Project 1 from Tanh. Category: Welding Table

Hello everybody!

It's time for my first welding project with my PA140ST! And first arc project using stick. The idea is to build something useful while practicing the basic skills needed for stick. The victims are 48' of 1"x1"x1/8" square tubing, a sheet of 2'x6' 12 guage mild steel and some scrap 1"x1/4" flat stock. Hopefully by the end of it all, I'll have a light duty table for future tig / stick projects. I've seen some beefy tables out there but right now it's too much of an investment to really go gunho with some heavy duty materials. I don't forsee putting over 50#s on it either so this should be good for now.

I live in a small 40 year old bungalow with a 6' crawlspace downstairs. That's after underpinning! It really is a cave but it's all I got. Since space is limited I can only make a table that 2'x6'. Needless to say I have shop envy when I see all the well outfitted open space garages you guys have. Just finished hardwiring a dual circuit 240v/120v line in the cave and ready to start.

Unfortunately between work and other non welding projects around the house progress will be slow. The tubing was picked up from the local steel supply for $52 CAD on saturday. I still have to order the 12 guage sheet. That'll be done tomorrow, hopefully. Today I bought a 8" asphault wheel and modded my Mastercraft miter to cut the tubing to size. TSC had a clearance sale and I picked up some hobart rods for very cheap. Got some practice time with the 140ST, some 1/8 6011 and an old brake rotor.

Cell phone snaps to come very soon!

Ok, a little update.

The frame of the table has been welded together and I've learned a LOT today! Stuff like I need to work on my technique! So here's the dirty on what happened.

T h e g o o d :

Frame has been welded completely and took this newb 4 hours and some improvisation along the way. Welds are solid for the most part with full penetration. I got to learn a lot about the electrodes I was using, hobart 3/32" 6011s vs lincoln 3/32" 6011s. Quickly figured out the differences between flat vertical/horizontal and did some overhead too.


T h e b a d :

I held a tight arc but the welder kept cutting out on me in quick sucession. Is this normal? Didn't do it before. I cleaned and checked the ground and power sources but still happened. What gives? Anybody know?

T h e u g l y :
Some joints had slag inclusion due to poor technique. A lot of grinding and retrying today. Blew 2 holes but patched them back up and ground them flat. Mistook one piece for another and in the end had to join 3 small pieces into one long one.


So here are some snaps along the way.

Start of the day, Cut and ready to assemble

Attachment 8607


Took everything outside as I don't have a fume extractor yet. Good cuts will give good fit ups.

Attachment 8608


How it looks now. All that's left is the top and to put in some braces and hardware.

Attachment 8603

Here it is back in the cave. This is where it'll all happen for the next few months. At least that's the plan.

Attachment 8604

So the top still needs to be done. I'll probably add 2 more crossmembers to support the top and some gussets as bracing. Here's a list of other future improvements.

Backsplash, reinforced plating for small vice, dedicated lith for welder, shelving for clamps, electrode / ground holders, Dedicated ground point, 120v outlet.

Anyways, baby steps. Lets find a top plate first. I'm thinking 12 guage but we'll see what the metal shop has for sale.

Cheers.

Looking good so far I think. The first time and maybe the second and third is always the best when building stuff.

Looks like it will work nicely for you. Some closeup weld pics might help to offer suggestions. Was the rod sticking when it cutout? What amperage were you using? How tight was your arc? With new clean metal you will probably find it easier to learn with 7014 or 7018, even 6013 will leave a cleaner finished weld than 6011. Where 6011 shines is burning through rust, mill scale, paint, and whatnot. Also for deep penetration with less power. Something that will be great with 3/8" or 1/2" plate for a little box like the 140ST. 12ga. is not bad for a top, but if you intend on being able to pound on it, you might want something a little stronger. If it's just a place to put things and you don't plan on clamping much too it, then it will be fine, especially with some bracing. If you plan on welding your top on, be sure to just do short stitch welds of about an inch or so and move around to keep the top as flat as possible. It really doesn't take much to secure it. You can post larger pictures without issue because of the thumbnail setup. Kinda hard to see what you have going on. Look forward to seeing how it all comes out.

The stitch welds will allow you to keep warping down. Also allow you to remove and replace the top easier. On the shop size, you have to start somewhere. I would use 6013 as my goto, but 7018 will make for a nicer looking weld when you get started.

Were you running on 220vac?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tanh

6' crawlspace downstairs.

