ive cut numerous alumninum things with my chopsaw.

i said CARBRANDUM not CARBIDE. i know the difference.
carbide is a super low speed 'cold saw' blade, also used in drillbits, lathe bits, etc. carbrandum is carbon bonded cutting discs.

 

I finally got this thing going with all the settings straightened out. You asked for pictures of the welds so here goes:

Starting off:





Then cut two more and stuck them together, the huge blob at one end is where I tried to tack it together before doing the whole thing. I have to work on that :1





Then I stuck it all together and just we buck on it. But you get an idea for it. I burnt through some places so I can definitely have enough power to weld this thickness safely.




And the blade i ended up getting: Its works fine, but you were right about the dust. Its all over the ------- place now.

 

i think we both suck at welding

 

your wire speed is still too high, or your amps need to come up more it looks like. have you at all tried to weave your weld?

 

voltage too low raise the voltage. heat input too low (heat = amps/wire feed speed x travel speed), however the width of the weld is about right.
raise the voltage raise the heat, slow down a hair.

the angle of your welds is very wrong. That's a 90* angle k? You want that wire's angle to fit in there at a 45* angle, slightly tilted back (10-15*). You also want the wire positioned correctly. That wire should be running exactly on the joint. Not off to one side (in your case it's on the top piece more and you're angle is too steep)

if you will position your starts correctly, give a slight pause for the weld puddle to form to the size you want and THEN start moving your starts will be better and conciquently the entire bead. (instead of having it positioned FAR off at the start of the weld, pausing and wiggling to get it sorta back in the right spot, then continuing to weld incorrectly)

wipe your plastic cover plate off so you can see real good. then get your head down there where you can see. if you can't see what you're doing it's never going to work. (cotton T-shirt with an OLD denim shirt over it is aight to weld in denim > some spatter & wont normally catch on fire in a big hurry)

good scrap piece size btw. (if you'll hold it together and tack it at the very ends, its easier)

 

i made a whole turbo back exhast for my bmw with a saw just like that one and a $2 (10"?) metal cutting blade that fits right on it

 

All good advice.

I would also note that your weld bead is crowned. So you can do a couple of things to fix that. You want no concavity or convexity.

Either A: slow down your travel speed and let your puddle actually wet out, or B: manipulate your puddle with a figure eight, whip, or circular motion to make sure your filler metal and base medal are getting hot enough to wet it out. The flatter the weld, generally speaking in FCAW, the better penetration.

Best,

PC

 

Looking good. I need to learn how to weld..... I guess i need a welder first!!

 

that mask is sick

 

that's good for a start... with the practice you will do better..