I second watching fitzees videos!
Trying to weld, I’m terrible!
- Thread starter rr4406pak
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Tony Cabler
Member
Looks like you're trying to run a continuous bead.
Running a contunuous bead will not work. Too much head gererated so warping is a problem. What I would do is find a tig welder for rent and practice. If you must use a mig, approach it as a whole bunch af good, solid tack welds...start at one end, make a tack approx 1/4 X 1/4 and let it cool. Tack the other end while you wait. Rinse and repeat. When all the tacks are combined, as long as you overlapped each one by 1/16, you will have a good solid weld with minimal warping. Don't grind it to make it look pretty, to many people do this and it ends up cracking because the material is so thin. Another thing I've done in the past is place a piece of thicker steel on the opposite side to serve as a heat sink. Just dont blow through the panel and weld your heat sink to the panel you're repairing!
Good luck, welding thin old sheet metal is a tough job for even experienced welders.
One last thing, make sure your weld prep is complete and very, very clean before you attempt the weld. A little more prep time and attention can save countless hours recutting and prepping again. Hope it works out...
Like already mentioned, mig likes clean metal, N rust or oil or anything and get a good ground. And remember IF your old sheetmetal side is thinner than the new metal side, thnk about favoring the thicker side somewhat. You will find using .023 gas wire INSIDE away from any breeze will make life easier but I use flux .030 out of necessity it works but welds are not as clean either.
I have absolutely no problems welding .030 on sheet metal.
It looks to me like your ground isn't grounding properly or you're starting your weld wire way to far away from your panels.
Or you're not letting a red pool start before you let off the trigger.
Get something clean of the same thickness and practice, have your gas set at 25cfm
It looks to me like your ground isn't grounding properly or you're starting your weld wire way to far away from your panels.
Or you're not letting a red pool start before you let off the trigger.
Get something clean of the same thickness and practice, have your gas set at 25cfm
For sheet metal I use 0.023 with CO2/argon. I'm not a big fan of butt welding on old metal. I use the stitch method keeping the tip close and near vertical. Its a short burst which is less than 2 seconds unless you are plug welding using punched holes. You just go back and forth until all the welds join making it a complete weld. I usually use #6 Tek screws to hold the metal together.
Dave_J
Well-Known Member
You will need an 0.025 inner liner and use 0.023 tips for 0.023 wire. A 0.035 inner liner for 0.030 wire will not work.
No side breezes, use cardboard and visqueen as wind breaks.
Turn the gas flow up to 25-30 Cf. Go in short 1-2 inch welds.
CLEAN, CLEAN! Clean it again. Rust, grease and paint will wick towards the heat.
Ground clamp within 2 foot of welding and best if in direction you are pushing the tip.
Joe Mc
No Car Like A MoPar!
All great information. I'm no welder but a master grinder (sucks). Biggest things, as mentioned (and told to me years ago) "CLEAN" is a must, Gas is Good, spot and move a few inches away, repeat, then go back to first spot (it is CLEAN right), spot the new to the 1st, move a few inches away, repeat. Practice and patience really, really helps you "tune-in" your mojo. I know it really sucks, but the more you do & learn the better you become. Grinding sucks. Have fun.
I have found this NOT to be the case. I use a Millermatic 210 and have used both .035 and .023 wire by simply using the corresponding feed rollers and contact tips.
toplscuda
Well-Known Member
I agree. I have been doing welder repair for 30 years. As long as the liner is not too small you are good to go as long as you have the correct tip and drive roll
Dave_J
Well-Known Member
I agree but in 1994 when my Community Collage got in 10 new Lincoln SP175's they all came with 0.035" liners and my Instructor tasked me to convert all them to 0.023 wire. I had 10 new 0.025" liners so it was an easy swap. I also had to have the Collage machine shop make 10 aluminum adapter spools for each to hold the large 10-12 pound spool.
I am no expert but a few things I have learned are to have a clean ground and I have even used an additional ground wire between pieces I am welding. Work close to your power supply and use only heavy extension cord or better yet, welding cable when you can't. Make sure your gas flow isn't set too high. There are many good tutorials on YouToob. I like a guy called Tim Welds. Very informative. Good luck.
ESP47
Well-Known Member
If I'm blowing through easily due to thinness of the old metal compared to the newer metal, I like to pile my welds next to each other.
Conventional wisdom says to space them out on each pass so you don't get the panel too hot and cause warpage. It takes a little longer, but I'll use compressed air to cool my welds and then place the new spot weld directly next to the old one. It makes it more difficult to blow through because the old spot weld is kind of working as a heat sink for your new weld.
I've also never been able to use weld thru primer on the backside of anything I've been welding. I can watch people on youtube use it all day long but it is like straight up weld repellant when I try to use it. My welder acts as if it's trying to weld through motor oil if there is weld thru primer on the backside.
Conventional wisdom says to space them out on each pass so you don't get the panel too hot and cause warpage. It takes a little longer, but I'll use compressed air to cool my welds and then place the new spot weld directly next to the old one. It makes it more difficult to blow through because the old spot weld is kind of working as a heat sink for your new weld.
I've also never been able to use weld thru primer on the backside of anything I've been welding. I can watch people on youtube use it all day long but it is like straight up weld repellant when I try to use it. My welder acts as if it's trying to weld through motor oil if there is weld thru primer on the backside.
gzig5
Well-Known Member
The weld through primers are not all created equally. I had really crappy luck with the Napa brand zinc weld-thru. But much better with a copper-based one from another manufacture, as well as the zinc type from another manufacture. It’s not cheap but you could try a different type.
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From what I understand, over the counter weld thru's are less toxic etc. "safer". The **** I use is nasty (read good breathing protection), and you need a licence to buy it. (lol....works good though)
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