Day 1....HELP

ok so if you have kept up with my build you know that Im to the point of wleding......so I borrowed a welder from a good friend today (Flux core and FREEBIE VALUE) and decided I better practice before I went straight for the car AND BOY WAS I GLAD I DID.....now my only question is how the heck do i get good a tack welding sheetmetal?

All I have done is burn holes and horribly filled them.

Make sure your surfaces are clean of all oil and dirt - lower your heat range down along with the wire speed and make sure to chip the weld and try to stitch weld about a 1 to 2 in weld about every 2 to 3 inches, then come back and fill it in.[it's almost like stick welds]I prefer a gas mig, but ya use what ya got.

Rusty, whats your welding skill level? (I'm a step above BAD ) If you know stick, you shouldn't have a problem with MIG, but flux-core is messy. Get some anti-spatter spray to help keep the mess down.

What kind off welder are you using? I'll bet someone here has it and can tell you the approximate settings to start with.

I can stick weld (kinda) my level is a step above bad also haha and its a campbell hausfeld 110v 80 flux core....... I will try the spatter stuff maybe that will help as for slowing things down wont that just burn bigger holes

I recommend using the smallest wire that the machine will accept also.Lowest heat range and just tack in small increments at a time.

I don't know the welder, but it sounds perfect for the job. Assuming you are right handed, your right hand holds the handle, with your index finger lightly on the trigger. Your left hand is ahead of your right, resting against the material to be welded, with the nozzle over the top of your left thumb. Kind of like shooting pool. When you pull the trigger, don't move the gun. Start on some scrap with a light pulse type pull of the trigger. About 1/4 second time frame. If you can get it to make an orange to yellow orange spot, about the size of a BB, stop and wait for about 1/4 second. Move the nozzle about the width of a BB and do it again. This should be a rythmic sound, and movement. As you get a feel for it you can increase the size and amount of time you spend per weld. But this will keep you from burning through. If you still burn through, then use a heavy chunk of copper, or brass, (sprayed down with anti spatter), as a backer behind what you are welding.
You may need to turn the amps up alittle higher than the lowest setting to make this all work right.
Keep us posted.

Power down

rusty rodder said:

All I have done is burn holes and horribly filled them.

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Rusty,
If you're burning holes, your power setting is probably up too high. Try putting it on the lowest power setting available and use small tack welds like Bonehead suggested, he's a really good welder?

ISore

eyesore said:

Rusty,
welds like Bonehead suggested, he's a really good welder?

ISore

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haha, i wonder if that was a typo?

First thing that popped into my head was your welding too damn hot! Turn down the heat(voltage) And the answer to your question "how the heck do i get good at tack welding?" is PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE. I've been welding for years, and my tacks still break on me sometimes. Naturally it only happens when Im struggling to do a two person job by myself.

Follow Boneheads advice and you should be ok. In a former life I was a certified AWS welder, but found that tack welding sheet metal with flux core was quite challenging. The best you can do is follow the pointers given, practice/repetition and keep your grinder handy. Flux core likes to jump around and only weld on one side or the other, you may have to "build" your tacks up a bit to connect the two pieces at the seams. You will also find cleaning the tacks after your done is necessary-flux core is more like stick than gas. It will look like crap when your done, but you can carefully use the grinder as a great equilizer.

ALL of the information definatly made vast improvements THANKS GUYS

I am almost a professional now............HAHAHA (yeah right)

I'll throw in my comments FWIW. I am a hack as well.... I presume you are welding in your floor pans ??? That's tough stuff w/ the dirty, rusty metal....

If this is a 110v welder, I presume it has about 4-5 voltage settings (unlike one of the higher dollar units that have more variability in voltage). Set it at the lowest voltage and w/ a WFS (wire feed speed) of about 2.5. This is a good setting for the thin stuff (to start with) - assuming you're using an 0.023 wire.

I have found that I can get really good, precise tacks by resting the end of the gun nozzle on the metal at about a 10-20 degree angle from vertical. I use about 1/4 - 3/8" of stickout. Squeeze the trigger for about 1 second (or less) - may need to use a rocking motion to get both sides of a butt weld (depending on fitment). You can vary the trigger time obviously as needed.

If the weld bead is high and no penetration, you're too cold. You can add heat to the weld two ways, either turn up the voltage, or turn up the amps by increasing WFS. I would keep it on the lowest voltage and dial in the machine w/ WFS. Once you get the voltage and WFS right, you should have a nice tack w/ similar contour on top and bottom of the metal.

You really need to have minimal gaps between the sheet metal (assuming a butt weld) so you don't blow through....

I have found that at these settings (with solid 0.023 wire and shielding gas at least), a good travel speed is about an inch in 7 seconds (if you want a solid weld....). Don't try to get fancy on the thin stuff by doing circles, C's, etc - just do a straight line weld..... Otherwise you will burn through before you know what hit you.

Ok, I got carried away - MAN I love this stuff !!!!!

all good info, if you are welding really thin sheet it sometimes helps to turn the heat down (everyone said) but dont turn the w/s real low kinda have it higher so the heat doesnt have time to melt the metal through it kinda fills it up. it wont be the strongest tack but it will hold it till you weld it out