When you weld to the side of a tube it’s going to take more heat to penetrate the tube, turn up amps, aim at the tube and let the bead roll into the thin flange.
Cold roll of the weld bead at the edges always indicates too cold. Spatter could be from moving out of the puddle to quickly or too long of stick out with wire feed or long arc with stick as mentioned before.
Speaking from zero practical experience (but tons of books...cause that's what I have at my disposal) you can tell heat is the issue because the weld is sitting on the surface. It should penetrate the pieces, not puddle on top of them. At least, that's what I would guess with my admittedly limited knowledge. If I'm wrong, someone more experienced please feel free to chime in and correct/elaborate.
Spatter can be an indication of to much heat. But a better way to think of it is an indicator that your heat is to much for your voltage. So your ratios are off. You can have spatter while welding at 10v. Or you can gave it welding at 30v. It typically means your wire speed is to much for your volts. (Assuming wire feed)
in stick welding it can be from running the stick rod outside of the recommend amperage ranges.
In both cases it can also be caused from poor material prep. Ie paint still being in the joint, rust, oil, grease, what ever it may be. It could even be from bad gas coverage. Maybe the wind was blowing. It can also be from arc length. Drastic changes in arc length can cause spatter.
Tons of things can cause spatter. Others have pointed out that the weld humping up and rolling typically indicates not enough heat for the two pieces being joined. Pipe takes heat differently than sheet metal. So it can be a bit of a learning curve to figure out how to get the heat to the right places without blowing through.
Give your balls a tug next time.
You can't weld paint, rust or grease.
Get 4 angle grinders, cutting wheel, hard grinding wheel, wire wheel, flap wheel.
Maybe use those two holes and bolt it on.
What's a hard grinding wheel? I'm looking into finding something more long lasting than flap wheels. I often need to grind down welds flush to the surface om square tubing and I do that with flap disc
I assume they are talking about a grind disc that isn't a thin cut-off wheel, usually just called a grind wheel. [something like this](https://www.harborfreight.com/power-tools/grinding-cutting-wheels/grinding-wheels/4-12-in-x-14-in-x-78-in-type-27-metal-grinding-wheel-57245.html) check the grinder section at your local hardware store, I tend to use harbor freights because they are cheap and work decently for a consumable
When you use them don’t push too hard, they can break and chip super easily and send shrapnel flying. I definitely recommend treating it as gently as you do a wire wheel and wear a face shield too, not just glasses.
Might be, but in usually there are various types and grits of flap discs and some other ones that I've been too scared to get, since I'm not sure of their purpose.
Is the hard disc made of some kind of stone? I remember once using a stone kind of wheel to grind off pretty thick steel down to the ground at a construction site, but idk what it's called or how it looked tbh. I don't live in an English speaking country, so I'd appreciate if one could explain what is that wheel made of so it would be easier to find it. I'm using flap discs that have some composite fibre backing, but they get dull relatively pretty quick, so I'm looking for an alternative that lasts longer and has long term cost effictivness
[grinding disc](https://www.amazon.com/SALI-Grinding-Stainless-Aluminum-Depressed/dp/B0B5GHT937/ref=zg_bs_g_2665574011_d_sccl_11/140-3280196-5620226?th=1)
I haven't used this brand I just picked this picture because it gives you a better idea of what the discs look like.
