Grade my welds

Not a pro at welding, I have went thru a few spools of wire teaching  myself. This is a panhard  mount for my spider, 3.2 mm thick square  steel tube, beveled  edges  were I could  make them

I made sure that I had good puddles  when I did the welding. 

035 flux core 

I would only say "they look a lot like my welds sometimes," but IMO that's not a particularly good thing. Probably strong enough for your application, but not very pretty. Not saying that to be mean, just saying it because that's what I say about my own, lol. 

Like me, you need to work on a steadier hand/aim and a more consistent bead. Some areas look decent, others don't. that's about all my limited experience can say. Glass houses...stones....etc.

Thank 5, Irish . I can grind off bad welds, and add new ones.

They are ugly but seem functional for the most part. One thing that I see in a few of your pictures (1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8) that is an issue are the holes. These create stress raisers and can become a source of fatigue cracks. Go and fill in those holes with a good tack.

Some of these welds look like you aren't seeing well when you weld. If you don't have one, invest in an auto-darkening helmet and keep the lens clean.

Also, unless those parts are particularly thick, move to an 0.030 size wire. I am guessing that these parts are about 1/8" thick? It will give you better control on most MIG machine. 

When I switched from flux core MIG to MIG with gas, it was much easier to weld and have it look more like it should. Early on I would work with scrap pieces and then cut it apart through the weld to see how the penetration was. That helped in figuring out what I was doing. 

Looking at the outside of the weld doesn't tell you what you need to know.  Cut them open so you can see the penetration.

Put on your glasses or clean your lenses, develop a steadier hand, maybe turn up the power and down the wire speed.  Learn to watch the puddle and manage burn through with your hands travel speed.  

+1 on the helmet. I used to just have a Harbor Frieght cheapo one and thought it was fine at the time.

But last year I switched to a nice Eastwood one and man, it's night and day difference (literally) in terms of vision, especially in darker areas. Sometimes I use an LED light to light up the exact weld area so I can see it better through the helmet before I start the weld.

I will get .030 wire after work. Tonight, thanks

Fasted58. I cannot count that high. I stopped at 35.

How do you like the flux core welder?  I've never welded before, but I've considered picking up a harbor freight flux core cheapie that will run on 110v to give it a shot.  

I'm hesitant to spend the cash for a true 220v mig setup with all the gas, wiring, etc. for something i might not even use.

I wouldn't be looking to win any concours competitions, just some basic metal fastening...

You thinkn it's worth it?

So I'm not a welding expert, but read a lot before I started, and it seems that the heat isn't enough- since you see a lot of it over the metal, the heat isn't penetrating the metal enough to lay in the metal.  Not sure how fine of control you have, but I'd set the heat one setting more.

As for helmets- I just got one from HF, and like it a lot more than the cheap one I had before.  

Before I converted  my hf 90 welder to dc. I found if you remove  the brass gas cover and use a plastic  cover like this, you can good welds, my friend is a boilermaker,welds all the time  he taught me how to weld. Yes  I still make buggers, but not as many anymore. Did not want to spend over 500$ for a welder I only use 10 to 15 days a year 

In reply to Streetwiseguy :

If I cut the welds open, would I not have to build/weld a new panhard rod mount, again? Then cut the welds open again to see how good they are? Then repeat agian?

I run only 0.023" in small machines.  Better wire speed control.

Slow down.

Probably needs more heat, and/or a little less wire speed.

More (or less) coffee - whatever helps you be more steady.

Pretty good for a beginner.

Spend free time at weldingtipsandtricks youtube channel.  You will learn TONS.

Besides needing to see what you're doing and a steady hand, you need to slow down or add more heat. Your welds are' laying on top of ' the metal and not blending into the metal . Maybe get someone around you to give you a hand ? 

In reply to Alfaromeoguy :

Practice panels.  Weld up the same material you are going to use in a sample first.

Well grind welds off one at a time, run with .030 wire, on to next weld, thanks guys

Your speed and work angle are not consistent . the heat has to be in both pieces. Where you see the bead just sitting on the base metal is known as overlap. This occurs when the base metal does not melt.. With flux core or smaw stick] you need to use a drag angle, the puddle behind the electrode. If you use a push angle slag can be trapped in the weld. At the left end of the weld in the first photo you have a crater. That usually indicates that a push angle was used. The little pit in the crater is a classic spot for a crack to start. You are doing well for being self taught. Go online to Lincoln Electric and get the FCAW welding guide pdf . it is free and full of excellent info. Flux core makes excellent welds but your angles and stick out are critical. 

I just read my post and I come off as an ass. I teach welding and am studying for the Certified Welding Inspector exam. 

My advice is to replicate your joints with short pieces of the same base material. Make some welds until they look good. Take the practice pieces put them in a vice and try to beat them apart with a 2 or 3 pound hammer. The base metal will break on a good weld. If you have a band saw cut through the weld perpendicular and polish it with a flap wheel sander followed by scotchbrite pads. Put some naval jelly on the polished part and the weld nugget will be readily visible.  Go to welding tips and tricks . com for excellent instructional videos. Please get in touch with me anytime for help.

Braden McCredie

Get a cheater lens. It is reading glasses for your helmet. I always argue with several students every session that they can't see what they are doing. They insist that they can see fine. I give them my helmet with a 1.50 lens and they now can weld. All welding shops sell them for about 5 bucks

The rule of thumb to be a good consistent welder is that it takes a mile of weld bead to be good.

do this until your beads are consistent. When the pad is covered turn it 90 degrees and cover what you already did.

Pilotbraden. Here from the Alfa Romeo  bb?  

I am going to say no. I do not know what Alfa Romeo bb is. My only real Alfa Romeo connection is driving a 1963 Alfa occasionally over the past several decades.