Very first weld I've ever made

Here's a picture of the the first weld I've ever made, it was done with my new PP256 a 3/32 6013 rod at about 100 amps A/C on 2 4" pieces of 3x3 angle iron butted up end to end. I know nothing about welding so it was pure luck but I think it turned out not to bad. I found positioning myself properly was the most important thing. Now for the plasma cutter I'm not having much luck and I think I'm going to have to check the spark gap, the pilot ark only fires about 2 out of 10 tries and as soon as I touch the ark to the metal it goes out. I have the torch in the - and the clamp in the +, tried 60 and 80 psi.
I'm excited to cut that 3" angle iron up and weld it back together a lot for practice.:)

First you say? That's a decent weld, never mind a first weld. :)

You were using AC in stick mode?

Craig,

On the plasma, is you air dry? No oil in the lines?

Dry air will make a big difference with plasma cutting. Try running the air from 40-65PSI range, that is pretty thin stuff you are cutting there, see if that helps.

On the weld, did you groove out the angle at all? Looks like your penetration was better at the bottom, then you pulled back at the top (too long an arc) or sped up for some reason? It all will come in time with "lots of learning and LOTS of practice". See weldingtipsandtricks.com for great welding videos.

All in all, for the first time, I bet cutting 3x3 and putting back together must have made you feel pretty good. Looks good for the "first timer". In a short time, wait until you see what your are working on. It is a disease...

Use DC. Only use AC for welding TIG in aluminum.

Thanks for the help everyone, I found out why the plasma torch wasn't working to well while I was checking the spark gap. See below.
Attachment 3994

It was a easy repair and now it cuts very well:D
Attachment 3995

Thanks Parkour, looks like I'm going to really enjoy playing with the PP256 and talking with people on this forum.
Mike, no I didn't grove the angle iron. I just lined them up and tacked them together, that was 3/32 6013 at 100 DC Amps as far as the penetration goes I dont remember what I did but I do remember I was very surprised how fast the rod burned away. I've been reading these forums and weldingtipsandtricks for about 4 months trying to learn as best I could before the PP256 got here. Now the hard part, learning it for real.:)

I will try lower air pressure and travel speeds for the plasma now that its working correctly. Mark had told me of a great air dryer for the plasma cutter but I cant afford one just yet but I will most certainly get one.
I was mistaken when I said I was using A/C with the 6013.
I've always had a desire to learn to weld and always had much respect for those who can because I know its a art and skill. Happy welding everyone!

Your unit will weld AC and DC, DC is the proper choice for 6013 on steel.

The inline disposable dryers Harbor Freight has are $7.99 and last for a fair amount of time, and 3M has them for 15-20. I would get a couple so you have a spare. Some people dry them out in an oven to save money, I have not tried this.

Your will probably want to re-locate that cut wire if you can, the cover louver/vents cut it (sliced on the circuit board) when the cover was taken on or off. Or you can just remember to expand the cover at the bottom then you need to remove and replace it (what I do).

Thanks Mike, Yes I tried to figure out another route for the wires but there is no way to move them as they are too tight. I'll get one of the dryers you mentioned asap.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by craig

Thanks Mike, Yes I tried to figure out another route for the wires but there is no way to move them as they are too tight. I'll get one of the dryers you mentioned asap.

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As long as you remember to expand/fan out the bottom if you ever need to remove the cover, you really should never need to take the cover off. If a unit took a hit in shipping on that side there's probably a chance it could do what you had too. But glad you got it fixed.

I have see that dryer on sale for $4.99 as well. When I did last time I grab probably 5 of them. They work very good. I have a big commercial dryer for auto-paint, but these little things right behind the machine are great.

I'm just looking at HF and Northern tools right now, they are both close to me here.
I want to get the one Mark had mentioned but its $80-90.
I've been a electronics tech for 20+ years so the repair was simple, I investigated slightly notching the circuit board and tack the wire in the notch with silicon but decided against that. I'll do what you do and expand the cover if it ever has to come off again.
I see there is extended consumables for the Trafimet torch, does EL sell them? I have a hard time seeing where I'm cutting with the regular shorter consumables.

Thanks
Craig

The bigger filter is a must for all your tools. Here is the quick fix. I still run them with my $$ sep/fiter. But I am in Florida and one compressor runs all. So maybe you do not need it. Consumables will last longer too.

http://www.harborfreight.com/inline-...ter-68215.html

That is a good first weld! That could probably win a contest!