Forum

[Valsp]

There is a very handy guide to stick welding here which covers rod selection and welding processes

Dave

http://www.millerwelds.com/pdf/guidelines_smaw.pdf

[Scalyback]

I had a go at arc welding.



I was CRAP! Will need to have some instruction before I even think of trying again.



I got the stream of sparks out of the wand, but it wouldn't produce the magic for me, rather a very nasty mess of black that then fell apart!

[Norm]

You can get a beautiful finish with arc welding but it takes a lot of practice. Each type of welding has its advantages and I use arc for 90% of my repair work

[another Allan]

I had used an arc welder on a couple of repair jobs on centre stands. My first try at it, and eventually I had strong, tidy repairs. I have no doubt that practice makes perfect, but I think I would need to build a narrow boat from scratch before I had the necessary level of skill to make a strong, tidy job quickly. Using a chipping hammer and grinder on every weld to make it look ok is hugely time-consuming, and as for using an arc welder for sheet metal..........I then bought a MIG welder, originally using flux-cored wire (i.e. in 'gasless' mode.) I practised on thick and thin scrap, then fixed some more centre stands and mudguards, then bought a rusty Rover P5B coupe and rebuilt it. New sills, d-posts, inner rear wings, repaired inner front wings, new lower door skin panels, repaired the chassis legs, rebuilt boot floor, etc.etc. The MIG has been faultless, far easier to use than stick-welding, and a decent one costs about as much as a (unnecessary?) electronic ignition for a Bullet. That's my experience, fwiw!

[simon]

Thing is though it's like all skills, you don't acquire them in a slow even progression, you have breakthroughs and epiphanies. One minute you are struggling with the rod sticking and the welder groaning and the next you strike a lovely arc and the weld is laying down smooth and straight. The big problem for a lot of people is that they try to learn on a little low powered single phase welder. Some of these simply don't have the grunt for a nice clean start. It's a bit like learning to use a clutch on a vehicle with no torque, there is less room for mistakes. This is why I would suggest a Tech course or similar as they are like to have decent 3 phase welders. Once you understand how the rod should feel and the relationship between the choke and the weld it's really just a matter confidence.

[Norm]

Big problem Simon is people learning to weld usually want to repair something which has broken, it has broken for a reason and that is always a difficult thing to repair, because the fact it broke usually means it is thin so it is always a difficult repair job and a weld full of slag isn't much of a weld

[simon]

I'm reminded of a funny bit on 'The Long Way Round' program where the BMW gets a cracked frame (probably from endless falling over). They take it to a local man who welds it up a treat with arc but fails to disconnect the computer. Show over for that machine, dead as a dodo!

[Norm]

Simon, not welding related but BMW, I had to unplug the CDI unit to fit a new battery in it, everything working fine before I unplugged it, new battery in, turn the key, lights come on but no ignition, went into a bit of a spin thinking I had buggered the CDI unit somehow, rang a mate who is an auto electrician to get him over and see what he could find. After dismantling half the bike, checking relays and contacts and tracing the wiring back to the ignition switch, pull the switch out and start pulling the switch apart and at this stage Mark discovers that the wrong key was in the switch, the one I had put in the ignition was the seat lock key

[simon]

Yet it fitted,the lock. The must have had a giggle at BMW when they designed that!