2nd day welding

[FullFender]

Hello, im 15 years old and this is my second day welding. I've attached some photos of my welds . I really admire lots of you on here who can quickly fab up whatever they to help get the job done so any advice on how to improve my welds would be mucho appreciated...to be honest I'm not even sure what welder I have...and be prepared to dumb it down because I have no idea about welding lingo..there is always room for improvement and I'm willing to learn

[67rustavenger]

[67ctbug]

Those welds look really great! I'm about your age and started welding last year and mine looked terrible the first time. Like Rust Avenger said, you should try some thin steel because thats all that these new parts are made of. Probably around 20 or 22 gauge.
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[FullFender]

Thank you for the compliment rustavenger and 67ct! My uncle who works at the ship yard also said to turn the heat up a little bit..so after I did it seemed to work better and the ridges That were happening in the first pictures seemed to disappear some. Question though, when welding I notice that sometimes there is a popping noise, is that something I want to hear or no? If not is there a way to fix it?

I've heard about doing different methods as far as hatch method to circles, in the center pic I did circles and the other two I did this sorta pattern:
/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)

[theKbStockpiler]

The best gauge to learn on is 16 to 18 gauge. It takes the least amount of amps(heat/hazards) ,cuts the easiest (cheapest),is lighter ,etcetera while keeping the learning curve as flat as possible for the beginner. That plate your welding is good for practicing with a stick welder.I would not bother with welding lap joints or fillet welds on thick metal first off because it is not going to help a beginner.Even a 250 amp machine can't do a single pass on plate unless it is gapped or the edge is beveled. It's only good for experiencing lots of amps while laying flat beads. Use that 3/16th inch steel for a top on your work bench to protect it while welding 16-18 gauge.

Your getting spatter because with MIG the metal has to be absolutely clean. That is the amount of spatter you get when fluxcore welding and not MIG. Watching the toe of the pool (the very edge of the pool where it meets the non molten part) is very important and can tell a lot of things that are going on with your welds. When your pool stops spreading OUT(within a few seconds) it will build UP so after it is as wide as it will go, move on or increase your speed.
It looks like you have your voltage adjustment right with your wire speed.

Technically with your arc movement being too slow, you preheated the piece you are welding while you are welding it. This leaves a wide bead with little penetration. This is also the reason if you keep laying beads on the same piece of metal without letting it cool down, your welder seems to have more power.It's great for filling in space but will be a weak joint. Preheating is done before you strike an arc with a gas torch so a lower amp welder can get deeper penetration,the metal starts out hot so the welder gets a head start sort of speak. If everything is within reasonable parameters for correct welding, the nozzle should be moving at about 1/4 to 3/8ths of an inch a second. If you can't set up your welder to do this ,then you can speed up or slow down your nozzle speed a little or use a technique like Pushing the puddle instead of Pulling it.

Edit: Late post: Weaving your arc is almost never needed and is going to be unnecessarily complicated for a beginner.
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Use all safety devices including a mask.

[modok]

The first round was too cold.
Second pieces too hot, but way better too! Huge improvement.

Just a matter of settings
You'll figure it out quick.

different patterns is....not real important in itself. I've seen pros that just do a straight line on everything, and that can work if you have real good aim, and steady hand.
zig-zags and circles ect, it is handy way to do a few things.....
-A lot of joints one piece is thicker than the other, so you want to spend more time towards the thick piece, weaving and spending 2/3 of the time on the thicker piece is a handy way to get that right.
-helps see what your doing!

[ateneo]

[vwkirb]

If your planning on doing sheet metal work, you will find that much of what you have figured out on steel plates doesn't apply!

Sheet metal is tough, you don't really get lay down a nice bead all at once, especially when you start dealing with shrinkage and distortion in body panels.

I taught myself on sheet metal, and honestly its something I can do, but i'm not great.

Keep up the good work!
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Andrew Kirby

[esde]

Starting with heavier steel does let you get comfortable with the mask and torch, sound, spatter, etc.
Thin sheet is tough, and the edge of thin sheet even more of a challenge, but from what I see you are capable of learning. When you "step up" to trying thinner stock, get some .023 wire and a matching tip, it will let you run less voltage and lessen the chance of burning through.
I bought my first mig machine when I was 21 and taught myself to weld, the skill and that machine payed for itself many hundreds of times over
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modok wrote:
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