scootz
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| posted on 11/9/08 at 08:45 PM |
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What Am I Doing Wrong (Welding)?
Just started and using a 105 Mig with gas.
Working with up to 3mm tube, so have set the feed to slow and the power to high (best newbie guess!).
It's coming in 'blobs'... i.e. I'm adding blob to blob - not the nice seams I see others managing.
Once ground down a little, it looks like I'm geting good penetration, but there are onvious gaps here and there where the blobs have overlapped
- not ideal.
Any tips? Should I set to a lower setting? Speed up the feed?
Also, some of the tube I'm joining has up to 4mm gaps in places, I'm building these up with my blob technique and overlapping - is this ok
to do this type of 'filler' weld?
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clairetoo
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| posted on 11/9/08 at 08:47 PM |
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Get a spare bit of metal , start welding on it , and turn the wire feed up and down untill it sounds right !
It's supposed to sound like bacon frying , a good steady `sizzle` 
Its cuz I is blond , innit
Claire xx
Will weld for food......
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blakep82
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| posted on 11/9/08 at 08:49 PM |
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is the welder itself kind of starting and stopping? like it buzzes, then the wire feeds out, arcs again, stops, wire feeds arcs etc?
maybe wire speed too slow?
________________________
IVA manual link http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?type=RESOURCES&itemId=1081997083
don't write OT on a new thread title, you're creating the topic, everything you write is very much ON topic!
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 11/9/08 at 08:51 PM |
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alot more wire speed dude, keep increasing it gradually till the wire is starting to dump into the metal then slow it down a bit. Gas should just be
able to be felt on your face, set it up on some cleen scrap first and do the tube
basically what’s happening is the wires arcing, burning back till the arc stops and repeating this, you need to speed the wire up till it melts at the
same rate its being fed into the weld pool
[Edited on 11/9/08 by Mr Whippy]
Fame is when your old car is plastered all over the internet
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MikeR
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| posted on 11/9/08 at 08:53 PM |
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3mm is really too thick for the 105amp welder without doing some serious technique & then its not up to it.
I'll weld 3mm on my 150amp welder and i'm at the limit of what it can do realistically.
Anyway, the first tip is go to college to weld. I have to say that as its what i did.
Now being serious, start on full power with the wire feed approx half way from min to max.
Now there are a few ways of doing this, one is to slowly move the torch and turn up / down the wire speed till it sounds like sizzling bacon &
ripping slik all in one.
The other is to keep trying a weld and adjusting.
If you find the welding being pushed back from the work piece in little jolts, then you've got hte wire speed too high or not enough power (try
setting the welder to its lowest power setting and turn the speed up high - you'll see what i mean).
Now if you find hte welder keeps blobbing (like you describe) whats happening is the poor thing is having its wire melted before it gets to the peice.
Turn the speed up.
You'll know its right by the sound.
Good luck 
(once you get the sound right, you need to practice the speed of movement. The best way to do this will be covered in tomorrows question and answers
session - cause my pints ready)
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 11/9/08 at 08:58 PM |
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I've got a 175 amp machine and managed to weld up a 500mm hydraulic cyclinder for the digger perfectly, it’s all down to practice. With smaller
machines you just weld slower that’s all.
Fame is when your old car is plastered all over the internet
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scootz
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| posted on 11/9/08 at 09:04 PM |
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Cheers peeps... I shall prevail!
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scootz
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| posted on 11/9/08 at 09:07 PM |
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PS - I guess it may help if I put more effort into removing the old powdercoat!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 11/9/08 at 09:09 PM |
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where's the rolling eye's smiley 
Fame is when your old car is plastered all over the internet
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scootz
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| posted on 11/9/08 at 09:10 PM |
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Aaaaargh... the bloody wire has stopped feeding! Jacking it in for tonight - will return to the task in hand tomorrow (and will hit the welder with a
big hammer if it hasn't sorted itself out!)!
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MikeR
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| posted on 11/9/08 at 09:10 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
I've got a 175 amp machine and managed to weld up a 500mm hydraulic cyclinder for the digger perfectly, it’s all down to practice. With smaller
machines you just weld slower that’s all.
Hence my comment about 'serious technique'. Although I'd still argue 105 amp isn't really up to 3mm. I did it on my old cebora
unit by doing the Christmas tree approach that i've recommended a number of times on here.
Suppose at the end of the day its up to you and what you're happy with. Mate i work with is coded up to working on oil rigs, he'll swear
blind that whilst you could weld something it wouldn't be a 'proper' weld.
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scootz
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| posted on 11/9/08 at 09:12 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
where's the rolling eye's smiley
Hey, that's not the worst of it Whippy... I was scratching my head for at least 10 minutes earlier on today wondering why nothing was happening,
then realised that I hadn't attached the clamp!
That's beyond rolling eyes!
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scootz
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| posted on 11/9/08 at 09:13 PM |
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Bah... I'm just going to get myself a roll of gaffer tape tomorrow and tape my chassis members together - that ought to do it!
