Welding question

[emptyhead]

Hi guys finally got to play around with my oxy/acet setup and yreid to start welding but I'm having problems. All my welds are more slag then actual beads and wondering what I'm doing wrong. Can't find a boces coarse close by yet. Was playing with 1/8 stuff with a #4 tip. To much oxy or two much acet? Thanks guys

 

[zout]

When you fire up your torch - watch the tip - same as a cutting brun - you want the oxy (in the middle of the flame) to burn clear and as sharp in focus as you can get it.

Also the rod is easily melted but you have to be sure the metal in area heated to accept the melted material you are entering.

If you can post of pic of what you have now as a weld - this will help diagnoise for you.

 

[Rusty1340]

Watch this youtube video at 2:45 in they show the adjusting the flame

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SO-MYmSH8Cs&feature=related[/media]

 

[zebedee]

Oxy-fuel welding help.

What Zout said. Not totally sure what your problem is, sounds like improper O2/Fuel mix.

Start flame with pure Acetylene, whispy yellow flame which smokes and sends out black soot..
**Add more fuel 'till soot goes and you get the inch of straight orange flame.
Slowly add Oxygen until blue flame forms then focuses. Keep adding O2 untill bright blue flame comes back towards tip but** does not leave the tip - gap between tip and start of blue flame.
Add some more fuel if greater heat is needed, each time increase O2 slowly to get the blue flame back to the tip.
Too much O2 will make the flame roar as it is about to blow itself out.... Which is the propper and safe way to extinguish the flame - blow it out with too much O2 before shutting off fuel. Stops pure fuel flame goingback up hose to tank!

When welding, the trick is getting all parts the same temp at the point they start to turn glassy, then liquid - which is the weld puddle forming.
If the two parts are discimilar thickness, warm the thicker first, occasionally heating the thinner, bring in the filler rod, also thin, get thet warm too, again - in and out of the flame (not the blue part) 'till it goes orange too. Try to drop the ball of filler rod melt, onto the work pieces, rather than keeping the end of the rod in the weld pool. Keep backing off the flame away from the weld pool as the puddle forms. "Push" the weld pool along the weld to join previous tacks. The phrase "chasing the onion" is related to weld pool control and advance along the joint. (Even a Trivial Persuit, or Battle of the Sexes board game question!)

This is one of the hardest types of welding to master - practise techniques for controling the heat to different parts by the proximity of flame and time in flame.

Hope this gets you further along - keep us all posted, I'm sure there are many welders on this site who, between us, will get you there!

 

[emptyhead]

Will give it another shot and add pics tonitr. Thanks

 

[Rustygears]

Sounds like you have an oxidizing flame. Common newby issue that comes from too much oxygen. Watch the YouTube clip. The usual way I teach gas welding is to start without rod. Just try making a little puddle of melt by moving the torch in little tiny circles around the edge of the puddle. Try to keep the inner blue flame just touching the puddle. Too close it will pop and even blow the torch flame out. Too far and you won't get the necessary heat and puddle control. The roar of the torch should get real quiet when you have the cone (that's what they call the inner blue flame) in the right spot. In fact, you might even hear a soft whistle when you're in the zone.

Once you can make a repeatable puddle, try pushing it along using the cone and those tiny circle motions. Just do this on flat metal. Don't try joining anything until you master pushing the puddle along. Once you master that, try adding rod to the puddle you push to build up a bead. Then you're ready to try joining metal. The secret is controlling the puddle. The same technique applies to TIG as well.

 

[4x4 Forever]

 

[emptyhead]

Thank you guys here was the second attempt that sort of went well

Then tried again tonite and same crappy welds

Will keep trying thanks for the advice

 

[RedbeardTheZombieHunter]

Save the oxy-aceteline for braising and get a 110-volt wire-feed welder from Harbor Fright.
(don't forget the auto-darkening mask! trust me, it's worth it!)

 

[rickf]

First and foremost make sure the metal is clean and free of rust. Do not melt the rod with the flame, the rod should be fed into the puddle. Heat, dip, advance. Heat, dip, advance. As was said practice, and lots of it will make you better but gas welding is a dead art. It is too hot for most body jobs that can be done much better with MIG or TIG. TIG by the way is the same process just using a different source for the heat. I do not really like 110 welders because you are limited to a max of 90 amps output. That is a lot more than what is needed for sheet metal but a lot less than what is needed for most anything structural. They also have very low duty cycles and do not hold a stable arc well.

Rick

 

[emptyhead]

Don't plan on doing a lot of welding with it but would at least like to be able to do small welding jobs with it. Bought it primary for working on the halftrack that I'm working on and hope one of these days to get running . Heat wrench and cutting. Mig or arc welder are in the cards just not anytime soon. Gives me an excuse to play with the torch to.

 

[m16ty]

I think it's good that you are learning to oxy/acetylene weld. It's almost a lost art with all the fancy welders out there these days. Once you learn how to do it you can transition into other processes with ease (Gas welding is great for learning puddle and heat control.

You can weld just about anything with a torch outfit. You can even do aluminum with the right flux.

I always run my oxygen and acetylene at around 4-5 psi when welding. Most people tend to run too much pressure but it doesn't take much for welding.

 

[Rustygears]

I always run my oxygen and acetylene at around 4-5 psi when welding. Most people tend to run too much pressure but it doesn't take much for welding.

Absolutely right on the money. The only time the oxy should be more than 5 psi is for cutting with the smoke wrench.

I see too many folks running gas too high which results in a poorly adjusted flame, which then winds up being an oxidizing flame instead of being neutral. An oxidizing flame has too much oxy and actually boils and burns the metal in the puddle, resulting in a crumbly weld bead.

Forget the rod for now and develop the skills to set that beautiful little blue cone and then to push the puddle around. The basic weld is a pure fusion weld - no rod. Rod is often dribbled on top of a bad underlying weld with no penetration.

Make sure you are working so that you are pushing the puddle away from the torch so that the rest of the flame is preheating where you will be welding next. Make sure you 'dig' the base metal to push the puddle like waves on the beach. This is how you get penetration and that classic 'stack of dimes' look to the bead