Hoping to Become a Better Welder

[Karateboy]

Hey guys,

As some of you may know I got a Miller 140 W/AS. I've had the machine for about 3-4 weeks right now but haven't really touched it in almost 2 weeks due to a car project.

Well, I got tired of reading about welding and I pulled my Mig out.

This is me starting my 3rd lb of wire.

The metal is 16 gauge (0.059'' or 1.5mm) mild steel with C25 Shielding gas an 0.030'' wire.

Multiple attempts- let me know what I can do better






In Case with Flash is better

 

[shenion]

Looks very good. Looks great for thin metal.

On the last one, the ripples look very oblong. Probably too low a torch angle.

Closer to vertical, the weld pool will be rounder.

If you plan on doing a lot of thin metal, pick up some 0.023 wire. Makes 20ga and thinner easier.

 

[Karateboy]

Looks very good. Looks great for thin metal.

On the last one, the ripples look very oblong. Probably too low a torch angle.

Closer to vertical, the weld pool will be rounder.

If you plan on doing a lot of thin metal, pick up some 0.023 wire. Makes 20ga and thinner easier.

Thanks for the kind words and advice. My first 2 lbs was 0.023 wire and now I am going through the 0.030 wire that came with the welder.

I will HOPEFULLY be welding some 1/8'' in the next few days for $$

 

[Karateboy]

Here are the same pics in a more standard size

 

[johng]

Are you welding the sheet metal to thicker metal? (darker metal in top of photos)

I am working on ~20 gauge and I am having an awful lot of burn through.

I have a Millermatic 211 with .030 and C25 but I can't find the right setting.

I even tried using the 110v input to see if I can turn it down as low as possible.

Any suggestions other than going to thinner (.023) wire?

 

[Karateboy]

Are you welding the sheet metal to thicker metal? (darker metal in top of photos)

I am working on ~20 gauge and I am having an awful lot of burn through.

I have a Millermatic 211 with .030 and C25 but I can't find the right setting.

I even tried using the 110v input to see if I can turn it down as low as possible.

Any suggestions other than going to thinner (.023) wire?

Yea, try keeping the torch about 45 degrees from the work so you can see the weld pool and pushing the torch rather than pulling it. They also say lay down a stinger not a weave.

You should try to keep each bead shorter than 2'', preferably about 1''. I heard this is a good strategy because any longer than that the weld pool gets to hot and plops through the metal. So Thin metal = spot welding or short beads.

My machines recommended settings are 5/55 for 16 gage. But I cannot keep a constant arc with the factory recommended settings. My settings for those welds were 4.8/45.

I've been hearing great things about the 211.

 

[malcolm]

It's better to keep the torch closer to vertical and moving your head to the side to see the weld pool.

johng - the thinner wire is most of the answer on thin metal. Gives you much more scope to alter the wire speed, and runs at less amps.

 

[Karateboy]

It's better to keep the torch closer to vertical and moving your head to the side to see the weld pool.

johng - the thinner wire is most of the answer on thin metal. Gives you much more scope to alter the wire speed, and runs at less amps.

Malcolm, I know you have much more experience than me but I do think that vertical is over emphasized.

I was struggling to lay down any sort of bead because I could not see the pool. Then a local certified welder told me to lower my torch angle. I saw the pool and my welds got instantly better. As long as you get your tie ins (toes) looking well and a good amount of penetration, then I think the weld is passable. I definitely think this is true on thinner metals where penetration is usually not an issue

 

[malcolm]

It's really important to look at the weld pool, and I find it helpful to look at what the the end of the wire is doing too.

My trick is to hold the torch in one hand and support the swan neck in the other. This gives control over the torch and allows the head to be moved around to the side.

A high torch angle will make fillet welds more tricky as the arc will tend to arc against the existing weld and the sides more, it will reduce gas coverage, make the edges of the welds colder and less smooth, give a taller more pointy weld profile, and limit your options to get the torch close to reduce wire speed on thin metal.

Not the end of the world as the weld will still stick for our purposes, but I find it much easier to orientate my head to see the weld pool. Besides you did suggest in the title you wanted to improve your welding.

 

[Karateboy]

It's really important to look at the weld pool, and I find it helpful to look at what the the end of the wire is doing too.

My trick is to hold the torch in one hand and support the swan neck in the other. This gives control over the torch and allows the head to be moved around to the side.

A high torch angle will make fillet welds more tricky as the arc will tend to arc against the existing weld and the sides more, it will reduce gas coverage, make the edges of the welds colder and less smooth, give a taller more pointy weld profile, and limit your options to get the torch close to reduce wire speed on thin metal.

Not the end of the world as the weld will still stick for our purposes, but I find it much easier to orientate my head to see the weld pool. Besides you did suggest in the title you wanted to improve your welding.

I do and I do find your posts helpful. I just wanted to offer my novice opinion to another member.

I am a little confused. Are you saying that a higher torch angle is better even though it is harder, or something else?