[gearhead77]

I realized that I usually post about cultural stuff or what other people are doing, so I thought I would share something about what I am doing. I have been making stuff with my fist welder, a cheap flux-core deal. Here is my plate/stoplight bracket.

I think it is really funny looking and I know my welds are bad, so I thought you all might like to poke some fun at it. Have at. Does anyone else have any horrorshows like this or am I the exception to a board filled with master fabricators?

 

[tbone16]

Get to grindin. You can polish that turd, dont put your name on it as is.

 

[bu7an3]

flux core = bad lookin welds.
nature of the beast with flux i think.

when i switched to gas my welds got slightly less shittier.

 

[scraper]

hey, its cool. my flux core doesnt do much better than that either. ive arc, mig & gas welded in the past & the limited settings on my cheapo flux core dont help the weld quality very much. i find that its easy to have a nice smooth arc with it but either it burns through or doesnt penetrate. i think its got 35 wire in it now, i havent expermented with 30 yet. plus, it doesnt help that i was trying to weld rusty sheet metal - haha

either way, at least youre smart & arent trying to weld on a hardtail with it. im sure you could deal with your tail light bouncing down the road rather than your tail end!

 

[Trent]

Flux core can be done nicely (relatively speaking), dont use any motion when running, just pull the gun along. Just make sure you are running hot enough.

Get some 75/25 gas and dump the flux, you will shit when you see how easy mig is with gas.

Everyone has to start somewhere.

 

[Creepinogie]

Don't feel bad. You'll get better. I have a fluxcore welder too. And you can change to gas shielded pretty easily. Anyone on this board do aluminum welding with one?

Flux core can be done nicely (relatively speaking), dont use any motion when running, just pull the gun along. Just make sure you are running hot enough.

Get some 75/25 gas and dump the flux, you will shit when you see how easy mig is with gas.

Everyone has to start somewhere.

 

[ratrodshrum]

Dont feel bad mine looked just as bad,I gave up and started having people that do it for a living do my welding. I pretty much just use mine to tack things in place now.

 

[gearhead77]

Thanks for the encouragement. I wanted to start cheap to make sure I had some aptitude and patience before I spend more on a welder than I did on my bike.

The advice on tip movement is great, and I'll be careful in the future. So far I have also put togther a hard mount for my solo seat and mounted my rear fender to the swingarm, and made some small mounts for signals, etc. I am definitely not ready to weld anything that my life depends on. I think of this first build as a rough draft and will post some pics when it is done at the end of the month.

 

[Nads]

You can get nice, structurally sound welds out of flux core, it just takes practice. There's always a lot of spatter but it cleans up.
I have two welders, one with flux core and the other's a mig.
I use the flux core to do heavy duty welding on frames etc, you get more penetration, the mig's for pretty stuff.

Just keep practicing you'll get good at it.

 

[OHIOCAFERACER]

Anyone on this board do aluminum welding with one?

I welded the top of the alloy tank below(which i'm building for my CB350 cafe racer) using my MIG welder. Never again! Its hard to get the bead to start....then once it does...you burn thru. After several hours of welding-grinding-welding-grinding....I had the top finished:

Borrowed a buddys TIG a few weeks ago to do some touch ups.......TIG is the only way to go on aluminum. Very easy to puddle the alloy and run your beads. Just got my new Hobart TIG last week....time to finish this tank.

Later,

 

[creep]

i have a lincoln 110 welder that i do fluxcore because my garage is a little drafty. and its cheaper. i found that if i turn my heat up all the way (except on sheet metal). it does just fine. all you have to do is practice, so get your ass under that shield ..also a good lens helps out a ton. i use a gold #10 lens and i can see clearly no matter what i am welding/mig, tig, arc. its the allaround best lens. ....
just my$ .02

 

[Nimrod]

Flux core can be tough to make look good. I've never used Mig with a shielding gas on anything I've built (I'm a fuckin' cheap bastard). This sportster was done with nothing but a 110 V flux core setup, including about 6 feet of welding on the tank (although I wouldn't do that again).

 

[Creepinogie]

That's a nice looking tank. I have a CB350 stashed at my lakeplace. I'm chasing an SL350 that a guy has had for sale about 60 miles away from here.

I'm considering casting the tank for the chopper I'm putting together this summer. I'm casting the oil tank for sure but will need to weld the cast sides and battery box onto the sliprolled cylinder. That's why I asked the question. I used to torch weld aluminum and have never tried aluminum mig welding.

 

[afterhours]

Gearhead,

Despite what anyone says,you can weld pretty nicely with flux core wire.The difference is you will have to chip off or wire wheel the light slag and use a sanding disc to clean all the other metal around the weld.
Good news-the problem is you.Like everybody when we start welding,it can suck.Get some scrap steel and sit down,crack a beer,start laying beads.If you don't have a buddy to show you,buy a book from your welding shop and ask them for a few pointers.
When you can at least do your own basic welding life is sooo much easier.I still have a pros build my frames though.
Clean metal is the best start for a good weld!

 

[Trumpnut]

I hate welding flux core but I do it . Only when I don't have stick and it's to windy for shielded gas or I'm running 232 . Here are some basic tips
#1 pre heat your metal
#2 push the weld don't drag it and keep the nozzel close
#3 Slow down watch the puddle flow into each other
#4 most imprtant get a good lens I like #9 amber but thats just me so try some out
And you can do sheet metal just run stringer welds ( basically you try to run away from the puddle ) And grind down all the tacks otherwise when hit them the weld will pop and sometimes blow through .

 

[kgdb]

I realized that I usually post about cultural stuff or what other people are doing, so I thought I would share something about what I am doing. I have been making stuff with my fist welder, a cheap flux-core deal. Here is my plate/stoplight bracket.

I think it is really funny looking and I know my welds are bad, so I thought you all might like to poke some fun at it. Have at. Does anyone else have any horrorshows like this or am I the exception to a board filled with master fabricators?

You arent kidding about the terrible welding! I would have to question the penetration you got under those big ole welds! But..........the good news is practice makes perfect! Grab some scrapes and weld your brains out. Dont worry about look as much, getting good penetration is far more important.
Flux core wont usually yield great looking welds and will require more clean up but penetration is the key. Keep practicing, you will get it.

kgdb