MIG Welding Input

G

GoVetteGo

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Sep 13, 2010
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Lansdale, PA 19446
I have been stick welding for years. I traded for a Snap On Mig welder a few years back and now have an application for it. The #4 body mount bracket on the passenger side of my Darth Vader Vette is toast.

I played around with the MIG welder a bit yesterday using a couple pieces on 1/8" angle iron.

Please look at the picture and tell me if I am on the right track. The following picture is what I did. A was my first attempt and D was the final effort.

First Try R.jpg

With the stick welder, I would adjust the amps to the size rod I was using. My thought with the MIG welder is I have to adjust the heat level with the wire speed - which is what I did. Weld, adjust, weld, adjust until I got to the last pass.

Appreciate your input.

John
 
You are making progress. What you need is more heat and maybe wire speed. At the end of D the weld flows into the parent metal jsut fine.

1st rule, CLEAN!! the metal, grind it to bare metal, remove the milling scale.
 
My little 110V 90 amp looks worse than that on thicker metals, more like A. The bead sits on top almost like a ball of mercury. I would think heat is/was the issue. Maybe as you proceeded you soaked more heat into the metal? I have a friend who said at times he preheats with a torch.

I agree with TT!

Ralphy
 
I do not know what type of controls you have on your machine but if it is any good, you should have at least 2 knobs, one to regulate the current and one to regulate wire feed.

The last weld, D looks good!
Try to listen to the sound of the "weld flame", it should sound almost like the sound you hear when you are frying pork. An intense popping sound. If you have a long period between each "pop" you have either too low current or too high wire feed (or a combination of both). If you do not hear any "popping" sound but more like a "hissing" sound you have too high current for your set wire feed. Increase the wire feed or lower the current.
As with a stick welding machine, you can also adjust heat input by changing the angle of the welding handle towards the weld. But I suppose you are very familiar with that since you have been using a stick welder before.
Good luck!!

Daniel
 
427Swede said:
I do not know what type of controls you have on your machine but if it is any good, you should have at least 2 knobs, one to regulate the current and one to regulate wire feed.

The last weld, D looks good!
Try to listen to the sound of the "weld flame", it should sound almost like the sound you hear when you are frying pork. An intense popping sound. If you have a long period between each "pop" you have either too low current or too high wire feed (or a combination of both). If you do not hear any "popping" sound but more like a "hissing" sound you have too high current for your set wire feed. Increase the wire feed or lower the current.
As with a stick welding machine, you can also adjust heat input by changing the angle of the welding handle towards the weld. But I suppose you are very familiar with that since you have been using a stick welder before.
Good luck!!

Daniel
Click to expand...

Yes - the welder has the 2 dials - wire feed and the current. On weld D, it did sound like intense frying - a rhythmic popping sound. The first - A - was occasional pops with the wire pushing the handle away.

Thanks all, I know I am heading down the right path. Now I need to practice and listen!!!

John
 
It's been years, but when in high school I part time welded Vega motor mounts. Eight beads on a U shaped V gusset. I welded so many of the damn things I tried welding a few with my eyes closed. They came out OK! LOL! Now that I think about it, the sound was probably my guide. Something around 70 pieces an hour. Made like $2.85 an hour.

Ralphy
 
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IF it sounds like frying bacon it's about right. May have very little penetration, but the bead will be nice. How fast you move the gun will vary the depth of the weld.
I've got a Miller 250 that works like a champ. Usually takes me about 15-20 minutes to learn how to weld again, not doing it all the time.
 
ya everyone is getting you on the right track with how it is supposed to sound but do not butt 2 pieces together and just weld them. a piece of 1/8" should be gapped somewhere around 3/32" your weld on top should almost be flat but it should slighly higher than the material. and the bleed through on the other side should not look like the top it should have a line where the weld ran down through the gap and past the material around 1/16". if it runs further or the weld looks the same on both sides your running your machine to hot. and on a side note about your welder you should really only use a 220volt machine. don't care what anyone else says unless your welding autobody sheet metal 110volt welders wont do it.
 
TimAT said, "Why is it that all instruments searching for intelligent life are pointed away from the Earth?"

Evidently they have been looking for Felix Baumgartner.

406021.jpg


Just awesome! By the way, the man talking Felix thru the jump is Joe Kittinger, the previous American record holder.

Sorry for the highjack!

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT1DhcQg0Os[/ame]

Ralphy
 
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Yes, I would say that's been jacked rather high.....ballzey guy......

totally nutz.....:devil::bonkers:
 
427Swede said:
I do not know what type of controls you have on your machine but if it is any good, you should have at least 2 knobs, one to regulate the current and one to regulate wire feed.

The last weld, D looks good!
Try to listen to the sound of the "weld flame", it should sound almost like the sound you hear when you are frying pork. An intense popping sound. If you have a long period between each "pop" you have either too low current or too high wire feed (or a combination of both). If you do not hear any "popping" sound but more like a "hissing" sound you have too high current for your set wire feed. Increase the wire feed or lower the current.

Good luck!!


Daniel
Click to expand...

Eastwood has a 30 minute video on MIG welding. It has a sound track. Every th
ng you said is on their video. I'll later try to get the website address. The sound track is important. In extreme cases, you can tell by the sound that you're not correct. ..The Eastwood video describes a successful MIG welding as sounding like bacon frying.
.........................
I'd really like to buy a welder. Problem is I don't have anything to weld!!!!!!
 
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm5IZBJKv-M[/ame]

This is a 31 minute video for beginning welders from Eastwood. The machine they're using is a Eastwood MIG 175. It has audio so you can hear the torch and can notice the difference between having bad settings; not enough heat, too much, not enough gas, etc.
 
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Well I finally got enough together that I broke out the little 110V Lincoln. I purchased some .035 flux core. Figured out the chart, duh......... Reversed polarity and holy mother of.....? Totally changed the characteristics of my machine. HEAT! Where I was getting blobs sitting on the base metal because of no heat. I now get a cherry heat, I can probably burn a hole right thru 1/8 plate. In fact that's what I had happen on 1/16. Wakey wakey little Lincoln! WOW! No spatter either.

Thanks for the suggestions guys!

Ralphy
 
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