Slag in the Eye and Harbor Freight Welders Breaking
25 posts across 5 communities in the last 30 days; 80% from r/Welding.
“the ground ones are tig (first time trying it), the rest are mig. the outside corners are mig that I ground the shit out of until I got to solid metal. There is another set of small crosspieces going in to make a 4x4 grid. I am probably gonna tool at this with tig and the…”
“Has anyone else every had an issue with burning eyes? I notice that when I have been pulling wire all day and I go to whip my eyes they just start burning for like 30 minutes”
“The only issue I’d have with it is the welding. Without a doubt I’m sure that it’ll hold a lot and it won’t break, great tags. It’s just unsatisfying only seeing tags and not t full fish scale welds.”
These posts detail welding-related incidents, including slag entering the eye and equipment malfunctions. They emphasize the importance of safety precautions and reliable equipment in welding operations.
SOURCES (60)
“Did a significant repair on a friend's food trailer recently and I wanted to see what y'all thought. I was using a borrowed welder and had minimal materials available but I did my best. This thing has a ton wrong with it but I'm fixing…”
“I got fucking burned today, too many times. 4F - MiG 90/10 gas - 1/4” steel - 0.035 wire. 240WFS 19v (that’s an overhead t joint for non Americans) I’m roughly 5 months into the 9 month program and I just welded a joint I was actually proud of. I even polished that Mofo up. That being said, I still got a 36/40. I’ve yet to get a “perfect” 40 yet. Idk if I’m capable of it, but still 4 months to go. submitted by /u/TheGoldenOctagon [link] [comments]”
“As welders, out eyes are under considerable strain, which can manifest itself into all kind of problems, and alongside that, there are also vocation specific dangers - getting your eye flashed, infections, inflammations, irradiated, "foreign objects going in"... etc. And of all the things that could have happened, I get an infection... in the roots of my eyelashes... for the third time in the last 2 years " You could not make this shit up! " Apparently, the hot and humid envi”
“Gas powered one I was using was fucking heavy. Went to try to climb up the ladder carrying it but lost my balance and fell back and the driver landing right on my leg. Man that hurt lol. First picture shows how bad the swelling was. Second picture was like a week later. No fractures or anything, it honestly just felt like I slammed my shin on a hitch or something lol. Yeah definitely hurt though. submitted by /u/Electrical-Juice-915 [link] [comments]”
“(this is my 3rd and 4th smaw vertical welds i know those are shit these are my first vertical mig welds though submitted by /u/Egglegg14 [link] [comments]”
“the ground ones are tig (first time trying it), the rest are mig. the outside corners are mig that I ground the shit out of until I got to solid metal. There is another set of small crosspieces going in to make a 4x4 grid. I am probably gonna tool at this with tig and the grinder until I get sick of it and then finish it with mig. I am mostly posting this for kicks, but I'm open to any advice - I know this is mostly a 'just put the practice hours in' kind of thing, but I am sure ther”
“I just made my first real welds ! I got a 100 dollar electric off Amazon a couple years ago, and just broke it out and made my first real welds. I'm framing out a halloween decoration - completely non-critical stuff, and welded some 3/16 rods together. It's tricky stuff - it's going to take me a long time to figure out how to do a good job, but the weld has held so far. I have no idea what I'm doing - don't even have my cheap HF helmet dialed in right yet, but this is super f”
“Two year Welding student getting out of school and into proper industry work. Looking to get a nice lens and hood. I’ve been looking at the company snake belly for lenses, but hopefully you guys have some good suggestions. submitted by /u/Heckerson67890 [link] [comments]”
“First time welding, Did about three hours of welding today the instructor said I did better from the first plate. These were my last two plates. I had three in total. What do y’all think? submitted by /u/JuneBization [link] [comments]”
“Has anyone else every had an issue with burning eyes? I notice that when I have been pulling wire all day and I go to whip my eyes they just start burning for like 30 minutes submitted by /u/konymandella69 [link] [comments]”
“I've been teaching myself how to weld. Here we have some progress pics. I'm ok with critique. This is flux core on my Lincoln that was given to me. I have a bottle for gas, just haven't gotten any and not certain what to get anyways. Left is my early ones and right is after a bit of practice submitted by /u/RolandJKU [link] [comments]”
“I just noticed the rubber seam on a 6-month old x-change mask is coming loose. How serious is this and what's the best repair? Thanks! submitted by /u/ursa_noctua [link] [comments]”
“Working with what I got, belt sander was my bench grinder and a chop saw with a blade for wood 🤣 Any advice on trying to not dip the tungsten but keep the distance correct? Working with grey tungsten from harbor freight kit, titanium multiprocess 140v welder with only arch lift and DC. Thanks! submitted by /u/MaleficentRiver5137 [link] [comments]”
“Have been doing flux here and there over the last few months as a hobbyist. Finally put together a proper Mig setup with an arccaptain mig 250, an Argon mix tank, and some Lincoln electric mig wire. I used .030 wire around 130 amps ~19v for this 4mm steel. I also got .035 wore as I'll be doing some 1/4in steel as well soon. Just want to know how these look and if there's any glaring issues. Only the longer middle one was an "actual" weld (in two parts). The rest were testing se”
“Welding in breaching for ductwork at the top of the boiler. submitted by /u/BigChuch1400 [link] [comments]”
“Today went really well in my eyes. Instructor told me my first welds of the day were worlds better than yesterday and I will be one hell of a welder one day if I keep at it. I feel that way too. I never expected to be amazing right away. We moved on to Position 3F today before the start of Week 3 (next week). On Monday of Week 4, we will be testing for certs. I was told that testing will be on position 3F and that will certify us for 1F & 2F. Not even nervous honestly. Just focused on the go”
“The only issue I’d have with it is the welding. Without a doubt I’m sure that it’ll hold a lot and it won’t break, great tags. It’s just unsatisfying only seeing tags and not t full fish scale welds.”
