Helpful Hints; Practice - Lincoln Electric LTW1 Manual De Instrucciones

LEARNING TO WELD

Helpful Hints

• For general welding, it is not necessary to weave the
arc, neither forward or backward nor sideways. Weld
along at a steady pace. You will find it easier.
• When welding on thin plate, you will find that you will
have to increase the welding speed, whereas when
welding on heavy plate, it is necessary to go more
slowly in order to get good penetration.
• When welding sheet metal 16 gauge (1.5 mm) and
lighter, heat buildup may cause part warpage and burn
through. One way to eliminate these problems is to use
the back-stepping method illustrated in Figure 15.
FIGURE 15
First weld from A to B; then from C to A; then
from D to C; then from E to D, and so on.
B A
Back-Stepping

Practice

The best way of getting practice in the four skills that enable you to
maintain:
1. Correct welding position.
2. Correct way to strike an arc.
3. Correct Contact Tip to Work Distance.
4. Correct welding speed is to perform the following
exercise. Refer to Figure 16. Use PROCESS
GUIDELINES in the Instruction Manual and Application
Guide on the inside of wire feed section door for
selection of welding wire, wire feed speed, voltage, and
for range of metal thicknesses that can be welded.
Contact
Tip
C D E
15°-20°
CTWD
Gun Angle
1. Position face shield to protect face and eyes.
2. Learn to strike an arc by positioning the gun over the
joint and touching the wire to the work.
3. Depress gun trigger, hold gun so contact tip to work
distance is about 3/8 to 1/2 inch (10 to 12 mm) and the
gun is at proper angle.
4. After you strike the arc, practice the correct CTWD.
Learn to distinguish it by its sound.
5. When you are sure that you can hold the CTWD, with a
smooth "crackling" arc start moving. Look at the
molten puddle constantly, and look at the "ridge" where
the metal solidifies.
6. Run beads on a flat plate. Run them parallel to the top
edge (the edge farthest away from you). This gives you
practice in running straight welds, and also gives you
an easy way to check your progress. The 10th weld will
look considerably better than the first weld. By
constantly checking on your mistakes and your
progress, welding will soon be a matter of routine.
FIGURE 16
Example of good consistent welding beads
after practicing.
Direction of Travel
8