Welding help needed.

[Jppr26]

gas workes better than flux core wire. you can also use a copper block on the back side, it helps a ton to keep from burning through and it dosnt stick to the steel. it all so helps keep distortion down cause it keeps the heat out of the steel. you can prob get some at harbor freight. I got mine from eastwood.

Aluminum works as well

 

[73c20jim]

What wire are you using?

--- If it's the wire that came with the HF welder, you may wanna go grab yourself a spool of Lincoln Electric or Hobart wire.

Ding! Ding! Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner.

Got new spool of wire from a welding supply store. Works so much better. No splatter.

Practice welds do not show penetration in back side. Gotta fool around with wire speed (only adjustment I got) until I get penetration and no blow thru.

Practice, practice, practice.

 

[73c20jim]

Wind picking up, gonna rain soon.

I'm thinkin' welding in the rain is not preferable.

 

[4WDKC]

Its been a while, isnt .030 bigger than needed for sheet metal?

 

[73c20jim]

Welder only does .030 and .035. You get what you pay for.

 

[crazy4offroad]

Another thing that can have a negative effect is if you're using a long, light-duty extension cord, like a 100' 18 gauge cord. The voltage drops when you arc up and nothing's consistent, amperage or wire speed. After the initial voltage drop it will recover, then spike, and now your setting is too hot. You let off the trigger because you just blew a hole through the metal and the vicious circle starts all over. Also make sure you have 0.030 tips for the 0.030 wire and not 0.035. Honestly I liked my HF flux mig, that was until it caught on fire. Bought a 2nd hand Hobart Handler 160 for $250 and haven't looked back. When you have a good run going it should just sound like bacon frying on low heat, a nice slow sizzle.

 

[73c20jim]

Cord not a problem. Plugged into 20 amp socket 3' from fuse box. Just using cord attached to welder.

Think the solution to the problem, after using better wire, is practice, practice, practice.

 

[norman baker]

check ground cable #1 , then spot weld it a dot or two . on corners first , then centers until all areas are cover , moving around lets it cool saves it from warping , , slow easy.

 

[73c20jim]

On practice piece, butt weld, weld does not show on backside. Weld longer on spot, punches hole.

I guess perfect timing is essential.

 

[shiftpro]

On practice piece, butt weld, weld does not show on backside. Weld longer on spot, punches hole.

I guess perfect timing is essential.

It's called skill, which is a product of practice!

 

[Tank6x2]

When your not using your wire, protect it from environmental contaminants, don’t remove it from your machine, just keep it wrapped up with a garbage bag/a zip tie.

Tack every inch or so, and keep the the next weld 6-8” away from the last weld 0.035/0.030” Wire should be fine for what your doing, just spread your heat around, being sheet metal a autodimming helmet and spot welding (on/off/on/off) for the length of the weld to reduce metal distortion is key.

Remember the duty cycle of the machine ie: 60% duty cycle is 6 out of 10 minutes solid run time with a 4 minute cool down period between next weld.

If it’s possible add a C25 (75/25 Co2/Argon) mixture to your machine at about 25CFM this will clean up a lot of your spatter issue, may not be applicable to your machine.

 

[73c20jim]

Used a whole spool of wire practicing.

Tried to tack weld new floor into position. Needed a much faster feed. Seems size of items to be welded greatly affects settings.

Just learnin'.

 

[Honky Kong jr]

Try lo and 5 speed. Flux core will splatter and not produce “pretty welds” grinding will be involved for sure

 

[crazy4offroad]

Also be sure to clean your welding points of paint and rust but dont get too crazy with the grinder or your metal will be too thin. A lot of new panels have "weld-through" primer on them but I clean that off too. a sanding flap wheel or disc might work better than an angle grinder. I've had a little better luck with higher heat and shorter time doing the tacks. Strike an arc for a second and in about the time it takes the shield to change it should have cooled enough for another arc.

 

[Dougnsalem]

Try lo and 5 speed. Flux core will splatter and not produce “pretty welds” grinding will be involved for sure

Oh what, now you're saying you know how to weld too???






Lol