Welding

Bought a welder - a Lincoln Mig-Pak 140.  It's currently setup to use flux core wire and that's how I used it for my first weld.  There's two types of welding I can do with this machine, MIG (Metal Inert Gas) welding, and flux core welding.  MIG welding uses an inert gas, usually a 75/25 mix of CO2 and Argon.  The gas shields the weld puddle from impurities until it cools.  With flux cored wire, the flux within the welding wire shields the weld.

 

So that's my rig.  I paid $500 for the 2-yr old machine.  Still has a year left on the warranty.  I had some extra metal around so I tested it out today.  I started with low power for what I was welding on, and saw how the weld puddle didn't really penetrate into the metal.  Then I turned up the power and slowed down my hand a bit and made a good bead.  Then I welded a couple pieces together and that turned out pretty good for a first try.