21 replies to this topic

[basher]

What size welding wire are you guys using. at the moment i have 0.6 but am finding it hard to weld with and blowing holes really quickly, ive tried turning wire speed up to help and current is on lowest setting. was thinking of using 1.0 wire as i have some im thinking this will help with blowing holes as more weld wire will be layed down, what do you think?

also i think my liner is abit small for the 1.0 wire but it does fit in the liner, do you think i could get away with it. Im finding it hard to track down a bigger liner for my siegen 150 amp

[the_soon_to_be]

What size welding wire are you guys using. at the moment i have 0.6 but am finding it hard to weld with and blowing holes really quickly, ive tried turning wire speed up to help and current is on lowest setting. was thinking of using 1.0 wire as i have some im thinking this will help with blowing holes as more weld wire will be layed down, what do you think?

also i think my liner is abit small for the 1.0 wire but it does fit in the liner, do you think i could get away with it. Im finding it hard to track down a bigger liner for my siegen 150 amp

i use .8mm wire and had no problems with blowing holes, make sure you have the wire feed set correctly so you have the sizzling bacon sound, even if you have to have the power alittle higher and just have your weld moving alittle faster than you normally would do.

that should give you the correct penertration without the holes, and a neater weld.

1mm wire would be ridicolous, at work i only use 1.2mm on 30mm plate.

[basher]

think am going to order some .8. and try it on higher setting and see what happens. But my problems is that its sometimes blowing holes just when im tacking, all im doing is pressing trigger and then theres a hole. Doesn't help when i cant see for *melon* with the helmet i got so think ill get another one.

[the_soon_to_be]

best bet is an autodarkening or solar mask, you can get them off ebay for £30

[basher]

yup, was what i was thinking of getting, money is looking alittle dry at moment so might have to try and make do and just tack things at the moment.

[Deathrow]

Your technique must be wrong, increasing the size of your welding wire is not going to do you any favours when it comes to blowing holes.

Set your lowest amp settings and then play with your wire speed until you get good penetration but don't blow holes. You should on;y be welding in about 2cm long lines before stopping otherwise the heat builds up and the metal drops away, making a hole.

Just play with it.

I use .8mm flux coated wire, for the record.

[MiniMick]

0.6mm worked on my mini its all about practice trial and error when you first start out good luck

Mick

[In-a-mini]

I restore cars and we only use .6 never had problems unless the metal is too thin to be worked?

[basher]

i think in some cases the problem has been ive ground the metal alittle to thin plus the fact i couldnt see for *melon* wha ti was doing with my mask so was abit of point and squeeze and hopeits in right place lol ive got better lighting in car now so can see alot better and ill have another do tomoro

[In-a-mini]

If it is thin but you are trying to save it try not continual trigger welding but do a line of tacks one next to the other just overlapping them to build a line. This will keep the heat down and generally will aid when pannel thickness is to its minimum.

[jonny d]

what gas are you using I found using co2 with argon shield gave a more controled weld with no burn throughs

[cambiker71]

I use 0.6 for all body work and 0.8 for heavier work (landrover chassis work) put simply, if you go up a wire size you'll need a larger current to make it melt which will also blow holes faster, by the sounds of things you have either your power setting too high or possibly your wire speed too slow or a combination of both. Get some scrap bits of metal and start on the welding kits lowest power setting and a slowish wire speed, and see what sort of weld is produced, if it's lumpy and looks like the weld has been dropped onto the metal (also known as birdsh*t welding) first look at how much wire is sticking out of your gun after welding, if it's more than about 6mm then slow the wire setting a little first and try again, it's unlikely to be less if the weld hasn't penetrated, but if it is, turn up to the next power setting and try again, the end result should be a clean well absorbed weld, it takes time and practise to get right and the wire speed makes a huge difference, so practise away from your car first with all those bits you've already cut off it or a couple of offcuts of repair sheet. If you find that you're trying to weld onto rusty parts on the car then you haven't cut enough away, clean good condition metal is what you need to find or you'll be cutting those repairs off again fairly soon.
Hope this helps

Quick edit, all the above works with gas or gasless but i personally use BOC argoshield, but have tried others with similar results (but with about 20 years practise too)

Edited by cambiker71, 30 December 2008 - 12:13 AM.

[basher]

im to impatient to go and practice, so the car is the practice. not the best idea but its r8, i have had a dabble with mig before though. going to have a play tomoro with wire speed but it is already fairly high and it is set to lowest current.

Edited by basher, 30 December 2008 - 12:18 AM.

[cambiker71]

Good luck, once you've found the settings for your kit you'll find it really easy, as also mentioned above, the time you hold the trigger will also make a difference, tack welding is usually just a quick click on the trigger for each tack on a higher setting than normal welding, well that's how i do it anyway.

Edited by cambiker71, 30 December 2008 - 12:22 AM.

[dave21478]

im to impatient to go and practice, so the car is the practice.

I dont mean to offend, but thats idiocy.
If you cant weld, dont try to weld your car, chances are that anything you do will not be up to scratch and at best, will need done again sometime soon, or at worst will seriously weaken the shell.

Get some scrap steel and practice away from your car. an afternoons effort with some old panels from a scrapyard will make a lot of difference.
Look at www.mig-welding.co.uk and find the tutorials to see what your welding should look like.