Bill is right on, but please indulge me.
The best weld will happen when the welder (you) is comfortable. Sometimes we
can't move the material we are welding so comfort becomes a luxury but try
your best to be in a position where slow and steady can be done comfortably.
One other thing. Remember the recent post about the kids in Denver that
rescued a guy who's car dropped on top of him? Well guess what, in the last
week some kids (in Denver) just rescued a man who caught himself on fire
while welding. They put the fire out and saved his life.
Hmm, keep a fire extinguisher handy!
Larry
=========================
In a message dated 96-12-31 11:19:31 EST, william.eastman@medtronic.com
(William Eastman) writes:
> Jim:
>
> When it comes to welding, the best teacher is practice. If you can get
> some sheet metal the same thickness as what you plan to weld, play with it
> until you get comfortable befor attacking the real thing.
>
> Welding is a balancing act. You need to generate enough heat to melt the
> metal parts together but not too much heat so that you burn a hole.
>
> As for generic pointers, I would recommend the following:
>
> 1. Watch the weld pool, not the arc. Keep that little area of melted
> metal about the same size. If it starts getting too narrow, you probably
> are not getting sufficient penetration to join the parts. It it starts to
> get wider, you risk burning a hole.
>
> 2. Move the gun in small circles along the bead, not in a straight line.
> This will spread the heat out a little bit and result in a much smoother
> weld.
>
> 3. Move the gun at the same speed. This will help control the weld pool
> size. Slowing down can result in holes. Speeding up results in a poor
> weld.
>
> 4. Avoid butt weld or trying to fill gaps wider than the thickness of the
> metal. If you must do this, move the gun in faster circles while
> maintaining the same speed forward progress where the gap is wider. It
you
> do this right, you can actually fill holes or gaps.
>
> 5. Weld short sections then move somewher else. This will reduce
> distortion and also reduce heat sink problems where the area / gun heat up
> and become more prone to burn through.
>
> 6. Use plenty of cover gas.
>
> I hope this helps. As always, this is my experience YMMV.
>
> Regards
> Bill Eastman
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