Welding when you’re not 40 anymore…

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There is a reason MIG is so popular. I weld up to 3/8" with my Miller without issue. I have looked into the issue of not being able to properly see the flow. Its a common issue and more lighting is the answer.
 
I remember my metal shop teacher in high school cut an old (pre-aluminum) Coke can in half and gas welded it back together with an absolutely jewelry like bead.

Same teacher said he gave a kid an A for welding dissimilar metals together. The kid stuck a stainless steel ruler through the vents of a large shop transformer and hit the copper bus bar inside the machine. A bolt of electricity shot across the room narrowly avoiding killing the kid. Wes Cravens was the teacher's name. Funny guy with mad skills.
 
Kern Dog said:
I am having a hell of a time with the 6010 rod. Holy ****, that stuff is hard to get working right. MIG is so easy and far more convenient.
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Is the instructor showing you how it`s done? and explaining what he`s doing? I`d hope so instead of letting you eat.
5-P+ is what the pipe industry uses in the field, Mig in shop settings.
A good 6010 5-P+ weldor, can pass ultrasound and Xray testing.
Once you stick and wiggle the rod to break it off, the flux is gone and a bare section will make it hard to light up again. This is where a piece of scrap comes in handy, strike the arc, lift up high and let a few spalls drop down, then you can light up easier on your work. 7018 is kind of the opposite, the wire recedes into the flux and its easier to break it off flush with the wire to light up again. Most guy will tap the rod on the work to break it off, but sometimes that might take a chunk more than what is needed and give a Porus/bad start.
Example of my 5/32 5-P+ pipe welding on a job site.

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mopar head said:
Is the instructor showing you how it`s done? and explaining what he`s doing? I`d hope so instead of letting you eat.
5-P+ is what the pipe industry uses in the field, Mig in shop settings.
A good 6010 5-P+ weldor, can pass ultrasound and Xray testing.
Once you stick and wiggle the rod to break it off, the flux is gone and a bare section will make it hard to light up again. This is where a piece of scrap comes in handy, strike the arc, lift up high and let a few spalls drop down, then you can light up easier on your work. 7018 is kind of the opposite, the wire recedes into the flux and its easier to break it off flush with the wire to light up again. Most guy will tap the rod on the work to break it off, but sometimes that might take a chunk more than what is needed and give a Porus/bad start.
Example of my 5/32 5-P+ pipe welding on a job site.

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Wow! As a (hopefully) soon to be retired Pipefitter (Service Fitter, Local 539), let me say this: Nice work!

:thumbsup:
 
ProjectBazza said:
Wow! As a (hopefully) soon to be retired Pipefitter (Service Fitter, Local 539), let me say this: Nice work!

:thumbsup:
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Thanks bud, you know the pain of pipe fitting and welding out in the field.
It ain`t easy huh? lol
Although some guys could weld better with their eyes closed :rolleyes: I prefer to use my shield:D
 
mopar head said:
Show me

Which is it DowBoy? 35 year welder or not?
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mopar head said:
Thanks bud, you know the pain of pipe fitting and welding out in the field.
It ain`t easy huh? lol
Although some guys could weld better with their eyes closed :rolleyes: I prefer to use my shield:D
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I am talking about welding sheet metal with a 110 amp Lincoln .
Not heavy welding.
Get over it.
 
Show you what?
I don’t even have a 110 unit at the moment.
 
I am not gonna weld with those with out a helmet

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This is the best I can do for ya at the moment

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I used to be one of them thar travelin stick welders in my past life.... :lol:

Welding pipe for high pressure anhydrous ammonia for industrial refrigeration....

Your welds damn well better not leak!!!!!!

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I have a lot of respect for any real fab guys. And welders. My dad welded and worked on all the boosters that were made for the space flights including the moon landing. The bottom fell out after the moon landing. So he went in another direction job wise.
 
mopar head said:
Thanks bud, you know the pain of pipe fitting and welding out in the field.
It ain`t easy huh? lol
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Well, yes and no. I’m a Pipefitter, yes, but I’m a “Service Fitter”, as in HVAC Service (install, repair, service, etc). I used to do “some” welding, but not on a daily basis. (Not all Locals have Service Fitters, and I used to get odd looks when I would bring this up during training.)

But I did have to pass a competency exam when I first started out, and I used to work with the “real “ Fitters and Boilermakers on a daily basis Back in the Day….

Can I weld as good as the example in your picture? Oh, hell no! But I can weld, and I like to think I can spot good work, and would be proud if I had that same level of skill.
 
