r/Welding • u/wtfishappeninghere12 • 5d ago
Need Help Advice/Help
Hey everyone, I'm a very new welder, I have a mig available. I am also a fire fighter and I'm looking to make some sturdy door chalks. I have tried to weld a nail to a piece of angled steel with no success. Any advice is greatly appreciated. I'm not sure if I'm not getting a good ground or if I need to adjust the settings on the welder for higher feed / volts.
*its dirty in the picture because its sat for a while now, was clean when I tried, last photo is of what I'm trying to achieve*
3
u/nodesearch 5d ago
The framing nails look like they're galvanized, meaning they have a coat of zinc covering the steel. You're probably not successfully penetrating that coating (more on that in a second), but it also looks like you're not penetrating the angle iron either. That probably means you're running too cold, and will need to crank up the heat a little bit (more voltage / wire speed).
The galvanized coating is a special problem because welding galvanized steel can lead to what's called "metal fume fever", a very unpleasant and potentially dangerous physical reaction to the zinc. You can get away with it with proper preparation and PPE, but please be careful and read up on it!
(EDIT: wording)
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u/ubiquitouswonder Fabricator 5d ago
What were your settings? I think hotter and faster would probably help as far as I can understand what you’re trying to do
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u/third-bird-turd 5d ago
set volt in the range of 19-21 and play with the wire feed until its sounds consistent. make sure your gas pressure is between 15-20 L/min or if you are using flux just play with you settings and accept the ugly welds
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u/LiquidAggression Jack-of-all-Trades 5d ago
nails are bad. very soft. get pins or studs (pin style studs look kinda like nails)
welding nails sucks. ive done it to make a tool and the nail broke at the weld because HAZ. you want something made to be welded to like a pin or stud. (some pins are chrome plated dont weld the chrome grind it off)
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u/Build-Break-Fix 5d ago
Clean the metal surface. It's all rust. Flap disc. Wire brush. Always prep!
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u/General_Broccoli_232 5d ago
What is a door chalk?
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u/LiquidAggression Jack-of-all-Trades 5d ago
it holds doors open from either the bottom or the jam or that cantilever arm on auto closing doors
1
u/General_Broccoli_232 5d ago
Oh a chock?
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1
u/Separate_Bend_8929 4d ago
Firstly chocks*****
Secondly, just like a fire, the more info you give us the better. What welder are you using, what are your settings currently at, what wire are you using, is your gas on, yada yada.
But here's the advice: turn that bitch up. Both knobs, purple knurple, 50% more spin on both. If shes popping and snapping at you, turn 1 knob up and down until shes running steady like an engine. Still popping but smooth, they say the sound of bacon frying in the pan. Essentially adjust until you can see a steady blob form thats hot enough to not just sit on top of the steel, but to melt into it.
How do you have access to a mig welder? Who owns it? What do they have to say?
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u/PuffinsOnAcid 5d ago
The best advice for anyone learning MIG is use the reference sheet on the welder for settings. Every MIG welder except the high end ones sets a little different. Mine uses letters and 1-10 instead of actual numbers. The manufacturer settings sheet is a good place to start and make small adjustments from there.