Welding Tips and Tricks

Hello all, haven't posted in awhile. still practicing my stick welding. usually before I weld I always wear ear plugs since I'll be using the angle grinder. Toady was in a hurry and forgot to plug up my ears. anyway. this is the first time I've actually heard the welding process. and it is pretty loud. how important is it to hear the sound of the welding process, or is it more visual? I've heard that it's suppose to sound like sizzling bacon. but it was pretty loud and when I slowed, I could see the puddle really digging into the metal. I'm using a lincoln buzz box at 75 amps 3/32 rods on 1/4 and 5/16 plate. was just practicing. Thanks

I use both visual and audio for welding. Especially during stick and wire feeding. I can tell if my ctwd is too long by the sound and adjust till I hear it. With stick it depends on the rod. 6010 I have a specific sound I like to hear on the forward whip so I know if I have the arc length I want. If I have too much rod angle I can hear it in a 7018 easily on top of seeing it.

It is definitely loud enough to hear the weld and have it help you.

However, if a person never practices welding without being able to hear it, the first time in a loud area that completely drowns it out feels very, very strange.

I never really got the bacon frying analogy. To me it sounds like either good or bad welding.

PeteM wrote:I never really got the bacon frying analogy. To me it sounds like either good or bad welding.

You obviously missed the day in school where they thighs the most important lesson: everything is better with bacon on it! Even your welds

What I hear, mainly, is the 60Hz hum. I guess there's kind of a bacon sizzling sound...

I use a drag rod and mine sounds like pot roast.

Lightning wrote:What I hear, mainly, is the 60Hz hum. I guess there's kind of a bacon sizzling sound...

AC buzzbox is also going to give different sounds.

cj737 wrote:

PeteM wrote:I never really got the bacon frying analogy. To me it sounds like either good or bad welding.

You obviously missed the day in school where they thighs the most important lesson: everything is better with bacon on it! Even your welds

I'm going to have to start using strips of it as heat sink/anti-spatter combo then.

No joke- The one barge manufacturer out of Chattanooga used to use some kind of rendered pig fat as an anti-rust/sealer inside the rakes of barges. We'd get them in for reconditioning and have to weld up new rake sheets. The stuff would melt and spatter all over us and we'd come out of them smelling like fried bacon.

PeteM wrote:The stuff would melt and spatter all over us and we'd come out of them smelling like fried bacon.

Yikes. Tough day to be halal. Any Muslims on the crew that day?

Artie F. Emm wrote:

PeteM wrote:The stuff would melt and spatter all over us and we'd come out of them smelling like fried bacon.

Yikes. Tough day to be halal. Any Muslims on the crew that day?

Nah. We had one Jewish guy but he wasn't very devout.

That stuff leaking into and blowing up your weld pool overhead would put you in touch with your maker though!