New to welding, Advice please!

[impala59]

I picked up a SIP T140P stick/arc welder as part of an auction lot. I made good the connections at each end of the ground and electrode holder and checked internally for electrical safety, bought some electrode rods (1.6mm and 2mm) some gauntlets, a chip hammer and big wire brush then dug out some scrap steel after watching some you-tube videos. Never having welded before I have had some interesting results! However, eventually I found that I could maintain an arc and get sufficient penetration and a half decent line.

Does anyone use the 'self darkening' masks as one of my problems is the mask (that came with the welder) that I have is permanently dark and I can't see where to strike my arc or begin my weld? I have spots on my vice, ground clamp and all over the piece I am trying to weld. On one occasion while using magnets to hold two pieces together, I struck my arc first time and made what I thought was a pretty good weld only to find that in striking I had hit the piece and moved it so it was useless. I have seen these masks advertised and wondered if they were, firstly, any good for seeing at the start and whether they darkened sufficiently and fast enough for proper eye protection.

Or am I missing something obvious in starting my weld?

Any advice for a beginner would be most welcome

Edited November 13, 2018 by impala59

[The Heron]

Do a starters course at the local collage.

 

[Andy H]

Get the auto   darkening helmet   you can adjust the shade  settings to suit your welding needs.

[johnphilip]

Hi . Yes an auto dark helmet will help lots you will see were your striking the arc. It darkens in a split second .it will help loads as you can see were your working. They are a lot cheaper now . Got the wife one . She some times helps me . Go to youtube .see them on there will post a picture of the one i got her . Showed it to my mate he got the same one . Loves it .

[CaptainBeaky]

Definitely get an auto-darkening helmet - most pro's use them. Makes things so much easier!

Cheaper ones have a much smaller window - easier to work with a bigger aperture.

Adjustable shade is more expensive, but again worth it.

Buy a pack of lens covers and change them as soon as they start getting fogged. These are the clear covers that protect the fragile auto-darkening lens.

Get yourself on a course!

[TIGHTCHOKE]

All the guys at work are using them.

[gotgcoalman]

Aldi had them in the other month for £23.

[impala59]

7 hours ago, The Heron said:

Do a starters course at the local collage.

 

Sound advice, I will look up what’s available 

And thanks for the heads up on the masks guys, the way forward!

[Sciurus]

Definitely get a self darkening mask, they have come down in price fantastically, I paid £90 10 yrs ago!

Another tip is make sure the rods are dry - keep them in a very warm dry place - like CH boiler cupboard. Some people temporarily touch  the rod to an earthed scrap of steel for a few seconds until the rod begins to steam in order to dry out any excess moisture - but beware of sparking! This will help your welding enormously.

I would practice on bits of thicker steel like angle iron before trying to weld thinner steel - it is more forgiving. Good luck

[ditchman]

dump your 1.6mm rods.................use 2.5mm or 3.25mm RUTILE RODS...go to welding supplier and tell them you want some easy touch rods to learn with.....SATINEX (green) are a good downhand rod to learn with................

[oldypigeonpopper]

hello, here is my 2 penny worth, battery type auto mask, looking at the SIP welder change that tinny earth clamp to a decent one, spare anti spatter front lens, get some G clamps to hold scrap steel while welding, the rods simon mentioned would be better to learn with and i would favour 2.5, welding up to 5mm steel, with your scrap steel it may help to put the amps at a slightly higher point than what is recommended as it help to strike the arc and the weld flows better then reduce to the normal amp setting as you get more proficient, it is normal for this type of welder to cut out from time to time, wait till cools down and start again, most most important if you do get welders flash known as arc eye  stop welding and use eye dilating drops, or optrex, good luck   

[John_R]

If I use rods that have been lying around a bit I pop them in a medium oven for 10 mins or so to dry them out. Makes a big difference to striking successfully. 

[dabbers]

never used a darkening lens ,been welding all my life,,heavy ,light engineering and shipyards,,50 odd years at the game,,never needed an automatic shade

Edited November 14, 2018 by dabbers

[snow white]

I never used one till couple years ago welding heavy steel but what a lot easier it is with one.

[rovercoupe]

Mig is best with auto darkening but if working long runs on arc then I have gone back to a standard lid, all the auto darkening flicking back and forth really annoyed me! Gat the same results with a standard lid and had more insight into watching the weld pool, it just seemed more clear through a normal lens.

[ditchman]

2 hours ago, rovercoupe said:

Mig is best with auto darkening but if working long runs on arc then I have gone back to a standard lid, all the auto darkening flicking back and forth really annoyed me! Gat the same results with a standard lid and had more insight into watching the weld pool, it just seemed more clear through a normal lens.

this ...

