Fixing Welding Holes

"Christopher Tidy" wrote: (clip) With a firebrick tight against the underside of the metal, I've welded

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Kinda hard to strike an arc on the brick, ain't it?

Reply to
Leo Lichtman
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"Nick Mueller" wrote: WHAT A TRICK! You do not start in the center of the hole? How long did it

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I get what he means. You spiral your way inward, rather than trying to build across. It also helps to stop and restart, so the metal doesn't get hot enough to make another hole.

Reply to
Leo Lichtman

It's 'firebrick', dummy. It is already hot.

j/b

Reply to
jusme

Better yet, make a d.c. machine.

j/b

Reply to
jusme

If I had to have just one, it would be 7018.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus13560

Without stopping, the end result wouldbe a bigger hole. Weld a little, wait a little, grind slag, weld some more. In the ideal world, there would be no burnt through holes in the first place, but that happens to me, unfortunately.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus13560

On Fri, 18 Jan 2008 03:06:42 GMT, with neither quill nor qualm, "Leo Lichtman" quickly quoth:

Nah, I use gold.

--- Chaos, panic, and disorder--my work here is done.

Reply to
Larry Jaques

so, as a long time user of an AC machine (I tend to do a lot of the same thing at about 180 amps), help me understand what benefits DC might bring - I'm

Reply to
William Noble

Guess you're right there!

Chris

Reply to
Christopher Tidy

With a firebrick underneath I never used to stop. Just filled it up.

Chris

Reply to
Christopher Tidy

I never tried it in the vertical position.

Chris

Reply to
Christopher Tidy

The holes I made, often were not accessible from the other end (for example, welding tubing). Not sure if firebrick would also help with vertical pieces.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus13560

With the stinger negative, it's less penetration. With stinger positive, more penetration. With AC, there's no difference, as the arc does not go in one direction, but jumps 60 times per second. (?) Is that right?

Steve

Reply to
SteveB

What I described works exactly the same with AC-stick. You don't even have to crank down the current.

Nick

Reply to
Nick Mueller

Hey, sounds like my early attempts at welding - I still burn holes, but not as many - I build things out of 1.6mm tubing. What I found was....

Get a DC welder - they are ridiculously cheap now. Use good quality, heavy leads from your power outlet to your welder - if you use cheap, thin ones, voltage drop plays havoc with trying to keep a steady arc.As a rule, if the lead, or the plugs and sockets, get warm, they are defective for the application. Make sure your cables (handpiece and earth clamp) are in TOP condition, again a precaution against voltage drop. Use good welding rods - as a guide, the expensive ones are better than the cheap one from You Know Where. When you figure out the "best" current, you wont need to experiment with another variable - changing brands of rods then means you have to go through it all over again... Scratch warm your rod before you try to weld - helps a lot. Store your rods in a warm, dry place. Get a LCD helmet - the best thing since sliced bread. Means you can start to weld where you want to. Instead of 4 inches to the left/right/ up/down...

and finally....

practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice

and then do some more...

practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice

its the ONLY way....you will get a feel for it, this group is a good source of advice but the skilled tradesmen here use a language I cannot understand sometimes....

Regards,

Andrew VK3BFA.

Reply to
vk3bfa

Especially with AC this is a big tip. I find 7014 doesn't stick as bad with lower amps so I use it almost exclusively for the holes i burn.

Karl

Reply to
Karl Townsend

That's the problem I most often deal with. For example I was welding a crack in my tractor loader side rails. They are a large tubular metal piece, something like 2.5x5 inches. I got most of the crack welded on the 2.5 inch side when I burned thru. The hole was about

3/8". I just dropped a 3/8" bolt in the hole, with the head on top, and welded the head into the item. When done, the head was not visible, just a bit of a hump. The rest of the bolt is not noticed inside the tube. My guess is that the spot where the bolt is welded is actually a strong spot with the added steel, but thats just a guess.
Reply to
letterman

How do you MAKE a DC welder???????? I am assuming adding some HUGE rectifier diodes..... Please explain. I have a good knowledge of electronics and was wondering if there might be a way to modify an AC welder. They're not really that complicated anyhow. Mostly just a big transformer with adjustable core to control amperage output.

Reply to
letterman

I can understand the DRY part, but why WARM ???? I just got done welding when the outdoor temperature was 20deg. and the rods are kept in my unheated garage.

What is a LCD helmet?

Reply to
letterman

I'm not sure which rods I am using. I just bought a box of the ones that are listed as "general purpose". I have a second box of rods that have a white flux on them. I prefer them for most work, over the brownish colored ones. Sorry, it's too cold to go to the garage right now to see what numbers they are. I will look for some of those

7018s.
Reply to
letterman

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