Queston on Mig welder for welding experts
I have a Hobart 110 volt mig that I bought many years back. Never used enough to get good at it. Dug it out and been using it on some sheet metal repair on a '65 Mustang. Still not realy getting the hang of it. In talking to a few friends who have more experience than I do and figured out that mine has a non adjustable gas regulator and theres all have an adjustable regulator. Will and adjustable regulator be worth the cost?
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Doubtful. I would guess it is preset somewhere in the 20-30psi range, which is where you need to be.
What issues are you having?
Working indoors or outside?
Sheet metal can be tricky with a mig.0 -
Mig welders use an inert gas, co2, argon, mix of both just to shield
the weld area from oxygen.
As long as your welder does that, adjusting how much has little effect.
More to do with heat settings, wire size, feed rate.
Master those 3 and you are good to go.0 -
Wire size is .024 which is recomended for sheet metal. Played with wire feed speed and heat settings and finaly went back to the settings recomended in the book. I seem to be getting a little better with practice and I know that practice makes perfect but tend to either burn through or not get enough penetration. Adjustable regulators are only about %30-$35 on Amazon. 0 -
All the gas does is shield the weld form oxygen so you get a slag/splatter free weld. Are you not getting a slag/splatter from your weld?
You need to give more information for anybody to diagnose the problem. Just saying that you're not getting a good job is not enough information...0 -
quote:Originally posted by slumlord44
Wire size is .024 which is recomended for sheet metal. Played with wire feed speed and heat settings and finaly went back to the settings recomended in the book. I seem to be getting a little better with practice and I know that practice makes perfect but tend to either burn through or not get enough penetration. Adjustable regulators are only about %30-$35 on Amazon.
If you're not getting enough penetration or too much tour you burn through, the gas has nothing to do with that. Read my above post for information about that. Just go to anybody shop and ask them for some discarded panels to practice on. You're going too fast or too slow (wire speed setting), or you have too high of the heat setting or too low of a heat setting.
Like I say, get some practice panels and practice practice practice,and don't just practice on any type of sheet metal, practice on the type of sheet metal that you want a perfect weld on. You'll figure out what you're doing wrong and will end up with a nice looking weld...0 -
Welds look spatered. Trouble getting consistency Withiout changing heat settings sometimes burn through. Sometimes not enough penetration. Pressure gauge on tank after shows embty way before I think it should but tank still has gas in it when I disconedt the hose and open the valve. Good friend who also hobby welds on cars says he has to play with the gas pressure to get good welds. Two body shop guys also adjust theirs to get it right. They are not familiar with fixed regulators but apparently they are common on low end machines. Paid a ton for my Hobart many years back befor cheap China stuff was available. 0 -
Definitely adjust pressure. Almost anybody can weld with mig with little experience. IMO, start with voltage lower and speed higher, adjust from there. But your experience appears to be a pressure issue with argon. 0 -
Is the material clean enough? 0 -
Material clean. Heat set as low as it will. Will try speeding it up a bit and more practice. Ordered regulator on Amozon this evening. Will be here Wedensday. Thanks for the input. 0 -
Stop, weld, stop, weld. Do short strings. 0 -
Clean materiel is critical and a good ground is critical.
After that figure out your heat. After you set it and it does not burn through then work on speed.
To me unless you are outside i do not think more gas is the answer.
Speed is going to be the hardest to learn.
My friend who taught me how to weld his speed is a lot slower than mine.
My heat is hotter than his because i weld faster than him.
You have to play with it to figure out YOUR speed and heat level.
Also make sure you do not have a fan or a vent blowing on your work. That will kill your shield of unimix also.
By the way you are trying to learn the hardest thing about welding first. To me the thinner it gets the harder it is to weld.
Good luck.0 -
Make sure you are using NON-fluxcore wire, if you are using gas. If you are trying to use fluxcore wire with gas, it doesn't work well. If you are using fluxcore wire, you don't need the gas.
Merc0 -
Get a thicker piece of metal and try to run some beads on it. Use the same settings to start with and watch your puddle. Not having to worry about burning through will let you concentrate on your weld.
I've found that I needed a lighter lens and cheater lens/glasses now.
The sound the MIG makes is to me the key to getting it set right -- gotta have that "cackle"
Body panel thickness stuff is tough. I learned on 1/4" stuff and went from there but I still find thin stuff a challenge, which is why I've got a TIG unit now.[:D]
When I do have to MIG thin stuff I'll "stitch" it together with a series of short welds. Short welds don't let the heat build up enough to blow holes.
Good luck!0 -
Made a trip to Harbor Freight today. Auto darkening helmet died and got a new one. Picked up a pressure regulator while I was there. Also ran out of gas and went to Welding Supply place and exchanged the 40# tank for an 80#tank. 40# doesn't last long. Played with new regulator and heat and getting better. I know to use short welds on sheet metal. Got the repair section on the inner fender support alomst totaly finishd before I had to quit for the day.Set the regulator at 30. Will tinker with that also. I know that more is not necessarily better. Too much gas can also cause issues. Thanks all for the input. 0 -
I would go to you tube watch some post on mig welding and practice .
flux wire works great majority of the time no gas needed have to change your tip but if your doing body work stick with the shielding gas0
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