There is brazing material made by Harris that is 45% silver, the version i am describing comes in a coil, not a rod and when done brazing it has a brass color. You can usually purchase a small quantity, but if you are brazings lots of brass it also comes in a large coil. The diameter is about the sa...

[quote="Aleksi86"][quote="Aleksi86"][quote="Hvacr"] Aleksi86, thank you for your advice and for looking at the pics. Your welds look great, something to aspire to! I too noticed the puddle is easier for me to see with a fixed shade 10 lens the auto-darkening helmet i ha...

AKweldshop wrote:Too cold and too fast of travel.

Thanks for looking AKweldshop, your observations seem to be the consensus too. I want to go from A to Z without going thru B,C,D,.......etc.

I agree with Dave...more practice. You are moving too fast on some beads in the middle of the plate. Look at the shape of the bead you are leaving behind. when you see a bead with sharp peaks or points like that, it means you are moving too fast. But don't worry it is just practice that you need. F...

[quote="MinnesotaDave"]I would increase your amps, start doing half overlap beads until you can make everything straight and level - pretend you are doing a buildup of a worn part to be machined flat - that would mean even fill without holes or valleys. Once you've burned enough rods for t...

Ok, well i have improved, i can almost weld a straight line. The pics are of 1/8" 7014 rod on a 3/16" plate DCEP AT 132 to 138 amps approx. the pic makes the beads look more convex than they are but given the side view pic with the rod piece to show a height comparison, are the beads too h...

This etch on 304 stainless was done with a commercial acid-based toilet-bowl cleaner... It took about 2 hours, and you need the light just right to get this image... GEDC1588.JPG Steve S Steve, here is a pic of my flat plate bead penetration. I first placed the metal edge in a bath of loctite naval...

Anyone who feels the need to call themselves a master fabricator is trying to prove something, and probably is a bit lacking. Jody is at least 35 years into the industry, and never labels himself like that. PS I'm around 15 years in, and I'm not a master of anything. Mike, i don't think, not sure t...

Steve, i saw this welding cart plan on WCWELDING.COM. It may be Jody's because of the mention of aerospace master fabricator. When i was looking for plans several weeks ago i found this site. (I will learn to weld first!) I went back to the site this am and took this from the text on the site: "...

Steve, did you bathe the metal in the drain cleaner or just keep dabbing it on over two hours? BTW, that weld looks perfect, very even penetration.

Dirtmidget33, thanks for the link, watched the vid and will use to see what my practice welds are doing. Thank again! Saw the pics of you on another thread flying through the air in your machine

Ok thanks Len. In my. Own field i am very confident, not cocky, just confident......with welding however a feel like a kid trying to learn how to tie their shoelaces. It is fun and does feel good to give back, i realy enjoy teaching my crew things that took me a long time to learn. So, thanks for yo...

Ok, thanks for idiot proofing it for me

Hey Len, if it weren't for cheater glasses i could see nothing up close. What do u do, take the straight edge with a heavy duty scribe type tool and scratch a line on the metal? U don't leave a straight edge on the plate far away enough so it is not welded on the metal itself do u? I have contemplat...

Yeah ok, good. Attempting joint welds is in my future .

My small success' are due to the generous help from this site! Your suggestion about the 7014 and shade 10 lens did the trick! Thanks!

You have to etch it with some kind of acid. Naval jelly or rust converter. The steel must be polished to a mirror shine. Evidently it helps if it's a little warm. This takes time so be patient. At the end you must wash the acid off and if you want to keep the image, you need to paint it with some c...

Welcome, lots of great, experienced weldors on here to lend you a hand. I have had nothing but solid advice and tips given to me.

I cut out a cross section of a 3/16" plate i ran some 1/8" 7014 at about 135 amps DCEP. I CAN't tell if the beads actually penetrated the plate. I thought i was going to see grain changes in the heat effected zone, but i don't see anything, is this seen only through magnification or X-rays...

7014 is the answer to straighter lines for this beginner. I had the 1/8" set at amps lowest 115 and highest pegged to the 140 DC mark on the welder. Ran the majority around 135. This is DCEP. I tried the fixed shade 10 and love it. I have to raise the hood a bit to see where my electrode is, bu...

I just picked up 5 lbs of 7014 and a shade 10 fixed lens for the fibre-metal hood the fella gave me when i bought the welder. Going to the shop to see if i can weld a straight bead today.

Uhoh now anyone can say Mick has a screw loose............i for one like the wooden boxes they came in handy to store more stuff!

Louie1961, Thanks, i have watched that vid and all of Jody's stick vids several times. As well as Steve Blelik (spelling of last name not sure of) vids. I will get the 7014's. I have been practicing with 6011, some 6013 and 7018's. One of my crew asked if I would teach him to weld, LOL. I told him s...

Yeehaw! I am going to get "beader" at this........now if i could just weld a straight line......

Here is a pic of the machine, and a pic if a couple of beads of 7018 at 115 amps DC on 1/2" mild steel plate with the electrode in the + location (reverse polarity?). The fella threw in the fibre-metal helmet and the small dolly. I am psyched!