Some advice. 1st time mig

[Sean648]

Hi

First time ever playimg with a mig

I converted it.from gasless to gas and the spool is wider and doesnt seem to come of the reel and feed as nice as the larger non gasless wire it came with.

Tried welding and whatever settinf o try i get a poor result as shown. Using the c02 gas bottles

Any basic advice. Just want to have a play and get better. May one day down the line maybe do some welding om a car

Thanks

 

[p0689109]

Welding thin steel is difficult at the best of times. Start practising on thick stuff first ensuring the steel is clean of rust and muck. Nice and shiny is what you are looking for. Then try variating feed speed and gas pressure and angle of the nozzle and see if it is any better. The wire feed and reel need to be taught to get a decent feed with no kinks in the torch cable. Has the cable liner been replaced?

 

[Sean648]

Welding thin steel is difficult at the best of times. Start practising on thick stuff first ensuring the steel is clean of rust and muck. Nice and shiny is what you are looking for. Then try variating feed speed and gas pressure and angle of the nozzle and see if it is any better. The wire feed and reel need to be taught to get a decent feed with no kinks in the torch cable. Has the cable liner been replaced?

Thanks for the reply. Its brand new the whole lot including torch and cable liner etc. I will keep having a bash and practicre one all the settings.

Harder than it looks, which i knew it would be haha!

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Welcome aboard, Sean You'll get great advice from the lads here, but the tutorials [green button(s) at the top of the page] also provide sound starting knowledge.

 

[Sean648]

Welcome aboard, Sean You'll get great advice from the lads here, but the tutorials [green button(s) at the top of the page] also provide sound starting knowledge.

Thanks. Ill have a good read through tomorrow morning

 

[gaz1]

a couple of things

what thickness are you welding
what type of co2 bottle are using

i also note many of the welds there is no gas cover

gasless is one thing gas is another ss you need to be closer to the material your welding

another thing try not let your wire birdsnest when changing reels

 

[slim_boy_fat]

what type of co2 bottle are using

Good point . From reading on here I've learned that much pub stuff also contains a percentage of nitrogen?

 

[Sean648]

a couple of things

what thickness are you welding
what type of co2 bottle are using

i also note many of the welds there is no gas cover

gasless is one thing gas is another ss you need to be closer to the material your welding

another thing try not let your wire birdsnest when changing reels

Hi,

I am using the Clarke one straight CO2 at the moment, with the basic regulator as it fits handy with the little mig welder to practice at the moment.

Clarke CO2 Gas Cylinder (600g)
https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/co2-gas-cylinder-600g/

and

Clarke CO2 Gas Cylinder (600g)
https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/co2-gas-cylinder-600g/

Cheers

 

[gaz1]

ok then for 3 bottles of them you can have a contract gas bottle or even a pub bottle of gas just need a regulator

also there 5 min gas thats if you get them working right its either all on or off

 

[Sean648]

ok then for 3 bottles of them you can have a contract gas bottle or even a pub bottle of gas just need a regulator

also there 5 min gas thats if you get them working right its either all on or off

not a great deal of time is it really, for the price.

Currently just got the hooby regulator
Bottle Regulator (Small Gas Bottle)
https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/bottle-regulator-small-gas-bottle/

I have spent the morning reading the GREEN MIG section at the top which is helpful, and spent some time watching youtube videos which will hopefully help.

 

[Sean648]

The mild steel wire drum still seems wide, just about the screw on to secure it and tighten it the welder strugglers to pull the wire off as its too tight.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Have a look at the regulators supplied by Weldequipe [button at page top too] for the kind you need for CO2 or mixed gases.

What size wire are you using, e.g. 0.6 or 0.8 and are the motor feed rollers set to accommodate the wire? A starting point for you, and an easy check before even thinking about delving into the machine too far

 

[wacky7791]

How thin is the metal? Bodywork thin and it's more a case of joining dots than continuous weld. Gasless is flux cored wire which I'd assume is thicker than Normal wire so are the feed rollers able to grip non flux core wire?
Having had a SIP as a first MIG and modifying it to death yet still being unable to get a decent weld out of it then replacing it with an old shop style mig that was so much easier and better to weld with I would strongly recommend throwing it in the bin and getting one designed for gas, **** welders can drive you mad.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

I would strongly recommend throwing it in the bin and getting one designed for gas

Not too soon! He hasn't experienced the peak of frustration yet, and the forum search might just throw up a fix, even it's just temporary until he gets the hang of things.

 

[Sean648]

haha its not ready for the bin ... yet.

using 0.6 wire at the moment. I will have a little play after work today after reading up and watching some videos see if it gets any better.

I should of maybe gone for this one:Clarke Pro 90 MIG Welderhttps://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/pro-90-mig-welder/

Which is suited more for body, thing metal according to the right up and is gas only, the cost is pretty much the same.

 

[dcocks]

I have aways found it hard to weld thin stuff on straight CO2 ,just saying

 

[Cobbler]

Have you reversed the big drive roller. One groove for 0.6 & the other for 0.8 and gas-less, also have you changed the tip to the smaller size as well. Your comment about "going for the pro 90" the welders, whether they're gas or gas less are the same, it's only the ability to reverse the polarity on the gas/gas-less one that is different. Those are good little welders, last for years. I've got one in the shed that's over 25 years old, it's now a spare, but still works fine.

 

[Al Strachan]

I’m an amateur, but welding on and off for years. Most important thing I find is how well you can see. No idea what you are using yourself , but I get on great with the 20-30 quid solar/auto masks of eBay. Get your workpiece well illuminated, with no lighting behind your mask to give glare and mask itself set to a shade that helps you see.

Once you can see your weld, and how your weld is pooling you can then start to learn how to weld.

The relationship between the thickness of steel, heat setting, wire speed, and your welding speed/technique in order to get good penetration and a reasonably nice looking weld will quickly follow.

It can be very frustrating at the start with so much to learn, but stick with it, it’ll come.

This is a great site too, and far more experienced welders than myself lurking and giving great advice like above.

I use hobbyweld cylinders. There’s no rental, an initial cost for the cylinder, then 40 quid per refill after that (same as calor gas). Lasts ages

 

[Sean648]

Thanks for all the input guys, its appreciated. Its a great forum!

I will grab myself a solar/auto mask so its easier to see what I am doing and practice, plenty of old steel lying around from my old cars I can use.

Cheers

 

[Ben Sharp]

Have you reversed the big drive roller. One groove for 0.6 & the other for 0.8 and gas-less, also have you changed the tip to the smaller size as well.

This, although on my clarke I find using the 0.8 tip is ok for 0.6 wire and doesn't get blocked up as much, you still need to change the roller over though.