Learning to weld

[srode]

I'm not a pro at all but I can say what my recommendations are for what you are experiencing. But the first thing I would try to do if you have it available to you is to take a class on mig welding at a trade school or community college. I did that and it was very helpful. Spending time welding different types material thickness and knowing what it sounds like when the settings are right helps quite a bit IMHO. but it just takes time to get the feel. An instructor will help you learn all about it. The settings on the inside of the Hobart door are actually pretty good starting points for different gauges of metal I think. If you don't have a school near by watch some youtube videos, there are some really good ones out there that will help. Before I start on a project I find some scrap material of similar gauge and use it to practice a bit and get the settings dialed in before doing the actual job.

#1 get some backing material like a copper or brass plate and put it behind the thinner metal to take up some of the heat so you don't burn through. Also you can do tack welds instead of a continuous bead.



#2 flux core wire is never going to work as well as gas shielded with solid wire. Get a small bottle of gas and change to solid core. .024 wire is good for thinner metal.

#3 if your wire jams after the feed rollers and before the exit from the box, you have something binding downstream. Try to keep your hose path as straight as possible without tight bends can help. Also make sure you have the right tip on your gun for the wire size and that it's in good shape. Those will help if it wads up in the middle of a weld. If it wads up when you are just starting a weld you may be not starting on clean enough material for a good contact and the wire hits the target and pushes back before juice starts to flow.

#4 I normally have a good light pointed in the area I'm welding to help seeing well enough to set up before I pull the trigger and start the weld. Are you using an auto darkening helmet? If not get one, they aren't expensive. After you start welding the work should be plenty bright to see but it may take some practice to get used to it.