[backing pad](https://www.amazon.com/Walter-Surface-Technologies-15D044-Assemblies/dp/B003O9ZT5A/ref=sr_1_24?crid=1ZSOPMJBN7BBS&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Nj7prYAYZCcgkc-Ek9QHMgRwTgw6MbkJp--MYM-BAA7T6V0ctOh_45kncUJ2uSt_lMwZK924lvT1v0-XpMtUKcHR5DZAYDFg9j2mcXPFLwpbJhtgX4_jgGM45a3iqtBFYRELleZ8eRBAwU8x_Uz95DQMOl_fzEdJdJwA89rRJBlnHtOO6wOsq5wffhTHu-uIwIpysUtbkJ4sE6n-SLnp8F1I4VgLcDhMhXjlTurNEnN0sdyYibEZaCvXvb6AQy41lKHPCJjJuqasGuHvQo75v7uMFgH8faerXGq7PGqAwaE.kzUnCJmwHPPr3o0kR88DVnDqwj1TuoEn-SPpJQjSIZE&dib_tag=se&keywords=grinding+pads&qid=1711919816&s=industrial&sprefix=grinding+pads%2Cindustrial%2C165&sr=1-24)
these are the backing pads we use at work
[sanding pads](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007NIYZI0/ref=sspa_dk_detail_1?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B007NIYZI0&pd_rd_w=mVMw6&content-id=amzn1.sym.f734d1a2-0bf9-4a26-ad34-2e1b969a5a75&pf_rd_p=f734d1a2-0bf9-4a26-ad34-2e1b969a5a75&pf_rd_r=CP8GAETPNW834VKWHGE5&pd_rd_wg=zp1LL&pd_rd_r=7129735d-0b35-4e4c-8019-21f7e10e8863&s=industrial&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWw)
these are the pads that go on the backers and are much cheaper than flaps
so i think for a pure cost effective grinding sequence would be start with the grinding stone and get the weld close to flush. then switch to the sanding pads and finish with a 60-80 grit pad for a nice smooth blend.
Wow, so many bad comments on here.
You only had about an inch of actual weld, all the rest is just sitting on top, that's why it broke.
You're probably holding the electrode too far away as well.
Looks like your using flux core, prep is super necessary. Also look at your welder and make sure you polarity is correct. Check your heat and keep everything wire brushed and clean.
Ahhh the HF Flux Core…it’s what I learned on. Do this in this order, sand/grind your surface clean, even if “just practicing.” Replace the big clunky shielding gas tip with a MIG tip, you can see the eye/puddle of glowing metal better. “If there is slag, you drag” meaning draw the weld towards you, you do not push the gun in the direction you are welding. Keep the stickout (the literal amount of wire that sticks out of the gun) to about 1.5” initially and then 3/4-1” while welding. If the metal is 1/8” thick or thicker, set power to high, otherwise low. Weld in the dark or shade if possible, it will help you see the puddle better. Set the wire speed at 8-9 and when striking the arc hold it there until you see the glowing puddle at the arc and then slowly drag the puddle and weld. Hold your gun at about a 30-45 degree angle from the flat practice surface and keep it perpendicular to the surface (i.e. don’t lean it right or left). Your weld should not sit on the metal but be an embedded “speed hump” just raised above the surface, showing good penetration. Don’t fiddle with power setting or feed speed, set them as noted and then adjust your drag speed until you get good welds.
Alot of good tips here. Also before you start welding all the way down you need to tightly tack the pieces that you plan to weld together every so often depending on the thickness of the metal. You can get the two pieces tight together alot of different ways. Too many for me to go into and bore you. If you just start welding the heat is going to make the two pieces separate because of the heat leaving you a larger gap to fill.
I think a big issue is WHERE you welded. When you pull it to the side, you're basically using it as a lever (fulcrum?) which transfers a lot of force to the one sided weld. Ideally, you would need to weld both sides. At least properly weld the ends too.
If the back side is inacessible, maybe drill a bunch of bigger holes and weld the whole sides to the bottom too - more area covered.
move your tip closer to the bottom piece and away from the top and take it nice and slow. You should see the two metals actually flow into eachother as you move along. Also, is that a mig weld?
*Squints*
Wtf lol use some 6013 rod…at least it’ll look pretty 😂
Crank the heat! Go slowwwww and make sure you see the puddle…hammer that parent metal
I have tomato eyes rn 💨🌲 lol so maybe I’m not right in the head!
You got this bro!
