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Great stories - newbies... take note!

I was Mig welding up the famous "arch" (my build thread yet to reach this) under the old bus.... up on ramps and stands.. laying on back.
Overalls on, beanie, welding helmet.... weld, weld, weld... went on for ages getting the weld to stop "running" down the joint...
I could smell smoke, not "metal" smoke - more like material.... looked at myself through the helmet - no flame... kept welding....

"Things" started getting hot on my chest.... in a confined space, I slid out backwards and then got the helmet up.... flame all over the chest area of my overalls...... I had a really long session of "Mrs Doubtfire" before I got them all out... overalls were riddled with holes....

On another occasion under there, not welding this time.. but up on stands and ramps.... spray painting POR-15... all the right gear on (well, as best I had)... face mask, goggles, beanie, full jumper, gloves etc. etc... spray, spray, spray... did a great job, 2 coats with the obligatory 30 minutes between them...

Came out and started cleaning up the gear.... bit by bit... all I had left of the safety gear was gloves... I got "itchy" eyes and rubbed them...
Finished cleaning up... and went inside.
Mrs Rosco took one look at me and went into uncontrollable laughter... "go look in the mirror!".... I did... huge black circles around my eyes...
I immediately hit the soap and water (worst thing you can do with POR-15... it sets by moisture).... and the circles were fully engaged...

I went to work the next day and one smart-ar#@e nick-named me "rosco racoon".. the name stuck for longer than the circles... it took a week for them to "rot" out.... take heed of this... the stuff simply won't come out if you get it on your skin.. water will send it into your pores further...

frats,
Rosco

Ok folk,
here we go... no welding today - rain looming.. tomorrow - looking forward to it.

We'll make a start with my progressive collection of helmets....

I did a Mig course with TAFE quite a few years back. The instructor ran a Mig and Tig supply store - and offered every class the opportunity to purchase some needed items.... he was selling these basic helmets for $10... I couldn't refuse....





It is a very (very) basic welding helmet - the only advantage it has on an even more spartan one is that you don't have to hold it up by a handle... it adjusts to fit your head..... other than that - this is "Spartica"... but I do sometimes revert to it when I am teaching someone to weld (not that I can weld myself)...





I'm going to show the "viewing" side of each helmet.... as you can see with the above - what you "see" is what you get... I have done a lot of damage to things using this helmet - simply because I poked around with the gun "looking" for an arc.... and it almost never failed to disappoint me in just what "else" I could light up the view with.....


Next, we move to the successor - I loved this helmet (still do, to some extent). It does not have a battery, but is "self" energising and receptive to welding arc.... I have used it with the Tig on extremely low settings - and it did not darken... I am ok to use it with heavier settings, but not for light work... It is a CIG "Predator" helmet.. and has served me well... probably some 20 years old now. I was told when I got it to leave it covered up with a clear plastic bag over it to stop the dust... but to allow light to get to it... Seems, if they are stored away in darkness - they lose their sensitivity to light.. this has never failed in normal welding.. I did all the welding under my old bus with this helmet.. the "marks" on it support my claim.






On the inside of this helmet - there aren't any controls either.. but, there are slots for the fitting of optical magnifying lenses.. which I did not need at the time of using this.









Ok - now we go to the helmet I simply love... it's a Miller "Pro-hobby"... I paid an awful lot of money for this one, and am extremely careful when moving it around or laying it down on anything... I'd hate to have to purchase another one...







On the inside of this helmet, you can see that it has adjustments for "sensitivity", "shade" and "delay"... sensitivity adjusts the "switching" between on and off according to how bright your arc is..... shade adjusts how dark or light the amount of reduction is and delay is a two position setting which "holds" the shade dark for longer... or allows it to turn off quicker....
You can see that I have two optical adjustment lenses fitted in the slots.. you can have differing magnification for either eye, if that is what your vision needs.

The power button is pressed to turn on the device... pressing it again does not turn it off.. that is done automatically after a pre-determined time of inaction.... it is important to understand that when setting up work, if it some time since last used - the helmet might not turn on when needed... I was taught to fit the helmet and look at a bright light source.. then to wave my hand across the window.... this should trigger the auto switching - if not, press the power button and test again. I have been caught a few times failing to do this - and it darned well hurts... it is some time since I last forgot...