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Without prying into personal stuff like your living situation, moving the stick welding outside was probably a good idea, what with smoke and sparks. My "workshop" is the garage, and every time I pick up a hammer or saw I have to think about who am I going to disturb (and do I care) along with the safety considerations for the job at hand. Just as smoke from stick welding accumulates on your hood, it will accumulate on your walls and ceiling too, and overall may become a cleanup chore. Sparks are an obvious fire hazard. Not to nag, just be careful, is all!

Nice job on the table. I learn from every project, too- mostly I learn it takes way longer than I expected.

I seem to be learning that it takes a lot longer if you don't have everything ready at the get go too. Still have not gotten the top but if it's not to much I'll go thicker. 5/16" maybe? That'll have to wait till midweek when I have some time. Thanks for the tip on stitch welding the top. I'll definitely do that.

The settings I was using when those cutouts happened are as follows: 240vAC, Switch on stick mode, Hobart 3/32" 6011 @ 91 amps or Lincoln 3/32" 6011 @ 83 amps. Those were the amperages where it would weld consistently, any lower and i had a tendency to stick. I held as tight an arc as I could, nothing past 1/4" from the joint. I held the rod 45 to the joint and dragged it at 70 degrees, was tacking on and off for about 2 hours before it started acting weird. Those holes I burned just came out of the blue. It was a nice arc and then became fierce like I was long arcing, but I wasn't more than 1/4" away ever. Maybe that's too much and I need to get even closer.

Tried moving the ground, cleaning the contact patch and checking the power source but still the same. Gonna get more scraps and try to replicate it more reliably. Get to the bottom of it and see what's actually going on.

Thanks for all the tips so far. I'm trying to incorporate all that I've learned into the project. There's a few more projects to come too.

Here's a snap of the weld when it was cutting out.

Attachment 8619

Here's one using the Hobart. They were on clearance, cheap but I will probably stick with the lincolns. Welded just so much better for me, for some reason.

Attachment 8620

Ugly! I know. Any recommendations? Thanks.

1/4" is a bit too long. The welder will shut off from over-voltage if the arc is too long. That is one thing different about inverters vs. transformer machines. In fact an inverter that has auto arc force, will actually raise the voltage a little when you get real close to prevent sticking. For 6011 you practically want to feel the flux touching the metal as you weld, it really needs to be that close. You may have to adjust your amps to match your travel speed, once you get close enough. Keep the rod 90° to the metal for most applications, a little either way is fine to help see, but too much angle will blow things around from the arc force. I still advise you to get some 7014, 7018, or 6013 to learn with. Once you have that down, 6011 will come easier. And for the project you are working on, I wouldn't even use 6011, as it's not the best rod for that kind of work. Save it for rusty dirty metal. Any of the other rods mentioned will be a better fit. It does take a lot of practice to do good stick welding, so keep at it, and it will get easier.

Lol yeah practice practice practice. I just bought some lincoln 6013 and 7018. Will give those a go. Maybe tomorrow to see how that fairs. The reason I was hesitant to drag at straight 90 was that I kept blowing holes but that must have been because I held it 1/4" away.

I hear a lot of people bashing 6013 rods. I'm sure for my application it'll be fine but what's wrong with them? Even Jody doesn't really like them as much except for beginners learning. Which is me BTW.

Thanks for the tips.

He has said he doesn't like them because it's not as easy to tell the weld puddle from the slag, so you can get slag inclusions if you are not careful. I can't say I've seen that much, but I suppose it could happen. For sure they do not burn as hot as 6011 at the same amperage, so blowing holes through things is less likely. I find them pretty easy and forgiving for a lot of things, but I have mostly used them on AC with an old Lincoln tombstone. Maybe on DC things might be a little different. If you have clean metal, your are good to go. You will find that even with 3/32" you can crank them down enough to weld light gauge sheetmetal, or turn the power up to do thicker stuff all with the same rod. I guess that's why they call them the farmer's rod, because they are so general purpose. Jack of all trades, master of none.

Watch this for how close you need to be, rod angle, and technique. This technique will work for both 6013 and 7018 with just an adjustment in amps. Since your material is thinner, you will use a little less amps than what is used here, even on 7018. The opening shot will show you how the flux is just touching the weld puddle, and you can see the electrode is actually burned back up inside the flux tube. So you really have a longer arc then what you see when welding. You will be able to feel those slight touches of the flux to the metal. BTW this was done with an Everlast 160STH, that is much like what you have.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3DQsXdYSDU

I don't stick weld much but I have done it enough to get a decent weld when I do.
I have a friend that has worked as a pipe fitter for 10 yrs. and all he does is stick weld....... His welds look basically like you Tig welded it.... Beautiful!!

SO... Practice is the key to great welds! :)