welding question

[Footjoy]

On patching panels with my 110 volt mig with gas I keep blowing through and that is after hours of experimenting. My question is I have a jewelers tip and I use it long ago to but weld some metal.
Question which is hotter mig or oxy acetylene jewelers tip.

thanks
fj

[tiek1011]

I had the same problem with my welder (110 w/o gas, yuck!) and what I do now is naturally set it on the lowest setting and I have the wire speed very slow, a 1 on a 1-10 scale. Instead of the having about and 1/8-1/4" of wire exposed I have about and inch or more. ...works fine for me. ...if you have tried this already sorry, that's all I've got.

[astroracer]

It sounds like you are trying to pull long beads... Don't. Spot welding sheet metaL is about the only way to go unless you are running TiG and, even then, it's not recommended because of warping issues with too much heat.
Spot weld your panels, skip around and keep as much heat out of the panel as you can with a damp rag.
Mark

[rubadub]

Take some tin snips and cut some pieces of sheet metal the same thickness you are patching, or it can be a little thicker, but not much.

Cut the patches so there maybe an 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch wider then the hole your patching.

Turn your 110 mig up almost on high or even high, with about 3/4 of the wire feed, or even just a tad less on the feed.

Concentrate your weld on the edge of the piece you cut for the patch, and you should be able to melt the weld into the old piece.

Just zip zip don't hold it on it.

Heres something on welding up metal where you can't get in behind it to have metal backing.

http://www.1969supersport.com/blweld.html

Rob

[another69]

Just to reiterate what everbody is posting- if you burn through, then you have too much heat and/ or you're moving too slow. I mainly use a 110 volt CO2 shieded MIG for sheetmetal and know all too well about burn through.

If you can get to the back of a panel, another option is to use a "cooler" made from copper. I use a piece of copper tubing that I slice most of the way down and pound flat. The remainder is a handle. ALOT of heat is rejected to the copper, and the weld won't stick to it.

[Footjoy]

Rob

Thanks I tried that where the windshield and the dash meet it worked great. How about butt welding on new metal to old metal.

I was mistaken I have a weld pak 100 lincoln welder.

That was a great website

thanks again

[cheapthrillz]

x2 on the copper

[redfire69]

x3 on the copper. Eastwood has some pretty good welding buddies, check it out: http://eastwood.resultspage.com/search?p=Q&ts=custom&w=welder+copper

[rubadub]

Rob

Thanks I tried that where the windshield and the dash meet it worked great. How about butt welding on new metal to old metal.

I was mistaken I have a weld pak 100 lincoln welder.

That was a great website

thanks again

Probably one of the big mistakes I have made, was not cleaning the old metal, it takes a while to do it, and its pretty easy to say good enough. I use those little butt weld clamps, it helps keep it a little more rigid, and keeps both your hands free.

The butt welds I do don't look very good, I tend to pile the weld up.

But concentrate your weld more toward the new metal, I turn the heat down, also watch your wire as it feeds out, make sure it isn't turning the wire red all the way back to the nozzle.

I think most hobbist like myself, will probably struggle with these butt welds, where a good welder wouldn't have a problem.

By the time we get to the borderline stage on these welds, a lot of us won't do it again for a long time, you could try practicing on some sheet steel.

Don't forget to clean both sides of the metal.

Thanks for the compliment on the web site.

Rob

[69LT1Nova]

x3 on the copper. Eastwood has some pretty good welding buddies, check it out: http://eastwood.resultspage.com/search?p=Q&ts=custom&w=welder+copper

*pppbbtt* I got one of those copper welding buddies from Eastwood, and they blow donkey schlong. :banghead: I used it once, and the chinsy magnets gave up. It won't even stick to the fridge now! :dunno: I now have to use a magnetic angle brace to hold the POS to the car. Never again will I buy another one, just a piece of copper from here on out.

I'm welding in a floor pan right now. What a PITA.

[Damn True]

The one that looks like a spatula works pretty well.

[rubadub]

I just saw this, haven't read through it, but here it is.

http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/mig-welding-diy-guide-137430.html

Rob

[jackfrost]

funny, I was practicing this this weekend. however, my welder only has "MIN" and "MAX" power settings. max just blows holes in things, and when on the min setting, I get a lot of popping. it's hard to get a constant arc. metal is very clean, i'm using CO2 shielding gas.

any ideas what the problem is here?

also, the bead (when I get one) seems to sit on top of the metal, instead of penetrating. i suppose this has to do with the power settings?

[69LT1Nova]

Yep, power settings and wire speed. The above link is a really good one, it actually links to another page of some guy in the UK that has done WAY too much playing around with welding. Check it out and read it, there are even some videos.

[rubadub]

Heres another good forum on welding. http://www.millerwelds.com/resources/communities/mboard/index.php

Rob

[jackfrost]

I've read that site (the british one) up and down several times. I'm starting to think my welder's just not good enough.

what causes the popping?

[cheapthrillz]

not enough sheilding gas, unclean metal, too low of power, it could be a number of things or a combination of a number of things.... just keep playing around with scraps

[69LT1Nova]

Also make sure you are taking it nice and slow. If you work too fast, it doesn't give the initial molten metal a chance to pool so you can make a nice bead.

What brand of welder are you using? If it is from Harbor Freight or similar, throw it away. :bsjerk: Trying to get good welds out of a super cheap-o welder is darn near impossible. :hammer:

Tip: if you're in the market for a new welder, see if there is a local rep from the welder brand you are looking at buying. Usually they have demo models with very low run time that you can pick up for 1/2 the price of a new unit.

[jackfrost]

Clarke 85EN with CO2. i inherited it.

[SSTuner]

On V8TV,com there is a video on how to adjust the speed until you get the "sizzling bacon" sound. Second video in MIG, TIG Welding and Plasma Cutting Made Simple

[cheapthrillz]

Also make sure you are taking it nice and slow. If you work too fast, it doesn't give the initial molten metal a chance to pool so you can make a nice bead.

This doesn't work so well on body panels because by the time you get a pool, it burns through.... you just need to do a bunch of spot welds, then grind it flat. Then, if there are still pinholes, repeat the process again.....