Mig welding help.

[ant_mb]

Hey Guys,

I picked up a MiG welder from Harbour Freight today and have a few questions. I've never welder with a MiG, only arc so it's kind of foreign to me.

First off I'm sure it come with cheap ass wire, what do you guys recommend? It calls for .030, but I'm probably gonna try .035 out.

Second, when welding I'm getting a decent amount of what I can only call "splash". I've tried turning the feed rate to every setting, and it helped to an extent, but I can't get it to go away. I'll include a pic of what I'm talking about. Look closely and you can see a few balls of weld hanging around.

Thanks for all your help.

 

[brandoz28]

does it have a bottle or is it just flux core wire? do you have a heat adjustment on that thing too?

 

[ant_mb]

does it have a bottle or is it just flux core wire? do you have a heat adjustment on that thing too?

No, no bottle it uses the flux core wire. It only has a Min and Max power output. I guess that's what I get for $90. It seems to weld fine though.

 

[brandoz28]

some spatter is going to happen with the flux core, just make sure what you're welding is extremely clean.


also you'll know when the wire feed is too fast because it'll feel like the gun is pushing back on you. if you hear it popping like popcorn then you have contamination in what you are welding.


better wire may help, but as you said, it's the nature of the beast with the lower line welders.

 

[sicivicdude]

Adjust the amperage for the thickness of material you're welding and then adjust line speed until you get a nice "frying bacon" sound.

Brandoz is right, you shouldn't feel the gun pushing back against you and flux core is going to have a bunch of splatter, it's part of the process of the core burning away to provide the shielding gas.

 

[NEONNIGHT34609]

not a bad weld at all. flux is not as clean as argon. practice and make sure you keep moving. you looked fast in the beginning and to slow at the end. you dont have many settings on your welder, but its a good hobby welder and u will get the hang of it.

 

[99LRDblaster]

Adjust the amperage for the thickness of material you're welding and then adjust line speed until you get a nice "frying bacon" sound.

Brandoz is right, you shouldn't feel the gun pushing back against you and flux core is going to have a bunch of splatter, it's part of the process of the core burning away to provide the shielding gas.

Yeppers. Your hand should pretty much be the only thing holding the welder up. If the feed is too fast it will just push up and typically just suck balls going in and out of welding and having the wire break off instead of weld. It should make the consistent "frying bacon" sound and you should control where the welder goes, not the wire.

 

[slickerthanyou]

And .030 wire is plenty for anything you be able to weld with that you can even go .025 for welding on the blasty frame.

 

[Larry's Shee]

My uncle gave me one of those cause he couldn't figure it out , lol. I got some Hobart wire after the little demo spool ran out. Can't say I noticed a difference. With that small of a machine I wouldnt try 035. Mine only has 20% duty cycle. Weld for 2 min, cool down for 8. I might think of trying 025. Would have to get a new tip for the handle.
Google welding, there's some good vidieos to help you. These aren't the best welder, but you (I) can stick two pieces together. I:I
I already want to get a bigger/better gas type mig because of cleaner welds. Wish I had the bucks for a tig, then I'd be styling!!
BTW, I have a "tombstone" for heavier stuff.
Practice is the key. Keep the unit clean and dry.

 

[Paulie B]

I actually impressed with that picture.
I didn't think it would weld that nice to begin with.
The flux core is gonna splatter no way around it.
An angle grinder with a flap wheel is nice to have to pre-clean and after clean the welds.

 

[ruthless_one3k]

Well it looks better than most of my flux core welds. And all of mine held just fine so I'd say your doing just fine. Really those are a great tool for little patch jobs like that. Just do like everybody else said and make sure the are you're welding is really clean and you should be good to go.