Keep a tight arc. Long arcing, even a little, can boil the pool and create tiny voids or pinhole porosity.

Congrats Oscar. That is one hot & smooth bead.

Since you're doing it yourself, you can pimp it out with something shiny like aluminum or brass!

Of course, it wouldn't be very shiny for too long.

Also, make sure you aren't getting light inside of the hood from a light behind you. The glare off of the inside of your lens will greatly reduce visibility.

Wrapping an arm around and grabbing a back pocket or belt loop helps.

Being generally strong and having good core stability is good too. And diaphragmatic breathing through the nose deep into the belly rather than up in the chest helps. There are plenty of youtube vids on that.

A helmet with a good view is always great, but it also just takes a little time to interpret and get accustomed to what you are seeing. Just for kicks a friend of mine tried welding a little with my mig machine for his first time ever. He was totally disoriented and freaked out by the whole experien...

When I worked at an LWS both Lincoln and Miller were so-so to deal with for their engine drives. If its a problem with the engine, they refer you to the engine manufacturer/waranty, if it is a problem with the actual welder, they do their part for service to honor the warranty. Main problem being th...

Some specs. indicate to grind flush, some don't. Its a consideration for sizing, strength, speed, cost, etc. depending on the function of is being welded. Any and all test coupons I've either submitted or prepped/bent were ground flush. The ones that failed would have regardless of reinforcement or ...

If you wanted to be particular about it, you could spray it on then wipe it off in the weld zone using a cloth soaked with break cleaner over your finger.

The only time I've seen it cause a problem was when a dude was spraying enough for it to puddle then welding over it.

Just stay cool and make some nice welds. Its just another plate.

In a constant voltage system the current will adjust or vary based on thee wire feed speed, so if the wire is feeding at the right speed regardless of where the knob is, it should weld correctly.

Not saying you can't or shouldn't try that, simply that it might not be possible across the boards in a large manufacturing setting. One of the problems endemic to a large manufacturer is skill levels of the employees and how widely it can vary. You may be capable of this yourself, but others are no...

Just idle speculation, but make sure you're keeping your stick angle consistent and arc tight through out. No reaching with the electrode, move your whole wrist up with the weld. Too long of an arc or too much angle (dropping the wrist) will give wandering arc and crazy heat.

Not really. Thats one of those things you get good at keeping track of through practice. Just keep on rolling and remember it on the next one. You may be able to move a little quicker over that part and even it out a little though.

First off, Thank for the tips. This forum is wonderful. Filled with great people willing to help when they can. 1. Should I clean all the slag and brush before restarts? I also realized I was having a hard time arc striking because I had a bad ground. I then moved it closer to the piece and it went...

1. No arc strikes outside of the weld zone! Strike just above where you are about to weld, then drop down and start the bead. 2. Place the arc and deposit the metal a little higher into the sides to get a smoother bead. You're leaving a steep trough at the sides which makes slag inclusion very likel...

The dual shield absolutely rocks for putting it down hot and fast, and you have a machine capable using it to the extent that it offers you the advantages fcaw was designed for.

I wouldn't say you can't go wrong with it, but it would be difficult.

If it recycles the recovered granular stuff you may be getting chunks that are small enough to fit through a screen but big enough to gunk up the flux feed. Take a sample of what is coming through and make sure it isn't clumpy.

Then beat it with a hammer till its dead. I hate flux recovery/feeders.

Nah. Although its nice to see what is and is not inside. That undercut into the base metal is too much, and the profile and what not still need work.

Keep at it. It takes some time on the metal.

Very Nice!

Sounds like either reaching with the electrode (where you drop your wrist angle as you go up instead of raising your wrist), or drifting back out of the good CTWD.

Fast is in over-all hurried, or fast on running the beads? Fast over all can play havoc with the inter pass temp, which may have been a problem, but it looks like you may have been slow on the stringer. You're on the verge of cold lap, and have a questionable spot there in the upper right. Without k...

Thats a pretty high wire feed speed for that voltage.

Also, I hate those invertecs and so does everybody I've ever spoken to.

When I worked at a LWS I'd received complaints from people saying that HF killed their grinder that was on the table when they started welding.

I used to have them bring it in and I'd replace the brushes. I don't know how HF wears down brushes that quickly, but it worked every time.

Also the tensile indication on the box is considered the minimum. For actual "as welded" tested results, you must refer to the manufacturers spec sheet. Here's one for a typical er-70s6 http://www.lincolnelectric.com/assets/global/Products/Consumable_MIGGMAWWires-SuperArc-SuperArcL-56/c410...