Welding Basics, Reading Welds
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Basic Welding
Reading welds
OK, here it is going to get fun as before we go and actually start welding we need to know what a good weld looks like. Or what one is.
A good weld, has both penetration and looks good. What that means is it goes into the metal of both sides of the weld, forms a puddle, is joining both sides together and looks good.
How it works is that the parent metal is melted away by the arc, and replaced by the wire feed metal, actually the weld is stronger than the surrounding metal. That is in lay man’s terms, I do not want to get too technical here.
Understanding that we have 2 ways to adjust our machines, first setting is the power factor, and the second is the wire feed speed.
Most machines, if you flip open the side panel will have a chart, you look at the metal you are joining and it gives a power//feed number and you set to that. Normally this is real close. You will learn to fine tune this setting.
Here is a diagram of a weld'
Ok so that is what is happening. So now how does that look in a weld?
Lets us look at a few welds
So that I am not typing to death, check out this link
Miller - MIG Welding Tips - Intro
That should show you about everything you need to see about welding with a wire feed and has a lot of examples of good and bad welds.
So where do I start
My suggestions is to get about 3 2 pound spools of .30 flux core and a nice size plate of 3/16th . Go out and just lay a few beads
I use a count method
I run circles, and one and two, that circle is finished and my next circle is moved up a bit, just so it laps the and just clears the end of the puddle of the previous puddle, and one and two. So on and so on. Other, guys like to make a c motion moving to the opening of the c, either way works well.
Once you have experience you will find that you will use cs and circles for different things so practice with both.
Try to run a few inches and check the weld. You are looking for a flat weld not a high ridge. The sound should be a constant buzzing, I have heard the people say like bacon frying but that means a uneven buzz. Correctly it needs to be a fairly constant buzz. As you do the plate you will start to recognize this sound.
Now you have this plate that you are ashamed of half of, pitch it and get a few pieces of lighter steel and start a few 90 degree welds, and generally use up the rest of the spool just joining anything and everything you can. Remember have fun and review that link I gave you a few times checking your progress. What you will be doing is learning different thicknesses of metal, different angles and different motions they all take. Plus dealing with the fall of gravity, etc. It should be fun. So to finish learning, once you have gone through 2 spools we are to make a table.
Oh no, we have to take the test.
Correct, but then lets see if we can do this correct before we start doing it on a 4x4 we will be riding in.
Go to a metal supply store.
I want you to go get some square tubing about I inch square, 8 pieces 3 feet long, and 4 pieces 4 feet long from the precut area, and a plate of 3/16th 3 feet by 4 feet. Now cut 2 inches off the end of 2 of the 4 footers and 4 inches off 4 of the 3 footers. The other 2 of the 4s need to be cut 4 inches Take 2 3s and 2 4s and prefit a square 3 foot 10 by 2 foot 10, prep the ends of 2 of the 4 footers and 2 of the 3 footers, get 2 of those magnetic squares and use one on the inside to make a 90 degree and the other use to keep the 2 flat. Now tack those together. Remove the squares, and now let us weld them up. You are going to have to remember that a leg is going come off that corner so do not weld where it is coming down or you will be grinding. Continue this process till you have a rectangle. Lay that on your work surface.
Wanna have fun? Let that puppy cool and take a hammer to it to check your weld penetration. If it brakes up, you need to get more heat to the metal.
Ok, time to get 2 more squares and start doing the legs. Place one strait down from the corner of the rectangle. Tack in place. Once all 4 of them are tacked securely get the other pieces and use them to fill in a triangle around ¾ of the way down.
Stand it up and check for level. If everything is killer flip it and weld everything up. If you made a mistake, get the grinder and pull a few pieces apart and start over. Remember have fun, do not get mad if you get frustrated.
Now to put the top on. Center the top for a 1 inch over hang on the sides and 2 inches in the front. Now we are going to learn to weld 2 different thicknesses of metal. Do not worry, just buck up and tack it on, do a few short welds till you feel confident in the welding and go for it.
Once finished, you should now have a great feeling for how to weld and will only get better, plus after painting up the table you now have great table to work on. This table has taught you angles, flat, up, down, and different thicknesses, it is a great project for any one to learn with.
