Hey guy's can anyone give me an idea of what the problem is? I am useing a 220v lincoln 175hd with .035 wire and argon co2 gas, and I have the gas set 10-15, I have tried everything fast,slow,small e's,u's higher volts lower ,wire speed up and down, I just suck and cant get it right,I think my welds have the penetration but look like v's. any pointers? And I dont have a super steady hand maybe a valium before welding will help.lol
Turn your gas to 20.If you are welding sheet metal you need to use .030 or.025 wire size.Watch angle of your gun.Hope that helps let us know.
Got a long extension cord hooked up? Long cords will drop amperage drastically. I've had that same welder at one point, and it can do better than the pics you posted.
I run my gas between 20 and 25 psi. Also more heat and less wire. The V shape is from your pattern and doesn't have anything to do with the setting. do smaller circles with the gun and hold it at a 5-10 degree verticle angle. start out by dragging the weld and as you get better change to a push style.
are you weaveing your gun slightly like a C shape and keeping your gun at a 45 degree angle to weld ? also your pushing the welds and not dragging it like stick welding right ? also for mild steel 75% co2 and 25% argon is better. straight argon is for aluminum and stainless
Try running your gun from side to side and let the wire speed determine your puddle speed. If the wire bounces off the metal, slow it down alittle, but if it melts prior to hitting the metal in your stroke, speed it up. If it is an machine with abc settings, a good starting point is B, 2-3 wire speed for 1/8 and smaller. If it is a 1-5, a good start is 2, 1.5-2.25 wire speed. Also make sure your gun is at approx. 25-45 degrees pushing back in to your puddle. Hope this helps.
I was gonna say that too, if I remember correctly you were the fella that was welding with flux core previously. If you haven't done it, you need to reverse your polarity.
Yeah thanks I did make sure to change the polarity and I am useing a extension cord its an 8/3 23' that I was told would be just fine. I do angle the gun about 25 to 30 deg. and work backwards I guess thats pulling your puddle right? I will try giving it more gas and slowing down a bit. I will start back tommorrow, I have lost all patience with it for today, its time for a captian and coke thanks guy's and happy Easter
What are you welding? Is your wire fluxcore or metal core? I assume you are using a 75% argon 25% CO2 mix? I would run your PSI at 20-25. How are you welding? Is your welding tip facing towards the direction you are welding(forehand position) or is the welding tip pointing away from the direction you are welding(backhand position)? The best penetration is achieved is with the backhand position. you want to angle the the welding tip 25 degrees forward of perpendicular. Build the initial weld pool to the desired width and start forward and push back till you weld pool is the same size as your previous weld pool. When you finish your pass leave your gun above the end of the weld to allow the weld to cool in a "protected state" as the gas is still released. Your welds look like you are dragging your pool too fast. And you might not be hot enough. Then again it really depends on what you are welding.
You can push or pull with all types of welding. I always drag thick metal welds and push thin metal. Unless i'm pulse welding and then I always push. dragging is a little slower but gives better penetration and i think it's easier.
If you get better penetration pulling than why would you push, I never tried it but I will And would you do u's regular or upside down?
Ok I tried all of the above and my gas is set at 21-24 and still not much different except now the welds look even smoother instead of the v shape like the first pics, and they are not real shiny they are are more of a dull gray, anymore suggestions?
You've gotten a lot of good advice on welding here, so I won't add to it, but I do have another suggestion,---- try Admiral Nelson spiced rum next time, I like it better than the captain, and it's cheaper!
Those look better than mine. I have welded a total of 5 times. They are getting better, but they look about like yours.
I run 17 CFH. How far are you letting the cup get from the weld area after you pull the trigger? How clean is your helmet lens? How old are you (seriously)? I can't see shit without a serious cheater lens under my shield. I used to be able to see clearly while welding in any position..... now I can't. I usually have a halogen light over my left shoulder and my afore-mentioned cheaters are a must.
That's some very good info, I have the same problem, my r/x glasses just don't cut it for welding anymore. Hell, I've had times when I'd stop and lift the helmet and I missed the joint entirely! Cheaters and BRIGHT light help me a lot! I even attach a light to my gun sometimes. Here's a "lame ass thread" I started. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=305958
I'd try turning down your wire speed, and slow your travel speed down too. Not a ton, you are getting closer.
Learn to listen to your welds. Once you can hear the same sound through out your entire bead your laying, than you will be getting better at keeping your angle of your gun right and the height from your work piece even. Plus keep the slag build up out of your gun and make sure your tip is tight. Try without the extension cord also.
