I am working with 2/32 mild steel using solid core mig. wire and having a hard time getting my gas mix flowing right also using 0.24 wire. the welder i`m using does not have numerical amperage settings for tuning it just has a 4 position switch. looking for some pointers to try and get this thing going a little better ????????
Do you have the polarity right? When I started with the little machine it came with flux core and I didn't know you had to run the opposite polarity.
polarity is right , the welder is a 140 amp made by miller badged mac tools . 115 volt not new but looks as if it hase`nt been used a whole lot
So, is it popping and sticking or burning up into the nozzle. What kinda adjustment do you have ? Feed speed, amperage? Do you have a partial squeeze where you start gas then squeeze a little more to start wire. Got your regulator set to about 20"?
A lot depends on the gas you are using too. Myself, I like CO2... nobody else seems to. Does the machine have a door chart? That should get you a voltage setting to start with. I like to start high with the voltage and hold the gun on a piece of clean scrap and twiddle the wire speed to get that frying bacon sound. Something that thin, it may be better to stay hot and use the zap- zap method releasing the trigger just before it blows through. Takes a ton of practice either way.
That thin, if you're having problems it likely isn't a gas flow issue. If when you pull the trigger, you hear gas flowing at the nozzle, that's usually good enough. I usually only run about 5-10 lbs of pressure. I usually never mess with gas pressure, just adjust wire speed and heat. On really thin, what Rzucker says about just tip tapping across it works pretty well. Have the heat cranked way down, and that should "automatically" slow down the wire, if its a unit without separate wire speed adjustment. I prefer a machine with separate wire and heat control, but what you've got is what you have to work with. If you are just learning mig, practice with some 3/16 or 1/8" thick for a little while, then go down to the thinner metal.
Gas flow around 20 CFH should be OK. 1/16" isn't real bad to weld with .023/.025" wire but doing a bunch of spot welds may be easier if you don't have a lot of experience. Wire speed controls the amperage (heat) and the other control is for voltage. Set the amperage on one of the setting (2 or 3) and the wire speed at half way and just keep adjusting the voltage up or down in small increments until you get the bacon frying sound or it's running smooth. Make sure the wire is coming off the reel and feeding smoothly. It makes it easier if you have a helper to slowly adjust the voltage while you're welding. I had some rolls of .023 that was poorly wrapped on the reel and would get tangled in itself.
Another trick I use on the thin stuff is turn it a little vertical and then start at the top and work down.
at this point I only have about 10 lbs.of practice with this rig . but i`m thinkin i`m not running enough gas pressure (75/25)
[ popping and sticking or burning up into the nozzle. What kinda adjustment do you have ? member: 63426"]So, is it popping and sticking or burning up into the nozzle. What kinda adjustment do you have ? Feed speed, amperage? Do you have a partial squeeze where you start gas then squeeze a little more to start wire. Got your regulator set to about 20"? hav`nt checked for the partial squeeze but i will. gas may be a little slow starting
Are you welding dirty steel? Twenty CFM is plenty, I could weld .035 wire and up to quarter inch thick steel, and if it is too much it will just waste gas not cause no welding. Double check you're grounded good.
Here’s a good resource http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/Mig-welding-tips.html
very informative. thanks
got the welder figured out now i have to get me tuned up
And the problem was...
Tough to weld that thin continuously Stop and start often
the nozzle length was to long, from a tip page the guy said have at least some of the tip protruding past the nozzle. shortened what i had a1/4" and raised the gas to 25 works as it should now. still real touchy for this metal though, but i can tack now with out making a pile
t thats a must
some progress today, not pretty but still lots of grinding ,little hammering little sanding etc. and it just might work
Do you know the welders creed? A grinder and a little paint makes me the welder I ain’t.
I'm kinda thinking you might turn the voltage down just a touch and turn up the wire speed to smooth that out. I do most of my stuff by feel though and don't pay a lot of attention to what the machine is set at. I run 0.024 on a Hobart handler fixing mufflers a lot of times and run the voltage on 3 out of 4 and the feed just below 7 on the dial and it seems to work. Every machine is a little bit different though.
man you got that right
first time trying to use this machine, got three more of those cans to fix so i`m in for some practice. I can burn a stick most any where but wire feed is not my cup.
i`ll try that and see what happens
One more guy here trying to be a welder with not too much luck. I have one of those little Lincoln wire feeds with the bottle. Trying to patch a rusted and cracked mower deck on a small push mower. Got a patch made that goes out past the rusted thin area and was ready to tack it on and the spool ran out of wire!