Thanks for your help, Tim. As a barely novice welder, I struggle with one of my most common tasks…welding thin material to thick material…such as 14 gauge to 1/4” steel or rebar.
The key to thick to thin is to set the machine just barely below the setting for the thick material. Position your weld a little more on the thick material and let the puddle grow to consume the thin material. Maintain that distance from the thinner piece along the length. You can almost think of it like running a bead on the thick material just close enough to the thin material to consume some of it.
I've been with ya for 5 years now Tim, and because of your teachings (along with other such as "Weldingtipsandtricks" and "weld [HAGOJIBI]"), my MIG and TIG welds are, in my opinion, getting to be impressive. Thank you so much, and I will hopefully learn much more from you : )
...thanks Tim for the posting.....I am a beginner DIY flux core welder and my take-away from this is to SLOW DOWN and watch the puddle a little more closely.....welding fascinates me and I am determined to get better..... 🙂
I'm here to say the booger welds are ok for ....... my first project which was a welding trolley (ironically). 😅 you are brilliant Tim and such a help, thankyou.
Thanks for the explanation. I have welding experience but not with flux core. I bought a little welder machine a short while ago but it kept baffling me why my welds where that crappy. This weekend I'll go try your recommendation to improve my skill to master welding with flux core. Also a other video (somewhere here on TH-cam) recommended to switch out the positive and negative to get better results but im sceptic about that. Again great informational video. Thanks. 👍
Thanks for the comment! It's true that self-shielded flux cored wire is usually run with the opposite polarity of solid wire, DCEN for self-shielded flux core and DCEP for solid wire. The data sheet for the wire will show for sure.
@Anthony-qs1nsI'm about to invest in my first welder. Haven't done anything since shop class. EVERYONE who knows anything has said the Harbor Freight Titanium is a great starting point but the first thing you should do is toss the wire that comes with it.
Hello Tim, Tricky situation I've encountered with fluxcore. I have a machine (ANDELI MIG 250 LED) which supports welding as thin as 1.0mm material with 0.8mm fluxcore wire. I had to weld a 0.5mm square tubing to 3mm thick square tubing for a learning project to make use of some scrap metal. With my skill level, needless to say I've punched bunch of holes through the 0.5mm (24 gauge?) tubing with molten weld pool. Minimum my machine supports is 40A at 1.0mm material thickness (automatic, cannot be changed.) Are there any tricks to work around this?
I want to start welding my own pipes for my cars, would you recommend i start with flux core? I know they generally use mig/tig (at least around me) but i dont want to buy the gas too LOL
It's a great question. I assume you want to weld exhaust pipes. Flux core is definitely capable of welding steel exhaust. You can also get stainless wire for flux core machines, but it usually requires a little more power than the most basic flux core welders produce. The welds won't be as clean as MIG or TIG welding, so you need to understand that the outcome won't be top tier. It'll seal and be structurally sound, but probably won't win any awards at a car show. The gas cylinder can often cost as much as the machine, so I totally get where you're coming from.
Does it matter what color flux you end up with? With Forney I had a light brown flux and good weld. With Yeswelder I have a dark brown (almost black) flux and a good weld. Am I doing something wrong or is jus the difference in the wire?
It doesn't matter. There's some variation between the flux from manufacturer to manufacturer. There's also some variation in the wire and steel that can change the color, so I wouldn't worry about it as long as the welds look good.
If i have two different sized materials say 12 gauge to 3/16ths. Can i use a u and pause on the thicker material longer? Or should i just be pulling straight.