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Rick@Laysons said:
I used to be one of them thar travelin stick welders in my past life.... :lol:

Welding pipe for high pressure anhydrous ammonia for industrial refrigeration....

Your welds damn well better not leak!!!!!!

View attachment 1716371684
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Impressive! To be honest, ammonia scares the hell outta me!

When I turned-out one of my classmates went-on to specialize in ammonia refrigeration piping, as his father told him there's good money to be made there. He thoroughly enjoys it (he's still working), but I couldn't imagine the stress, or the liability.

I like to sleep at night, so I'll stick with simple AC/R copper tubing, thank you very much!
 
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learned to weld in tech school ,before auto dimming welding hoods
one of my first cars was a vw ,before a had a mig brazed 1/2 the car together had to have 10lb of braze in it
becareful not to turn down the dimming to much
i always said welding is as much an art as a skill ....lots of practice makes purfect
 
nutz said:
learned to weld in tech school ,before auto dimming welding hoods
one of my first cars was a vw ,before a had a mig brazed 1/2 the car together had to have 10lb of braze in it
becareful not to turn down the dimming to much
i always said welding is as much an art as a skill ....lots of practice makes purfect
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Done the same for my brothers 69 firebird vert. used but better floorpans with brass, ugh the fumes will kill ya, lol
Auto lenses were a god send
 
nutz said:
learned to weld in tech school ,before auto dimming welding hoods
one of my first cars was a vw ,before a had a mig brazed 1/2 the car together had to have 10lb of braze in it
becareful not to turn down the dimming to much
i always said welding is as much an art as a skill ....lots of practice makes purfect
Click to expand...

I took a welding class in high school in 2008 and they didn't have the funding for students to have auto-darkening hoods so I kinda got used to "starting blind". What helps me is laying a few practice beads first to get a feel for how the pool behaves with the thickness of metal and welder settings being used. Once I feel like I kind of have the hang of it I just go for it, imo there's a bit of a "leap of faith" starting out the first welds of a project but like another guy said, the more you do it the better you get. Idk if I could be a pro weldor doing high-level stuff with hazardous chemical containers and plumbing etc but it's still super satisfying. I haven't really done any TIG since that high school class, mostly MIG but some day I'll have one of those multifunction machines that can do both. Stick welding is super cool too, can't beat it for the thick and dirty stuff in less-than-ideal conditions. Hell we even were taught gas welding which is a whole other ball game in itself.
 
This is a pretty good video with a lot of good information for patch and sheet metal work with a mig.

 
RBConvert said:
I'm taking the class along with Greg. I've never welded before and I wanted to learn so community college seemed like one of the better choices. Monday we started stick welding with 7018 and 6010, and I was probably more frustrated than Greg. Just about every time I struck up the electrode it would stick to the material. Today went much better, and even though my welds suck, I was at least able to run a bead across the seam. The 6010 is much more unforgiving than the 7018.

Looks a lot better than mine.

Yeah, I'm 64 and lighting is an issue. I set the hood's light sensitivity to the lowest setting and also lowered the shading two levels. Greg and I are surrounded my millennials, half of them smell like a cannabis factory. But they can see better than we can.

I like the idea. I just wonder about the extra weight sitting on top of the hood.
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Use 6013 stick weld rod, lays down a much nicer weld.

Weld rod selection is key, will make a pro out of you.


☆☆☆☆☆
 
Pics of when I worked out in the field... Before and after of a column splice. I used mig welder with flux core wire.... no gas shielding. This is what they call "partial penetration"

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6013 stick weld rod x 3/32" dia. used to but weld 1/4" extension plates onto Modified '89 Truck Receiver Hitch.
Welding at 110 amps.

89 Truck Receiver.jpg



Angle grind and then smooth grinder scratches with 80 DA Sander. All painted up... corrosion resistant.


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4 Key Points of Welding:

1. Heat > How many amps you set your welder at.

2. Angle > The angle in degrees that your welding rod is to the welding path you wish to travel.

3. Distance > The distance the tip of the welding rod is off of the molten puddle as you are welding.

4. Speed > The speed of travel while moving along the desired welding path.

Heat
Angle
Distance
Speed


Practice, Practice..... always good to do a practice bead first on a piece of scrap metal to make sure you have your heat and rod selection right, just before you lay down that nice bead on the project you are welding.


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The 2nd gen dodge factory hitches 1994-2001 1500 2500 3500 are a bolt on to the 72-1993 d100 d150 d250 d350 w100 w150 w250 w350 trucks. They are cheap plentiful and strong.
 
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