I welded something!!!

[StogieRob]

Wow, do i have no clue what I am doing...

Regency 250, Spoolmatic 30a, .030 flux-core wire E71T-GS (through an .035 tip)
18 amps, gun set between 2 & 3 for wire speed
Work piece is 1/8” steel


The bacon frying sound was erratic. I could see the arc stop and restart. I also could feel the wire poke the work piece and push the gun back a bit.

This one was at 16 amps, gun set to between 2 & 3 for wire speed. It was more erratic and there were more times the wire connected with the work piece and pushed the gun back.


I did figure out that the slower i moved the gun the better things went. I did try to walk the wire slowly in a zig-zag pattern as i moved down the piece. There’s a lot of spatter, but i know that’s because i’m using flux-core. I feel like i’m getting no penetration, which I think is due to the voltage being low.

What I think my next steps are:
Get .035 wire to match my tips.
Keep upping the voltage and see what changes.
Get a band saw so I can keep making practice pieces from the stock that I have.
Keep practicing...

[MinnesotaDave]

That was 18 volts and 16 volts.

Amps are controlled by wire feed speed.

The gun pushing back at you like that usually means not enough voltage and/or bad ground.

Voltage controls bead profile. Tall and ropey is too little voltage for the given wire speed, increasing voltage flattens and widens bead.

This assumes proper wire feed speed is being used.

[Hobbytime]

did you reverse polarity for flux core?

[StogieRob]

did you reverse polarity for flux core?

Yes! Thankfully, someone here pointed that out. Miller didn’t make it easy finding the info, though...

[StogieRob]

That was 18 volts and 16 volts.

Amps are controlled by wire feed speed.

The gun pushing back at you like that usually means not enough voltage and/or bad ground.

Voltage controls bead profile. Tall and ropey is too little voltage for the given wire speed, increasing voltage flattens and widens bead.

This assumes proper wire feed speed is being used.

ok - i increased voltage to 20 and then 22 and the weld was flatter. I forgot my ground cable terminal at the welder looks like garbage. I’ve already bought a new terminal to replace it, i just need to figure out how to crimp it. I’m also picking up some proper thickness wire to match the tip that’s in the gun.

The Spoolmatic 30a only has a 0-7 range for setting wire speed. The gun is capable of as low as 70ipm to almost 900ipm. I’m somewhere in the 250ipm range, making the horrendous assumption that the speed control knob is linear in speed increases for the wire.

And I had originally typed in volts and edited the post to amps. Thanks!

More attempts tomorrow with the updated ground terminal and new wire.

Rob

[ronsii]

Well..... it actually not too bad for a very first weld


I think once you get the proper tips to match the wire or vice/versa you'll find the welding process a lot less erratic.


A good ground connection will also make things more stable so you can concentrate on honing your welding skills without the machine screwing with you

[shovelon]

That is awesome man! You are off and running.

Nice finish to a Friday.

[StogieRob]

That is awesome man! You are off and running.

Nice finish to a Friday.

LOL - even my kid got into the act. Now to find a little band saw to help me make a lot of those practice plates!

Thanks!!!
Rob

[StogieRob]

Well..... it actually not too bad for a very first weld


I think once you get the proper tips to match the wire or vice/versa you'll find the welding process a lot less erratic.


A good ground connection will also make things more stable so you can concentrate on honing your welding skills without the machine screwing with you

I have all the parts in the house, so tomorrow will be the next day of experimentation.

Thanks!
Rob

[Scrapman Industries]

Once you put on the .030 tip or find .035 wire to match your .035 tip you should be able to weld 500 times better. The reason your gun is getting pushed back is because the wire is not contacting the tip very well which is why your feeling that erratic arc. Put on the right size tip before you mess with your ground and see how you do. That way you can feel what its like to run the right size tip compared to what its like to not have the right size. then change up the ground parts if they are bad and you'll be able to feel the difference again. I too had the erratic arc and push back on the gun when I got splatter stuck between the liner and the contact tip. Wasn't a hard fix. I just took the tip off and carefully hit the liner with a sander pad on the grinder. When I'm just learning sometimes I like things to go wrong like that so I can understand how it feels when certain things go wrong and what I need to do to fix the problem while I'm just learning. It really beats showing up to a job or trying to test and looking like a fool because you can't figure out whats wrong with the machine.