“Been welding on it every night since I posted. First night I had a partner working on the other side, 2nd night it was all me, and dayshift stopped working on it so it’s been just me. Stuffed flatbar in one spot but ended up just mainly building up 5/32 7018 on the shell until I could bridge it to the flange. Ground it down as close as I could to a 90 a capped it out. Didn’t go too bad. Just found out I have to crawl in and weld the inside now💀 submitted by /u/BigChuch1400 [link] &#”
“Miller has great welders but trash equipment IMO… I have a speed glass that’s almost 20years old that works flawlessly to this day. This things Lens freezes all the time when snapping closed, will randomly flash burn me if it doesn’t have a brand new battery. Do better miller. submitted by /u/DufflinMinder [link] [comments]”
“I know i messed up at the start and end, im not really sure what i did but i was tryijg to get the molten but i think i didn't distribute the heat evenly? All tips and critiques are very appreciated! submitted by /u/Accurate_Earth5641 [link] [comments]”
Lol not screwed at all. Get a welder to come and replace that steel beam.
“Tried welding aluminium for the first(ish) time. Tips are welcome submitted by /u/Eliasoad [link] [comments]”
“I've got about an hour or two total of practice with aluminum. Before this I've only done one or two stick welds and a couple small Flux core welds. Nothing structural, nothing pretty. This is totally for hobby use and I've just been attending the YouTube academy. Machine is an Azzuno ACDC-200L Machine settings Flow meter ball is hovering just over the 15cfm line Doing my best to keep about 1/8" away from the work Balance: 30% Frequency: 90hz Preflow gas: 1s Upslope: 60a .5s Pea”
“Hey Hey! Ive been going to my local community college for awhile now, slowly getting certified in different types of welding. Just recently I started the Stick welding class about 4 weeks ago. This week we started vertical welds with 7018 rod. This plate was during my second day of practice! How is it looking? What can I improve on? What did I do well on? Thank you so much! submitted by /u/ChirichLIVE [link] [comments]”
“May I please hav feedback on my day 1 welds? 7018 rod. I think I had the heat on 84. Thank you ! submitted by /u/Hello_Photographer [link] [comments]”
“Keep getting holes on inside corners. should I start further back? I'm happy with outside corners. I'm welding inside to outside. Welding 50mm x 4mm shs. Edit, I'm planning on leaving everything unpainted, so I'll coat everything in car wax or something else, i need to do more research into that, and I don't want to grind any welds. Sorry, I should've added GMAW mig welding submitted by /u/aussie_ghost230355 [link] [comments]”
“Pipe Tig welder here, finally getting a shot out on site welding this is something I've been working towards for a long time and I don't really wanna mess this up,I'm actually pretty nervous not even because of fixed position just sheerly outta the reason of x-ray and welds tight against a wall all that sorta stuff..... Any advice Edit , I'm the only welder that's gonna be on this site submitted by /u/Interesting-Travel82 [link] [comments]”
“Never welded before but it's about that time. Main jobs will be homestead/farm stuff, fences gates etc, and will have to make a metal house door, and the frame it fits into. For myself I'm an artist and very interested to be able to stick rebar together, nails screws bolts, random metals, into birds bears faces whatever. Not building tanks and tractors yet 🤭 This machine is one Sowell SW1211 Multi-process Welder: MIG 120A, MMA 100A, TIG 100A Power: 2.46 kVA Lift TIG, Gasless It's in”
“Had some free time so the maintenance guy asked me to help him troubleshoot the aluminum welder. Way different from steel… submitted by /u/GMArcAngel [link] [comments]”
“Rookie question; Is there such thing as an optimum set time for removing the slag off of a weld when welding with electrodes or is it more like a rule of thumb thing? Ive heard people say you should wait till the weld\slag cools down and isn't glowing but i still dont know if i should give the slag maybe like 5,10 seconds before removing it How would you decide what's the optimum time for slag removal and does it differ from electrode to electrode? submitted by /u/SaharaSailo”
“I was welding a small rectangle of square tubing drip just for practice. I beveled the sides before welding and I ground the sides and outside corner flush. Do the dark areas at what was the edge of the weld mean I had lack of fusion? submitted by /u/JSteigs [link] [comments]”
“Stick with a 7018, any critique or tips please! submitted by /u/HighClassHate [link] [comments]”
“Tips and tricks would be appreciated submitted by /u/OrphanSlayer300 [link] [comments]”
“I started tech school for welding and I just got a brand new Lincoln auto darkening helmet and it's doing something really weird. I've got a flashlight I'm using to test it. I've got delay at minimum and sensitivity at maximum. If it's been sitting for more than sixty seconds and I shine a light at the sensor, it won't activate at all for ten seconds, but then after that it works perfectly fine. But then if it stops working again for ten seconds if it sits for sixty secon”
“This is a new Daytona 3 ton jackstands, i noticed one of them at the weld has a break line not sure if its paint defect or actual weld defect. Any ideas? submitted by /u/winkawak [link] [comments]”
“Harbor frieght auto darkening helper works just fine for your needs. You’re not welding full time so you don’t need a ton of features. Also, put a very bright light on your work piece. It’ll help you see your piece better without causing the helmet to flash back and forth. Sometimes I use a snapon neck light. Sometimes I use a dewalt magnetic light. Depends on what I’m welding.”