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blakep82
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| posted on 11/9/08 at 09:27 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by scootz
quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
where's the rolling eye's smiley
Hey, that's not the worst of it Whippy... I was scratching my head for at least 10 minutes earlier on today wondering why nothing was happening,
then realised that I hadn't attached the clamp!
That's beyond rolling eyes!
ha ha done that many times myself
________________________
IVA manual link http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?type=RESOURCES&itemId=1081997083
don't write OT on a new thread title, you're creating the topic, everything you write is very much ON topic!
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 11/9/08 at 10:59 PM |
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lol what a right lot we are
anyway if your having wire feed problems
1. check the reel still turns, may be too tight
2. check the welding tip, could be clogged up
3. unscrew the tip and try feeding the wire though, the wire may have spot welded itself to the coiled swan neck wire guide
4. if it's a second hand machine then the plastic wire feed tube might need replaced, easy job & universal kits are available
one good thing to buy is wire lube spray, it reduces wire wear and prevents corrosion. You can buy it off the web. Personally I'd say 90% of
weld woes are due to the wire fed, right PITA
Fame is when your old car is plastered all over the internet
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MikeR
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| posted on 11/9/08 at 11:22 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
Personally I'd say 90% of weld woes are due to the wire fed, right PITA
Definitely agree - suppose its why the professional welding machines cost so much 
(insert the bit where i pine for the unit i learnt to weld on)
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oldtimer
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| posted on 12/9/08 at 07:02 AM |
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When I got my MIG it was doing the skipping blobby thing and was driving me mad no matter what settings I used. It ended up being the feed wheel -
problem was a tensioner and even though I had it screwed hard down it was still slipping. I ended up taking the tensioner apart, adding a washer and
finally had enough pressure to make the wire turn with the wheel, and that was it, no more fits and starts, nice smooth wire feed and I could get on
finding the right settings.
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DarrenW
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| posted on 12/9/08 at 08:24 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by clairetoo
Get a spare bit of metal , start welding on it , and turn the wire feed up and down untill it sounds right !
It's supposed to sound like bacon frying , a good steady `sizzle`
This was the best bit of advice i got when an apprentice. You soon learn what the right sound is. Power and wire feed. Then torch angle and distance
from workpiece.
Stick with it - its a great feeling when you lay down your first good weld. I weld very infrequently and therefore rarely neatly but after a bit of
practice it all comes good again. Bit like riding a bike.
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James
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| posted on 12/9/08 at 01:54 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
Gas should just be able to be felt on your face,
Just be bloody careful doing that... that you don't 'squirt' the sharp ended wire piece into you eye!
Even worse when it's red hot!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses, behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights."
- Muhammad Ali
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 12/9/08 at 02:04 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by James
quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
Gas should just be able to be felt on your face,
Just be bloody careful doing that... that you don't 'squirt' the sharp ended wire piece into you eye!
Even worse when it's red hot!
well best to do that before fitting the wire spool...
Even my big machines worst thing is the wire feed motor, doesn't slip but I'd say it was half the power it should be, very tempted to
replace it with a stronger one.
Fame is when your old car is plastered all over the internet
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Fred W B
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| posted on 14/9/08 at 11:48 AM |
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If you are still having problems with the wire feed, try to keep the torch line as straight as possible. Sometimes just the extra friction from a
bend is enough to make a difference in the wire feed.
Cheers
Fred W B
[Edited on 14/9/08 by Fred W B]
You can do it quickly. You can do it cheap. You can do it right. – Pick any two.
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scootz
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| posted on 14/9/08 at 08:53 PM |
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Thanks guys. Seems the spool 'rollers' aren't turning right now, so may have to go off on the hunt for new bits!
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NS Dev
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| posted on 20/9/08 at 09:21 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by MikeR
3mm is really too thick for the 105amp welder without doing some serious technique & then its not up to it.
I'll weld 3mm on my 150amp welder and i'm at the limit of what it can do realistically.
Anyway, the first tip is go to college to weld. I have to say that as its what i did.
Now being serious, start on full power with the wire feed approx half way from min to max.
Now there are a few ways of doing this, one is to slowly move the torch and turn up / down the wire speed till it sounds like sizzling bacon &
ripping slik all in one.
The other is to keep trying a weld and adjusting.
If you find the welding being pushed back from the work piece in little jolts, then you've got hte wire speed too high or not enough power (try
setting the welder to its lowest power setting and turn the speed up high - you'll see what i mean).
Now if you find hte welder keeps blobbing (like you describe) whats happening is the poor thing is having its wire melted before it gets to the peice.
Turn the speed up.
You'll know its right by the sound.
Good luck
(once you get the sound right, you need to practice the speed of movement. The best way to do this will be covered in tomorrows question and answers
session - cause my pints ready)
I used to have a clarke 150TE and would not use it to weld anything over 3mm on max power.
It was right on its limit with 2.5mm thickness rollcage joints
[Edited on 20/9/08 by NS Dev]
Retro RWD is the way forward...........automotive fabrication, car restoration, sheetmetal work, engine conversion
retro car restoration and tuning
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