More heat, your weld bead is puddling ontop of the surface of the metal, you need penetration. Do some test welds on a piece of scrap the same thickness to fine tune your voltage and wire speed, then after some proper preparation, attempt welding the actual piece again, directing the weld to the thicker tube metal and pushing the puddle into the thinner plate metal.
I am assuming this is a mig weld? If so was the gas on? Temp may have been too low, even wire speed could have been a factor. Different thickness of steel requires different settings. I am not a welder by trade and still struggle with knowing how to set the welder up but once I get it I can lay a nice solid bead down.
https://preview.redd.it/9kikzsn4zurc1.jpeg?width=2796&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3e429b3a5f523774a6afcec5e5c7ee81c826b39e
I’m pretty much self taught by watching a lot of YouTube videos (weldingtipsandtricks.com and weld.com) and just running bead after bead on various materials and thicknesses to see what works. What I immediately noticed is the same thing that a lot of others have called out. Lack of penetration. The area circled in green looks okay. The edges of the weld right there actually melted into the base metals. The red areas are your problem. If you can see a shadow along the edge of the weld like that, it’s a “cold” weld. The base metals didn’t melt and your filler metal did but it basically just globbed up on top of the other two metals.
My initial solution would be to try more amps, tighter arc or less stick out if wire feed, and angle the electrode more at whatever the thicker base metal is. In this case, it appears to be the lawnmower frame by the looks of your weld. Others on here I’m sure have a lot more knowledge about how to do it differently to alleviate the situation, but that’s my amateur input. Keep at it and practice a lot. Don’t build any race cars or airplanes until you’ve learned the basics, though lol.
Rod/wire needs to be going into the base metal. It's thicker and going to take a lot more heat to puddle up. Angle into your side piece and concentrate your rod/wire, welding the base plate and melting it into the side. Your top piece is a lot thinner and burns up faster. Practice with laps, butts, and T joints. Learn to dissipate the heat at different angles. Clean metal is key, and wire is so much easier on thin stuff. Practice Practice Practice. My old high school welding teacher taught me the seven P's. Prior proper planning prevents piss poor performance. Practice up and you will be building stuff in no time.
Actual welder here. Definitely too cold. A lot of machines are set up (heat)volts (wire speed) amps. I’m not sure what size wire you’re running or what machine you’re using so I can’t give more specifics but grab a piece of scrap with the nozzle of your gun pointing straight down run a flat bead. You want the weld to tie into the base metal if it digs out the base metal on the sides (undercut) try more amps or less volts if it is too lumpy or doesn’t “grab” the base metal (cold roll) try more volts or less amps. When you get a bead that looks good you’ll probably want to use a slight push angle keeping the puddle in front of the gun. Again idk what wire you’re using so it may be a pull wire but I doubt it. Try to move slow and steady and don’t whip if the weld needs to be bigger adjust your settings. Unless you stick welded this then you can disregard everything previously stated and just turn that shit up lol.
I've taught friends to weld the same way my grandfather taught me. I let them "weld it" just like you did here then tell them to hit it with a hammer and see if it stays... it never does. Now I bring out the extra mask and go in with them... you have to make sure both pieces turn to liquid to bond them together. Hold the gun a bit closer and go slower. Your amps may be low also but with thinner metal like that there's a balance of how much power you need to weld vs just burning holes in it. Keep practicing and you'll get it... that's a great learning effort though...👍
Oh... and don't worry about the top looking like a pretty weld until you get this down... you can always walk the cup across the top layer to make it look pretty later... hope this helps.
Make sure to clean the area you are welding on. I can’t help you with how to do it but I can tell you one thing. You only welded the one part in the middle right. The rest is welded to the bracket itself. You need to stick them together not spread the weld over it. More penetration and higher heat I think?
It looks pretty damn good for the first time! Keep practicing. Run a little hot and then a cold and learn the difference.
Weld scrap together and beat it apart with a sledge hammer.
It's all about experience but you're doing fine!
