.035 flux core is for thicker metal and can get plenty of penetration on 1/4". its a huge pita to weld thinner stuff wth it. theres no big issue wth flux core besides the fact tht its usually messy. 
worst fabrication EVER
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 374
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Since you reverse the polarity from normal MIG you get more penetration/heat into the weld, which makes it better for thicker stuff/a pain on _really_ thin stuff (like body work is next to impossible with it).
OTOH, you can weld castings fine with it if you know what you're doing, and I've never had a problem with a "mess." this is a casting welded to a mild steel flange that I did with a little lincoln welder and some flux core.
OTOH, you can weld castings fine with it if you know what you're doing, and I've never had a problem with a "mess." this is a casting welded to a mild steel flange that I did with a little lincoln welder and some flux core.
at work i had .030. thats only place ive ever messed with a flux core, all we used it for was exhaust work and light metal. heavier stuff we used 220 volt mig just like what i use at my shop as well. every one one was puttin the flux core down, i was just stickin up for it. yes it can leave a nasty weld if not hot enough or too much wire speed.
TECH Regular
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 425
Likes: 1
From: Scottsdale, Arizona
I know that this is a crappy fab work thread. But here is a whole thread dedicated to crappy fab work. It's on an off road web site, thought some of you might be in it for a good laugh though.
http://www.dezertrangers.com/vb/show...=35793&page=10
http://www.dezertrangers.com/vb/show...=35793&page=10
You should see some of the stuff that gets brought into the shop that I work at and I have to repair. We constantly have to repair hard hydraulic hoses that have been welded on while on the machinery and people don't seem to understand that even if you clean the oil from the outside of the crack it is still in the crack itself. They will leak almost every time. We are required to penetrant die or ultrasonic test alot of the welds on thicker material.
at work i had .030. thats only place ive ever messed with a flux core, all we used it for was exhaust work and light metal. heavier stuff we used 220 volt mig just like what i use at my shop as well. every one one was puttin the flux core down, i was just stickin up for it. yes it can leave a nasty weld if not hot enough or too much wire speed.
Hard to tell for sure, but it doesn't look like you got much penetration into that casting. How has the part held up so far?
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Verdad Gallardo TECH Apprentice
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 374
Likes: 1
You could actually see the weld just coming through the back side, but then just for good measure I ran a bead the whole way around the inside also because I didn't want the weld bead next to the bolt holes on the outside.
Generally when you don't have good penetration you can see it with a weld bead that kind of sits on top of the base metal rather than whetted out to the roots of the weld like you see in that one, and you can tell that I didn't to do the "stack of tack welds" thing that a lot of shops started doing to make pretty looking (but crappy structurally) MIG welds because I don't have the pit from stopping on each one (for that matter, you can see that that particular weld was put down in 3 beads to keep from overheating any one spot and keep the casting happy because you can see the slag around the ends of the beads, that weld hadn't been wire brushed clean, where it pretty much took on the appearance of a tig weld once you got rid of the bit of smoke/spatter)
Generally when you don't have good penetration you can see it with a weld bead that kind of sits on top of the base metal rather than whetted out to the roots of the weld like you see in that one, and you can tell that I didn't to do the "stack of tack welds" thing that a lot of shops started doing to make pretty looking (but crappy structurally) MIG welds because I don't have the pit from stopping on each one (for that matter, you can see that that particular weld was put down in 3 beads to keep from overheating any one spot and keep the casting happy because you can see the slag around the ends of the beads, that weld hadn't been wire brushed clean, where it pretty much took on the appearance of a tig weld once you got rid of the bit of smoke/spatter)
Registered User
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 8
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From: Newport News
This guys lungs are having a bad day.....Galvanized is bad stuff to weld on. Mig is great for welding similar types of steel together, but TIG is the way to go for welding different steels together. They make rods that let you combine metals for a stronger end weld.
Flux core welding is better for the thick stuff, it has a better "dig" then gas. Gas is cleaner and if you have a strong enough welder, you get stronger welds if you get the penetration you need.
Flux core welding is better for the thick stuff, it has a better "dig" then gas. Gas is cleaner and if you have a strong enough welder, you get stronger welds if you get the penetration you need.
have you guys seen this link http://jalopnik.com/5176055/30-epic-...s=x+%3Cbr+/%3E
it is full of idiots I specially liked the turbos cut out on the back seats.
it is full of idiots I specially liked the turbos cut out on the back seats.
