My welds look like crap.

put the wire speed about half way up and the amps all the way up.

if the wire keeps hitting the steel, pushing the nozzle back, the wire speed is too fast. If the wire seems to melt away too fast (small ball of metal on the end of the wire as its welding) and there is a substantial gap between the wire and the welding puddle, the speed is too slow (or heat too high). Keep that heat high and adjust your wire speed, especially with 3/16" and .030" wire. Work on getting your wire speed/heat right, then work on your form/circles/movement. You'll never get your form correct if you don't have the right wire speed/amp settings to start with.:D



good luck

Rob
 
some people say the sound of a decent wire speed/amp setting sounds like bacon frying??


I guess I can see that...



Also, it doesn't look like you have any issues with wind because that would cause prorosity, which it doesn't look like you have...

Rob
 
Aggressive1 said:
I thought the welders required a 30amp curcuit? I have a 30amp 110 and 50 amp 220 set up.
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It wouldn't hurt to be on a 30a circuit... If the 20 gives me trouble, I wired it so I can upgrade if I need to. So far, it's been fine though. The welder is the only thing on it.
 
Last time I looked at 110 machines the duty was around 50%. Whats the duty cycle of your machine? 50% general means about 2" of weld and a 20 second break to ramp the power supply back up. Thats at roughly 80 amps on a 100 amp machine. Power down and the weld gets longer. If your starting well and then it kinda get hairy, try making 1" beads then locking the next bead in about 10-15 seconds later.


I had a Snap on mig like that, hated it, used a millermatic 120 that didn't until about 4" in. <shrug> every machine is different.
 
I don't remember the duty cycle.... I'm not having any trouble going 1 or 2 inches at a time though.

Here's the latest pic after using the nc4x4 collective knowledgebase. Don't mind the middle part.. that was old.
 

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if you're using it on an extension cord, try plugging it into the wall drectly and see if the problem persists.

Extension cord power loss is the only reason I can think of that it would do this other than the machine itself ...
 
kilby said:
I don't remember the duty cycle.... I'm not having any trouble going 1 or 2 inches at a time though.
Here's the latest pic after using the nc4x4 collective knowledgebase. Don't mind the middle part.. that was old.
Click to expand...


Ok, if you went from left to right, the first 1" looks ok other than it looks like your gas blew away or your flow rates too low. You really need to clean better and quit having seziures in the middle of a bead. :flipoff2: The last part looks like the duty cycle is breaking down either due to power supply or welding too long.
 
It justs looks really dirty......are you sure the polarity is correct?Try turning up the gas flow......show us a tack or two.......should be a nice shiny weld spot.:smokin:
Whats youre stick out like?
 
Dirty as that weld is, it looks like he's not using solid wire. I had a Hobart 135 an I wouldn't weld nothing over 1/8". Your weld appears to not be penetrating very well, you have a polarity issue or the machine is not hot enough. Get some thinner stuff an show us a but joint with your weld. If you ever weld with a 220 machine you'll junk them 110's, for a couple more bucks you could buy a lot more machine. When welding things that your ass will be hanging on at 60mph you do not want welds such as these.
 
Speaking of welding, anyone got a chunk of copper laying around I could borrow for a backer plate? I'm butt welding sheetmetal this weekend and could use one as I ten to weld too hot.
 
I'm sorry but my 110 Lincoln welder has done everything that I wanted it to do. It more about the wire size, flux/solid wire, Shielding, amps, wire speed and the Of course the Operator. Use scrap metal to play with the variables. I personally like to weld a little hot and slower for better penetration.

If you get beyond 3/16 to 1/4" thickness, depending on usage, I would then go to 1 a Stick welder, 2 a 220 MIG welder.

But onto the welds. While laying your bead move just fast enough to keep ahead of the "swirling pool" of weld. This may take some getting use to as far as speed of the hand, due to all the variables that is possible for your application.

Good luck

Chvymn99
 
Ratman said:
Speaking of welding, anyone got a chunk of copper laying around I could borrow for a backer plate? I'm butt welding sheetmetal this weekend and could use one as I ten to weld too hot.
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just use a chunk of aluminum, its easier to find:D
 
Ratman said:
I went full redneck and used a old piston from a 22R. :lol:
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Nice, but full redneck would be to leave it on there, so your method was only half redneck:D :lol: (assuming you removed it afterwards)
 
Does the aluminum get as hot as the copper when you use it as a backing setup? I have access to tons of 1/4 thick copper rangeing from 1 to 5 inches wide and that stuff heats up really fast when you use it to patch holes in sheetmetal. It is much easier than trying to cut a little patch piece for every little hole though.
 
rockcity said:
Nice, but full redneck would be to leave it on there, so your method was only half redneck:D :lol: (assuming you removed it afterwards)
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It fell out. I did however, weld my 4 pound mini sledge to the bed floor. :lol:
 
Down&Dirty said:
Does the aluminum get as hot as the copper when you use it as a backing setup? I have access to tons of 1/4 thick copper rangeing from 1 to 5 inches wide and that stuff heats up really fast when you use it to patch holes in sheetmetal. It is much easier than trying to cut a little patch piece for every little hole though.
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Yep, it'll get hot quick. I take and skrew a small chunk of 2x4 to the ones I've had in the past. You need copper in the 1" range to do it right and keep the flesh on your hands.


On the same welder subject, I'm looking at a used Snap On "muscle mig" 140. Kinda a cool machine, has a detachable wire box with 10' leads and a 14' torch. Anyone familar with these machines? I tried one from snap on about 6 years ago, hated it because of the 60% duty. Now they are 100% duty (yeah right, probaly more like 75~80%) However, this one is "as is" which means I cant bitch and get a upgrade if it does not do the job. It does, however, have a thumb button tig attachment (scratch start) and reasonably priced spool guns for alloy.
 
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