Ok - that ends the first chapter... back in a few minutes with more bits and pieces...

frats,
Rosco

Ok next chapter...

These don't deserve a post on their own - but I promised to show them in the thread. These are my Tig welding gloves.
They are quite light weight and give excellent feel to both the Tig torch and also feeding the rod into the work.

I was going to add a pic of the heavy duty gauntlet type gloves I use with Mig - but the Mig machine takes a bit of getting out of where it is stored.... and these gauntlets are inside the wire compartment.. all covered up under canvas...

Tig gloves.. brilliant for this work (highly recommended)



Trolley -
I didn't want to haul around the Tig machine and have it topple from something or sit on the ground.
I decided to make a Mig project up from some scrap metal on hand - the result of which I was quite happy with.

It was put together using an angled steel tool with magnet inserts.

The trolley needed to be portable on its own wheels and at a height which the Tig would sit comfortably without being unduly high and unstable.
I needed to keep the little trolley small so that it could be stored in the now dwindling space in the garage. It was never my intention to leave the machine on the trolley so it had to be easily fitted and removed..

I achieved all of this and added a base tray with walls and access from both sides underneath. The "mesh" screen at front was added to give appearance of a little tractor like machine... and I added a T handle at front, with a limited angle limit to be able to lift the front wheels up when pulling over stepped rises...

I had some POR-15 left over and used all of it on the trolley... the left side was not painted (still isn't) and it has surface rust all over it.... waiting for another POR-15 project when I will finish painting the trolley.

I cut and fitted four angled feet retainers and welded them to the top - they prevent the machine from slipping off..

You can see in this pic the size of the "work" cabling.. it is quite hefty...

Pic..










The trolley is shown here with a "D" size Argon gas bottle fitted. I welded in a base plate which sat lower than the main trolley floor - keeping the bottle as low as possible. I also welded in two brackets with slots in them to fit a small chain - to prevent the bottle from falling out. The chain runs through two drilled holes and is pulled to the side to be captured in the slots.. I use a small pad of neoprene to cushion the bottle from the rear of the trolley.


Next - the regulator.
This also came with the machine... it can be used for either Mig or Tig.. as you can see in the pic.
With Mig - the flow rate of gas is much higher... up to 25 litres/min.
With Tig, you don't need to run it at such a high rate (unless it is windy) and it is much more economical... at only around the 10 litres/min flow rate.

I was taught at TAFE to wind down the regulator a bit when cracking open the gas bottle valve - this is done to prevent the sudden impact of the gas striking on the diaphragm of the regulator and cracking it... a practice I have been very disciplined in with both Mig and Tig.
I have an identical regulator set on the Mig machine.

You'll notice two gauges. The one at right is the remaining pressure volume in the bottle...the regulator valve has no effect on this gauge.
The one at left is the regulator flow rate...this is used to regulate the flow .. and is done with the gun operating. With Tig, it's not such a biggie - as nothing happens until you strike an arc on something.
With Mig, you must release the welding wire drive wheel clutch - or a supply of wire will begin to punch out of the torch nozzle.

You'll note that I put a little texta mark on the pressure volume gauge... this gives me an indication of how much gas I have used after each session.. and gives me a rough guide as to how much remains...


Pic..








The small D size bottle lasted quite some time on the previous occasion I used it.. I did not empty it when it was returned to Supagas.. the rental for the bottle was killing me - just wasted money. Any remaining gas when returned is not refundable - and the bottle is supposedly emptied before they refill..... you'll have to ask Supagas about that.

I now have both my bottles from Bunnings... for one, there is no rental - you pay a deposit for the bottle, which is refundable..
When you empty a bottle, you get your deposit back... and make another one and pay for a fresh bottle of gas - that's how it works with Bunnings.
You never need to concern yourself with a purchased bottle of your own becoming out of date... and you simply don't pay rent on a bottle that you aren't using.... for me, this works quite well. I may go years between welding jobs.


It is my intention to set the machine up tomorrow and do some welding.. with a bit of a narrative and some pix of these items in operation.


