your arc meeting the last ripple where the crater starts to form.

Bead width ,I would say maybe 2-3 core wire widths no more-it looks ok now !

Don't concern yourself too much with penetration just yet. The amps setting looks pretty good.

A couple of hours practice and I reckon you will be there. Don't forget about covering up with gloves and safety glasses .You don't want to learn about radiation the hard way.

Cheers

Grahame

Originally Posted by Grahame Collins

A couple of hours practice and I reckon you will be there. Don't forget about covering up with gloves and safety glasses .You don't want to learn about radiation the hard way.
Grahame

Thanks grahame. I'm looking forward to doing a bit more tomorrow. I'll try and employ those techniques you mentioned as well as swap terminals over.. Towards the end I kind of got the hang of dropping the electrode as I went along but every now and then I lost arc so need to work on maintiaining that distance as the rod is used.

As for the safety aspect I'm fully gloved with welding gloves, have a leather apron, auto helmet along with my standard glasses underneath and full sleeved shirt, long pants and shoes standing on a rubber matt. Last thing I want is shocks or UV radiation problems :lol:.

Grahame,

Just a followup after doing some reading I found this..

DCEN= 2/3rd's heat in electrode, 1/3rd heat in work. You will notice the electrode become very hot by the end of a full run.
Good for root runs and thin material. do not use for general welding as fusion is a problem.

DCEP= 2/3rd's heat in work, 1/3rd heat in electrode. Electrode stays cooler.
Use for good fusion and normal thickness material only switch to EN if you are blowing holes.

If my understanding is correct DCEN = rod holder into negative while DCEP = rod holder into positive.

What I've been doing I believe is DCEP. Isn't that what is recommended generally? What's the logic behind recommending the DCEN config to improve the welds or is the above about quote DCEN vs DCEP wrong?

The other question I have is my welding table is a 2cm thick metal plate built on a RHS frame sitting on a concrete floor. If I make the piece +ve and rest it on the table would that make the entire table "live" so to speak and a shock hazard? Wouldn't it kind of short through the table into the ground? Just trying to understand the safety aspects..

Also whats a root run?

Just curious.

Montiee

Notice the sticks you are using have not used them myself but have enjoyed CIG Satinweld for many years tend not to splutter and hit and miss like some other i've used in the past.

Oh, just a little side issue found this one out the other day when wearing glasses flashes seem much bigger. Pretty stars every where.


Cheers


Steve