I was never able to strike a spark consistently with stick. I actually
got along best with oxy, in part because it was much easier to see what
I was doing. I do OK with my little 120V MIG at home (I opted for MIG
both so I could have a cold torch working on a repair in the interior of
my daughter's truck, and because I'm leery of having a tank of acetylene
in the garage). Haven't had a chance to try TIG yet.
--
As we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should
be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours;
I find that the few times I try to do stick, the "arc control" on the
Syncrowave that boosts the current when you're about to stick the rod is
a big help.
As for TIG, I find it rather addictive, with tremendous control both in
torch positioning and foot pedal amperage control, as well as the clear
spark and smoke free view of what you're doing.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Doing flux-core wire feed welding, I have some difficulty seeing the puddle.
Cleaning the lenses and better illumination have helped a lot, but I wonder
whether smoke from the arc is also part of my problem. Would a small fan
blowing across the work be of any help?
HAHA, whatever gets ya thru your day man.
He ask if a small fan would be helpfull when running FC. Simple question
with a simple answer.
You can drift off into tig, mig, origami or grilling hamburgers if you want
but it doesn't answer the mans question and has no relevance to the
conversation.
JTMcC.
FWIW, and to get back to the OP, I have found that a suction fan, or even a
stand fan pulling the air away instead of blowing it on to the welding area
is best.
HTH
Steve
If you are using straight FCAW without a shielding gas, it is much like
stick welding, in that it is more resistant to losing shielding.
However, all the FCAW that I've run has been Dual-Shield, using FCAW
wire and 75/25 Ar/CO2 mix. Running a fan blowing too close to a dual-
shield operation would be begging for porosity.
The question, as posed, needed clarification. The easiest answer would
be for the querent to weld some scrap while employing the fan in
different positions. See what works and what doesn't.
As for smoke produced- Welding fumes have many nasty things in them, and
we should all strive to not breathe them. Negative pressure vent to
draw fumes away from your face, positive pressure to blow fresh air into
the workspace, and respirators are all good things. What you need
depends on the process used, susceptibility to porosity, and where the
welding is done. Ever had "metal-fume fever?" I wouldn't recommend it.
--
Tin Lizzie
"Elephant: A mouse built to government specifications."-Lazarus Long
"TinLizziedl" wrote: (clip) The question, as posed, needed clarification.
The easiest answer would
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Thanks, to you, and all others who have offered help. I am the querent
(that's an interesting derivative of "query" that I have never heard before.
Thanks for that, too.) Now I know that I should expect some benefit, and it
it doesn't work well, I should adjust the technique, rather than give up.
"JTMcC" wrote:
It's not "probably OK", it IS OK, we do it regularly. Especially in the
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I'm curious to know what being in the desert has to do with it. I wonder
why gas shielded welding was brought into the discussion. Not only do we
need still air for that, but I don't see how a gas shielded arc would create
any smoke.
Because temps well above 100 degrees (in the desert) make using a fan really
nice on calm days. We're pretty much into comfort around here.
I wonder too what tig or mig has to do with the question.
JTMcC.
Gas shielded welding is relevant, because you do not want to blow away
the shielding gas. A gas shielded arc can still create some smoke if the
material is not clean, i.e. paint, oil, etc. contaminating the material.
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