Vanny
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- 58
Hello all, i'm going to have to stop being a lurker now as i have FINALLY got my MIG set all together in the same place at the same time with gas and electric! I bought the welder from a good friend at christmas, and got a bottle 2 weeks ago.
The welder is a Cosmo(SIP reconditioned) 170 gas/gasless MIG which has been converted to a full Euro torch and gas only. Gas is Argo shield light. At the moment the welder is sat on that tool cabinet as the welding trolley is a little too low for the gas pipe to reach the regulator. Regulator is brand new for £20, gas bottle we wont mention and the welder was £100. (Might add i also have a Clarke 130amp ARC welder).
Having finally got everything screwed together (and luck would have it that my uncle insisted i have a bottle key when i last saw him!) i had a go at some welds.
Starting on the left with way too much gas, not enough power and uber fast line speed to something more tollerable on the right (the test piece is 2mm thick strip 25mm wide). The following shows the penetration of the right most welds;
and i continued this with some more welds;
I appologise for the slightly naff pictures (poor lighting conditions), so what do you think?
It strikes me that i need to be using push rather than pull technique, perhaps slower movement? Its certainly penetrating. This is obviously not the first time i've used a MIG welder but typically i'm given settings and told to 'stick them together' so have never really had to use my own brain to set up the welder. Have been looking through the tutorials which make rather a lot of sence as well (reminding me that having a fire extinguisher on the other side of the compound is probably pointless).
Couple of questions as well,
1) I need a longer gas hose, what sort do i want? How long a length can i have it (cos thats a big bottle to lug around)? Where from (weldequipe?).
2) When i loaded the wire into the torch i found that the wire spindle was pressed firm onto the backing plate of the welder and could not rotate. I assume that it should be free to rotate and that the spring controls the tension?
3) Anyone have a manual? I can't really figure out what buttons are meant to be up or down for the various power settings!
4) Will this welder be able to weld stainless?
that is all for now. And thanks to all the contributors that have encouraged me through there posts!
The welder is a Cosmo(SIP reconditioned) 170 gas/gasless MIG which has been converted to a full Euro torch and gas only. Gas is Argo shield light. At the moment the welder is sat on that tool cabinet as the welding trolley is a little too low for the gas pipe to reach the regulator. Regulator is brand new for £20, gas bottle we wont mention and the welder was £100. (Might add i also have a Clarke 130amp ARC welder).
Having finally got everything screwed together (and luck would have it that my uncle insisted i have a bottle key when i last saw him!) i had a go at some welds.
Starting on the left with way too much gas, not enough power and uber fast line speed to something more tollerable on the right (the test piece is 2mm thick strip 25mm wide). The following shows the penetration of the right most welds;
and i continued this with some more welds;
I appologise for the slightly naff pictures (poor lighting conditions), so what do you think?
It strikes me that i need to be using push rather than pull technique, perhaps slower movement? Its certainly penetrating. This is obviously not the first time i've used a MIG welder but typically i'm given settings and told to 'stick them together' so have never really had to use my own brain to set up the welder. Have been looking through the tutorials which make rather a lot of sence as well (reminding me that having a fire extinguisher on the other side of the compound is probably pointless).
Couple of questions as well,
1) I need a longer gas hose, what sort do i want? How long a length can i have it (cos thats a big bottle to lug around)? Where from (weldequipe?).
2) When i loaded the wire into the torch i found that the wire spindle was pressed firm onto the backing plate of the welder and could not rotate. I assume that it should be free to rotate and that the spring controls the tension?
3) Anyone have a manual? I can't really figure out what buttons are meant to be up or down for the various power settings!
4) Will this welder be able to weld stainless?
that is all for now. And thanks to all the contributors that have encouraged me through there posts!
Eye protection in deed, i'm not new to building/fabrication and already have a healthy respect for PPE but point noted! The steel has a little surface rust, but grinding means changing plugs, a length and tire some process, shall try it and see!
eventually!