Hey man, there has been some good info given so far and ill try to throw a couple more tips in. your gas, im assuming is 75% Argon and 25% Co2. If you are running str8 Co2 your bead will have a higher crown and you will have more spatter, but more penetration. I have run 92% Argon and 8% Co2 and it makes a wider, flatter bead profile and zero spatter when machine is set correctly. Argon provides arc stability and the co2 provides penetration depth. 75/25 is the best all around for most automotive applications though. Your gas CFH should be 20-30 depending on amperage. Another rule of thumb that someone else stated is that "slag you drag" and gas you push. Dragging a MIG weld tends to produce a weld that piles up with a higher crown and more prone to undercut. Pushing the puddle flattens out bead profile and should produce a cleaner weld. That "V" shape you are getting can also be your travel speed being to high causing the puddle to pull. What kind of material are you welding on? An easy way to set a MIG machine is to set your voltage where you want it. Lets say 20 Volts. Grab your mig gun and a scrap piece of steel and have a buddy adjust your wire speed from low to high while you lay a bead down. Tell him to stop when it sounds like a nice slab of bacon on a frying pan! Sound should be consistant, not "pop pop pop". you can also do it yourself if you want to.This is an old school trick i learned when i was in welding school so that when you run into a machine in the field where the meters dont work you can get the machine in the ball park. Also, i dont know how much wire stickout you have, but it should never exceed the diameter of your MIG nozzle. I.E. if you have a 1/2" nozzle diameter, you shouldnt have more than 1/2" wire stick out while welding. If you are to far away it can cause multiple problems. Lack of fusion, spatter, undercut and porosity. WOW this is long, sorry dude. If ya have any other questions ill try to help.
One important thing is that to get a good solid weld you need to grind the surfaces down to below the bark on hot rolled steel. Cold rolled you don't have to go as deep. You will need your magnifiers to really see what you doing. When properly cleaned you won't see any pin holes or scale. It will be much easier to weld too. I don't do any weaving pushing or pulling with mig. Just lay the bead nice and smooth. You need a steady hand, nice lighted work area (or attached flash light), and comfortable position regardless if you hanging in a sling or sitting on your ass at a table. In the production shop I just got layed off from I would burn a full large spool of .045 wire a shift day after day. These were 300-400 amp machines. All welds on hot rolled steel be it stainless or mild steel were required to be ground before welding. Each pass was then ground and dye penned before continuing. It was not at all uncommon to burn up 10-15# of TIG rod. Even with the old fashioned stick welding it was a lot easier to pass a weld test with ground surfaces. It's something I've done since the first welding class back in the 50's regardless of weld process. Cleaning is as much a part of the weld as laying down the bead. I have 3 different grinders at home that I use mostly for weld prep. Aluminum is even more fussy but that's for another day.
Just a little more information concerning wire size. You don't say the material thickness you are working with, but here's some guidence: Sheetmetal 18ga to 1/4" plate use .023" Sheetmetal 16ga to 5/16" plate use .030" 1/8" to 3/8" plate use .035" This is in reference to automotive fabrication. If you are doing general fabrication for chassis building and mechanical brackets, but no bodywork type sheetmetal fabrication I'd have .030" wire. I'd also be using an Esab product called 'easy grind', not the generic wire available at the local tractor supply. If you are doing heavier bracket fabrication, like installing arms on a rearend housing and don't intend to do any body type sheetmetal work, I'd go with .035" wire. This is also the wire diameter I'd use for fabrication of shop equipment like grinder stands, engine hoists, english wheel frame, etc. On the other end of the scale, if you are doing body panel fabrication using the MIG process and also intend to build a chassis, I'd use .023". In all cases, I'd use the 'Easy grind' wire from Esab and 75% argon/25% CO2 cover gas. If you are pushing the puddle you are penetrating, pulling the puddle you get less penetration. Knowing that, use the method that best suits your needs. For sheetmetal either pull the weld for less penetration or use a 'Hot stitch' of interlocking pulses of the trigger. These are best described as blended spotwelds. For thicker material I tend to push the puddle for penetration. Always weld on clean metal, not over paint or rust. You will also get better results if the mill scale is ground off any hot-rolled steel products you are building with, like angle iron, channel, flat bar and pipe. Tubing is a different forming process so not usually an issue. Like I said, just some guidlines. Dan Stevens dba, Steelsmith
some great suggestions guys, i will second that! Gotta have clean, mill scale free metal. If you dont feel confident yet, you can also do some of your own home made welding tests. Set up a joint similar to the one you are going to weld. For example, set up a "T" joint, one plate perpendicular to the other(fillet weld), weld the joint and then cut a section out of a couple spots so you can see the inside of the weld, lets say 1-1.5" wide. do a visual inspection to see if you have enough penetration, and then put it in a vise and try to bend it at the weld joint. (use a mini sledge) THe weld should not seperate from the plate. If you have proper fusion the plates should bend but not seperate or break no matter how far they are bent. Dont use plate thats to thick b/c u may not be able to bend it unless you have a press in your shop. But you can get a decent idea of what kind of penetration you are getting. Remember, the weld is stronger than your base material, the base material should fail before the weld will when the process is properly done. good luck
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