Ok, I'll be back shortly with some pix of electrodes and some other stuff..


frats,
Rosco

Ok second last one for tonight..
We will now go to the "pointy" end...

As far as I have learned, there are a few variables when setting up a machine for welding differing materials and thicknesses.

The physical variables are electrode type and size, collet size and nozzle size.

In this pic, we can see a number of differing ceramic nozzles... the smallest that I have is a number 4... sometimes, this number is shown on the body of the nozzle.. sometimes not. The main difference is the size of the hole from which the electrode (and gas) passes through.. and this is dependent on how much gas is needed and the likely size of the width of the arc according to power....

That is, the larger the size of the rod - the higher the amperage/voltage and heat of the weld... the higher this is - the more gas needed, because the width of the weld needs more shielding.

TIG is an abbreviation for "Tungsten Inert Gas"... meaning, the electrode is Tungsten and an inert sheilding gas is used... with Tig, I am best informed that this is always pure Argon.

Pic of some of my ceramic nozzles... I am not going to tell you which ones have been in use...





Ok, inside the nozzle when fitted to the torch is a collet arrangement. These vary in size according to the size of the electrode.

We'll see tomorrow when I set up the torch how all this works. An adjusting knob on the torch allows closure of the collet on the electrode - I am yet to learn what is an acceptable amount of protrusion of the electrode through the nozzle.... this is called "stick out" with Mig.. I expect it to be the same with Tig.

I have messed around with differing amounts of this stick-out... and found that my best welding seems to be with as little as possible.
Sadly, when this stick-out is very short - I can no longer see the arc (or the work or weld) due to the nozzle blocking my view.. I'm certain that I am doing things incorrectly at this early stage in my learning.

Nozzle, collet and retainer set... for those with more discerning vision, you can see a tube at the bottom of this set. Inside this tube is a number of "thoriated" electrodes.... next post will display and expand on "electrodes"...





On my last visit to Supagas to get supplies of rod and some other "toy" bits.. I stumbled across this set of "pyrex" nozzles and collets.
These are very fragile if dropped or stood on... not that ceramic ones will withstand a great deal of abuse..
These clear Pyrex ones will allow me to "see" my work and the arc when I chose to use short stick out.... at least, that's the objective.

I suspect that the resultant arc and burning metal will stain these nozzles just as much as previously found with ceramic - but, it's an opportunity to find out...

You can see in this pic that there is a size "6", an "8" and the larger one which is not marked.
I am yet to work out how these fit to my torch - but am assured they will.
They were an expensive set to purchase and I will most likely make use of them only when needed.






Whilst I was there, I found this little device - for feeding the filling rod into the weld pool (more on this later).
I have a nasty bad habit of feeding the rod in with such haste that I actually hit the electrode. This causes all sorts of issues with the tip of the electrode becoming contaminated.. losing its shape and forming a great "blob" on the end of it.
This "blob" causes the arc to become very unstable and uncontrollable in directing it to the point of the intended weld....
I spoke to the salesman about this feeder and he assured me that once mastered, my feed rates and control of the rod would become significantly more consistent... the little wheel on the top of the device is turned by rolling it backwards - which causes the main drive cog underneath to engage with it and push the rod forwards... it is controlled by the index finger of the rod hand (obviously). I am yet to use this, but it will more than likely get some "burns" on it tomorrow...







Back with more soon...


frats,
Rosco

Ok, last one for tonight...
I'll throw in some loose bits and then finish up with electrodes.

The machine I bought came with an impressive collection of spare parts.. some of which I don't know where they fit.
It also included spares for the Tig torch.
In the pic below, you can see spare cable ends with the unique cam lock terminals for the machine.
What the machine did not come with was a "handyman" or "hobby" instruction manual... this was not intended to be purchased by such persons...
The manual that came with it perplexed me considerably as I went though a succession of switching chapters to reference the subjects from one to another... I got there for the most in the end, but - there was a lot of "suck and see" out in the garage before coming back inside and reading up more on why something didn't go as read.... and critical words were either wrongly interpreted or failed to register.

