Flux Core Welding for Beginners ( FCAW 101 )
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.พ. 2025
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Flux core welding or FCAW is how many of us are introduced into the welding world. It’s cheap to get into, one of the easier welding processes to learn and has the advantage of not having to use shielding gas. Another term is self shielding wire. This is a beginner, hobbyist or DIYers best bet when first starting to weld. So today I lay out my best welding tips and tricks for flux core. I even throw in a bonus tip for those large gaps on thin sheet metal we all run into from time to time.
Here’s some tools we used -
Hobart handler 140- www.amazon.com...
Angle fire welding gloves- www.amazon.com...
Black stallion welding gloves- www.amazon.com...
Optrel welding helmet- rockmountweldi...
Black stallion women’s FR welder jacket- amzn.to/3s9lUrk
Will you make a video on how to set the adjustments on a flux core welder? How do I know if I’m too hot or not hot enough or how fast I need my speed.
You’re an excellent teacher Anthony. Emily has a bright future! I’m excited for her. She’s lucky to have you as a teacher.
Hey Emily…I’m totally impressed with your vertical up! Good job girl! Keep up the good work, keep working hard. You’re in good hands.
I think when you guys use the cardboard and marker method to show stick movement is better than real thing and you talk the same as doing the real thing. Thanks for your vids broski
I love that you're teaching Emily. You're a good teacher, better than my dad lol. He had a habit of telling (yelling) you exactly what you were doing wrong and would use some colorful phrases to do so. On the other hand he was one of the best welders I've ever known
I try! She is a very quick study
with a litte practice, Emily will be a good welder, keep going, best regards from Venezuela
Emily is gonna make a fine welder one day. MMA good job at having the patience and taking the time to train this young lady. Need more people like you willing to pass your skills onto the younger people.
She’s a quick study
Damn that gal is doing great for her first time out. I have been playing around for years with welding and her first effort is better than mine after all this time. However , I am self taught and the value of having a good instructor can't be overstated
lots of people get confused between self-shielded and dual-shield corewire.Self shielded wire uses aluminum as a deoxidizer,so it isn't compatable with other processes (for mixing welds).Dual-shield loves the volts and stickout to pre-heat the wire.I admit that I only ran Lincoln nr233 once,but a 33lb roll of .045 71Elite lasts me a day and a half at work.Great video Anthony!
Thank you!
For her first time doing this, she did a very good job- got it started, held on to it, moved the torch fairly consistently, etc. Just a little bit of practice and she's got this, no problem.
Always love watching your videos, and this is THE BEST beginner video on flux I have ever seen! What a better way to show something than when you are actually teaching someone! You definitely have a new fan. Great job.
Good work buddy!
Thanks!
Great video and tips great teacher for shore she will go far with your help she picks up fast and great job emily 👍
Its good that you teach Em's in real time, as she is running a bead.
Too close it gets cold, too far, too much heat and the amps jump up.
Get a good puddle and manipulate it. 👍
I will definitely be using that copper backing bar trick, appreciate you for sharing that, keep em coming brother
Nice Anthony, using that wire wheel down to the nub, I can tell your a business owner.😂
Great job Emily! Practice makes perfect.
MMA is for those who learn on the fly! I appreciate all the knowledge sir 🤙🏿👨🏾🏭💯💰
Doing my best!
MMA is stick welding
@@stephenrolheiser6261MMA is the channel who made the video you’re watching genius 🤦🏻♂️
Sweet Tenere in the background!
Best Non Harley motorcycle I’ve ever owned. Perfect for the Montana terrain
@@MeltinMetalAnthony I’ve heard nothing but good about those bikes, have you seen any of the videos from Pol Tarres where he’s beating the snot out of these bikes?
I'm impressed. Emily does her first welds as a pro. Holding the MIG gun steady can be challenging due to its weight compared to the stick electrode, which you can grab at the tip. Thanks for an inspiring 101. Cheers.
Cheers!
Learning from the best
Thought flux core needed closer to 5/8 or 3/4" stickout to allow the flux to heat up after it exits the contact tip?