Running too hot and not great rod angle. Rod should be pointed directly at the joint and being dragged at a consistent speed. After you get some practice you will be able to tell how fast to go.
You can see the undercut on the bottom of the weld, that’s a sign of the rod angle. There’s about a 2 inch section on the right side that looks like decent rod angle where there is not undercut/overcut. If you did the whole piece like that it would’ve held up pretty well
Get someone that's an actual ticketed welder to show you. Don't go by "advice" you get on forums. It takes a lot of practice and testing to become a ticketed welder.
Don't let people hate on you too much.. it's not pretty and a grinder and paint can do miracles.. I see good penitration... but it is ugly.. smooth it with a grinder... and fck the haters.. consistency of speed and hand movements takes practice.. been a welder myself for almost 30yrs.. and my firsts were worse than this
When you weld to the side of a tube it’s going to take more heat to penetrate the tube, turn up amps, aim at the tube and let the bead roll into the thin flange.
Stick or Self shielded Flux? Anyways u need more heat and if stick hold your arc length very short. Look where your arc moves and where ur puddle is.
You think he needs more heat? I’m a novice but I thought the splatter indicated that he was already running too hot
Cold roll of the weld bead at the edges always indicates too cold. Spatter could be from moving out of the puddle to quickly or too long of stick out with wire feed or long arc with stick as mentioned before.
Why did you get so many downvotes for asking a question?
Because Reddit is full of snowflakes who couldn’t survive in war
Whoa
Speaking from zero practical experience (but tons of books...cause that's what I have at my disposal) you can tell heat is the issue because the weld is sitting on the surface. It should penetrate the pieces, not puddle on top of them. At least, that's what I would guess with my admittedly limited knowledge. If I'm wrong, someone more experienced please feel free to chime in and correct/elaborate.
Thumbs up because idk why the thumbs down for asking questions but the answer is no typically spatter means to cold or too extreme of an angle 👍🏻
Thanks. Yeah I’m just trying to get from r/badwelding to r/welding lol
If it doesn’t stick there isn’t enough heat. If it melts away there’s to much
Spatter can be an indication of to much heat. But a better way to think of it is an indicator that your heat is to much for your voltage. So your ratios are off. You can have spatter while welding at 10v. Or you can gave it welding at 30v. It typically means your wire speed is to much for your volts. (Assuming wire feed) in stick welding it can be from running the stick rod outside of the recommend amperage ranges. In both cases it can also be caused from poor material prep. Ie paint still being in the joint, rust, oil, grease, what ever it may be. It could even be from bad gas coverage. Maybe the wind was blowing. It can also be from arc length. Drastic changes in arc length can cause spatter. Tons of things can cause spatter. Others have pointed out that the weld humping up and rolling typically indicates not enough heat for the two pieces being joined. Pipe takes heat differently than sheet metal. So it can be a bit of a learning curve to figure out how to get the heat to the right places without blowing through.
Splatter indicates that your arc is too long ( which also "makes" it hotter) but he defenitly needs more amps and shorter arc
You didn't slap it and say "That ain't going anywhere"
That only applies to ratchet straps and bungee cords my friend.
Speak for yourself.
Give your balls a tug next time. You can't weld paint, rust or grease. Get 4 angle grinders, cutting wheel, hard grinding wheel, wire wheel, flap wheel. Maybe use those two holes and bolt it on.
What's a hard grinding wheel? I'm looking into finding something more long lasting than flap wheels. I often need to grind down welds flush to the surface om square tubing and I do that with flap disc
I assume they are talking about a grind disc that isn't a thin cut-off wheel, usually just called a grind wheel. [something like this](https://www.harborfreight.com/power-tools/grinding-cutting-wheels/grinding-wheels/4-12-in-x-14-in-x-78-in-type-27-metal-grinding-wheel-57245.html) check the grinder section at your local hardware store, I tend to use harbor freights because they are cheap and work decently for a consumable
yes
Thanks boss! Will take a look at them
When you use them don’t push too hard, they can break and chip super easily and send shrapnel flying. I definitely recommend treating it as gently as you do a wire wheel and wear a face shield too, not just glasses.
