varekai wrote:where in california are you? i'm lucky enough to have a steel supply house close by.

I'm near Visalia

I need more steel to practice with. Where do ppl get steel from? Home Depot doesn't have much

I have a hard time seeing through my auto darkening helmet on some welds. I get tired of it and end up turning the shade down to 9. Does better work-space lighting help? I also saw some Ytube vids about lights that you can attach to your helmet -- are they any good?

Finally started getting some decent 7018 fillet welds by directing the rod more toward the thicker (and rusty) peice. What a cool concept

Now see, if there was a thanks button I could thank you and I wouldn't have to type this

How 'bout adding a "Thanks" button option on posts who you would like to thank. Seems easier than typing up a post or what not for every time you want to do it.

I'm pretty new here but there's a lot of ppl whose info I appreciate

@homemade. I also wonder why someone installed a 30 amp breaker on the 12awg wire bus. Lol. This whole picture seems to be messed up. 30amp breaker on 12awg with a 15amp recepticle. :roll: I ordered a welder extension cord so I could reach the 30amp circuit...ie nema 6-50. But since the 30amp setup ...

@ Homemade. When putting my wire gauge around the core of the recepticle wire, it fits the 12 gauge slot best. So I think it's 12 gauge wire in the wall

I found a dedicated 30 amp circuit in my house that I'm renting . To make sure, I plugged a fan into the recepticle and turned off the breaker -- the fan turned off. I'm pretty sure there's nothing using this circuit -- it's labeled as "dryer" on the breaker box. But the recepticle is only...

Common practice if you have a bad spot on a large structural weld or pipe weld would be to grind out only as much as you need to get rid of all inclusions, while making sure your creating a recognized joint shape. IE a v groove of acceptable width, depth, and angle. Oh I get it.. So basically you c...

i can't say amps, however you want to be hot enough to melt the thick steel well which means your going to be to hot for the thin steel. you counter that by directing the arc onto the thicker piece and wash over onto the thinner piece. how much depends on the difference in thickness, type of metal ...

How bout 1/8 7014 or 1/8 6011

Is grounding to a table instead of the work peice advantagous?

If I want to fillet weld, say, a 1/2" peice of mild steel to a 1/4" peice of steel, should I "direct" the rod toward the thicker peice? And what are recommended amp settings?

Ballistic308 wrote:It may prove to be tough to achieve a more uniform tippled without more practice. If you’re going for asthmatics have you considered placing the weld on the inside of the leg?

I like a welded look, so I want the bead on outside. I have more pipe to practice on -- I plan on it

Ah ha!! I located a 110v 30 amp dedicated circuit in my house. Not being used by anything. Apparently it was a dedicated "dryer" circuit before our kitchen was remodeled. It's an old house

I'm building a kitchen table. The owner of our house we live at pulled some 100-year old 5 1/2" well pipe out of the ground and it's been sitting in our yard for a year. It doesn't look like they're using it so I cut out two 30" peices to use for table legs. I cut each peice in half the lo...

I know that structural welds should be top notch, but what about welds done for aesthetic reasons? If you want a nice looking weld and most of it is good with a slag inclusion in part of it, would you grind out the whole weld and start over or just grind out the slag and weld over it? I imagine it d...

Thanks. I'll try the 6013 1/8. It will have to do for now, until I can afford the 220v extension cord and adapter

Well I can make some nice 7018 beads on a flat surface but my 7018 fillet welds are ugly. Getting slag inclusions.

I think I need to run hotter.

Are 1/8 electrodes easier to learn with (and use) than 3/32? I can't really use any 1/8 electrodes on my machine because I haven't bought the adapters to connect it to my only 240 volt outlet. I've been practicing only with 3/32 on a 120volt/ 20 amp circuit.

Thx BillE... Good point about the machine amp dial too. My little inverter didn't run 6010 or 6011 very well on the recommend amp range, per the dial setting. Perhaps if I kick the amps up on the dial I'll have better luck... Going to try it..

After jackin around a bit I finally started getting nice looking beads and "peelers."..with the 7018 They are Lincoln 3/32. It says to use 65-100 amps, but I couldn't get a stable arc on 1/4 plate steel unless I turned up to 120 amps. 100 amps seemed week. 110 was a little better, but 120 ...

Why go to a Dr when I can consult a bunch of welders. I like where I'm at. Lol

Good idea on the razor blade I wonder if I got somewhat of a sample of the cyanide when I cut the peice out with the grinder blade. I didn't wear a respirator and I started feeling like I have the flu about an hour after I finished....took a bunch of vitamin C and then asaprin a few minutes ago. Fee...