Arc welding - what ya got, and tips...

SupraLux · Post by **SupraLux** » Wed May 02, 2007 6:09 pm

In light of the recent MIG thread I thought I'd start an Arc one as well... what do you use, and welding tips?

I suck at arc... I have an inverter pack that will do around 140A at full noise, which works fine with 2.5 and 3.2m GP rods... I don't use it much due to having the MIG but its handy for tacking in the wind where the MIG would just fizz....

Steve

coxsy · Post by **coxsy** » Wed May 02, 2007 6:46 pm

guess what we've got four for site work, with arc the power setting is more inportant for the weld position , angle of the rod to the work peice
control of the weld pool, also the type of rod you burn

ruf_zuki · Post by **ruf_zuki** » Wed May 02, 2007 10:54 pm

dont watch what your doing with the rod just watch what the weldpool is doing, if its wetting in at the sides nicely then you shouldnt have undercut, and listen to what the weld sounds like, it should sound crisp like bacon frying haha :lol:

if it doesnt your arc length is too long

De-Ranged · Post by **De-Ranged** » Wed May 02, 2007 11:30 pm

My current arc is a Miller Dynesty 200

... not the best I've ever used for arc that goes to my first welder a heavy old (ex old mans), 3phase youngs choke welder.... buzzed and rattled hard but you could glue anything together with it

didn't matter how wet the rods were with it either

Love the arc especially if I need to do a weld with no prep... wind up the amps to top end for the rod and burn your way through paint and oil :wink:

something a mig really struggles with

heres a good tip that only works with the arc & your old static glass mask...
Ever welded rusty steel or thin steel and blown a hole :roll:

heres the answer, run a bead on the edge of the hole, don't get carryed away or you might end up chasing the hole, once you've got a bit of weld on a couple of edges of the hole. you can now build on it, looking through the glass wait for the glow to dissapear you can now weld your next layer... wait for the glow to go and weld again... till you've filled the hole
if you do it this way you won't have to chip the slag till you've finished and so long as you don't go nuts and try and weld to much in one go it won't sag in or melt through.... I have a old style helmet just for doing this :wink:

auto dark helmets wont let ya do it :roll:

Hey ruf thanks for that tip I've never bothered to listen before :roll:

Cheers Reece

coxsy · Post by **coxsy** » Thu May 03, 2007 4:45 pm

my auto dark is good enough for stop start .At $495.00 the only problem with it its not auto on , youngs welders never die.

tristanp · Post by **tristanp** » Fri May 04, 2007 6:57 pm

a real nice cheap GP rod is the kobelco RB26 rods from blackwoods
they seem to hold a really nice arc and weld real nice
a 5kg pack of 3.2mm was under 20$

ruf_zuki · Post by **ruf_zuki** » Sun May 06, 2007 1:19 am

i heard only women use GP's :lol:

gomulletgo · Post by **gomulletgo** » Sun Jun 24, 2007 10:09 am

Has anyone found a dust mask they can wear under their welding helmet without the glass of the helmet fogging up?

I'm sick of all the nasty black stuff I blow out of my nose after a day of welding and angle grinding. Plus I'm sure it can't be too healthy to be breathing all that stuff in.

cheers

mercutio · Post by **mercutio** » Sun Jun 24, 2007 1:45 pm

coxsy wrote: youngs welders never die.

my old man has an old youngs welder in his shed still in working order doesnÂ´t get used much nowadays though he also has a MIG both of them sitting not doing alot he said i can look after them when i get a secure shed but then i will have to get a 3 phase power and considering how often i would use it it wouldnÂ´t be worth it

ruf_zuki · Post by **ruf_zuki** » Sun Jun 24, 2007 6:52 pm

gomulletgo, give your nearest 3m products distributor a call and ask for a dustmaster, they clip to your helmet and blow fresh air over you, they can be pricey though

tristanp · Post by **tristanp** » Sun Jun 24, 2007 7:58 pm

a dustmaster dm3 will set you back $800+ , i sold one at work last week
there is a passive mask made for welding with a downward facing valve to stop your mask fogging - i think its a wilson 5000 ?
i will try and remember at work tomorow

Moriarty · Post by **Moriarty** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 10:38 am

Go with De_Ranged comments on welding!!

As far as an arc welder, DONT buy a new jap or Korean or Chinese one, most are alluminium windings and wont handle continuous current.

Look around for an old HEAVY one, heavy usually means copper windinigs and greater current capabiblity and great er duty cycle.

I have an old Napier built APEX marketed under the Weldlwell brand. Smooth and easy. Better than ANY Young's welder.

Rods?

Personal opinion is Phillips 28 for mild steel, Phillips 48a for Galv pipe and Phillips 56s for hi-tensile. Not the cheapest but reliable performance.