Weld for a living & run flux core. Ran out of my fave cheapo brand wire late last week & had to go buy some locally - which I know to be a baaad idea.. Wandered in, bought 1 roll - their price for 1 roll is 6 times what I usually pay. Their brand wire is allegedly "Premium". Yeah. Right. Meanwhile, I ordered 15 rolls of my usual cheapo known good stuff online - hoping the 1 roll of "Premium" wire lasted till the 15 got delivered. How was the 6 times more expensive "Premium Brand" wire? Absolute crap. If that was your experience of flux core welding, you'd bin the process as being rubbish. Porosity off the scale, spattery, rubbish penetration, horrible looking welds. Courier delivered the 15 rolls of "cheapo" wire this morning & I gratefully chucked remains of the "Premium Brand" wire where it belongs - in the bin. Flux core is very much a black-art - I don't know anyone IRL who has run more rolls of it than I have, I burn roll after roll every week & none of my welder mates would come anywhere even close to having the hood-hours with flux that I have. I have my 10,000 hours running it well behind me. There's loads of machines in the workshop, I only like 1 machine for running it, the rest do my head in as they handle it badly, what brand wire you run matters hugely - with solid wire, it's nowhere near as important what brand (still important, but just not so much) and machine settings are key - there's other guys here who also run flux-core (badly, lol). If I borrow their machine & change it to "my" settings, they always ask wtf I did to their machine that it welds so much better. Black art.. They also tend to opt for 0.8mm or 0.9mm wire - I don't touch any wire diameter except 1mm - dunno what that is in the US - flux core runs best as 1mm due to the manufacturing process - 1mm is the optimal for metal to flux ratio to deposition rate. Below or above, those ratios go out of whack & it gets messy/slow/a pita. 1mm is the sweet spot for flux core - technical reasons I won't, but could, bore you with that relate to the extrusion machines that make the wire. 0.1mm makes a world of difference, believe it or not - it's all about tiny, tiny variables that make it either work great, or do your head in - Black Art. It's like why do Esab Sureweld 6013 stick-rods run so beautifully, while almost every other brand of 6013 on earth will do your head in - tiny but important variables. Most diy welders would be stunned at how good they suddenly became, just by being given good materials, a good machine, proper explanation of what settings matter & a decent welding mask compared to what they have to hand. Just my 2c. Or 20 cent. :-)
You may be traveling a bit too slow if you’re burning through. As far as settings go, wire speed is the primary way to control your heat because it also controls amperage. I’d turn down the wire speed first. Voltage does affect heat input also to some extent, but the main job of the voltage setting is to control arc length. Higher voltage will increase arc length, resulting in a weld that is more flat or concave. Stickout of 1/2”-5/8” is probably going to work fine with.035. If you end up with worm tracks (little grooves) under the slag when you chip it, then increase your stickout a little. Hope this helps!
@@TimWelds First, thank you for the response. I havent had a chance to try it again but I was experiencing a very flat or concave weld.....no real puddling at all, when it did,it burned through....so I was kinda damned if i went slow and it was crap if I went fast. Thinking what I should have done was turned up the wire speed and down the voltage. thoughts?
My experience is TIG and stick so this is less familiar to me. Seems like you hold the nozzle of the gun well above the work on flux core, is that different than, or the same as, MIG?
The gun is usually a little higher with flux core than MIG, especially with larger wire. If you hold the gun too close with larger flux core wire, you'll get "worm tracks" where gas has been trapped under the slag. The longer stickout preheats the wire and prevents this.
Hello sir. I'm very new in flux core welding. My problem is, the puddle got build up higher but narrow instead of going wide and flat. May I know why? Can you assit me?
Great video!!! I really liked that you included tests of the welds. Rarely anybody does this. It was awesome.
Thanks for your help, Tim. As a barely novice welder, I struggle with one of my most common tasks…welding thin material to thick material…such as 14 gauge to 1/4” steel or rebar.
The key to thick to thin is to set the machine just barely below the setting for the thick material. Position your weld a little more on the thick material and let the puddle grow to consume the thin material. Maintain that distance from the thinner piece along the length. You can almost think of it like running a bead on the thick material just close enough to the thin material to consume some of it.
Your videos are so helpful. Other welders just talk and talk. They just want students but not help. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
I've been with ya for 5 years now Tim, and because of your teachings (along with other such as "Weldingtipsandtricks" and "weld [HAGOJIBI]"), my MIG and TIG welds are, in my opinion, getting to be impressive. Thank you so much, and I will hopefully learn much more from you : )
Thanks! I appreciate it!
...thanks Tim for the posting.....I am a beginner DIY flux core welder and my take-away from this is to SLOW DOWN and watch
the puddle a little more closely.....welding fascinates me and I am determined to get better..... 🙂
Exactly! Learning to see the puddle is the hardest part. After that, it'll tell you everything you need to know.
Great advice. Love your videos. They are always very helpful for the beginner. Thank you for your help and taking the time to make them.
