I finally noticed my tack welds were too cold for years

Last month I was working on a 3/8 inch plate job at a refinery outside Baton Rouge. I kept getting these brittle little beads that would chip off easy. Foreman walked by, grabbed my rod, adjusted my machine up 15 amps without saying a word. Next tack held like it was supposed to. Turns out I had been running too cold since I started 4 years ago because I was scared of burning through. Guy told me to listen for a sizzle sound, not just a hiss. Anyone else pick up a bad habit from just not knowing any better?

2 comments

2 Comments

sandra_black18d ago

Swapped from a standard wire feed to a dual shield setup and had to relearn everything. Turns out I was running way too slow the whole time.

harper_wells18d ago

Yeah, did you find the travel speed was the main thing that threw you off? I had the same problem when I switched over, everything felt way different. Dual shield definitely likes to run hotter and faster than people think, took me a good while to get comfortable with it. It's one of those things where you think you're going fast but the puddle tells you otherwise. Glad you got it sorted though, it's a nice setup once you dial it in.