[CAVEMANN]

You can crimp the new lug with a center punch or dull chisel and hammer.

[StogieRob]

You can crimp the new lug with a center punch or dull chisel and hammer.

I was going with the vice approach after denting in the sides... it’s all i have right now, but it’ll be a damned sight better than the fubar I have on the cable right now.

[StogieRob]

Once you put on the .030 tip or find .035 wire to match your .035 tip you should be able to weld 500 times better. The reason your gun is getting pushed back is because the wire is not contacting the tip very well which is why your feeling that erratic arc. Put on the right size tip before you mess with your ground and see how you do. That way you can feel what its like to run the right size tip compared to what its like to not have the right size. then change up the ground parts if they are bad and you'll be able to feel the difference again. I too had the erratic arc and push back on the gun when I got splatter stuck between the liner and the contact tip. Wasn't a hard fix. I just took the tip off and carefully hit the liner with a sander pad on the grinder. When I'm just learning sometimes I like things to go wrong like that so I can understand how it feels when certain things go wrong and what I need to do to fix the problem while I'm just learning. It really beats showing up to a job or trying to test and looking like a fool because you can't figure out whats wrong with the machine.

Well i’m definitely in that boat! I have to order some .030 tips for the wire i have, and i have the .035 in the garage waiting for tomorrow. I’m really hoping that what you described is what I get to experience.

Updates tomorrow!!!
Rob

[thegreatstate]

I saw this on a video somewhere but off your ground clamp isn’t the best, you can some copper wire(I pulled mine out of a microwave I took apart) and bunch it up in the jaws to get more contact.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[StogieRob]

The contact seems pretty clean, but i’m going to polish the inside of the clamp. The wire connection to the clamp is very solid.

The play continues tomorrow...

Rob

[Scrapman Industries]

I saw this on a video somewhere but off your ground clamp isn’t the best, you can some copper wire(I pulled mine out of a microwave I took apart) and bunch it up in the jaws to get more contact.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Or just clamp on the stripped end with pair of vice grips or what not. I had to do that for awhile after I melted the ground off my plasma. Try to get a good ground clamp, but sometimes you just gotta do whatever it takes to get the job done.

How'd it go with that new wire/tips?

[StogieRob]

So the .035 wire is definitely behaving differently. I think i had the voltage too low and the wire speed to high, which was causing the spaghetti wire. That was at 16v and between 3 and 4 for the spoolgun wire feed. I backed things down and upped the voltage to 20 and thing seemed to settle down. It even looks like when i slowed things down that i was getting some penetration all the way through the plate. The weld on the left is my last one at 20v and with the wire feed slowed down.

And it looks like both my spoolguns work!

And i discovered that mesh top sneakers aren’t a great idea for welding protection. Got a nice hot spot on the top of my foot now.... time to find my leather boots...

[ronsii]

Wow!!!! You might become a millionaire if our local politicians see your work... they keep paying big bucks for stuff like that and call it art

You know your close when you start getting burn through .035 wire may not seem much bigger than .030 but it is where wire feeds are concerned!

Remember you want to nce even sizzling bacon sound and no push back.

[StogieRob]

Wow!!!! You might become a millionaire if our local politicians see your work... they keep paying big bucks for stuff like that and call it art

You know your close when you start getting burn through .035 wire may not seem much bigger than .030 but it is where wire feeds are concerned!

Remember you want to nce even sizzling bacon sound and no push back.

I think i got close to the constant sizzling sound between the voltage and wire speed. Now i need to figure out why i can’t see the joint through my welding helmet. I’ve got four helmets but i don’t know what the lens darknesses are. When i think i’m on the joint, i lift the helmet after i stop the gun and i’m running a bead right next to it.

