Bad welding gun?

[mauls]

Hello everyone,

Beginner welder and just picked up an old Lincoln st 130 for cheap. I've been messing around with it and I'm getting a lot of splatter and balls of welds. I'm sure most of is it my technique but I also believe there is something wrong with my gun. The tip sticks out way past he gas shield, and if I move it up it just falls off so there's nothing holding it on. Can it be fixed or do I need to buy a whole new gun set up.

BTW i'm running acetylene/oxygen mix, I just don't think it's mixing right because the gas shield is so far back.

Thanks

 

[Richiew]

Wind up!

 

[mr migwire]

has to be a wind up..... acetylene/oxygen mix why have i not seen a mushroom cloud out of my west facing window yet...

 

[cumbriasteve]

Welcome to the forum:

The 'shroud'.. that's the bit that falls off if you move it forward has all but worn away, buy yourself some new tips and a new shroud and all should be good again.

There is no mixing of gas anywhere, the gas is as it is when it exits the bottle.

 

[cumbriasteve]

Please consider the member is new to welding and may simply be making a mistake in his belief of what the gas is.

If it is a wind up I am happy to help it succeed.

 

[mr migwire]

Hello everyone,

Beginner welder and just picked up an old Lincoln st 130 for cheap. I've been messing around with it and I'm getting a lot of splatter and balls of welds. I'm sure most of is it my technique but I also believe there is something wrong with my gun. The tip sticks out way past he gas shield, and if I move it up it just falls off so there's nothing holding it on. Can it be fixed or do I need to buy a whole new gun set up.

BTW i'm running acetylene/oxygen mix, I just don't think it's mixing right because the gas shield is so far back.

Thanks

can you post up some pictures of your gas setup and your machines front panel settings as this would go a long way to helping advise / diagnose your issues...

 

[rtbcomp]

It's vital you use the correct gas, it's carbon dioxide or carbon dioxide/argon mix - oxygen and/or acetylene should not be used under any circumstances.

It looks like the spring that holds the shield in place is missing too.

 

[mauls]

Sorry guys i meant argon, not sure why I typed Acetylene, but it's the standard 75/25 mix.

I'll start off with a new shroud and see if that helps
What do you mean by wind up? The wire appears to be feeding fine.

Here's a pic of the welder as requested, it's an older lincoln.

 

[MattF]

What do you mean by wind up?

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/wind-up_2

 

[cumbriasteve]

It may be worth your while buying one of these service parts, it's called the swan neck:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=l...NS6IEHgGM:&usg=__Nvpqn8q4YtUcPlvBooDwHkLwrbs=

You would require:

The swan neck
Shroud retaining spring
Shroud
Tip

Depending where you purchase it from it may come as a kit.

Also consider a new liner..what the wire feeds through from the machine to the torch, these get clogged up over time.

There should be no great cost to those parts and certainly nowhere near the cost of a whole new torch replacement.

 

[Pete.]

Hello everyone,

Beginner welder and just picked up an old Lincoln st 130 for cheap. I've been messing around with it and I'm getting a lot of splatter and balls of welds. I'm sure most of is it my technique but I also believe there is something wrong with my gun. The tip sticks out way past he gas shield, and if I move it up it just falls off so there's nothing holding it on. Can it be fixed or do I need to buy a whole new gun set up.

BTW i'm running acetylene/oxygen mix, I just don't think it's mixing right because the gas shield is so far back.

Thanks

You have a part missing from your torch. There should be a shroud retainer screwed onto the swan-neck. Currently you're only holding the shroud on by pushing it over the plastic covering on the swan-neck tube, it's only by chance that it's a good fit.

 

[mauls]

You have a part missing from your torch. There should be a shroud retainer screwed onto the swan-neck. Currently you're only holding the shroud on by pushing it over the plastic covering on the swan-neck tube, it's only by chance that it's a good fit.

you are right it just kind of sits on there, i try to move it up to cover the tip but after a few welds it falls off. I'm going to run by a welding shop tomrorow so see if they have some replacement parts i can use.

Thanks!

 

[mauls]

Alright got some new parts for the gun and everything looks 100x better.

Also doing some other research I found that the welder was set up for flux, so I reversed the polarity, and put in the proper wire and it's welding like a dream now! Thanks everyone for the help, we all gotta start out somewhere

 

[cumbriasteve]

Does look a little better

Glad you are sorted and appreciate letting us know the outcome.

 

[Pete.]

Well done!

 

[Tigman]

made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up when I read the first post