Tig, as I set out early in this thread is not a "step up and shoot" type of welding process..... well, it might be if you "luck" everything up for a first time shot - but I can pretty much guarantee you..... this will be very short lived.
There are far too many variables in the process alone.. let aside the setting up of the controls and "that" flow chart of operation...




Ok - here we come to what I have amassed in electrodes thus far...
In this pic, we can see "ceriated, zirconated, thoriated and "mixed" oxides.

I now write in texta on each box what metal each of them is suited best to use on....

For mild steel, I am led to believe that "thoriated" serve as a yard-stick for both longevity and accuracy.
I have a modest supply of these - and will follow Simon's suggestion to contact BOC to add to the collection.

The next thing we need to look at amongst these is the "diameter" of the electrode.
A chart is clearly set out in the manual for what electrode to use and what diameter - dependent on the thickness and type of metal.









The two electrodes here show "zirconated" electrodes... at 2 mm diameter. You can see one end has been "sharpened" - the other end marked with a grey band... this "banding" is the method used to determine what type of tungsten electrode it is..


These zirconated electrodes are suitable for aluminium. I am led to believe, the sharpened end will not remain sharp for long - usually, it will form a "ball" end - which apparently, is ok for aluminium using AC.






I also have ceriated electrodes - I have labeled that box as suitable for stainless. I have two different sized for stainless - at 1.6 mm and 2.4 mm.
Most of the stainless welding that I have done thus far has been with very thin material... and I have used very low power settings and the finer 1.6 mm electrode has been used. I have had more success welding stainless than that of mild steel.. it "flows" beautifully... may have been a fluke, but I achieved good welds on a few different occasions..

Thoriated - ok, I put my hand up here to state that I have had the best results with mild steel using these than with other types...
The danger with them, as I understand it - is that they contain radio-active material ... and sharpening them on a tungsten wheel entails risk.
I don't yet "glow" at night ... and have done many sessions at my grinding wheel. I am told, when sharpening these on a tungsten wheel - not to use the wheel for anything else... contamination being the main reason.. I have a dedicated tungsten wheel for these electrodes.


In this pic, we can see three different sized thoriated electrodes..
1.0 mm, 1.6 mm and 2.4mm.
There are larger diameters, but the 2.4mm will cope with the maximum amperage of 200 A which my machine is capable of... there is no point in using a larger electrode if I don't have the power to make use of it. Using an electrode beyond the ability of the machine may not produce the most efficient arc or maintain a weld pool.






Tomorrow - I'll begin to include "feeding rods" to the thread... they come in a number of varying materials and sizes...again, more to add to the complexity of Tig welding.


It can't be all that bad - Tig is chosen above all others for some of the most difficult welding processes... it can weld materials that are simply beyond the ability of both stick, Mig and oxy welding.... so I am informed.

But, Tig is slow... Mig is fast.. and stick sort of sits somewhere in between - depending on how good you are with the chipping hammer and avoiding burning holes or gluing electrodes into the weld - as I do...

until tomorrow.. we do some "prac"... don't laugh!.. your turn at this may very well come one day...

frats,
Rosco

Re the stick out Rosco, possibly more gas? I hear tig is quite heavy on gas.

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

Errol62 wrote: Sun Apr 12, 2020 10:50 pm I hear tig is quite heavy on gas.

Not as I have experienced it, Clay - but more than happy to be enlightened.
With the little bit I've done - I haven't had any "porosity" creep into my welds yet... lack of gas shielding the weld pool until it cures.

The machine I have has the ability to "post flow"... this keeps the molten weld pool shielded for a bit longer after the arc has been stopped... and until the pool has "crater cured"... or "healed over".... I can control the current into the weld pool after the main arc is stopped as well - which I have had a play with and obtained better results.

Tig uses less gas volume than Mig... it is evidenced in the different references on the "flow" gauge... Tig is usually around the 10 litres/min... Mig is up around the 25 litres/min.... I have had porosity with Mig... usually eventuates when I forget to turn the gas bottle back on ... first 30 secs or so weld fine.. then all heck breaks loose and porosity shows up.. scratch my head for a minute or two and then remember the gas bottle valve... duh!

