Help me with my first ever mig welds, why do they look like Swiss cheese and will I ever improve (cry for help after being demolished on Reddit)
- Thread starter moesizlak
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Tris
What am I doing here?
If you don't get any joy here try the mig welding forum, they are a pretty helpful lot
Where is the information required, type of MIG, current, feed speed etc etc. Half the battle is getting the right welder and setup correctly, then you are in a position to learn. Best thing to do is get an evening class in welding, it is how I was taught gas, MMA and TIG other wise it is like teaching yourself to drive and expecting to pass the test.
I haven't done any MIG yet still on MMA, but that looks like not enough penetration (beads sitting on top too much) so not enough amps and also not enough gas flow (all the oxidation). The long one on the left is obviously closest but it looks like you need it to dig in more (and can then probably move a bit faster), and it's still not been protected enough by the gas. But that's me as a very amateur learner welder guessing really. As Tris said, the 'MIG welding forum' is a great source of better informed advice.
Take heart. Everybody who welds, from the guys in the shipyards to those who constructed the international space station, started where you are now.
Reddit is full of people who dont know their 4r5e from their elbow, but get off being critical of anyone on any subject.
Reddit is full of people who dont know their 4r5e from their elbow, but get off being critical of anyone on any subject.
Welding is a learned art- and takes lots of practice to learn lol
You have some porosity (usually an unclean surface, and/or gas flow is wrong (usually too low, but a extremely high gas rate can also cause it) and your 'heat'/penetration is too low on the ones on the right- current is too low
(I spent 3 months learning as a elec fitter apprentice how to weld, and that was 5 days a week, 8 hour days!!!)
Just welding a surface weld only teaches you so far- a better way is get some offcuts/scraps and weld them together, then break them apart again, to look at things like penetration etc
You actually have some 'reasonable' looking welds there as well so I suspect a lot is in your technique (with some pretty ugly ones as well but if this is your 'first time' nobody should expect perfection!!!)
I been welding on and off for over forty years, but even then I have to 'run a few practice beads' before doing any serious work if I haven't done it for a while, especially on a 'new machine'- as every single machine will do it slightly differently
So make sure that surface is CLEAN (and that includes things like oil from your hands even can cause that porosity- and even from earlier welds- clean before each new weld!!!) and experiment with your feed rate, amps, gas flow and the 'speed' of your torch travel... the best one is right at the top)
A lot of them look like the travel speed of the torch is too fast and/or too slow a wire speed (especially the 'chicken scratches' on the right) and those that are 'sitting on top' without good penetration- that can be too low on amps...
The sound will often give you clues as well while laying a weld- a consistent 'cooking bacon in a pan sizzling' sound is the ideal, if it is 'sputtering', that usually is a sign something is amiss, as can the smell (burning contaminates often 'taint' the smell and give you a clue something is amiss)
But most of it is 'practice, practice, practice'... until you start to get the feel for laying a good bead... (it helps considerably if you either have an experienced welder there while learning- either that or doing a class on welding (which is the same thing of course- an experienced welder) who can identify the issues as you are doing it so you can learn to identify them as you are doing it yourself...)
But think of it like learning to play a musical instrument- nobody picks up a saxaphone or sits down at a piano and is playing at 'concert level' within a minute or two...
You have some porosity (usually an unclean surface, and/or gas flow is wrong (usually too low, but a extremely high gas rate can also cause it) and your 'heat'/penetration is too low on the ones on the right- current is too low
(I spent 3 months learning as a elec fitter apprentice how to weld, and that was 5 days a week, 8 hour days!!!)
Just welding a surface weld only teaches you so far- a better way is get some offcuts/scraps and weld them together, then break them apart again, to look at things like penetration etc
You actually have some 'reasonable' looking welds there as well so I suspect a lot is in your technique (with some pretty ugly ones as well but if this is your 'first time' nobody should expect perfection!!!)
I been welding on and off for over forty years, but even then I have to 'run a few practice beads' before doing any serious work if I haven't done it for a while, especially on a 'new machine'- as every single machine will do it slightly differently
So make sure that surface is CLEAN (and that includes things like oil from your hands even can cause that porosity- and even from earlier welds- clean before each new weld!!!) and experiment with your feed rate, amps, gas flow and the 'speed' of your torch travel... the best one is right at the top)
A lot of them look like the travel speed of the torch is too fast and/or too slow a wire speed (especially the 'chicken scratches' on the right) and those that are 'sitting on top' without good penetration- that can be too low on amps...
The sound will often give you clues as well while laying a weld- a consistent 'cooking bacon in a pan sizzling' sound is the ideal, if it is 'sputtering', that usually is a sign something is amiss, as can the smell (burning contaminates often 'taint' the smell and give you a clue something is amiss)
But most of it is 'practice, practice, practice'... until you start to get the feel for laying a good bead... (it helps considerably if you either have an experienced welder there while learning- either that or doing a class on welding (which is the same thing of course- an experienced welder) who can identify the issues as you are doing it so you can learn to identify them as you are doing it yourself...)
But think of it like learning to play a musical instrument- nobody picks up a saxaphone or sits down at a piano and is playing at 'concert level' within a minute or two...
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