Rob

[Scrapman Industries]

it all takes practice. even knowing where to look. to this day I still miss some of them hard to see out of place junkyard joints on occasion. after awhile you start to feel it and don't really need to see the joint to know your on it. If your using a flip down hood I find it best to rest my wire right on the joint before flipping down. then you just pull back a tad and your off. I used to hover over it and pray that I didn't move while flipping the hood down but that didn't work all that well for me.

You'll get better with more practice. just keep playing around with the settings untill you find one that works. use that till you get good and then change the settings completely so you can train yourself to get back on the right setting and learn what happens when your not in the settings you need. I kept having problems with 6010 cutting out today. after playing with the settings I realized that I was WAY to hot and the rod was burning back way to fast for me to keep up. I ran some nice beads on the right settings and then turned it way down just to get a feel for what the minimum amps would feel like. you learn alot more from your mistakes I feel like. At least I do anyway.

[Mikel_24]

StogieRob,

You are getting better, almost to the point of being able to build a proper trailer and cruise the interstate at lightspeed!

Now, on a serious note. Before you go back to the shop and start welding anything else, get some munchies and something to drink, sit down comfy in front of the computer and start watching videos (Weldingtipsandtricks, for example) untill you ADSL modem starts smoking or your eyes fall off.

Reading is ok, watching good videos and listening to the explanations is much better, and having someone that actually knows how to weld and can teach you a little is best.

That said, seems like fluxcore welding is harder than hard wire welding, much dirtier (spatter as well), so don't let that dissapoint you.

Which hood are you using? Seeing the puddle clearly is key to success, otherwise you will be just guessing.

Mikel

[pgk]

Her ya go Rob, these should help you out. Jody's a good teacher: http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/...ng-videos.html

[ccawgc]

Simple way to measure wire speed. Feed out 6 seconds of wire then measure with a tape measure multiply the measurement by 10. 260 ipm will feed 26 inches in 6 seconds.
if welder does not have run in (arc start) slow wire start.

[One1]

Post 17 is what it looked like many years ago when I bought a mig welder that didn't have enough power to melt the wire, much less weld. When you're new you haven't had a taste of what the arc feels like at different voltages and start at the bottom. What I say is start at the top and eliminate a few weeks of wasting wire trying to find out what it takes to run a bead. Even with burnback you'll melt in and see some welding, not so when you do it the other way and start at the bottom. Running cold, you'll see beads form that look like welds, thinking you're getting it, and they won't be fused at all. You can knock off mig beads with a hammer on most new welders work. They go from a mess to a bead, having brought the voltage up just enough to form a bead, and not get the slightest penetration.

You should be going from the top down so you know you have a chance of penetration. When the burnback stops and it starts singing to you, you'll lay a solid bead...... and save yourself a lot of wondering why it isn't working.

My first flux welds looked ok thanks to a guy telling me to quit piddling around and crank it. I still have the pics of them. This was at the end of the first week trying flux core. For the first 3 days I kept bumping it up making popcorn and strings. At the end of day 3 a guy I knew came over and said twist the heat up, go about half the wire speed, and get at it. These were the results after only a week of welding, which aren't bad for a newb. Since then I've welded with mig, tig, stick, oxy, flux, hard wire, bronze, and everything else........ but I always remember my gasless days. They were fun and I learned a lot.

[One1]

After playing with flux for a while you'll move to gas and the fun will begin. These were my first gas welds after a lot of playing with flux core. I was still used to flux and running them too hot. It causes excessive spatter and crusty toes.








After about 2 weeks of playing with the gas, I was comfortable with it.

My advice is to play with flux a lot. It'll make you better prepared when you switch over to gas.

2 weeks later it was looking better:






So crank that heat up, that's how flux likes to be ran and it'll get you to making beads quicker. Put your speed on about 45 to 50 % of what your machine will do and crank the voltage to 80% or so and back it down from there. You need to see the machine make a bead hot so you understand both ends of the spectrum. People who weld a lot forget what it's like to start out. I remember being timid and wondering what each change would make and trying to understand it all. You can learn to make good welds in small changes after you understand what the machine does when you make big steps.