Blind, spot, hidden welds?

[Miles]

Good day, I'm new to welding.
I am in the process of puting the flanges on the door of a reverse flow smoker. I thought if I drilled holes in the flange and welded the flange to the door via the holes, I could then grind off the top of the flange and have a cleaner looking door with no welds showing. My welds look like %^&%$$$. Now that I have the holes drilled and the flange clamped to the door I'm wondering how to go about the actual weld. I bought a mig welder and have used two two pound spools so far, so I'm a rank amature. The flange is 1/4" x 2" and the door is 3/16". I drilled the holes 23/64" dia..
Should I start by welding some material on the door and then work my way around the hole until filled? Should I have drilled larger holes? What is this kind of weld called?
Thanks for any tips.
Al Miles

[Big T]

I call them plug welds. I don't know what kind machine you have but I would turn the heat up, start in the center of the hole and use a circular motion to fill the hole just a touch above flush so that you can grind them smooth. I think you'll be fine with the diameter of the holes but you can go a little larger if you need to but that's just more to fill in. jm2cw

[Puff]

They look like spot welds on a larger scale but ground down, they'll look great. It'll look like its glued on.

[Tom_Heath]

Just like big t said. Just look inside and see how much burn thru you are getting and adjust from there.


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[Miles]

Thank you.
It's a 240 volt Lincoln 180 HD.
I think I'll try a test weld on scrap. I'm not too sure what it's supposed to look like on the underside of the welds. Most I've made so far are blue/black on the backside of the weld. When you say burn thru do you mean burning right through the door metal with the arc? I've been going by the chart on the inside door on the welder for the settings but I notice on thicker stuff the feed rate seems a bit high, I'm getting build up on top but doesn't seem to penetrate. I've been turning down the speed ,never thought of turning up the voltage. I suppose it would go a little quicker but I don't mind going slowly until I get the hang of it.
Thank you once again.
Al

[SmokinFF]

When puddle welding like this, you want to melt the base metal but not burn thru. Turn up the voltage and adjust the wire speed until you hear the magic "bacon frying" sound. Practice on some scrap then get at that door.

[Rodcrafter]

Yep, and don't fret over it too much those welds will be much stronger than a person might think not having any experience.

[Miles]

Thanks for the tips.

[Clover Ridge Smokers]

[Tom_Heath]

Pic 161 left side is looking pretty good.



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[Big T]

you're on the right track

[Miles]

I kept the gun verticle on that one, one on right I had on an angle and pushed the weld out.
Upper right in the other pic was my highest heat setting, melted a lot of metal and left a dimple when cooled.
I appreciate the help, if I didn't have it I would be looking in "how to weld "books for hours.

[Tom_Heath]

It's all about lbs burned and paying attention to what's happening . A good Hood makes a giant difference. It allows you to see what's going on.

[Puff]

Nice to know that this worked well.

[Miles]

I got the side flanges welded. Seems using a grinder is an art form as well, I gouged the straps while grinding off the welds and had to clean it up with a sanding disc.
I almost wish I left the welds proud, sorta looked a little like hot rivets similar to a steel trestle bridge or a boiler.

[SmokinFF]

[Tom_Heath]

It would look cool to leave them if it had a patina finish. Looking good.


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[Rodcrafter]

Nice job

[Puff]

Looks like an 1890's steam locomotive fuel door. Hey, if your really into it, go back and spot it again

[Big T]

Nice work