Help Welding a Welder Cart

[doubleboost]

Ed
I use .8 mill wire for everything from thin plate to 6 mill
14 guage should weld no problem once you are set up
John

[EdK]

Thanks again John. .030" wire is what I'll start experimenting with then.

Ed

[DaveH]

Hi,
I need to ask this where does one point the wire at, the gap and wobble it a bit (side to side) and hope or what?

DaveH

[EdK]

Very good question Dave.

Ed

[arvidj]

I usually start here to get my settings ... even thought I have a Lincoln MIG machine ... and you have the automatic setting machine.

For solid core it gives setting for .030, .035 and .045 with the amperage being 120 to 130 and the ipm being 250-340, 240-260, and 120-130 respectively.

It also suggests ...

CO2 20-21 Volts 75% Argon/25% CO2: 17-18 Volts

CO2 gas is economical and has deeper penetration on steel, but may be too hot for thin metal. 75% Argon / 25% CO2 is better on thin steels, has less spatter and better bead appearance.

For flux core from this page ... it doesn't go down to 14ga. 3/32 is as thin as it goes.

So solid core with an argon mix would seem to give you the best chance of success.

Now all you need to do is figure out how to get past the "automatic set up" on your machine and tell it that you want to drive!!

[EdK]

Thanks Arvid! I like the settings link you posted. I have .030" wire and 75/25 gas so I should be all set to experiment. I'm going to try the auto settings since, from what I've read on the internet, they seem to work very well. I know my machine is capable, it's the driver that is suspect.

Ed

[stevec]

I share Ed's question. I'm new to wire feed welding ( being an old stick welder) and can't fathom much differefnce between .025" and .030" wire. Is there that much difference in the mass of .030 and .025 wire/

[aametalmaster]

(04-20-2012, 06:40 PM)stevec Wrote: I share Ed's question. I'm new to wire feed welding ( being an old stick welder) and can't fathom much differefnce between .025" and .030" wire. Is there that much difference in the mass of .030 and .025 wire/

Yes big difference same way with .030 and .035 That extra .005 makes a lot of difference and you would never think that. I just use .025 or .024 on sheet metal and .030 on everything else. My welder (MM185) likes .030 and has a real sweet spot with it. Just my thoughts...Bob

[f350ca]

going from .025 to .030 would be the same as jumping from 1/8 to 5/32 rod. Ed if your machine has the auto settings go with them, I have a old Lincoln, think its an SP250, fully automatic, (hope the computer never dies), I never stray from what it sets. You tell it type of metal (steel ss aluminum) type of gas (argon, argon/co2 or argon/co2/oxygen) wire size and metal thickness and away it goes. All I ever do is go heavier on the thickness to get a hotter weld. I tried the argon/co2 mix (still have a small bottle for sheet metal) but found the welds too cold. If you can pick up the part 1/2 hour after you welded it you weren't welding hot enough. I now use an argon/co2 mix with something like 2% oxygen and .035 wire. Its like welding hot with 7018 stick. With a proper chamfer a single pass will penetrate fully on 3/8 plate. With the straight argon/co2 I could never get good constant penetration, test samples would break beside the weld.
Greg

[stevec]

OK, live and learn, the increase from .025 to .030 is about 25% I wouldn't have thought it would make THAT much difference.
Guess I'll put a roll of .030 on my list for my next trip to town (in NS, the land of you can't get it here)