I think that’s too much, I’ve had bird nesting with longer stick out
I've heard from 1/2" to 5/8" for 035
Depends, if it's dual shield with gas yes, if it's gasless then that stickout will be too much
great video.... Emily is gonna be one hell of a great helper one day.
Enjoyed that and found it helpful. Thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
That wire wheel was killing me lol ..love the videos
Awsome work!
Thanks!
I like the way you admit to your own mistakes dude..... subbed
Might be time to invest in a new wire wheel 😂
Getting the money worth 😂
@@MeltinMetalAnthony definitely 😂
@@deepwinter77gotta use it till it's a stubble wheel.
Students have to learn to get it done in real life 👍🏻
Good work Anthony and good brother. from Texas.
this video came in about 20 minutes before my new flux core welder arrived hahaha. perfect timing Anthony!
Perfect!
Awesomeness
On the topic of stick out, I’ve noticed that certain brands recommend different things. Some like short, some like long. their voltage settings usually very accordingly. all fluxcore runs similar, but sometimes those little things help reduce spatter
Great point!
I just wanna say I seen your inkerma product and could not be happier with it I appreciate it a lot and it is pretty dam* accurate on it measurements the level is 👌🏼 so thank you.
Great to hear!
Hope little man gets taught to learn proper lung PPE
Thanks for the awesome free course. Super useful
We have a 3m quick latch on the way for her. I however can’t wear one when making videos for you guys. Gotta be able to talk and weld.
@@MeltinMetalAnthony thats fair the Honeywell 7600S has a really nice built in speak easy exhaust and is compatible with a welding overshield. I recommend checking it out, i know 3M has one similar
oh you gotta do one for stick welding lol, vertical 7018 1/8th rods have been kicking my ass with undercutting.
Could be too high of amperage or too slow
Stop pointing the tip of the rod uphill. Your rod angle should be 90* perpendicular to the weld joint. Your amperage should be between 110-120. If that doesn’t work, try incorporating a slight weave side to side as you progress upwards.
oh. angle is pretty much dead nuts 90 degrees in there. i think its my side to side angle that is messing me up. amperage is 112 but i always get undercut if i start from the left side filling out to the right side in a t joint, it always has some form of undercut on the left side of the welds. plus watching the puddle i think i have an understanding of what to look for but honestly? not 100% lol.
16 years into welding never ran electro-negative for flux core and I'm d1.1 certified in flux. I weld in a f1 27 amps .52 wire 250 wire speed. I used dc 600 Lincoln bridge code I built bridges MDOT codes the most strictest codes out there
I said the same thing till I tried it it runs way different much cleaner less splatter
Good video.
It was hard to tell for sure in the video but some of Emily's trouble going up hill may have been from her being so much shorter then you. As a short guy myself I find it hard to see if the weld is too high. The mig gun tends to get in the way. Keep up the good work guys!
Possible!
Good one. Thx!
End of the day we all have to start to learn somewhere.
Nozzle gel is your best friend. 😁
That 140 looks like it works way better than my old 125 transformer fluxcore machine.
1/8" stickout doesn't give the flux core enough time to adequately create the gas envelope for good welding and can lead to porosity and inclusions. For .035 with proper machine setting should be roughly a 1/2 inch stickout.
I use 1/2 to 5/8 with .030 and .035
.035 needs time to heat up
Not much left on that wire wheel! lol good shit
love it
Great education! However a few concerns, welding on osb which is flammable and breathing all that smoke without a mask.
Can you create a video or written explanation detailing the essential certifications and insurance required before launching a mobile welding rig? I'm 18 and am highly interested in starting my own mobile welding rig. However, I have concerns about lacking the appropriate and vital certifications for welding activities.
Cool video. But why is the tip sticking out so much on the welding gun? Is the nozzle too short??
What's a good welder for around the house I've been looking on Amazon but a lot of choices I'm going to be putting braces on so my plow mount quits coming off
Nice bike. Yamaha tenere ?
Yes 👍
Hell yeah brother
Got my shop manager the new meltin metal shirt, his old mean ass loves that shit.
Lmao good shit!
I prefer a lil bit of gap. Seems I get better welds with a decent gap.
Nice job teaching her to weld!
