what a difference an excellent welder makes?

emzdogz

Aunty Em
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so, for some reason my TV ended up on American Chopper and I'm watching an episode where they're interviewing and testing possible new employees. And they had to do some butt-welds.
I gotta believe it's the equipment! they must have top of the line welding machines.

It shows them (I guess with special lens on camera?) pulling these beads that basically look like they're squirting melted butter out the end of the MIG welder. Like it works so strongly and perfectly. And it's different people going different speeds and not particularly concentrating very hard - and yet here they are, quickly squirting out perfect welds.

I now think if I had a better machine, I could do that too. It's GOT to be the welder! These welds these people were basically just blowing sideways out their butts looked better than my very best welds.

Worst case scenario: even tho I've spent hour upon hour trying this sh_t, even tho at welding class with stick welder I was able to make really nice flat beads, I am a crappy welder: point blank.

Scenario number 2: my welder is pretty bad and my varied materials are over-challenging. I wonder how I could check if my welder is messed up? I guess take it to a repair place.....

I guess in those scenes they shot at OCC of the people trying out, they had PRE-DETERMINED the perfect settings, wire feed speed, etc for that particular task. So I guess that's a huge part of it.

I'd like to see what they could have done on tubing, in a carport, on mixed materials, etc using an el cheapo little Lincoln WeldPak where THEY had to figure out the settings and get the NEG clamp attached just right, etc.

Anyway I couldn't believe how these people were squirting out perfect welds.
Very discouraging.

So how big of an advantage is it, to have a. probably the best equipment in the world PLUS b. perfectly pre-determined settings?
:banghead:
 
With a MIG welder getting it set up just right is really important. Keep playing with settings until you start getting better welds. Also make sure that the feed wheels are not slipping. Sometimes when that happens the user will keep cranking up the feed speed, and then you get a jerky feed. Bad news for making good welds. Good equipment will make a difference, but you can make very nice welds with almost any welder with practice.

Good Luck,

DLD1
 
With a MIG welder getting it set up just right is really important. Keep playing with settings until you start getting better welds. Also make sure that the feed wheels are not slipping. Sometimes when that happens the user will keep cranking up the feed speed, and then you get a jerky feed. Bad news for making good welds. Good equipment will make a difference, but you can make very nice welds with almost any welder with practice.

Good Luck,

DLD1
Ok thx for the response.
 
I wasn't suggesting that better equipment wouldn't make better welds, but rather very nice welds can be made with inexpensive welders. Remember, one of the huge differences in welders is their duty cycle. A cheap welder may have a duty cycle of 10%, where an expensive unit may have a duty cycle of 80-100%. Industrial welders have to run all day long without a problem, sometimes 24 hours a day. The cheap units are meant for hobby use where 10 minutes out of an hour is adequate. There are of course other differences that make expensive units easier to work with, and have a smoother operation. Just don't get discouraged and think you can't do a good job without spending a lot of money.

DLD1
 
OK thanks, much appreciated. One thing I was realizing, what they were asked to do on the show wasn't even "joining" metal. It was just running a bead along the corner of a piece of angle iron.
 
Eliminate variables till you get good welds.
Good power source? Heavy gauge wire back to the service panel, a good outlet not some 49 cent special?
Good grounding, cheap ground clamps cause a lot of problems.
Wind; welding HATES a breeze. shield your work from air currents.
CLEAN metal, grinder, wire wheel, NO PAINT NO RUST at the weld or at the ground clamp.
Correct set up of the torch, proper size, not worn out tip.
Practice, practice, practice. Adjust settings while practicing till you KNOW your equipment. Arc length is important learn to control your torch position. Start with fairly heavy metal on a flat table. just run beads on the metal don't even try to join anything at first. Decent welding has been done with car batteries and coat hanger wire

You mention carport.. It took me a long time to figure out why my MIG was acting so bad and I just KNEW it couldn't be me..... My welder sits in an unheated shed and over the years the feed wire had gotten rusty. New spool of wire, great welds again!
I am guessing you are using flux core. That is not a lot of fun to weld with compared to MIG welding. A chipping hammer and stiff wire brush are a necessity with flux core. every time you stop the arc you have to chip and brush before starting again.
http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/ lots of need to know info here.
Actually stock motorcycle frames and parts are pretty much mild steel OK thickness for a small welder and not THAT hard to weld.
 
nah, not flux core - have gas. I guess what bugged me is how easy it was made to look. Like these people could just walk in and do perfect work right off the bat. It didn't touch on any possible "issues" a welder might have to deal with. Things that have been discussed in the posts of this thread.
So basically in this episode I saw, all the "variables" that might end up in crap welds were removed by the situation.
As for my rig, I have a feeling my wire (which is pretty new and not rusty) is not feeding smoothly all the time. Maybe I don't have the spring loaded feed wheels adjusted correctly. That part is not very well described in the Lincoln instruction book.

