I typically run my feed lower that the charts suggest. They always seem too fast to get good burn in. Clean your metal. I snip the very tip of the wire before every start.
Same here. I go one step further and I keep a small spiral pocket notebook that I write down parameters for various thicknesses, joints, positions, etc and keep them handy. I can't always remember them off the top of my head so I when I hit the target on a specific joint/thickness/angle/etc I jot it down and have it for next time when I have a similar weld to perform. That way I have a pretty close setting if not spot on.
I don't use flap discs all that much, they're best for blending and deburring, IMO. If you want to bust mill scale, use a hard disc. If you're trying to move some metal, a 36 grit fiber disc will git-er-done.
Agreed. I use the flap disks for blending and a fiber disc for scale removal and or heavy metal removal when necessary.
Question -
If I grind down to clean metal, would my gas CFH setting effect how shiny and clean the weld itself looks? I believe I was set to roughly 21 but they werent as clean as I expected. A wire wheel afterwards made them nice but I figured I wouldnt need that whatsoever to get a shiny weld bead.
MIG welds are somewhat inherently dull anyways, not going to be shiny like the TIG process. If starting with properly prepped steel, voltage and wire speed set correctly for given thickness, joint and angle there should be no reason for any cleanup with a flap disc, wire brush or anything for that matter. It will just take some time and experience to get to that point. Don't get discouraged, just practice and take notes, mental or written to move you in the right direction.
When practicing that is the time to change things like voltage, wire speed, gun angle, travel speed, etc. Try to make only one change at a time and look for a better or worse condition, then move on to another change. When making too many changes at once it is hard to tell what exact change had the positive or negative impact on the end result.
Nope, the little ball at the end of the electrode wire is just a little ball of formerly molten metal still stuck on the end of the electrode wire.
And yes, snipping/clipping that metal ball off of the electrode and leaving just a clean (and small physical size
) end of the electrode certainly can help with arc restarts.
I like to snip the end off at a slight angle on thinner materials because that angled cut will assist in low amperage starts. It takes less current to melt a point tip due to the wire being snipped at an angle than a ball or radius at the end of the wire.
I know some companies frown upon such things but it usually comes down to mass product out the door, or clean and consistant stops and re-starts. Basically the end quality will be the determining factor. Large weldments where higher voltages and wire speeds are used are much less affected by the profile left on the end of the wire.
It's all the small things like that, that make your welds more consistent and more visually appealing. Can you just burn that blob in on the next start? Sure, but it will look like ****.
Exactly. Again, depends on material thickness and voltage/wire speed setting but on thinner materials this is correct.
OP here. The beads are from my Hobart Handler 140 - although I recently got gas (have been doing flux core for the past 7 months.
Im trying to decide on my next machine and have narrowed it down to the miller 252 vs the lincoln 256 and as of right now Im leaning towards the lincoln.
Personally, I don't think you can go wrong with either of those machines. I own the MM251 but have welded using the MM252 (same machine as MM251 just newer) and a Lincoln PowerMig 256, both weld great in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing.
I leave my regs pressurized. I just shut the valve on the cylinder.
Same here.
Do they bleed down overnight or stay pressurized?
Mine bleed down over a weeks time or so. I just give my connections a squirt or so with some soapy water once a year when I check them out to look for leaks. Sometimes sooner if I suspect an issue.
Mike.
