What am I doing wrong when the flux wire sticks to the piece. I appreciate your help.
Discussion
Not enough juice. Turn it up, then move faster after the puddle forms.
Also, clean the metal better. Especially while learning. Welding junky steel is an advanced skill. Don't make life harder on yourself.
Thanks. When cleaning is the metal that isn't in the area being welded important to clean? I wouldn't think so but I am clueless.
Yes, but, that means front and back, especially on thin stuff like that.
What wire are you using? If you say HF stuff, chuck it in the bin and go to home depot or your LWS and buy Lincoln wire or something not old, groady, and just really crappy to start.
If you order stuff on Amazon, I can get you links to better stuff that's priced on par with HF stuff but infinitely better.
I'm definitely going to use what I have first. I figure once upgrade stuff, it will be that much nicer. And I don't have extra cash to buy things right now. And no close home depots. HF is oddly the only close-ish place to us. Amazon will probably just be the way when I do get new wire.
OK. But... I've had nothing but hard times EUR the HF fluxcore wire. I forgot to mention that the other day.
I'd honestly counsel you to wait until you can afford better wire. Trying to learn to weld with junk wire is not going to teach you anything good.
What are the settings suggested for that thickness metal?
Its funny you say that. I watched a video the other day where a guy compared different brands of wire and the guy ranked the Lincoln wire same close to harbor freight and 3 other brands from amazon as being better. Maybe you are right. But I don't throw away things that serve a purpose. If it makes me a bad welder, so be it. I am learning the very basics. I am certain it's not going to take away from my experience to use up what I have.
Yeah... No.
I've used thousands of miles, if not tens of thousands of miles of wire in my career. The HF stuff is inconsistently bad to horrible. Lincoln makes some of the most consistently manufactured wire products in the world. Fluxcored wire is difficult to make well, extremely difficult to make consistently well.
What you don't understand is that it may *seem* that fluxcore is simple, but it is not. Wire-fed welding processes are maddeningly complex. It has nothing to do with you being a bad welder and entirely that you are so ignorant of the process that it seems simple to you.
When you are beginning, you can't tell if it's the machine, the wire, the base metal, the whip, the tip, power issues (which you have already mostly figured out), or you. Starting off with inconsistent wire is only making it harder to troubleshoot the system.
You've not given an accurate list of everything in the system. The fact you are running on an inverter system via batteries needs to be checked. Have you any means to check voltage drop on your power line to the welder? Is your cabling proper size (10g prefered from the inverter to the welder keeping as short as possible)?
+1
I was welding many different thicknesses and adjusting according. The settings are just numbers and letters. Not much to translate unless you know this particular machine. But it's from HF so you might consider it garbage as well. I am learning a lot by trying things. Having fun.
have *U* tried adjusting angle of approach & a light scratching start & then roll back if that makes sense. The Beave i agree with on good tools or sit. to avoid bad or frustration/ pow is the way imho though - have fun/****
I am having tons of fun. I enjoy learning a lot.
thicker stuff i would \/ groove/grind @ times if eze access to spot & surfacing more fresh surface to weld/*****2gether 1/4 in. or even sum 1/8 depending/set flat is easier than vert. or other approach ime
Thank you.
i had/have a lot of diff. clamps 4 welding also nostr:npub1mgvmt553uphdpxa9gk79xejq3hyzh2xfa8uh6vh236nq78mvh74q8tr9yd
That's like saying having a shot car as your first car doesn't teach you anything about driving. It's just not the case in my perception. I learn the more time I out into something, no matter what.
Don't listen to the guy who's taught a bunch of other people to weld, uses what he recommends to make good/strong/cool stuff. 🤣🤣🤣
Welding isn't like owning a car. It's way harder to unlearn bad habits than to learn to do it correctly first.
Use what you've got. You'll get there eventually. 👍
I am known for learning stuff the hard way. I have to understand for myself. I'm sure you are right and I will take it all into consideration. I'm having fun anyways. Nothing I am messing with needs to be good right now.