Well, I suck at welding

"Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire" (arch-duke-maxyenko)
11/12/2014 at 17:04 • Filed to: None

and now face a high probability of failing my senior project. Which would mean that I'd have to pay another semester's tuition to take it again.

DISCUSSION (30)

505Turbeaux > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
11/12/2014 at 17:08

I suck at welding too, but never where it was going to cost me money!

Alfalfa > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
11/12/2014 at 17:11

Almost everyone sucks at welding when they're starting out. The losing money part is certainly unfortunate, though.

ttyymmnn > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
11/12/2014 at 17:17

I remember going to trumpet lessons and telling my teacher, "I can't do this piece." He'd always reply, "Are you practicing it?"

Xyl0c41n3 > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
11/12/2014 at 17:35

What kind of welding? And what, specifically, are the issues you're having?

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Xyl0c41n3
11/12/2014 at 17:44

mig, and I didn't have enough amps, so the penetration is lacking, allowing me to pull the pieces apart by hand. The wire also kept sticking inside the gun causing each weld to be constantly interrupted as I had to stop and twist the gun around until the wire fed again. Mostly it looks like I welded with a car battery and a wire hanger.

Xyl0c41n3 > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
11/12/2014 at 18:15

Bad welds muddy up the tip. Did you try replacing the tip? Or cleaning it off a bit with a stiff wire brush? Might help with the wire sticking to the gun. Also, how's your argon supply? Without that nice little blanket of gas, the beads can royally suck.

crowmolly > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
11/12/2014 at 18:21

Flux or with sheilding gas?

FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
11/12/2014 at 18:27

go rent a nice welder, or pay someone to weld it. cheaper than a semester...

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Xyl0c41n3
11/12/2014 at 18:30

I'm guessing if he was being affected by angle that much he might be using an older welder due a new sleeve. Wire hanging up inside the run is not good.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Xyl0c41n3
11/12/2014 at 18:30

Gas was fine and I was using the only tip and cup that was there, the school has no others. I was just trying to get by with what was available. Now it's using acetylene to try and fix it.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > crowmolly
11/12/2014 at 18:31

Gas.

crowmolly > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
11/12/2014 at 18:33

A few more:

1.) What gas mixture?

2.) What size welder (115v? 220?)

3.) What material?

4.) Speed and amps you were using?

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > crowmolly
11/12/2014 at 18:39

Green bottle

Lincoln 115 that's been abused

14 gauge sheet steel on to a steel bike frame

I and probably too fast.

The welder is at school and I've only used it a total of 3 times.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
11/12/2014 at 18:43

Mig welders wear out. The cable and grip they have are likely... not in their prime at this point. My dad's sticks a little at sharp angles.

Xyl0c41n3 > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
11/12/2014 at 18:48

I don't know how much time you've got, but get yourself to a welding supply shop. You can get new tips in packs of three for about $10-15. A new tip makes ALL the difference. You can also clean up messy welds with a pneumatic grinder fitted with a conical bit to clear off any ugly nubs.

Though I guess switching to oxy-acetylene might be easier. Don't forget to clean off any slag periodically. Good luck. ^_^ Also, what are you making?

Xyl0c41n3 > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
11/12/2014 at 18:49

At first I thought he meant the wire was sticking to the work, too, and was gonna suggest he check his angle/distance, but then I re-read it and he's saying the wire is sticking inside the gun itself. That wouldn't necessarily be an angle issue, would it?

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
11/12/2014 at 18:50

Yeah, it's been a bit abused and the school will not buy a new one because they needed a new rec center instead.

crowmolly > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
11/12/2014 at 18:50

No, the equipment can't handle it.

A brand new Lincoln 140 (115V unit) can do a thickness of 5/16" MAX.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/pro…

You aren't going to weld 14 gauge to anything very well. Maybe you can take a torch and pre-heat the metal or something but IMO that welder doesn't have the balls.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > crowmolly
11/12/2014 at 18:52

I'm switching to acetylene to finish it.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Xyl0c41n3
11/12/2014 at 18:52

I'm not buying anything for the school.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Xyl0c41n3
11/12/2014 at 18:54

Since the wire has to slide on a sleeve inside the cable and gun, that sleeve wears out unevenly over time. If he holds the gun at this or that angle, it can bind up. The only sure fix is swapping the gun and cable, when you've got one worn enough to bind.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
11/12/2014 at 18:55

The cable itself is what you need, and those are available for much less than a new welder... however, you are in the nonsense zone of school shop tools. Where maintenance is optional and the newness is random.

Xyl0c41n3 > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
11/12/2014 at 18:56

Lol. Buying your own tips is just par for the course, like gloves. When I was learning how to weld, we all had our own tips. We'd just pop them in the gun when it was our turn to use it. Trust me, when other people are messy/shitty/irresponsible welders, you don't want to have to use the same shitty tip they just destroyed. Plus, tips wear our fairly fast, especially on a machine that gets a lot of use. I was suggesting you buy the tips for you and only you.

tromoly > crowmolly
11/12/2014 at 18:58

Um, what? 14 gauge is 0.08", 5/16 is 0.3125", thickness isn't the issue. Plus the Power MIG is pretty decent, I've done 0.25" all day long with no issues (until running out of Argon/C02....).

Xyl0c41n3 > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
11/12/2014 at 19:04

That totally makes sense. Today I learned...

Also, no more "wÖrk wÖrk?"

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Xyl0c41n3
11/12/2014 at 19:06

I put it to this in a hurry after playing the For < insert entity here> game the other day. wÖrk wÖrk will be put back at some point.

Xyl0c41n3 > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
11/12/2014 at 19:13

Hahaha. I saw that KAC had started that... but too late. Otherwise I would've changed mine to "For Texas." ^_^

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Xyl0c41n3
11/12/2014 at 19:19

If I buy something for me, it'll be a good welder.

crowmolly > tromoly
11/12/2014 at 22:22

Shit, I looked at the wrong table. Brain fart, you are correct sir.

tromoly > crowmolly
11/12/2014 at 23:14

Haha no worries, only reason I knew that is 'cause the conversion chart is pinned next to my work computer.