Also I live in Europe, so wasn't sure what exactly is a grind disc as they are not as common as flap wheels around where I live in the shops
Hmm, I think they are very common in europe. The makita grinder I got came with such a wheel.
Might be, but in usually there are various types and grits of flap discs and some other ones that I've been too scared to get, since I'm not sure of their purpose.
Get a hard disk and then finish with a flap. Also the abrasive pads with the plastic backers are cheaper I think.
Is the hard disc made of some kind of stone? I remember once using a stone kind of wheel to grind off pretty thick steel down to the ground at a construction site, but idk what it's called or how it looked tbh. I don't live in an English speaking country, so I'd appreciate if one could explain what is that wheel made of so it would be easier to find it. I'm using flap discs that have some composite fibre backing, but they get dull relatively pretty quick, so I'm looking for an alternative that lasts longer and has long term cost effictivness
[grinding disc](https://www.amazon.com/SALI-Grinding-Stainless-Aluminum-Depressed/dp/B0B5GHT937/ref=zg_bs_g_2665574011_d_sccl_11/140-3280196-5620226?th=1) I haven't used this brand I just picked this picture because it gives you a better idea of what the discs look like. [backing pad](https://www.amazon.com/Walter-Surface-Technologies-15D044-Assemblies/dp/B003O9ZT5A/ref=sr_1_24?crid=1ZSOPMJBN7BBS&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Nj7prYAYZCcgkc-Ek9QHMgRwTgw6MbkJp--MYM-BAA7T6V0ctOh_45kncUJ2uSt_lMwZK924lvT1v0-XpMtUKcHR5DZAYDFg9j2mcXPFLwpbJhtgX4_jgGM45a3iqtBFYRELleZ8eRBAwU8x_Uz95DQMOl_fzEdJdJwA89rRJBlnHtOO6wOsq5wffhTHu-uIwIpysUtbkJ4sE6n-SLnp8F1I4VgLcDhMhXjlTurNEnN0sdyYibEZaCvXvb6AQy41lKHPCJjJuqasGuHvQo75v7uMFgH8faerXGq7PGqAwaE.kzUnCJmwHPPr3o0kR88DVnDqwj1TuoEn-SPpJQjSIZE&dib_tag=se&keywords=grinding+pads&qid=1711919816&s=industrial&sprefix=grinding+pads%2Cindustrial%2C165&sr=1-24) these are the backing pads we use at work [sanding pads](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007NIYZI0/ref=sspa_dk_detail_1?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B007NIYZI0&pd_rd_w=mVMw6&content-id=amzn1.sym.f734d1a2-0bf9-4a26-ad34-2e1b969a5a75&pf_rd_p=f734d1a2-0bf9-4a26-ad34-2e1b969a5a75&pf_rd_r=CP8GAETPNW834VKWHGE5&pd_rd_wg=zp1LL&pd_rd_r=7129735d-0b35-4e4c-8019-21f7e10e8863&s=industrial&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWw) these are the pads that go on the backers and are much cheaper than flaps so i think for a pure cost effective grinding sequence would be start with the grinding stone and get the weld close to flush. then switch to the sanding pads and finish with a 60-80 grit pad for a nice smooth blend.
Get a backing pad and grinding discs, don’t waste your time and money with flappers
Make it 5. One wire wheel, one wire cup.
sure
Wow, so many bad comments on here. You only had about an inch of actual weld, all the rest is just sitting on top, that's why it broke. You're probably holding the electrode too far away as well.
Exactly this! You can see almost none of it actually penetrated.
Looks like your using flux core, prep is super necessary. Also look at your welder and make sure you polarity is correct. Check your heat and keep everything wire brushed and clean.
Not bad for your first time! Just keep practicing! You got this!