Thanks for your suggestion, I'll give it a bit of a whirl tomorrow with more gas flow.. see if it makes any difference to my very limited ability...

frats,
Rosco

Oh folk, forgot to mention.
Those who noted the "price" of the electrodes.. don't for one moment believe they are $6 a box... they are $6 each... cheaper in bulk, but a box of 10 will set you back $60... not $6!

frats,
Rosco

Clay - I gave your suggestion to increase gas flow some consideration as I went into slumber land last night.....
I agree that increasing the flow with a longer stick-out may resolve the issue of the nozzle hiding the work and weld.. will set it up and see how we go later today...
About to head out and set the machine up... nothing special, just some easy butt joint welds at varying settings.. fingers crossed, I'll actually get some to "stick"... without burning through..

back later,

frats,
Rosco

Ok Rosco. I run my mig at 12 litres per minute as was recommended way back when I did a tafe course, 1995? When I bought the “new” unit three or four years ago 12 l/m was specified in the instructions.


FB ute fixer upper, EK van on rotisserie

Yep, Clay - as I do, but I tend to run a bit more gas with Mig... up around the 20 litres/min.. more if it's windy.

My 10 lites/min is for "Tig"... not Mig... I'm about to add another couple of chapters to this - I have just set everything up and done some preliminary welding... about 22 pix (with narrative).

frats,
Rosco

Errol62 wrote: Mon Apr 13, 2020 8:58 am my mig

Nice machine, by the way... looks like it's not wasted in storage like mine is...

One question, two knobs.... I'm guessing that on the left is voltage and the right is wire speed (amps).

Don't think I have any pix of my Mig yet... will take some when I get it out next.... it's a big and heavy "coil" unit.. takes quite a bit of hauling around and squeezing into the hidey-hole I store it in under canvas.

frats,
Rosco

Ok, we go some more... setting up is going to take a couple of posts - lots of pix.

Here is the trolley loaded up with the machine... connections made..




In this pic, we can see the disassembled torch componentry.... I have set this up for welding 1.0 mm steel using a 1.0 mm collet, electrode and a number 6 nozzle.





The torch assembled with what I have found to be an appropriate "stick out"..

You can see the long trigger button on the top of the torch handle... there is also a control wheel, it is an option to use when you want to control the peak amperage remotely by rolling the little wheel.... I find this cumbersome in my early learning stage... and prefer to use the settings on the "panel".... in time, I may be able to fine tune and tweak control of torch power using the wheel - but for now, it gets in the way and I have found I roll it around under my finger without realising....





Ok, the regulator is now connected up, gas bottle opened and regulator set at just over 10 litres/minute flow rate.





I'll now make a start on the panel settings - there are quite a few to add and explain as I understand them.
I am using the settings I last used when I welded a 1.0 mm repair section to the lower dog-leg of the front guard on my little Corona quite a few years back... I am also using the same metal, but have ground off the surface rust... fingers crossed, these settings will still be appropriate.

In my previous attempt, I found that I could weld better using the "pulse" option.. we'll get to that, but you can see at left on the panel that the little LED is set at "pulse".

First up, we set the "hot start" amperage.... this is what comes out of the electrode to "make the arc".. it has a distinct "buzzing" sound as this peak current in pulse form attempts to make contact between the work lead end and the electrode end... with the "work area to be welded" in between.

As we discussed previously - to set up this machine, the "flow chart" is followed. Changing each parameter setting is done by using the blue knob... once set, we move forward or backward to the next/previous setting using the left and right arrow scroll keys.

I have hot start set for this thin sheet at 15A





This setting is for the "initial current" set up.... initial current is what I have the machine set to produce before I start welding... it's like a standby current, if you like..... which holds the arc previously struck.... releasing the trigger of the torch then moves on through the sequence to the next steps... all of these become automatic until near the end.. which we will get to.
Initial current will remain operational forever.. until further action of the trigger is performed... you can adjust any of the parameter settings to any increment that you want....
I have initial current set at 10 A.... it will sit there all day whilst I keep the trigger depressed until I release the trigger and commence the weld sequence.





Ok, we have pressed the trigger and now released it again..
Now the machine is going through the "upslope" process..... taking us from the initial current up towards the peak setting... Upslope is adjusted in time units... seconds... from leaving the initial current to reaching the peak...
I have this set at 1 second.




