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Welding upsides down tips
Mr Whippy - 24/11/14 at 12:47 PM

Yeah this is not my fave at all but sometimes it just isn’t possible to avoid. I get good welds but always feel its wastes a lot of mig wire, maybe takes twice as much to do the same run the right way round. Is there a good way of doing this or it always just a pita?

I'm welding 3mm - 6mm plate onto good metal with a 175amp gassless mig (no I'm not switching to gas)


loggyboy - 24/11/14 at 12:53 PM

I always find short burst to keep the weld pool as small as possible helps.


cliftyhanger - 24/11/14 at 01:18 PM

Mainly a PITA, gravity is making a lot just fall out , where it would normally drop in the weld. And those bits that do fall end up down your boot/in your ear etc. Gasless is actually good for this type of stuff as it is more forgiving to less than perfect prep (yes, I use gasless too!)


motorcycle_mayhem - 24/11/14 at 06:05 PM

It's PITA. Smell the burning hair, skin and everything else. If you're having to lay down on the floor under the job, then it really is awkward. At least you're welding thick stuff, the thinner stuff tends to get very thin as the metal drops out.

Can the job be rotated?


blakep82 - 24/11/14 at 06:17 PM

Just spent most of the morning doing this actually
18v wire speed around 3.5m/min,
This was for overhead fillets on 6mm plate though,

Are you welding butts or fillets?


dave r - 24/11/14 at 09:11 PM

i hate welding upside down.... especially the moment when a bit of spatter drops in your ear and fizzes


Mr Whippy - 24/11/14 at 09:52 PM

yeah I have some right nasty burns on my arms, its just horrid to do

mostly fillet welds and cars too heavy to put upside down

glad I'm not the only one who finds it hard going

cheers


blakep82 - 24/11/14 at 09:55 PM

The settings I used today were for argon co2 80/20, so maybe need adjusting for gasless stuff, but hopefully a good starting point?


DIY Si - 25/11/14 at 09:58 AM

Buy yourself a welding cap to go under the mask. Best thing I did after buying a reactive mask. It keeps my ears in one piece and all the crap out of my hair. And it was only £10 I think.


pewe - 25/11/14 at 10:51 AM

Buy a pair of gauntlets.
About £4 from welding suppliers and stops molten metal searing through your overalls and embedding itself into your flesh - ask me how I know - scars still there three years on....
Cheers, Pewe10


Dualist - 25/11/14 at 05:06 PM

I normally back the wire feed off a bit more that normal to stop any over build up of the weld pool and stop coldlap.