Well I learned something today.....

[Draggn66]

.....I suck at weldin! Got my nice new Lincoln mig and bottle of gas all lookin good in the garage. Got an old fender to practice fillin trim holes and shaving marker lights on and started practicing.....I'm gonna need another practice fender now cause I burnt this one all to hell! I've never done any kind of weldin before and tryin to teach myself in the garage just ain't workin so far. I could take a class and I prolly will but that's gonna throw a major wrench in gettin this truck done and painted before summer.

Ok I'm done

[jlaird]

It takes practice. Practice on scrape before you do the real stuff. You will get the hang of it no time. I took a class and honestly, it was a waste of time and money. It might of been the format of the class, but I was better off teaching myself in my garage. Reading helps some too though. Search the net for welding forums. Theres a couple good ones out there.

[Bishops Trucks]

On the job training is the best way to learn. Practice on scrap until you get comfortable and learn the settings on the welder for the material you are welding. You will get the hang of it soon.

[sodak69c10]

there is a saying my old welding instructor used to say "when you welder is set right its should sound like bacon frying in a pan"

but hey i suck at weld too so you're not alone

[72armyswbtruck]

You can go to the local scrap yard (where yo take your recycled aluminium cans) and a pair of snips, cut out lots of sheet metal from the washing machines and practice, practice, practice, cheap cheap cheap.

[Longhorn Man]

my welding looks like someone poured liquid slag all over the metal... don't feel bad.

[Palf70Step]

The grinder is my friend>

[williamt]

try practice on some heavy steel then work down to the thin stuff. it helped me get a feel for the welder without burning through as easy.

[Rokcrln]

Just to check was your welder always hooked to gas? If not did you switch the polarity when you went to gas? I also recomend a wel;ding forum or get some books or DVD's in it as well.

Kevin
KFD Inc.

[68C15]

a guy called Proffessor Hammer (Ron Covell) has some great DVDs on welding. but I like the idea of starting with thick stuff and working down. also, when filling holes you may have better luck with a copper spoon as a backer.

[cdowns]

maybe theres a board member nearby that could give you a few hands on tips??

[redrum]

I'm no master, for sure if welding on sheet you need to stitch weld, I think.

Put a spot of weld in a spot then move a couple inches and put another etc. Then go back and put another spot where you put the first and go back and forth, that way the heat wont build in one place and burn thru. If you try to weld straight out, body metal wont take it.

Or so I've read ; sometimes I hate welding.

[cooters]

also make sure you are using smaller wire, .023 to .030 are the best, when filling a hole putting a piece of copper or aluminum behind the panel and welding the hole works great aand make sure your gas is set at about 20 to 25

[Richard H.]

Originally Posted by Rokcrln

Just to check was your welder always hooked to gas? If not did you switch the polarity when you went to gas? I also recomend a wel;ding forum or get some books or DVD's in it as well.

Kevin
KFD Inc.

I agree , I just got another new one and it came loaded with flux core wire which don't go well with gas. BTW do you know anything about an easy grind wire that is out there , I can't find it.

[hgs_notes]

Don't let it get you down. I was certified for welding on nuclear systems using some unique alloys using TIG. Could weld just about anything with a stick or wire feed. Even did some welding using mirrors to get the back side. Then after almost 10 years without welding, could go back and TIG weld out an ASME qualification pipe without any practice.

Then I tried sheetmetal with a little Craftsman wire feed welder. No easy success with that thing I'll tell ya. I used flux core and also gas with solid core, had to keep making adjustments with wire speed and voltage and electrode positioning and electrode speed and keep doing it. Once you have it set, youre alright, but it takes a lot of practice.

Like others have said, start with some heavier gage that you won't constantly blow through and after you can run a decent bead consistantly, and can make a good tack weld routinely, then use a fender.

Good luck,
HG

[old Chevy guy]

What lincoln welder do you have? I have a sp 100 that Ive had for about 17 or 18 years works great . soilid wire with argon co2 mix. No flux wire for sheetmetal. If its to hot turn down the amps or turn up the wire speed. For holes try little blasts acouple of second then cool again cool. dont even lift your sheild in between as soon as you see its not cherry hit er again. A littl practice goes a long way. I did my firt resto ,61 apache, with a stick macine with 3/32 6013 wow thats hard. I even put rear quarters on my 69 camaro with 1/16 6011 on dc reverse polarity.when I got that mig it sure got easier!

[OLDIRON69]

I have the Lincoln 135 with the argon Co2 mix and a big help is when welding thin stuff is rasing the door where your wire feeds from, it gives settings for different gauges of metal. Also make sure your polarity is correct for the gas setup. Good Luck!

[Draggn66]

Wow thanks for all the replies guys! I was just venting a bit last night. I know it's gonna take a lot of practice before I touch my truck. To answer a few questions, I bought a Lincoln 3200HD mig/flux machine. It was set-up for flux out of the box but I did change the polarity when I hooked up the gas. The mig wire it came with is .025 so that's what I'm using. I'm not to concerned if my welds look pretty cause like Palf70step said "the grinder is my friend" I just don't want to screw up my truck panels with warping. I've got a nice piece of 1" copper tube that I flattened one end to use on the holes I can get to. But some hole like the trim holes on the top of the bed and on the tailgate I can't get to. What do I do there? Just short blasts till it's filled? Also when I put in the plates I got from glock35ipsc to shave the marker lights do I just spot weld it or run a bead all around it? I know it's a lot of questions but this board rocks and has never let me down

[manimal]

Spot weld. Dont run a continuous bead on thin sheet metal, you'll warp it for sure. I have used "NAIL HEADS" for filling trim holes where you cant use a back-up. Just recess the nail head into the hole and tack weld in short blasts. Cut off the stem of the nail when done and the hole is filled!
-Lance

[Draggn66]

I like the nail head idea! Now as far as the marker plate....when it's all done does it have to be completely welded all the way around or just some good spot welds and then a bit of filler?

[manimal]

I would weld it all the way around. Less chance of the filler cracking.
-Lance

[OLDIRON69]

The po of my '69 spot welded the side markers and I will have to go back and do 'em right, filler is cracking for sure. You can see on the backside where he tacked it in about 6 places then slopped on some filler, looks like he used Bondo brand filler though, that may be part of it?

[lowrollin70gmc]

Fully weld all filler panels in, but do it in tiny sections over the course of a few hours and then use body filler sparingly.

[sleepyboy]

[QUOTE=sodak69c10;2140271]there is a saying my old welding instructor used to say "when you welder is set right its should sound like bacon frying in a pan"

My instructor used that also..My class helped alot, I like MIG and stick but I SUCK at torch welding

[Draggn66]

Ok I got 1 marker plate in. Tell me what ya think! First pic is after the first round of spot weldin, 2nd is some of my ugly welds and the third is what it looks now. Am I ready for a light coat of filler or do I have more weldin and grindin to do?