My First MIG welds

[JMarsa]

Matt will love these....First night at community college welding class.

My first time with a mig welder, I only have done stick before and that was 20 years ago already.




Ended up that the protective lenses in my sheild were burn't, I couldn't see AND the tip of the gun was for .045 and I had .035 wire. After those fixes it turned ino this:





Not bad for my 5th pass!

--JMarsa

[Gordz32]

looks good, those first ones scared the Shi$ outta me . haha keep it up, mig is easy once you get a feel for it. Tig on the other hand takes some time.

[Norwoodx55]

Until I read the reasons for the problems, I figured you were all jacked-up on Starbucks or something.

[PRRC]

I have freind that welds just like that.No helmet or gloves and his eyes closed. After thinking about it yours might look better.LOL.Wait a minute I think I did see him use a helmet once.I think he was filling it with water to put out the can of thinner he was welding over.Or was that the time he has putting out the carpet on the corvette.

[gt1guy]

Slow your travel speed down, it will look fine.

Kevin

[JMarsa]

I learned after I posted those pics that I was pulling instead of pushing the electrode in the horizontal position. I was just copying the guy who was showing me (who was doing it that way so I could see in the booth). Working on vertical 3/8's butt welds this week.

Thanks for the feedback.

--JMarsa

[Samckitt]

Would someone show me what an "expert" mig weld should look like?

Thanks,
Scot

[EFI69Cam]

How's the penetration? Was the other side of the piece glowing?

I have put down some pretty welds that did not hold worth beans. Personally I'll take an ugly strong weld over a weak pretty one.

[JMarsa]

EFI69Cam, The penetration was good, the pics above were done on 1/4". The whole piece was not glowing but there is the discoloration "band" all the way above the weld.

Scot, I can grab some pics from class this Friday from the instructor, what type of weld and metal thickness are you looking for?

--JMarsa

[Samckitt]

I have a mig welder & have had no, zero, 0, nadda welding training other than just picking it up & going. To me they look good, was cuirous what they should look like. Mine with .25" steel looks pretty close to yours, except my little "scallops" in the bead are not as pointy as yours, more rounded. I'll find some stuff that I have done, or find some scrap & weld it & take some pics for comments & criticisms.
Thanks,
Scot

[kenny_bandit]

i say its a litle "coold" turn it up a litle bit and move slower i think it wold be perfect sorry for my bad english

[EFI69Cam]

EFI69Cam, The penetration was good, the pics above were done on 1/4". The whole piece was not glowing but there is the discoloration "band" all the way above the weld.

Scot, I can grab some pics from class this Friday from the instructor, what type of weld and metal thickness are you looking for?

--JMarsa

Is the metal discolored on the other side also? Thats what I shoot for.

[High Plains Mopars]

i say its a litle "coold" turn it up a litle bit and move slower i think it wold be perfect sorry for my bad english

I think it looks cold too. The bead appears to be laying on top of the bar instead of having a smooth transition into the bead. Did you cut a groove into one of the pieces or just butt two pieces of 1/4" together?

You might also consider working with thinner material. I mean, how often are your going to be welding 1/4" plate together? Most stuff on cars is thinner than that.