Learning to Weld Better/Icosahedron Dice

[@42Fab]

good practice! Welding open gaps on thin steel with .035 wire is gonna be rough. I like to use .030 or even .023 wire.

[@ManCrafting]

Thanks. Great tips. I’ll get those sizes ordered from HTP today and give that a try.

[@zod-engineering-welding]

@@ManCrafting If you do order 023 wire, HTP sells a smaller liner for your 24 series gun that might help in case you have feeding issues (023 wire has significantly less column strength than 030 wire or 035 wire). The stock liner is good for 030-035-045, but the smaller liner is "one-size smaller", for 023-030-035. One thing that may help visibility when making very small, narrow weld beads is what is called a "tapered" nozzle. It necks down to about ½" compared to the stock conical nozzle which measures 5/8" OD at the end. That being said, 030 wire is a good compromise. Couldn't help but notice your left guide hand was very very close to the weld bead. For low-amperage welding it obviously poses no problem, but for serious welds close to ¼", your glove would be smoking and your knuckles/fingers would be on fire, especially if/when you decide to try out pulsed-spray programs. It is just my suggestion of course, but if I were you I would start to hold the gun with the guide hand holding the gun/trigger hand way back where the handle is. Use the guide-hand for support & stabilization only; use the trigger hand for the actual deliberate movements of the MIG gun. Once you get your brain trained for it, it makes it 2nd nature and builds up your fine-motor control in your trigger-hand for times you will not be able to guide the neck/nozzle with the guide-hand the way you did here. Again, that's just how I do it. Overall it came it great. I just ordered my kit!

[@ManCrafting]

Oscar Sanchez Jr, BSc. Thanks Oscar. I didn’t see this comment earlier. It was a reply under another comment. That’s all great info. I really appreciate the insight. I wouldn’t have known to change the liner. Do you change the liner back and forth if you want to use larger/smaller metal? Or do you just have a dedicated gun? Also, great tip on the hand position. That makes perfect sense since I happen to have two blisters on my left index finger knuckle.

[@42Fab]

@@ManCrafting dedicated gun all day. If you have the 10' gun it should push .023 as long as your lead isn't all coiled up

[@zod-engineering-welding]

@@ManCrafting I keep the smaller liner stored away just in case I decide to use 023 wire, but other than that, I don't mess with changing it out since I mostly just use 030 diameter wire, so the stock liner is just fine for it. It's just one of those things to think about.

[@MICHAELSAMPLE-t5f]

That is super sick, I've been looking for this exact project, thank you!

[@ManCrafting]

Awesome. Thanks for watching and taking a minute to comment.

[@MICHAELSAMPLE-t5f]

@@ManCrafting My pleasure, Happy New Year!

[@jpadventures9781]

That dice looks great. I love the look of the welds o that last one.

[@ManCrafting]

Thanks. You’re very generous. I really want them to look better.

[@jodiegrosklags5247]

The finished product makes a cool conversation piece. Your welding skills are getting better!

[@ManCrafting]

Jodie Grosklags it’s funny. 4 years ago when I welded the first thing a mower deck for my Dad’s John Deere mower I would have been ecstatic with these welds. Now. I expect better.

[@yellowmuginc]

Looking good can't wait to see where those baseballs get hit!!

[@ManCrafting]

I actually thought about having someone pitch one to me and hitting it with a bat, but was worried about killing the pitcher.

[@yellowmuginc]

Maybe you need the @Tylerbell ball hitter?

[@ManCrafting]

I should send him one and have him hit it.

[@jpwoodwork]

Cool! We will have to get one of them when I visit next, I won’t have to practice writing my initial then lol 😂

[@ManCrafting]

Definitely. It’s a lot of good practice and you have a memento of the practice.

[@jpwoodwork]

@@ManCrafting have to wait over a year+ for it tho ;) lol

[@ManCrafting]

jp woodwork I have a feeling that’s conservative. 😷

[@johngrosklags4251]

Those allow for lots of good practice!

[@ManCrafting]

I’d be out there again today but it’s kinda hot. I need to install a mini-split. 🤣. I’m looking at a Mr Cool system. DIY.

[@WorksbySolo]

This was super informative. I haven't welded in a while, but I just picked up several tips just watching you and reading the helpful comments. Really valuable content. Looking forward to seeing the difference once you get the thinner wire.

[@ManCrafting]

Me too. The comments have been extremely helpful. I’m so thankful for a community of people that are willing to share information to lift someone up rather than take time to tear someone down who isn’t as good as they may or may not be.

[@FranksDIY]

that's the way the dice roll haha. Great job Buddy. wish my weld where that good lol

[@ManCrafting]

🤣 it’s all relative. There was a time when I would have been over the moon.

[@Mtbdrumrunner]

that's a beauty!! that looks pretty good right there, love it!

[@ManCrafting]

Thanks bro. How are you doing?

[@HouseofChop]

Those kits look sweet and the welding is coming along nicely. It will be awesome to see the difference after you go to the HTP class. They will get you locked in no doubt. 🔥👍🏼🔥

[@ManCrafting]

Thanks Phil. I appreciate all the support and advice. Huge help.

[@Mitermikeswoodshop]

Nice job Chad. Ill be ordering some soon. Love playing with welds, one day i might actually need to do it....lol

[@ManCrafting]

If you haven’t get some scrap metal and just practice. You’ll fall in love with welding. Thanks for watching.