I had to teach myself... Took a lot longer for me to get good welds.
My people in Mexico wear that wheel all the way to the hub. I don't know if its right or wrong.🤨
I’d pay Anthony to teach me before I payed a school, you should offer classes , I’ll drive all the way from PA
She catches on quick she needs a better helmet though visibility is extremely important get the best auto darkening helmet you can get for the price you can get it will allow you to see the puddle both those toes and the Leading Edge in better clarity and if you're getting a old school Hood I recommend a number #10 gold lens or higher # 11 little better for flux core
We are gonna work on that. Gotta start somewhere however
where do you get your hats from?
Can you run a pass over a pass with flux core? If so is there a diff in wire needed to be used? Or can you just clean the flux and go over it again?
You can with the right wire, like Lincoln's Innershield 211 MP wire. Clean flux and go over it again. Some wires like ones from Harbor Freight or US Forge are not approved for multipass welds.
@@brnmcc01 thanks 🤘🏼
where those 1/8 " plates. What should I run for 16 gauge sheet metal and 20 gauge.
Awesome
I definitely need to practice my uphill welds havnt had to do many they look like a bird shit on it and its dripping down 😢 25:05
hey just a quick one what shirts do you use while welding as i would like to use them here in the uk so don't have to wear overalls all day
I use black stallion
thankyou brother im watching all your vids and really great to watch big love from the uk you have inspired me to go back collage and do my level 2 welding degree which i start in a few weeks thankyou man keep them vids coming
Tips for 1/16 71M wire shielded ??
Be careful buddy !!!!! She is on her way to be a real good welder Very cool your teaching her a great trade to be in. Thanks for all you posts
Hi I work Miller mexim I like you tell me how I make 8 mell one pass only 3/8 material and up
I wonder if that shop would flame up with all that spray insulation and wood lol
I’d go with another 1/4 of stickout and remove the nozzle.
😎👍
Good job Emily how old are we more woman welders try to lern fabracting tho
Is it just me or do you guys hear Canadian Geese when Emily welds?
Try anti splatter spray
How did the comments about Emily from 3 days ago end up on this video from a year ago?
Emily should start a youtube channel.
I have a important question im doing a weld at a diagonal. My question is could you of done that uphill weld down starting at the top and going down? So you could drag it down ? Like on mine that at a angle can i start at the top and go down ?
Anthony was this gasless flux
In the camera view you can't see anything that Anthony is describing all I see is spark and smoke. This is also what I see in my helmet. Anthony are you seeing better through your helmet than through this camera view?
Yes unfortunately arc shots are a tricky thing. Sites like weld.com have a expensive camera set up to capture them. If you are seeing it like that in your lens you need to drop the shade down one
flux core welding for u
I came in my sleep
It was a welding dream
you know how a lot of gasless flux core is "single pass" who tf came up with that why cant you stack stringers according to the manufactures of the wire. surly the strength isn't gonna change. if you got a hydraulic press would be interesting to see a bend test
That’s for the smaller diameter wires its still multi pass as well just not as structural sound Lincoln 211 wire is only good for 1/2 plate and 212 is good for 3/4 plate. the wire is much thicker with 212. the structural flux core is multi pass and lays down tons of metal which is Lincoln NR 305,232,233 the diameter is thick wire .068 and above and could weld unlimited thickness with these wires types
I might have to do that
you should let her use one of your decent helmets till she has the money to pick up a quality helmet, a quality helmet goes a long way
Resperator!!!
I hate self-shielded, small diameter flux core. Like a spool gun for aluminum, it’s just a rudimentary means to an end.
Every process has its place
You’re correct. The best use that I’ve found for small diameter self-shielded flux core is welding metal studs. There’s even an AWS cert. for it that I got a year and a half ago to weld a shear wall up in a new Wendy’s.
I cant see shiet doing flux core
Would have been funny if you would have let Emily sign off with you infamous 3-word phrase, G-F-Y, sort of like, "... but if you didn't like the video, what can they do Emily? ... " But then you might have gotten a nasty call from her mother or something.
20% duty cycle on those shitty little buzz boxes. Get papers on NR 232 and step up to some real welding.
first...
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