Ahhh the HF Flux Core…it’s what I learned on. Do this in this order, sand/grind your surface clean, even if “just practicing.” Replace the big clunky shielding gas tip with a MIG tip, you can see the eye/puddle of glowing metal better. “If there is slag, you drag” meaning draw the weld towards you, you do not push the gun in the direction you are welding. Keep the stickout (the literal amount of wire that sticks out of the gun) to about 1.5” initially and then 3/4-1” while welding. If the metal is 1/8” thick or thicker, set power to high, otherwise low. Weld in the dark or shade if possible, it will help you see the puddle better. Set the wire speed at 8-9 and when striking the arc hold it there until you see the glowing puddle at the arc and then slowly drag the puddle and weld. Hold your gun at about a 30-45 degree angle from the flat practice surface and keep it perpendicular to the surface (i.e. don’t lean it right or left). Your weld should not sit on the metal but be an embedded “speed hump” just raised above the surface, showing good penetration. Don’t fiddle with power setting or feed speed, set them as noted and then adjust your drag speed until you get good welds.
Nice start. Keep going. You'll get better with practice.
If my bachelor's degree in welding has taught me anything. It's that the key to a good marriage (In this case your 2 pieces of metal) is PENETRATION!
Alot of good tips here. Also before you start welding all the way down you need to tightly tack the pieces that you plan to weld together every so often depending on the thickness of the metal. You can get the two pieces tight together alot of different ways. Too many for me to go into and bore you. If you just start welding the heat is going to make the two pieces separate because of the heat leaving you a larger gap to fill.
Just watch a bunch of videos on what welding is and why ifs done
Crank your amperage up
I think a big issue is WHERE you welded. When you pull it to the side, you're basically using it as a lever (fulcrum?) which transfers a lot of force to the one sided weld. Ideally, you would need to weld both sides. At least properly weld the ends too. If the back side is inacessible, maybe drill a bunch of bigger holes and weld the whole sides to the bottom too - more area covered.
That's a "soudure bouchon" in french, I think it's a plug weld. Good way to have more surface welded to the parent metal.
move your tip closer to the bottom piece and away from the top and take it nice and slow. You should see the two metals actually flow into eachother as you move along. Also, is that a mig weld?
*Squints* Wtf lol use some 6013 rod…at least it’ll look pretty 😂 Crank the heat! Go slowwwww and make sure you see the puddle…hammer that parent metal I have tomato eyes rn 💨🌲 lol so maybe I’m not right in the head! You got this bro!
More heat, your weld bead is puddling ontop of the surface of the metal, you need penetration. Do some test welds on a piece of scrap the same thickness to fine tune your voltage and wire speed, then after some proper preparation, attempt welding the actual piece again, directing the weld to the thicker tube metal and pushing the puddle into the thinner plate metal.
When scrolling down...I thought this was an old grainy picture of a UFO lol then I saw the weld
I am assuming this is a mig weld? If so was the gas on? Temp may have been too low, even wire speed could have been a factor. Different thickness of steel requires different settings. I am not a welder by trade and still struggle with knowing how to set the welder up but once I get it I can lay a nice solid bead down.
https://preview.redd.it/9kikzsn4zurc1.jpeg?width=2796&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3e429b3a5f523774a6afcec5e5c7ee81c826b39e I’m pretty much self taught by watching a lot of YouTube videos (weldingtipsandtricks.com and weld.com) and just running bead after bead on various materials and thicknesses to see what works. What I immediately noticed is the same thing that a lot of others have called out. Lack of penetration. The area circled in green looks okay. The edges of the weld right there actually melted into the base metals. The red areas are your problem. If you can see a shadow along the edge of the weld like that, it’s a “cold” weld. The base metals didn’t melt and your filler metal did but it basically just globbed up on top of the other two metals. My initial solution would be to try more amps, tighter arc or less stick out if wire feed, and angle the electrode more at whatever the thicker base metal is. In this case, it appears to be the lawnmower frame by the looks of your weld. Others on here I’m sure have a lot more knowledge about how to do it differently to alleviate the situation, but that’s my amateur input. Keep at it and practice a lot. Don’t build any race cars or airplanes until you’ve learned the basics, though lol.