DONT buy those el cheapo rods in the plastic pakets for Supa cheep. You ALWAYS get what you pay for.

Arc is far better on heavy-section steel unless you pay heaps for a real grunty mig.

De-Ranged · Post by **De-Ranged** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 11:19 am

A comment on rods

I've just been out using some new rods I got given by weldwell to try out
Its a new'ish rod they are selling for low hydrogen applications (structural and hi-tensil) the rods have been double coated with flux the outside coating being a general purpose coating... baked they were just like normal low-hi's, found they were a little easier restarting if you stopped
but where they rocked was site work, cold and open for some time they welded very well especailly restarting, surprisingly good for a low-hi
I'll find out what they are and post it up for you'll

Oh and a simple tip that hasn't be discussed Baking rods... if your rods have water stains on the flux or rust on the rod then baking them in an oven for 20min at around 200C will dry them out and improve there welding a hell of alot.... anyone using Low hydrogen rods should be doing this anyway if the packet has been open any length of time

Cheers Reece

Goose · Post by **Goose** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 11:23 am

My vote for arc welding is the "suprasurf/rokhound" method.

3 12 volt batteries hooked up to make 36 volts, some jumper-leads, a shitty old rod thats been sitting in the back of the truck for 3 years, and a glass out of a helmet.......

http://www.offroadexpress.co.nz/modules ... _photo.php

worked a treat :wink:

Moriarty · Post by **Moriarty** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 6:29 pm

De-Ranged wrote:A comment on rods

I've just been out using some new rods I got given by weldwell to try out
Its a new'ish rod they are selling for low hydrogen applications (structural and hi-tensil) the rods have been double coated with flux the outside coating being a general purpose coating... baked they were just like normal low-hi's, found they were a little easier restarting if you stopped
but where they rocked was site work, cold and open for some time they welded very well especailly restarting, surprisingly good for a low-hi
I'll find out what they are and post it up for you'll
Cheers Reece

Do that, Reece, I will be very interested, Weldwell are Philips, aint they?

Cos 56's are a bugger to restart, have to break the cup of flux offen the end of the rod to get 'em going agin.

Oh and a simple tip that hasn't be discussed Baking rods... if your rods have water stains on the flux or rust on the rod then baking them in an oven for 20min at around 200C will dry them out and improve there welding a hell of alot.... anyone using Low hydrogen rods should be doing this anyway if the packet has been open any length of time Reece

As a general matter of course, I keep all my rods of all types in the hot water cupboard. and wash my airfilters in the dishwasher!!!

xorph · Post by **xorph** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 10:12 pm

Can you get tiny rods for an arc?
before I got my mig I always had trouble burning through small stuff as theyre not that useful on automotive stuff.
Managed to get some 1.6mm rods and I could actually have a shot at scabbing panel steel together, but if you could get 0.6mm rods and a holder that could clamp up on them you could prob do a lot more with one? has this been tried?
Also scabbed a couple 'cutting rods' from a friend and apparently you can cut plate out with them but all I did was catch hair on fire, is there even such a thing as a 'cutting rod'? they were carbon sticks

truck-fixer · Post by **truck-fixer** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 10:23 pm

http://www.tpub.com/content/construction/14250/css/14250_162.htm

Check it out :wink:

xorph · Post by **xorph** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 11:26 pm

wow! thats increadible.... funny how the smallest plate in the table is 1/2" and you need a mere 300Amps to cut it.
It says DC is always used in arc cutting, which may explain my lack of fun with AC arc. My mig is DC and Ive been thinking of trying to convert it into a combination mig/arc machine because arc seems to be far better at scummy stuff and uphill.

tristanp · Post by **tristanp** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 7:44 pm

ive seen guys at work using 3/4" gouging carbons with an arc air torch and a 2400a machine , its literally a shower of molten metal coming at the guys operating it. , special leathers and streamlined helmets , so yeah i could see how you would set your hair on fire

truck-fixer · Post by **truck-fixer** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 7:51 pm

Yeah we have engineers coming into our workshop doing gouging and welding on customers truck and trailer units. Makes one hell of a loud noise but beats gas cutting 10 fold. you can stand 3 bays over from the gouging and still can't hear yourself talk. The engineers dress like they just came from Scott's Base.

coxsy · Post by **coxsy** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 8:20 pm

you can cut with normal rods , put the smallest rod in the holder turn the power up to max and strike an arc an push the rod through the steel then use the arc to melt and blow the yellow metal away,

coxsy · Post by **coxsy** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 10:29 pm

kitset welder africa style

Red90 · Post by **Red90** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 1:45 am

coxsy wrote:kitset welder africa style

Yep that style works fairly well too. Have had a fair bit of work done with similar machines, not the cleanest but....

Arc welding - what ya got, and tips...

Arc welding - what ya got, and tips...

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africa welders

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