[@Mitermikeswoodshop]

@@ManCrafting cool thing is a steel distributor just opened up down the road from me....

[@ManCrafting]

Miter Mike's Woodshop that’s awesome. Usually they will have drops that are real cheap or if you talk to the right person they have bins that are picked up by recyclers and they get pennies a pound, but if you tell them your using it to practice they may give it to you.

[@InteractiveRealm]

Seems like a fun little project. I may have to get one as I need to work on my welds too... tho I'm still trying to figure out what's wrong with my crossfire.

[@ManCrafting]

I’d definitely get some to practice with and if your having issues with the crossfire contact Langmuir. Their customer service/support is fantastic.

[@InteractiveRealm]

@@ManCrafting Yeah I have.. they gave me some things to test.. but right now my mac mini that was running mach3 died. so I have to deal with that first

[@ManCrafting]

Interactive Realm gotcha. I really would like to see you get it running.

[@doughenico8475]

I need some of those to practice with my new Tig torch

[@ManCrafting]

Doug Henico that’s next on my agenda. I definitely want to practice TIG a whole lot more.

[@FredMcIntyre]

Great improvement Chad! 😃👍🏻👊🏻

[@ManCrafting]

Thanks so much Fred. I still have a long way to go to get the weld to look the way I want, but I’ve been getting great feedback and feel confident I can improve the next one significantly.

[@WallyFuller]

This may seem simple. But I have a problem with getting the while helmet process down. I'm not able to see until I pull the trigger. I would like to see a video on how to do it correctly. I like the content of your channel. Good job!

[@ManCrafting]

I don’t know how I missed this comment. I’m hoping you have perfected that by know.

[@WallyFuller]

@@ManCrafting Hahaha, yeah I'm good. My first time. I'm a woodworker and welding has different types of muscle memory.

[@tkskagen]

I'd love to weld up one of these and then Acid Etch in the Numbers! Do they also make 6, and 10 Sided Dice? I'm an ENORMOUS NERD, so having some Welded Steel Die would be awesome for my Roll Playing! Take care, 🤓 -Thomas Port Orchard, Washington

[@ManCrafting]

Great question. I know there is a cube. I’ll have to see if there’s a 10 sided option. Etching the numbers would be cool.

[@42Fab]

We have 6 sided, now I might consider 10 sided

[@elvergalarga6016]

And then your friends stop inviting you to campaigns because you broke a tile last time you dropped one

[@elvergalarga6016]

Ok, but now i want a big one like this with strategic openings as a fire pit

[@ManCrafting]

That’s a great idea. I think Richard @42fab has a globe style fire pit in his site.

[@elvergalarga6016]

Thanks man, I saw that. Christmas is gonna rock this year. The real gift is the time my dad and I are going to spend putting it together

[@ManCrafting]

Alvaro Escobedo that’s awesome. I hope the two of you have a blast. I’d love to see how they turn out.

[@endiron9478]

I'm no perfect welder but lots and lots of practice will make it better. Be cool to show progress. I'd number those things and then draw arrows on the welds cause you will forget which way you welded it. Keep up the good work.

[@ManCrafting]

Great tip. I’ll do that. Thanks.

[@johnstrunck3659]

You can see alot of improvement as you are proceeeding! Between HTP, Zila and Jody Collier, you should be first class in a very short time. Video HTP if you can.

[@ManCrafting]

Thanks. I will do what I can. I’ll likely be posting more on Insta and TikTok from the weekend.

[@greener121]

chad, one it looks like you're getting hot, but also look at the carbon build up, unless youre running duo shield flux core (#apexish @ JD Brewer). I seem to have a similar problem on a project I was working on, but after a clean up grind and brush it seemed to get better. How about tig welding one of those, I wonder if #42Fab would send me one to tig????

[@greener121]

BTw im learning too

[@ManCrafting]

It was definitely getting too hot. When I cooled it down I got better welds again. I’ve also been told thinner wire will make a huge difference.

[@GregsGarage]

Chad, I'm not sure of the metal gauge on those dice, but it looks like you are welding too cold with too thick of an electrode. I generally use .023 wire on sheet metal up to about 14ga. You can run that thin wire a bit hotter with a slower wire speed and it will sit flatter. With things set slower it will give you a ton of control. Just like anything, once you get your welds looking killer at slow speed, you can increase travel speed and wire diameter for faster production... Since I started Tig welding most of my stuff, I prefer going back to slower Mig settings when I pick up the squirt gun.

[@ManCrafting]

Great advice. Thanks. This was 14 gauge. I’ll get some .023 in order from HTP and give it a go. The machine welds so good on thicker metal and even with my lack of experience was blown away with what I could do I never considered thinner wire, but it makes sense. Why else would they make it? 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@GibClark]

👍👍👍👍practice??? Ain't got time for that....I got a grinder 😂🤣😂🤣😂

[@ManCrafting]

Don’t think I wasn’t tempted. 🤣🤣🤣

[@ZILAwelds]

Looks like ZILA gave you bad or incomplete advice .... 😂

[@ManCrafting]

ZILA 🤣 well, I’ve gotten some more so the next one should be better.

[@JimDockrellWatertone]

10,000 hours of practice and you can get good at anything.....only a few more hours to go....lol.

[@ManCrafting]

I’m sure I’d get better, but I’d like to shave a little time off that by using some others 10,000 hours as a jumping off point. We all stand on the shoulders of giants.