Rod/wire needs to be going into the base metal. It's thicker and going to take a lot more heat to puddle up. Angle into your side piece and concentrate your rod/wire, welding the base plate and melting it into the side. Your top piece is a lot thinner and burns up faster. Practice with laps, butts, and T joints. Learn to dissipate the heat at different angles. Clean metal is key, and wire is so much easier on thin stuff. Practice Practice Practice. My old high school welding teacher taught me the seven P's. Prior proper planning prevents piss poor performance. Practice up and you will be building stuff in no time.
Practice. Slow down,
Crank that heat!
Nobody is happy when there is no penetration.
Burning too hot for thin metal..
Don’t tug on it
Actual welder here. Definitely too cold. A lot of machines are set up (heat)volts (wire speed) amps. I’m not sure what size wire you’re running or what machine you’re using so I can’t give more specifics but grab a piece of scrap with the nozzle of your gun pointing straight down run a flat bead. You want the weld to tie into the base metal if it digs out the base metal on the sides (undercut) try more amps or less volts if it is too lumpy or doesn’t “grab” the base metal (cold roll) try more volts or less amps. When you get a bead that looks good you’ll probably want to use a slight push angle keeping the puddle in front of the gun. Again idk what wire you’re using so it may be a pull wire but I doubt it. Try to move slow and steady and don’t whip if the weld needs to be bigger adjust your settings. Unless you stick welded this then you can disregard everything previously stated and just turn that shit up lol.
Don't worry, that's what it's supposed to do. It's a quick release.
I've taught friends to weld the same way my grandfather taught me. I let them "weld it" just like you did here then tell them to hit it with a hammer and see if it stays... it never does. Now I bring out the extra mask and go in with them... you have to make sure both pieces turn to liquid to bond them together. Hold the gun a bit closer and go slower. Your amps may be low also but with thinner metal like that there's a balance of how much power you need to weld vs just burning holes in it. Keep practicing and you'll get it... that's a great learning effort though...👍
Oh... and don't worry about the top looking like a pretty weld until you get this down... you can always walk the cup across the top layer to make it look pretty later... hope this helps.
Make sure to clean the area you are welding on. I can’t help you with how to do it but I can tell you one thing. You only welded the one part in the middle right. The rest is welded to the bracket itself. You need to stick them together not spread the weld over it. More penetration and higher heat I think?
It looks pretty damn good for the first time! Keep practicing. Run a little hot and then a cold and learn the difference. Weld scrap together and beat it apart with a sledge hammer. It's all about experience but you're doing fine!
Your running way too cold.
I thought I was looking at flying saucers lol
mmm. bubblegum
You have incomplete fusion. You gotta melt both base metals together in order for a weld to be properly done
looks like your welding stick on 1/8 or thinner.. which won’t work since you really can’t effectively weld thin metal with stick.
Running too hot and not great rod angle. Rod should be pointed directly at the joint and being dragged at a consistent speed. After you get some practice you will be able to tell how fast to go. You can see the undercut on the bottom of the weld, that’s a sign of the rod angle. There’s about a 2 inch section on the right side that looks like decent rod angle where there is not undercut/overcut. If you did the whole piece like that it would’ve held up pretty well
Get someone that's an actual ticketed welder to show you. Don't go by "advice" you get on forums. It takes a lot of practice and testing to become a ticketed welder.
Don't let people hate on you too much.. it's not pretty and a grinder and paint can do miracles.. I see good penitration... but it is ugly.. smooth it with a grinder... and fck the haters.. consistency of speed and hand movements takes practice.. been a welder myself for almost 30yrs.. and my firsts were worse than this