I've used 0.6mm wire a lot, for many kinds of work but mainly large amounts of car bodywork.
I think its great when running well, I'm doing a bit of experimenting now with my new Portamig to see what I can achive with its very low bottom end and 0.6 wire on very thin material.
The important point with 0.6 is the remember that it has very little column strength, and that's what means its very susceptible to feeding issues.
With 0.6 you need to keep everything in great condition. its got lots of room in the liner and if there is anything downward of the wire feed rollers that causes resistance it can buckle then straighten and so on. It can be coming through the rollers at a consistent rate but not feeding smoothly at the torch.
Good info on wire here, I've just went for 0.8 for the time being but will keep it mind That's an idea with the grips, I should have a couple of older pairs around somewhere.
I think I finished ordering everything yesterday, welder arrived today but not got gas until Thursday so just quickly made sure it worked in the no gas setting. Seems good and easy to set up so hopefully all goes well!
Although that reminds me of something related - when welding on cars I presume the battery should be disconnected just in case? I've wondered for a while but never seen it brought up.
Also hello, been lurking the past week reading up on stuff. Let me know how this welder does with some gas, I'm considering one for myself for some bodywork I need to get done.
Well apparently my last entire post was deleted since I self-censored a word rather just typing it, surely it could have just been edited out? Particularly when nothing in the rules says anything about 'foul' language but oh well guess I know now.
I think to summarise the post -
The standard earth clamp is awful but otherwise all of my equipment seems pretty good
I was struggling with butt welding pipe
Crispy ^ has an awesome username
I eventually got the join done and that side of the exhaust now sits a good bit lower than it should but I'm not too bothered as realistically it's a temporary fix for a low car. Ugly welds because I was struggling to tack in the limited room I had with it mounted to the car but it's airtight and plenty strong enough. Hoped to seal another crack just by bridging the gap however had to plate it over but it's all done now and car has MOT with no advisories finally!
I'm thinking next job will be building some sort of rear rack mount - like a trailer hitch receiver but not for towing, probably would take 150kg maximum to carry a motorbike or spare wheels etc. I haven't found any manufactured ones for sale so far