General welding questions that dont fit in TIG, MIG, Stick, or Certification etc.
Metal mix up.
Post Reply
User avatar
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Fri Apr 01, 2011 10:59 pm
  • Location:
    Australia; Victoria

Has anyone ever really misjudged the kind of metal they were welding? I saw a guy trying to weld a brass door bolt with steel wire in a mig. (I didn't realise what he was trying to do until it was too late)
Top
Coldman
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Mon Dec 15, 2014 2:16 am
  • Location:
    Oz

I tried to weld low carbon steel to cast iron assuming it was cast steel (it was supposed to be). Oops I let the smoke out of the cast iron. :oops:
Flat out like a lizard drinkin'
Top
User avatar
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Sat Mar 30, 2013 11:49 am
  • Location:
    Sweden

I was trying to weld 4mm aluminum and had major problems getting the filler to fuse wirhout melting the base metal.

Turned out that it was 316 filler, not 4043 as the box was marked. :lol:
I should have noticed the weight diff....
Top
exnailpounder
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Thu Dec 25, 2014 9:25 am
  • Location:
    near Chicago

I accidently grabbed a silicon bronze rod to do a lap weld on mild steel. She melted in great and welded great and I never noticed until I wire brushed the weld for paint and saw the funny color. Thats what you get when you hurry.
Ifyoucantellmewhatthissaysiwillbuyyouabeer.
Top
User avatar
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Fri Apr 01, 2011 10:59 pm
  • Location:
    Australia; Victoria

I used steel wire to weld on a ss boss instead of 309. The drawing said GMAW, so I just kept ploughing on. Didn't tell me they tig them.
Top
motox
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Thu Nov 28, 2013 12:49 pm
  • Location:
    Delaware

tried welding a crack in a honda 125 side case
thought is was aluminum, it was magnesium.
oops. later cases were aluminum..
craig
htp invertig 221
syncrowave 250
miller 140 mig
hypertherm plasma
morse 14 metal devil
Top
User avatar
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Sat Mar 30, 2013 11:49 am
  • Location:
    Sweden

So what was the problem? ;)
Mag usually welds ok with 5356
Unless you try to gasweld :lol:
Top
User avatar
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Wed Aug 06, 2014 12:48 am
  • Location:
    Melbourne, Australia

motox wrote:tried welding a crack in a honda 125 side case
thought is was aluminum, it was magnesium.
oops. later cases were aluminum..
craig
Did it do the magnesium 'bright-lights' thing?
EWM Phonenix 355 Pulse MIG set mainly for Aluminum, CIGWeld 300Amp AC/DC TIG, TRANSMIG S3C 300 Amp MIG, etc, etc
Top
motox
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Thu Nov 28, 2013 12:49 pm
  • Location:
    Delaware

andersk
every time i added filler it jumped to the electrode
as carefull a i tried.
a racing buddy who is a union welder gave me rod
(that he said was super expensive and grubby looking)
i cleaned the rod, re-ground the crack and it welded
up ok. not sure if a had enough gas coverage as the
arc seemed almost green and the weld looked dirty
as well.
craig
htp invertig 221
syncrowave 250
miller 140 mig
hypertherm plasma
morse 14 metal devil
Top
User avatar
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Sat Mar 30, 2013 11:49 am
  • Location:
    Sweden

It is usually some zinc in the mag alloys so you will have yellow-greenish smoke.
Top
motox
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Thu Nov 28, 2013 12:49 pm
  • Location:
    Delaware

andersk
its been a while since i welded the side case
but managed to find one of the rods my buddy
gave me. no markings just this grubby looking
rod.
craig
Attachments
IMG_1591mag rod.jpg
IMG_1591mag rod.jpg (93.22 KiB) Viewed 981 times
htp invertig 221
syncrowave 250
miller 140 mig
hypertherm plasma
morse 14 metal devil
Top
Wes917
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Fri Oct 25, 2013 11:45 pm

When I was first learning to weld someone gave me some Ti rod when I was doing aluminum. I tried like hell to no avail lol.
Top
Bill Beauregard
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Thu Jan 24, 2013 9:32 pm
  • Location:
    Green Mountains of Vermont

exnailpounder wrote:I accidently grabbed a silicon bronze rod to do a lap weld on mild steel. She melted in great and welded great and I never noticed until I wire brushed the weld for paint and saw the funny color. Thats what you get when you hurry.
And I'm color blind?
Top
Rick_H
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Sat Feb 08, 2014 1:50 pm
  • Location:
    PA/MD

I had just started and they heard I could weld alum decent so a part broke and I was called upon. I was nearing the end of my first filler rod laying a beautiful bead and a co worker handed me another rod...damn stuff just would not puddle correctly, looked all gummy I was quite puzzled. It did melt lol

Rod was 308L....so I am known as the only mech there that can weld stainless and aluminum together...lol so now as habit I tap all rods against the table first...easy test to tell the difference.
I weld stainless, stainless and more stainless...Food Industry, sanitary process piping, vessels, whatever is needed, I like to make stuff.
ASME IX, AWS 17.1, D1.1
Instagram #RNHFAB
Top
danielbuck
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Tue Jan 21, 2014 7:56 pm
  • Location:
    Gilroy, CA

I tried to bend cold rolled steel in my press brake, thought it was regular mild steel, until it cracked :?
Top
User avatar
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Sun Oct 27, 2013 10:57 pm
  • Location:
    Big Lake/Monticello MN, U.S.A.

danielbuck wrote:I tried to bend cold rolled steel in my press brake, thought it was regular mild steel, until it cracked :?
I've done that in my floor mounted bender with a hardened 3/8" rod.
Almost went over backward when it snapped in two instead of bending - oops :oops:
Dave J.

Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~

Syncro 350
Invertec v250-s
Thermal Arc 161 and 300
MM210
Dialarc
Tried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.
Top
User avatar
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Fri Apr 01, 2011 10:59 pm
  • Location:
    Australia; Victoria

What's the go with cold rolled V hot rolled? Is it just that the hot rolled is annealed? (we have very little cold rolled flat stock here in Aus. Australian made is all hot strip mill made.
Top
exnailpounder
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Thu Dec 25, 2014 9:25 am
  • Location:
    near Chicago

Bill Beauregard wrote:
exnailpounder wrote:I accidently grabbed a silicon bronze rod to do a lap weld on mild steel. She melted in great and welded great and I never noticed until I wire brushed the weld for paint and saw the funny color. Thats what you get when you hurry.
And I'm color blind?
Apparently I'm not the only one. Im pretty sure we all screw up from time to time. ^^^^^^^^^^
Ifyoucantellmewhatthissaysiwillbuyyouabeer.
Top
aeroplain
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Tue Jun 03, 2014 10:15 pm
  • Location:
    Minnesota

At the risk of thread drift; it sure was fun watching Mr. " I can weld as good as you" (my boss) mild steel with the machine set for Alum. :lol: I said nothing.
Top
jesse
  • Posts:
  • Joined:
    Thu Feb 26, 2015 2:42 pm

[quoteWhat's the go with cold rolled V hot rolled? Is it just that the hot rolled is annealed? (we have very little cold rolled flat stock here in Aus. Australian made is all hot strip mill made][/quote]

When they form the steel to the material form (round or square stock) at the mill there are two methods of working it. Hot working it allows the stresses to be relieved as it is worked so it does not become hard and brittle and stays tough. Cold working(cold rolling) traps the stresses inside making it very hard, strong and brittle and not so tough.
Top
Post Reply

Return to “Welding Forum General Shop Talk”