[Walker570]

17 hours ago, Andy H said:

Get the auto   darkening helmet   you can adjust the shade  settings to suit your welding needs.

Yep, good advise. I'm no expert but being able to see the piece prior to striking is so useful.  Never had the flik effect on mine Ditch.  I think as a beginner or a pure amatuer like me then the auto mask is well worth it.  For general welding, which normally is angle iron and 30 mm heavy box then I use 3.5 and regulate the power setting to get a clean strike. If you have a local education centre... they call them all sorts of names these days then money well spent to take a beginners course.  Never done it myself...self taught... but if I have a serious job then I get a fully qualified friend to do it for me. 

[Saltings]

I use mig and invertor and forgot oxford bantam oil cooled ( hobby welding) have used different headgear over the years the most important for me is using a denim / dish cloth material stitched onto the helmet as a vail to cover the back of your neck and head to stop the reflection from the roof material reflecting off the internal side of the shield    arc eye     also lets you see where your puddle is  without distraction now use an auto darken with towel so I can concentrate on the weld      loads available on line on evilbay       you cam put a towel or similar over your head  to block out  excess back round light see  how you get on before permanent stitching   hope this helps    and if stick welding put your rods in a quiver / oven to dry out for best results

Edited November 15, 2018 by Saltings

[vmaxphil]

If you're having problems with the welder cutting out and are confident at doing it, fit a 4" pancake type fan to draw air through it, made the world of difference to my sip welder

[oldypigeonpopper]

1 hour ago, vmaxphil said:

If you're having problems with the welder cutting out and are confident at doing it, fit a 4" pancake type fan to draw air through it, made the world of difference to my sip welder

hello, that is interesting phil, have had a few of these welders and got fed up with cutting out mid weld although many years ago, can you post a pic of you SIP ?

[impala59]

Thank you Gentlemen, loads of good PW advice (as always) and very little disagreement in the ranks!

Roland

 

[vmaxphil]

6 hours ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

hello, that is interesting phil, have had a few of these welders and got fed up with cutting out mid weld although many years ago, can you post a pic of you SIP ?

Hi it is a very old sip topweld 140 must be 30 plus years old fan is bolted to the  back vemt pulling air through the sides 

[oldypigeonpopper]

4 hours ago, vmaxphil said:

Hi it is a very old sip topweld 140 must be 30 plus years old fan is bolted to the  back vemt pulling air through the sides 

hello, i remember those, my first  welder was a Pickhill bantam oil cooled, compared to my now modern 160 amp digital these welders are so better for welding on the farm, 

On 13/11/2018 at 23:43, impala59 said:

I picked up a SIP T140P stick/arc welder as part of an auction lot. I made good the connections at each end of the ground and electrode holder and checked internally for electrical safety, bought some electrode rods (1.6mm and 2mm) some gauntlets, a chip hammer and big wire brush then dug out some scrap steel after watching some you-tube videos. Never having welded before I have had some interesting results! However, eventually I found that I could maintain an arc and get sufficient penetration and a half decent line.

Does anyone use the 'self darkening' masks as one of my problems is the mask (that came with the welder) that I have is permanently dark and I can't see where to strike my arc or begin my weld? I have spots on my vice, ground clamp and all over the piece I am trying to weld. On one occasion while using magnets to hold two pieces together, I struck my arc first time and made what I thought was a pretty good weld only to find that in striking I had hit the piece and moved it so it was useless. I have seen these masks advertised and wondered if they were, firstly, any good for seeing at the start and whether they darkened sufficiently and fast enough for proper eye protection.

Or am I missing something obvious in starting my weld?

Any advice for a beginner would be most welcome

hello, keep us posted how you are getting on impala, i am old school and have a mask that must be years old, think its time i got myself one of those auto jobbies

[Walker570]

19 minutes ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

hello, i remember those, my first  welder was a Pickhill bantam oil cooled, compared to my now modern 160 amp digital these welders are so better for welding on the farm, 

hello, keep us posted how you are getting on impala, i am old school and have a mask that must be years old, think its time i got myself one of those auto jobbies

Don't think you will be disappointed OPP.  Make sure you buy one with an automatic off switch to save batteries. My first one did not have such and I was constantly replacing batteries. The present one will auto shut down if it doesn't get used and I have never replaced a battery ..ever..for ages.  They probably all come with the feature now.

[bornfree]

2.5 and 3.2mm rods will be easier to train yourself with . Use roughly 80amps on the 2.5s and 100 on the 3.2s . And have a practice on different positions when you master vertical up and overhead you will be well on the way.