I'm here to say the booger welds are ok for ....... my first project which was a welding trolley (ironically). 😅 you are brilliant Tim and such a help, thankyou.
Your online course is amazing because you are so clear in your explanation and you break it down in bite size units
Thank you very much! I appreciate it!
Agreed. Well worth the price.
Thanks for the explanation. I have welding experience but not with flux core. I bought a little welder machine a short while ago but it kept baffling me why my welds where that crappy. This weekend I'll go try your recommendation to improve my skill to master welding with flux core.
Also a other video (somewhere here on TH-cam) recommended to switch out the positive and negative to get better results but im sceptic about that.
Again great informational video. Thanks. 👍
Thanks for the comment! It's true that self-shielded flux cored wire is usually run with the opposite polarity of solid wire, DCEN for self-shielded flux core and DCEP for solid wire. The data sheet for the wire will show for sure.
Slow and steady is the key with flux core. And the wire also makes a big difference. Some brands are really crappy
What brands do you recommend?
@Anthony-qs1nsI'm about to invest in my first welder. Haven't done anything since shop class. EVERYONE who knows anything has said the Harbor Freight Titanium is a great starting point but the first thing you should do is toss the wire that comes with it.
Slow and steady is not the key for me, though. anytime I go slow, my slag never breaks off
It’s amazing how important speed is. When I first started nany years ago I also went too fast. I took some courses and quickly learned to slow down.
It’s a time warp under the hood, which is what I love about it. Makes things difficult in the beginning, though.
@@TimWelds it really is. Even today I want to move faster. It’s just a feeling. I have to force myself to move more slowly.
thanks man very informative. I just enrolled in CC for Welding and Fab so your videos are great right now for learning and practicing.
thanks for the wire stick distance with 0.30, I was using it like using .35
I always learn something from every video, thanks for sharing, all the best to you and your loved ones
I found the courses to be very helpful and they are economical as well.
That Titanium is the best welder per dollar around. Nice video too. 👍
It really does work well for the money. Thanks!
You certainly know your stuff. Correct information, good watch!
Thx man!!!
Always precious info.
Also thx' for translating to metric!!!!
Hello Tim,
Tricky situation I've encountered with fluxcore. I have a machine (ANDELI MIG 250 LED) which supports welding as thin as 1.0mm material with 0.8mm fluxcore wire. I had to weld a 0.5mm square tubing to 3mm thick square tubing for a learning project to make use of some scrap metal. With my skill level, needless to say I've punched bunch of holes through the 0.5mm (24 gauge?) tubing with molten weld pool. Minimum my machine supports is 40A at 1.0mm material thickness (automatic, cannot be changed.)
Are there any tricks to work around this?
Very helpful video and I thank you 😊
Great tips here, thank you
I want to start welding my own pipes for my cars, would you recommend i start with flux core? I know they generally use mig/tig (at least around me) but i dont want to buy the gas too LOL
It's a great question. I assume you want to weld exhaust pipes. Flux core is definitely capable of welding steel exhaust. You can also get stainless wire for flux core machines, but it usually requires a little more power than the most basic flux core welders produce. The welds won't be as clean as MIG or TIG welding, so you need to understand that the outcome won't be top tier. It'll seal and be structurally sound, but probably won't win any awards at a car show. The gas cylinder can often cost as much as the machine, so I totally get where you're coming from.
great channel Tim
Thanks!
That explains a lot. Thank you
Does it matter what color flux you end up with? With Forney I had a light brown flux and good weld. With Yeswelder I have a dark brown (almost black) flux and a good weld. Am I doing something wrong or is jus the difference in the wire?
It doesn't matter. There's some variation between the flux from manufacturer to manufacturer. There's also some variation in the wire and steel that can change the color, so I wouldn't worry about it as long as the welds look good.
@@TimWelds Thank you and thanks for your videos. They help so much.
❤GREAT job! Thank You so much!
If i have two different sized materials say 12 gauge to 3/16ths. Can i use a u and pause on the thicker material longer? Or should i just be pulling straight.
Weld for a living & run flux core. Ran out of my fave cheapo brand wire late last week & had to go buy some locally - which I know to be a baaad idea..