Reading welds
OK, here it is going to get fun as before we go and actually start welding we need to know what a good weld looks like. Or what one is.
A good weld, has both penetration and looks good. What that means is it goes into the metal of both sides of the weld, forms a puddle, is joining both sides together and looks good.
How it works is that the parent metal is melted away by the arc, and replaced by the wire feed metal, actually the weld is stronger than the surrounding metal. That is in lay man’s terms, I do not want to get too technical here.
Understanding that we have 2 ways to adjust our machines, first setting is the power factor, and the second is the wire feed speed.
Most machines, if you flip open the side panel will have a chart, you look at the metal you are joining and it gives a power//feed number and you set to that. Normally this is real close. You will learn to fine tune this setting.
Here is a diagram of a weld'
Ok so that is what is happening. So now how does that look in a weld?
Lets us look at a few welds
So that I am not typing to death, check out this link
Miller - MIG Welding Tips - Intro
That should show you about everything you need to see about welding with a wire feed and has a lot of examples of good and bad welds.
So where do I start
My suggestions is to get about 3 2 pound spools of .30 flux core and a nice size plate of 3/16th . Go out and just lay a few beads
I use a count method
I run circles, and one and two, that circle is finished and my next circle is moved up a bit, just so it laps the and just clears the end of the puddle of the previous puddle, and one and two. So on and so on. Other, guys like to make a c motion moving to the opening of the c, either way works well.
Once you have experience you will find that you will use cs and circles for different things so practice with both.
Try to run a few inches and check the weld. You are looking for a flat weld not a high ridge. The sound should be a constant buzzing, I have heard the people say like bacon frying but that means a uneven buzz. Correctly it needs to be a fairly constant buzz. As you do the plate you will start to recognize this sound.
Now you have this plate that you are ashamed of half of, pitch it and get a few pieces of lighter steel and start a few 90 degree welds, and generally use up the rest of the spool just joining anything and everything you can. Remember have fun and review that link I gave you a few times checking your progress. What you will be doing is learning different thicknesses of metal, different angles and different motions they all take. Plus dealing with the fall of gravity, etc. It should be fun. So to finish learning, once you have gone through 2 spools we are to make a table.
Oh no, we have to take the test.
Correct, but then lets see if we can do this correct before we start doing it on a 4x4 we will be riding in.
Go to a metal supply store.
I want you to go get some square tubing about I inch square, 8 pieces 3 feet long, and 4 pieces 4 feet long from the precut area, and a plate of 3/16th 3 feet by 4 feet. Now cut 2 inches off the end of 2 of the 4 footers and 4 inches off 4 of the 3 footers. The other 2 of the 4s need to be cut 4 inches Take 2 3s and 2 4s and prefit a square 3 foot 10 by 2 foot 10, prep the ends of 2 of the 4 footers and 2 of the 3 footers, get 2 of those magnetic squares and use one on the inside to make a 90 degree and the other use to keep the 2 flat. Now tack those together. Remove the squares, and now let us weld them up. You are going to have to remember that a leg is going come off that corner so do not weld where it is coming down or you will be grinding. Continue this process till you have a rectangle. Lay that on your work surface.
Wanna have fun? Let that puppy cool and take a hammer to it to check your weld penetration. If it brakes up, you need to get more heat to the metal.
Ok, time to get 2 more squares and start doing the legs. Place one strait down from the corner of the rectangle. Tack in place. Once all 4 of them are tacked securely get the other pieces and use them to fill in a triangle around ¾ of the way down.
Stand it up and check for level. If everything is killer flip it and weld everything up. If you made a mistake, get the grinder and pull a few pieces apart and start over. Remember have fun, do not get mad if you get frustrated.
Now to put the top on. Center the top for a 1 inch over hang on the sides and 2 inches in the front. Now we are going to learn to weld 2 different thicknesses of metal. Do not worry, just buck up and tack it on, do a few short welds till you feel confident in the welding and go for it.
Once finished, you should now have a great feeling for how to weld and will only get better, plus after painting up the table you now have great table to work on. This table has taught you angles, flat, up, down, and different thicknesses, it is a great project for any one to learn with.
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