Anyway, I guess I was just whining. They made something look so easy - even the newbies they had in the shop - that is quite challenging and not at all a "gimme" for me.
 
a better welding machine will make it easier to lay down a nice bead but that is a small part of the equation. a good welder can lay it down no matter what equipment is on hand as long as it is appropriate for the job. here is a pic of some of my work ss pipe tig weld to a carbon steal penetration
IMG_1351.jpg
 
not trying to say you are a sh@t you just need more practice and they probably edited a ton of f#$k ups out of that episode. this sh$t aint easy
 
reeb I am jealous, just ran my first TIG beads the other night Yuck! Hard to figure scale how BIG is that piece of pipe?
 
a better welding machine will make it easier to lay down a nice bead but that is a small part of the equation. a good welder can lay it down no matter what equipment is on hand as long as it is appropriate for the job. here is a pic of some of my work ss pipe tig weld to a carbon steal penetration
IMG_1351.jpg

awesome!
 
My welder is a Snap-on MM140 ... big heavy machine I can lay a really nice clean bead with it ... The welder at work is a Harbor freight cheapo ... I can't get a clean weld to save my A$$ ... equipment in my opinion is a LARGE part of the equation
 
Interesting post. Yes, equipment is a very important part of the equation. I'm much more comfortable on a Miller machine than a Lincoln, but it really comes down to experience. A good welder, (the person, not the machine), knows what's happening in front of him(her). Settings tell so much when you get used to them, each machine, that is. Heat, wire speed, burnback time, etc.. all different. Welding machines and welders can be like guitars. Sometimes, they make beautiful music with the right person, other times , not.. I hate it when someone makes my guitar sound awesome..
 
Cameras don't have eyes to burn out.

FWIW, A friend and I weld artwork together, the heat and speed he used is totally different than what I use. Yet we put out the same looking welds.

I like it hot and quick.

Get used to gas welding and arc welding seems easy. Get used to arc welding and flux core is amaing. Hook up gas and MIG is unreal! TIG is unknown territory for me right now. But I imagine if I can do all the others, it can't be too tough.
 
my miller180 was giving me crappy welds, and I weld all day with a lincoln indusrial welder.
what I figured out is my liner in my miller was bent, causing the wire to bind. also important to have the corresponding size liner for the wire you're using.
Also, did you reverse polarity when you switched your machine to gas? it was probably set up at the factory for flux cored. your work clamp lead should be negative for gas sheild. I'm betting your work clamp lead is set positive. It should be easy to switch with whatever socket needed to switch the terminals. (what machine do you have?)
MAKE SURE YOUR MACHINE IS TURNED OFF AND UNPLUGGED!! FLIP THE SWITCHES, TURN THE DIALS A FEW TIMES TO GET RID OF RESIDUAL ENERGY.
Dont mean to yell there, but getting shocked sucks.

Another thing to check is your wire tension. With the machine on, but the work piece ungrounded(important) hold the gun at a 45* angle, pull the trigger, and the wire should come out smooth and steady(speed don't matter) should coil in a -+4" diameter coil.
Adjust the wire tension till this is right. I had to prove our "millwright" some thing was wrong with my machine by doing this. If adjusting dosn't make the wire come out smooth, either the drive wheels are worn out, or you don't have the right rollers for the wire you are using. if you are using .035 wire(likely) you need .035 rollers.
Also, since you saw those nobodys shootin' butter out of their asses with angle , then get you some angle, and do the same. once your machine is set up, you won't believe how easy welding is.
Once I learned how to TIG, I could not believe people pay that much for something that easy, and fast. If you can oxy/gas weld you can TIG. another topic, for another time.
good luck.
 
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