“I was going to wait till they were done done but it’s hard with kids n stuff, need to just focus one day a week and get em done. Made with slag from carbon arcing and my trusty 150 dollar flux welder from harbor freight. Welding at home is an expensive hobby.. this is a cow, planning on doing a whole bunch of different skulls/animals. submitted by /u/GrayStag90 [link] [comments]”
“I was going to wait till they were done done but it’s hard with kids n stuff, need to just focus one day a week and get em done. Made with slag from carbon arcing and my trusty 150 dollar flux welder from harbor freight. Welding at home is an expensive hobby.. submitted by /u/GrayStag90 [link] [comments]”
“My first time ever trying to well i used tig and have no clue what im doing i dont have anyone helping me other than my just as clueless brother submitted by /u/Ha_youWishXD [link] [comments]”
“I've been welding pretty heavily as a diyer/weekend warrior for almost 20 years now and I've always just used a harbor freight hood. I've had them all from them, the most recent being the Vulcan wide view. It's been pretty solid for a $125ish hood and I haven't really had any complaints besides battery life. I upgraded all of my machines this year and decided to get back into tig welding and grabbed a primeweld 325x and the first time I used it I couldn't see a fucking th”
“Hello, I'm new here and a total novice when it comes to welding. I've got a very cheap, basic 130 amp flux core welder which I've used for a few minor jobs in the past with decent results (mainly patching up rust holes in old cars). Couple of days ago I accidentally snapped a bolt on my car while doing some maintainance. The bolt in question is a 8mm one which threads into the aluminium timing cover. There isn't any access to drill it out without pulling the engine. It sticks out”
“Maybe being in a hurry but that's all I could ever think of. I saw an I beam at a guys garage with a chain hoist and trolley. Someone welded an additional bottom plate to the I beam and they didn't chip the slag. I don't understand that. Maybe a good welder can tell but I have to chip my slag off to really look at my welds. submitted by /u/Inhalationofnewtion [link] [comments]”
“Named him sparky well… because. It was a bitch to get the eyes on Also I used a combo of smaw and mig but we didn’t have any shielding gas so my instructor just said go without it. So that’s why he kind of looks funny submitted by /u/Loose-Living-4244 [link] [comments]”
“I do a lot of mechanized mig spray and pulse welding. Only when I mechanize spray do my eyes feel like I’ve been flashed. I use a shroud setup to cover the arc with a shaded glass. There is no light escaping and I cannot see the arc. I was using a shade 11 for a while then switched to a shade 12. This only happens when I mech spray and not with pulse. Am I missing something that would causing me to get flashes or is this something else. Thanks. submitted by /u/poopiemkpooppoop [link]”
“Little details go a long way. Prepping the area around the repair is important. Keeps the work area cleaner/less mess to clean up. All about practice in the end. Did you use guide coat to check your body work as you went?”
“Besides that is there anything necessarily bad about it? I know it looks rough now, but I still got a lot of work I gotta do to it”
“why tf did you drill holes in it dude.....if you don't weld that up the repair is gonna fail when the filler starts wicking moisture from the inside. this is literally 1980's levels of barbarianism.”
“Hey workers,t's the second time i weld(with my grampas welding machine)but mine weldings are very bad,idk how the welding machine settings and idw what they mean. submitted by /u/niccopascul [link] [comments]”
“Today was Spray groove joints & Pulse fillet T joints. I really tried to do to a good fit up with the materials given. For some reason none of the backing plates are long enough, idk why. But aside from that, is this one bad as well? I showed my teacher and he looked me dead in the face and said “perfect” (WFS & Volts/trim adjusted to match WPS) For the Spray groove joints, and actually any other joint. I actually feel like the worst welder on earth. I can’t keep a consistent thickness,”