Welding help

I was fooling around with the Northern Industrial 125amp flux core welder I got for Christmas from my kids. After watching hours of you tube videos I decided to give it a try. I know using gas gives the best results but its not an option on this one, so I am going to try and work with it for now.

The picture below is what I got as far as penetration. Does it look acceptable? With the wire speed set at 2 and the power set at 1 I got the best results. Any higher power or wire speed and it burns right through. It's my first time using it and I have more metal to practice on.

I saw on you tube this anti splatter spray stuff you spray on before you weld and then wipe away the slag, anyone try it?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Richie

Anti-spatter works pretty good, some brands better than others. The stuff I've found to work best is called "Welders Black Magic", you should be able to find it online or at a good welding supply store. You don't want to weld through it though so maybe use some 1/4" masking tape and lay on top of your weld, spray the black magic then remove the tape. I don't use it for sheet metal because I weld with a TIG, but when welding near bolt holes using 1/4" 10018 rod I'll spray it in the bolt holes so that slag doesn't bugger up the threads and it works great for that. I'm sure it would work as good with sheet metal.


Your welds appear to have sufficient penetration for the most part, just keep practicing and remember that you can never get your base metal too clean! Flux cored, non-gas isn't the prettiest welding process, but if you keep your base metal clean, get your settings right and practice, practice, practice, you'll surprise people with what you can accomplish with it. I'm a certified welder with a variety of processes, have machines for MIG, TIG, Stick and yet I will occasionally use my little Lincoln 120 with flux wire, usually when welding outdoors in the wind.

I could throw more at you, but I don't want to confuse you with information overload so feel free to ask questions along the way. The single biggest way to improve is through practice and feedback so keep at it and feel free to ask for input along the way, just as you did this time.

I'll be watching this thread as I have a Lincoln and want to learn too.

pix on right looks good to me - remember that welder ( i have one same!!) is for thin stuff only!! Parts welding -MUST COOL before each weld too. You should have 2 heat selltins too- low & high? Thats ok on sheet metal maybe up to 10 ga. stuff- for heavier use a 220V powered welder -that one is 110V. I buy welders here on craigs usually cheapo! I like a a/c or d/c one.yet you cant weld with that in sheetmetals! Looks ok -just grind welds & see how good.

The main thing with flux core that I have found is to figure on just doing a lot of tacks on sheet metal.

Here is a test piece I did with my Thermal Arc Gas Mig welder. I was seeing how or if I could weld magnetic stainless to Mild steel. I can grind and blend those tack welds.

Thanks for all the input. I will keep you updated and post some pictures when I actually accomplish something.

What is the best type of disk to get for grinding off the welds?

I have a similar welder, as mentioned previously clean away all rust, paint etc. the easier to strike the weld the faster the penetration, sheet metal heats up quickly and will burn through fast, use small tack welds, adjust the settings slightly, practice, practice, practice....
I keep a small bucket of water and use a wet rag to cool the metal quickly after running a couple of spots to avoid warping. I also like using a cut off wheel to grind off the welds, to me it is easier to grind just the weld and avoid grinding the surrounding metal too thin.

Thank's Russell. Saw your new van, nice. Let me know if you need any metal from my GMC.

The front floor is in really good shape. If you want to take a road trip to LA it's yours.

Thanks for the advice about the cutoff wheel, I will try it.