Wandered in, bought 1 roll - their price for 1 roll is 6 times what I usually pay. Their brand wire is allegedly "Premium". Yeah. Right. Meanwhile, I ordered 15 rolls of my usual cheapo known good stuff online - hoping the 1 roll of "Premium" wire lasted till the 15 got delivered.
How was the 6 times more expensive "Premium Brand" wire? Absolute crap. If that was your experience of flux core welding, you'd bin the process as being rubbish. Porosity off the scale, spattery, rubbish penetration, horrible looking welds. Courier delivered the 15 rolls of "cheapo" wire this morning & I gratefully chucked remains of the "Premium Brand" wire where it belongs - in the bin.
Flux core is very much a black-art - I don't know anyone IRL who has run more rolls of it than I have, I burn roll after roll every week & none of my welder mates would come anywhere even close to having the hood-hours with flux that I have. I have my 10,000 hours running it well behind me. There's loads of machines in the workshop, I only like 1 machine for running it, the rest do my head in as they handle it badly, what brand wire you run matters hugely - with solid wire, it's nowhere near as important what brand (still important, but just not so much) and machine settings are key - there's other guys here who also run flux-core (badly, lol). If I borrow their machine & change it to "my" settings, they always ask wtf I did to their machine that it welds so much better. Black art..
They also tend to opt for 0.8mm or 0.9mm wire - I don't touch any wire diameter except 1mm - dunno what that is in the US - flux core runs best as 1mm due to the manufacturing process - 1mm is the optimal for metal to flux ratio to deposition rate. Below or above, those ratios go out of whack & it gets messy/slow/a pita. 1mm is the sweet spot for flux core - technical reasons I won't, but could, bore you with that relate to the extrusion machines that make the wire. 0.1mm makes a world of difference, believe it or not - it's all about tiny, tiny variables that make it either work great, or do your head in - Black Art.
It's like why do Esab Sureweld 6013 stick-rods run so beautifully, while almost every other brand of 6013 on earth will do your head in - tiny but important variables. Most diy welders would be stunned at how good they suddenly became, just by being given good materials, a good machine, proper explanation of what settings matter & a decent welding mask compared to what they have to hand.
Just my 2c. Or 20 cent. :-)
I tried slowing down and burned through. Going to assume my next step is to turn down my volts? Also running .035. what should my stick out be?
You may be traveling a bit too slow if you’re burning through. As far as settings go, wire speed is the primary way to control your heat because it also controls amperage. I’d turn down the wire speed first. Voltage does affect heat input also to some extent, but the main job of the voltage setting is to control arc length. Higher voltage will increase arc length, resulting in a weld that is more flat or concave. Stickout of 1/2”-5/8” is probably going to work fine with.035. If you end up with worm tracks (little grooves) under the slag when you chip it, then increase your stickout a little. Hope this helps!
@@TimWelds First, thank you for the response. I havent had a chance to try it again but I was experiencing a very flat or concave weld.....no real puddling at all, when it did,it burned through....so I was kinda damned if i went slow and it was crap if I went fast. Thinking what I should have done was turned up the wire speed and down the voltage. thoughts?
@@LeeWinklerTurn down both
My experience is TIG and stick so this is less familiar to me. Seems like you hold the nozzle of the gun well above the work on flux core, is that different than, or the same as, MIG?
The gun is usually a little higher with flux core than MIG, especially with larger wire. If you hold the gun too close with larger flux core wire, you'll get "worm tracks" where gas has been trapped under the slag. The longer stickout preheats the wire and prevents this.
Going slow with thin tubes will make holes on it. How to handle those?
Find the right wire feed burn off rates & voltage first. In general thin & thick metal has different rates and voltage
A coin slot sunroof would be awesome!
Hello sir. I'm very new in flux core welding. My problem is, the puddle got build up higher but narrow instead of going wide and flat. May I know why? Can you assit me?
What do your courses cost?
They are $39 for one process (MIG/FCAW, Stick, or TIG) or $59 for a bundle with all 4 courses.
I’ll be stacking dimes with this
Magic
Fine
The fun part is when tiny bits of lava land on your skin.
It's kind of like pop rocks candy. I wear a jacket, my skin is pretty sensitive and it burns bright red after just a couple minutes of welding.
Been there. Done that. LOL.