Matt@RFR... Mr Welder, Sir....

[Matt@RFR]

This is a problem that I have some times found are you welding near a draft or open door as this can blow the gas off the job, and it does not take much for that to happen.

Right. It wasn't mentioned because I've talked to Mark before this, and allready know that he's aware of things like that.

How old is the wire and when did you use it last, I found because I don't use the welder much during the winter the wire gets a corrosion on at least 2,3 layers down and have to run it off before welding.

That's why you'll find a couple bags of dessicant in my MIG. However, it shouldn't do that unless your shop is pretty consistent, temp wise. In that case, I'd say your spool brake is set too tight, maybe causing the wire to rub harder than it should, scraping the copper coating on the wire.



If you're talking about flux cored wire, then that's the cause. It has no coating because it's meant for use in environments with very little-to-no moisture. The reasoning behind that is that too much moisture will ruin the flux, so why bother coating the wire?

The way cored wire is made is it starts out as a flat sheet, the flux gets deposited in a line in the middle of the sheet, then the sheet is formed around the flux. Therefore, the wire has an open joint that will readily let moisture in.

[astroracer]

Okay Matt,
I am ready to get back to work on the cradle and I need to get my welder fixed... I did (tried to do) some welding with it a couple of weeks ago and it is no better now then it was when I started this thread.
One thing I did determine though is that the problems started when I put the new roll of wire on it. It is overseas wire and was about 70 bucks for the 44lb spool. Do you think this is the problem? Bad wire? I have pretty much come to that conclusion. I will pick up some new wire and another bottle of gas this week to try my theory. New wire first and then the gas if that doesn't solve the problem.
ANY input would be appreciated. This is getting very frustrating!
Mark

[BB69]

Mark,
I can understand the frustration. If you can't get it fixed, I would be glad to loan you my Lincoln 175 mig. My wire is a little old too, but the 10lb spools aren't very expensive at all. Being that Matt is pretty far away, you may even want to take the machine to Wilson Welding on Dequindre to see if they can help you out. The guys in there are extremely helpful. Just a thought. Let me know if you would like to borrow the welder.

Ken

[astroracer]

Mark,
I can understand the frustration. If you can't get it fixed, I would be glad to loan you my Lincoln 175 mig. My wire is a little old too, but the 10lb spools aren't very expensive at all. Being that Matt is pretty far away, you may even want to take the machine to Wilson Welding on Dequindre to see if they can help you out. The guys in there are extremely helpful. Just a thought. Let me know if you would like to borrow the welder.

Ken

Ken,
Thank you very much for the offer. I hope it doesn't boil down to that but I will keep it in mind.
I just got off the phone with Rocky up at Flint Welding and he reinforced my opinion of the wire I am using... He even knew the color of the box it came in... He said he has had a bunch of complaints about it and has some better quality wire for me to try. I will head up there tomorrow after work and drag my tank along for a re-fill also. Hopefully this will get me back up to speed on sticking metal together...
Rocky also pointed me to a guy who is a certified Tig welder. I gave him a call and he is coming out to the house Saturday to get me going on the Tig side of my machine. He sounds like a great guy and really got fired up about helping me out! He said he can have me tig welding in an hour or two on steel and aluminum.
Thanks again for the offer, I appreciate it more then you know.
Mark

[Matt@RFR]

Well, at the very least it sounds like you found a few really good local resources...that's worth a helluva lot more than a $100 bottle of gas for sure.

Noone can be sure, but I would agree with the bad wire guess. Cheap-O wire can do some pretty strange stuff. When you buy more, any name brand is good, but Lincoln wire is the best in my opinion.

And make sure to try the new gas with the old wire first. I'm curious to see what your problem was.

[BB69]

Mark,
No problem. Just let me know.

I purchased my welder from Flint Welding Supply. I was pretty happy with them. However, I use Wilson Welding because they are much more convenient, and I really like the guys behind the counter. I traded one guy a set of old Camaro front springs for the repair of my shielding gas hose (from regulator to welder). He makes lawn furniture with car parts.

As for learning TIG, I have no doubt you can be welding in under an hour. However, welding well is a whole other issue. I learned to weld with oxy/acetylene, so I already had an idea how to work with both hands. The extra pedal makes it a little harder. When I started my TIG class, I was really proud of myself (read cocky) because I was able to pick up the flat welds, in aluminum, pretty quick. The last two weeks I have been working on horizontal and vertical welds. Let's just say that I'm not so cocky any more. Some things I have learned: 1) clean metal makes all the difference (this has been covered, but it's so important with AL 2) any time spent getting your body, arms, etc in a good stable position is realized in the quality of your weld 3) with AL, your hands are going to get HOT. I bought a pair of TIG gloves, and stopped using them when I couldn't tell if the steam/smoke was my finger or the glove. This may be different with steel; I start with stainless in another week or so. 4) Have plenty of electrodes handy, as you will dunk the tip.

All that being said, I am really enjoying my TIG class. I'm guessing you will enjoy working with it as well. This reminds me I need to post some pics from the last few weeks. Again, let me know if I can help.

Ken

[astroracer]

Matt,
I loaded up the cylinder in the van last night. I will get it refilled tonight and pick up the new wire. I WILL try the new gas with the old wire first, like you suggested, just to see what happens. The wire Rocky is suggesting is Lincolns' Easy Feed #4 or #6. I will talk to him more about it tonight. I guess Crown makes a decent wire and it was recommended also.
I will be picking up tungstens and filler rod for the Tig "class" Saturday. I have a question on lens cups. Which do you use the most of? I have a few #4 & 6's which I figure will get the most use for welding coped tubing. I have nothing bigger though. I guess I should pick up a few 8's and 10's for flat work. Thanks for your help. I will post up some pics when I can.

Ken,
Where are you taking your Tig class? I would be interested in getting in on one if it was a reasonable distance from home...
That is a good point you brought up about "welding well". I know I will not be good enough to be doing any structural welding on the chassis right away. The 1 or 2 hours I spend Saturday will just get me kicked off so I can spend a lot more time getting better at it. I know it will take some time before I am comfortable with my ability. I will be drastically depleating my stock of scrap over the next few weeks...
Mark