But I am getting real good at grinding.

First I make a big puddle of metal on top of the pieces I am trying to join, then I burn a hole through them. Eventually I get some good penetration.

I cut my stock bumper down to a stubby and now I am welding plates onto the ends so it is not a super critical part to learn on.

Gonna take a lot of practice.

Ah, the good old days.

I remember back when my welder was a hot drill. Just take your time and you'll do fine. The biggest thing is to make sure everything is super clean and you have a good ground. Oh, and make sure your welder is consistent when it comes to heat. You'll do fine!

i suck at welding too !

That's OK I've been told that as well and I weld and fabricate structural steel for a living

P.S. those cheap underpowered and untunable 110v mig welders don't help a person look good

What welding process are you using? mig, tig, arc?
Assuming its mig, the best thing to do would be to take a scrap piece of metal around the same guage or thickness of what your going to be welding and get your wire speed and your voltage set properly. If the weld looks like a worm laying on top of the metal you mostly likely need to turn your voltage up and your wire speed down. If you have holes or Porosity in your weld, make sure your shielding gas is set properly and there are no fans or breezes blowing your gas away.
And one other thing, some Mig welders just plain suck, some can be very tricky to get set properly and when you do get them set the welds still wont look perfect.

Mig - Lincoln 135P

Looks like a big part of my problem was poor/weak ground connection. If it were easy every one would do it. I can't wait until I finish this first project and someone asks me where I got my bumper.

mig is by far the easiest to learn on..

i started out arc welding.. it was alright.. i LOVED tig welding.. thats what im good at =p but im not great or anything.. tig i just think is easier to control.. never really have a problem with burning through what im welding either.. and seem to get the best penetration

you runnin a shield gas or flux cored wire only?

I have experience with this lil machine a buddy owns and without shield gas I have yet to make any welds with it I'm satisfied with. This particular welder is OK for the starter hobbyist but I wouldn't want to try to build a rig with one.

I am running the standard Argon/CO2 mix shielding gas. Right now my learning curve is very steep. I did much better today than yesterday. I have learned the importance of FRESH SHINY metal on the two parts you intend to make one and on the ground clamp.

BIG difference.

So far I am please with my work and the results.

ahha and your grinder is thanking you!!!!! But really good job on getting out there and trying to get it better. I need to weld again but i may make more of a mess until I get back into it!

just remember, practice makes perfect. (especially in welding)

Easiest way to get a decent weld with mig, is to run little circles in the puddle.
You point the wire slightly in the direction of travel. (lean the gas cup away from this direction) As you go forward, you penetrate the base metal, picking molton metal up in the arc. As you come around the circle, you deposit metal just behind where you were.(opposite side of circle)
If travel is right to left, then a clockwise rotation is used. Right to left, counter-clockwise rotation.

If you get this going right, the arc should sound like bacon frying in a pan. The weld bead, should look like a roll of dimes laid over.

Weld...grind...weld...repeat. The only way to become a proficient welder is practice, practice, practice. Look for a local vocational school that offers adult classes at night...it's worth every penny. After that, cruise your local scrap yard on Saturdays and bring home as much tube, angle, and flat stock as you can. Build yourself a workbench or some shelves or rack for your firewood. Practice until you get UV burn on your arms and neck...practice until you stop flinching when stray spatter lands in your shirt...practice until you can flip down your mask without moving your hands or your head. Above all...ignore anything you've seen from those retards on American Chopper...don't use your eyelids as a weld mask...be smart...be safe...and you'll be laying down a sweet roll of nickels in no time...a weld so fine you won't even consider grinding it. ( :

Thank you guys. Great advise.

Yeah get an autodarkening too, so much nicer than those perma-dark things

woo hoo +1 on the tig man! clean and smooth! nothing like a TIG. i learned on a stick some jumper cables and some batteries. ah. trail fixes.

Whats the bumper look like man pictures man... pictures

This is a trick huh

eventually it will look kinda like this. practice practice practice. a tuned welder makes a huge difference

Drag the stick,push the gun.That's the first thing I was taught bout 20 yrs ago.Watch for about 1/4 inch of molt behind gun stay that pace,and learn to set welder from there.Everyone welds at a diff pace,Thats the biggest part of welding,heat and wire speed will come to you,and remember to practice on clean material.The molt is the little v that trails your weld.Here we have what we call tongue lickers.If your weld is good,you can drag your tongue on it and all you feel is heat,no pigeon sheet.Thats from boys been welding since Jesus was learning how to bait hooks.