Ok, we have reached the end of "upslope" and are now at the peak welding current... which in this case I have set at 35A.





Back with chapter 2 of this shortly...

frats,
Rosco

Chapter 2... settings.

Ok, the sequence now having reached peak amps, in "pulse", we need to also program what the amperage will drop down to in this pulsing from peak to base..... I have the "base" amperage set here to 15 A.




Next, we need to set the "frequency width"... this determines how long the arc stays at peak and also at base... it is determined as a percentage.
I have it set here to 50%...... which is half the time at peak, and half at base. I can adjust this so that the peak is of a greater period than the base - or vice-versa.... I have not had much of a play with this welding steel - but have done so with aluminium, for reasons I will attempt to explain when we get to that process.





Next, we need to set the "frequency".... simply put, this is the amount of time per second that the jump to peak and fall to base occurs....
I can't remember why, but last time - I ended up at 65 Hz... that is, 65 times a second. At this rate, it has a deep "throbbing" sound as the weld is made...... increasing the frequency raises the sound pitch to almost a squeal... reducing it results in it sounding like a huge moth buzzing around a light....





Ok, we've done our weld and now want to stop the arc.... we press the trigger again and hold it down, and it starts the "downslope" slope process........ this allows the weld to be reduced at a slow rate and hold the weld pool liquidus until such time as we want it to solidify.
We can reduce this slowly.. so that both the weld pool cools slowly and the torch electrode does likewise.... we set this in seconds, I have this set for 3 seconds. We could also do it rapidly.. which I have not had a play with. Logic suggests to me that it better to slow things down, in much the same manner as we started them up...






Now we have reduced our welding current in downslope - we need to program what current is held until the weld is completed... this current is called "crater current".... and, like at the beginning - when we had "initial" current to hold the arc - we do likewise to hold it again until the pool has started to cool down.... when we are happy with the pool having begun to solidify - we release the trigger and then it stops the arc.






Finally, we need to program for how long the gas continues to flow after stopping the weld... like "pre-flow" this is called "post-flow".
It can be programmed up to 60 seconds with this machine... I expect I may need that for some difficult weld process.. but, for now - I use 3 seconds... to ensure that the weld pool has completely solidified and the electrode has reduced temperature sufficiently to prevent it attracting any foreign particles from the air....




back with chapter 3 next...

frats,
Rosco

Chapter 3....

Ok, machine is now set up to weld...
Next, we go to find our welding filler rod.
I am using a 1.6 mm mild steel rod for this job... as it is suggested for 1 mm steel.

This is the tube of rods as they are purchased. The numbers mean something, and I believe this is to do with the mix of steel in them.. I have explanations of this in a publication that I purchased some time back when commencing to use the lathe and mill.



And now, for the first time - I'm about to make use of the rod feeder... it will handle down to 1.6 mm rod.. and up to beyond what my machine can weld..... pic shows the rod inserted and ready to be added to the weld pool..... I am not good at this, and get into all sorts of trouble with adding rod to the weld pool.... as we will shortly see when I start to weld soon....




Preparation... I have cut two pieces of 1.0 mm steel sheet off and have ground them down with a plastic wheel... they are now clean and ready to be joined.
I have them sitting on top of a plate of copper... in case my usual burn through occurs and I need to build up the holes again...




I include this pic of the end of the sheets... plus a standard pencil for size reference... the metal is quite thin.... probably just a little thinner than what you would expect to find in a rust repair section for one of our FB/EK panels.... I do know the Corona had thin metal cladding.. which was pretty close to this 1 mm.... the EK has thicker metal.. except in places where it has "grown" thin...... they are another issue entirely - welding rusted areas is a very rapid and "holey" experience... as anyone who has suffered this knows..... a Mig will "find" any hidden rust with rapid care abandon....






And, just before I commence a weld -after setting up, I make notes... I find these invaluable. It may be years after that I again attempt to weld a similar panel or joint..... I would urge anyone to keep a small notebook such as this for future reference...






Ok - chapter 4 coming.... and we finally get to see what all these settings end up doing...


frats,
Rosco