I have had this old beast for years and it has worked well. It seems to weld heavier metal better than sheet metal. I have a little 110 welder from Italy that welds sheet metal very well. This welder tends to bird nest. The tension is not adjusted by a thumb screw it has a heavy piece of sprung steel with 4 settings. To be honest it is kind of primitive. I was thinking of retrofitting it with a more elaborate tension system. No matter what I do it clogs. The little 110 welder does not. I cannot get it to stop. I am 54 now and have had it since I was 18-20. It's sad but I am at a loss. We have tried everything. Now torch (with a new liner). I have adjusted it so it does beautiful springs on a piece of wood. I have loosened it so it I cannot hold it with my fingers
Dan Mig 140 keeps bird nesting with 30 wire
- Thread starter ng8264723
- Start date
kerrynzl
Well-known member
I had an Italian MIG that use to "Flywheel" the spool with stop start welding [and birdsnest]. I put 4 x pieces of foam behind the spool to create some friction.
Then I sold it ,and bought a spare gun and rollers for my other MIG
Then I sold it ,and bought a spare gun and rollers for my other MIG
Daveyclimber
Well-known member
Some things to check. Spool tension as mentioned previously, damaged gun liner or associated components or rusty film on drive rollers or the wire.
Spareparts
Well-known member
I had the same problem with a Lincoln 180, but I did carry in on my service truck and it do that, corrected the problem with a 2" piece of webbing ( cloth type ) screwed to the back of the cabinet a little above the centerline of the spool and layed over the top of the spool hanging down the front with a loop on the end, placed a piece of 3/4" round rod in the loop for weight, never had a problem after that.
Well that’s an interesting design. My Lincoln starts supporting the wire less than 1/16” from the rollers.
It’s always been like this, and worked. Have you always used 0.030” wire? 0.035 would resist birds nesting a little better.
Try lowering the tension on the rollers. Miller’s mig guide says the drive should slip when the wire is stopped, but should drive with the wire while deflecting off of something.
With that setup if the wire stops it’s going to bird nest if it doesn’t slip.
It’s always been like this, and worked. Have you always used 0.030” wire? 0.035 would resist birds nesting a little better.
Try lowering the tension on the rollers. Miller’s mig guide says the drive should slip when the wire is stopped, but should drive with the wire while deflecting off of something.
With that setup if the wire stops it’s going to bird nest if it doesn’t slip.
kaymccampbell
Well-known member
Any chance the wire is dirty? Corroded? Oversprayed? Have you tried cutting yourself a length of wire and running it through the liner and head by hand?
kaymccampbell
Well-known member
Oh, can you extend the liner closer to the drive wheels? I always pin mine so it's about a nickel away from the rollers.
jimgood
Well-known member
I was going to suggest the same thing. It kind of looks like there might be some adjustment.
sqznby
Well-known member
Very cool, love seeing older style machines and how they were designed.
That guide definitely needs to be closer to the drive wheel and have the liner come out just a bit further.
What size wire are you trying to feed? Try using one size larger tip.
That guide definitely needs to be closer to the drive wheel and have the liner come out just a bit further.
What size wire are you trying to feed? Try using one size larger tip.
I figured it out! The torch enters from the right and apparently was not centered in the aluminum. It looks fine but when I took it apart there was arcing and a bad ground! I moved it cleaned everything and put it together and it is mint now!