Hi, I have never done any type of welding in my life but I have bought a gas/gasless Cosmo 130 mig welder to weld some steel plate onto the chassis of my car... Anyway the problem I am having is that i put the gun against the metal to be welded and it sparks a lot but doesnt seem to be leaving any weld in a seam or anything, I just get little balls of weld all over the place and the metal glows orange! I have looked at the tutorials on this site. I am using 0.6mm wire (that was already on the welder), what exactly does the gas do? I bought a gas bottle but the welder has got no regulator so I was unable to connect it. I have tried setting it on low and high and god knows why there are 3 switches to control the voltage? I have changed wire speed to slow aswell... I have also tried holding the gun 5mm from the metal as suggested but it doesnt spark, I have to hold it right next to the metal!!! Is there a good book I can buy to teach a complete idiot like myself? Thanks. I saw those pictures on the tutorials with the steel plate where the weld goes right through... Mine doesnt do that!!! just little balls!!!
- Thread starter jon12345
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malcolm
& Clementine the Cat
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- Bedford UK
For books - I haven't tried the Haynes welding book but I'd imagine it will be aimed at beginners.
The gas stops the welding wire from oxidising (vaporising). You'll need either fluxed wire or standard wire plus gas. If you've got a tiny gas bottle you can buy a regulator from Halfords. A bigger bottle will need a decent regulator - try BOC or any welding shop online.
Try practicing on 1.5mm sheet away from the car. The sheet needs to be cleaned up with an angle grinder so the metal is shiny.
Guess you don't have a manual for the welder. You might have switches on the front marked 1, 2, and max, mix. Normally the lowest setting is in the switch position 1 min. Next is 1 max, then 2 min etc. Start off somewhere in the middle.
For wire speed Hitachimad has some good advice:
Let us know how you get on.
The gas stops the welding wire from oxidising (vaporising). You'll need either fluxed wire or standard wire plus gas. If you've got a tiny gas bottle you can buy a regulator from Halfords. A bigger bottle will need a decent regulator - try BOC or any welding shop online.
Try practicing on 1.5mm sheet away from the car. The sheet needs to be cleaned up with an angle grinder so the metal is shiny.
Guess you don't have a manual for the welder. You might have switches on the front marked 1, 2, and max, mix. Normally the lowest setting is in the switch position 1 min. Next is 1 max, then 2 min etc. Start off somewhere in the middle.
For wire speed Hitachimad has some good advice:
Let us know how you get on.
Hey up Jon,
I think the Welding Institue made a MIG welding video. I've seen the Manual Metal Arc one and that was very good. I've not been able to find a copy of the mig welding one though
If you find a good welding shop the guys are usually quite helpful. The bloke at the BOC trade shop in Derby certainly new his stuff.
Where abouts are you based?
jim
I think the Welding Institue made a MIG welding video. I've seen the Manual Metal Arc one and that was very good. I've not been able to find a copy of the mig welding one though
If you find a good welding shop the guys are usually quite helpful. The bloke at the BOC trade shop in Derby certainly new his stuff.
Where abouts are you based?
jim
I have bought some flux based mig wire and that seems to be a whole lot better!!! Thanks to who suggested that. I also got a nice clean piece of steel plate and attempted to do a bead and it seemed ok.. I cant get the hang of the circular motion though and cant see any weld pools through the shield as it is too dark!! I just ran it along very slowly using the shroud resting on the metal to keep it steady and the weld seemed to go right through ok... Is using the shroud to rest on dangerous or can it wear it down?? I havent got the steadiest of hands see, too much lager the night before! Anyway im gonna keep practising and will no doubt be on here tomorrow when I mess something up! Oh yeah I also found when i undid the new reel of wire it all sprang off the reel so I had to cut it off and wasted half of it!
malcolm
& Clementine the Cat
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Do you have a full face mask (that holds itself on your head) or one of the hand held ones? You should be able to see better through the full face mask (less light reflection from behind) and it will leave another hand to help keep the torch steady.
Probably if the shroud is touching the metal you'll be too close to the metal. For circular motion - try a side to side zig zag motion instead - makes sure that the welder is arcing against each side of the joint in turn.
Probably if the shroud is touching the metal you'll be too close to the metal. For circular motion - try a side to side zig zag motion instead - makes sure that the welder is arcing against each side of the joint in turn.
Hi when you say do a zig zag motion I tried that but cant really see what is happening it just seems like a continuous spark... I got one of those auto darkening masks off ebay when you say it arcs against each piece of metal what do you mean? i tried welding some thin steel plate on a sill on the car and it stuck until I hit it with a hammer and it came off...! The mask is too dark to see the thin piece of mig wire and where it is sparking.....
Jon - most of the local colleges do a course on basic welding - watching and practising makes it incredible, you won't beleive how good you can get at it.
Halfords presently do a wee book on welding -brilliant.
Wear gauntlets, rest one hand palm facing you, and the other hand on top of that one, - just the right hieght to steady the torch - and don't drink during the practice run!
Halfords presently do a wee book on welding -brilliant.
Wear gauntlets, rest one hand palm facing you, and the other hand on top of that one, - just the right hieght to steady the torch - and don't drink during the practice run!
New welder
If your using gas less wire stop there ! take it out of your mig/mags set and put it in the bin (its great 4mm + but dont think about welding your car with it burns to hot on thin plate) get some 0.6 mild steel wire and some co2 argon gas or if your lucky a co2 bottle off your local pub
(make sure its gas co2 or you need a heater if its not) off the top of my head set the set to 45-60 amps (must mig sets are in volts so thats about 14-15 volts) set wire speed at 350 if seems to hot just speed it up till your happy. and remember to take a lead off the battery on the - side (the black) and have someone ready to put fires out. hope this helps if you get stuck please feel free to ask.
If your using gas less wire stop there ! take it out of your mig/mags set and put it in the bin (its great 4mm + but dont think about welding your car with it burns to hot on thin plate) get some 0.6 mild steel wire and some co2 argon gas or if your lucky a co2 bottle off your local pub
(make sure its gas co2 or you need a heater if its not) off the top of my head set the set to 45-60 amps (must mig sets are in volts so thats about 14-15 volts) set wire speed at 350 if seems to hot just speed it up till your happy. and remember to take a lead off the battery on the - side (the black) and have someone ready to put fires out. hope this helps if you get stuck please feel free to ask. 