Mig Welding upside down Again,Sorry....

[Pontiac Drag Racer]

Hello,
My name is Jason I am new to this forum.I am getting ready to do some upside down welding.I have read a lot of other previous threads on how and what techniques that you and other suggest.I like the one tip you mention about cutting the end of the torch till the brass tip is protruding out of the end.Now I have only one,and with money the way it is?Will this effect any future "regular" mig welding if I do this?If you could please give me all the tips as far as what is the best things to do to weld nicely under my Drag car.I have spent 5 years building this and she is almost done,I will get to race it this year finally.I can Mig weld decent as I put the 16 point roll cage in my self and made the complete steering system as well as many other smaller brackets and welded them in just fine.I have used the "BFH" Approach after to test the welds,none have ever broken.I just want a straight answer on upside down welding with a Mig Clark 180 model,and is a 220 volt unit.Thanks for your time and anyone else that has or uses a welder like mine would be ideal ,but the principals will be the same either way.

As long as your in a well ventilated area and you are not welding near the fuel lines. It should be fine.

Is this bodywork? Arc welding thin metal is not easy. You'll need to practice on similar metal.

 

[Punx0r]

I cut my shroud some time ago so that the end of the tip was level with the end of the shroud. I haven't noticed any downside, and it made the welding better. Before I had issues with the arc not always going where I wanted in (when welding in a Vee).

A replacement shroud is only about a fiver, so give it a try IMO.

I don't have any tips for welding upside down, aside from keeping bodyparts away from drips. Perhaps moving the torch faster, thus keeping the weld pool smaller will prevent it trying to run away.

 

[outofthefire]

With all due respect I would practice for ages before I tried anything on drag car.

I dont cut my shrouds back, I have to weld upside down on galv a lot at work make sure your well covered up where ear plugs you dont want any weld in your ears. Make sure you've got plenty of power try and get comfortable so you can see your weld clearly and move faster than normal.

 

[Bristolbulldog]

Here's my list (new here as well, hi

1. Weld in the thickest material you can. Turning up the power and feed rate makes it a little easier.
2. I've never cut the tip, so unsure.
3. Get it as clean as possible. Underneath or in corners can be a nightmare, although it sounds like your welding to new which is a blessing!
4.I find an elliptical circular motion helps stop gravity blobbing, burning through, and good penetration.
5.i always start the weld on one piece of metal (the thickest), and then move over 1/8" to where I need to be. This helps alot on thin sheet which is mainly what I do.
6. If you can turn it upside down or on its side, do it! So much easier.

I'm self taught, never even seen anyone else weld so I expect my technique is rather odd. I'm used to thin sheet, and rusted out, impossible to clean jobs!


This isn't underneath but this is how the circular motion goes.

 

[mike 109444]

Welcome Bristolbulldog. How thick is that metal because with that amount of weld on it (continous?) I would have expected to see some distortion on thin sheet metal?

 

[Bristolbulldog]

This was just to show the motion. Your spot on though, the outer plate is 2.5mm, the inner is roughly 1.2mm so it's overlapped on the outer more to take the heat. I learnt on thin sheet (stupid I know), and thicker material is great for pooling. I rarely ever pool on thin sheet as It can't sustain it (or I can't!).