Posted by Steve Kanavas on August 02, 1999 at 21:08:21:
In Reply to: Welding question. posted by Moby on August 01, 1999 at 18:21:45:
Moby:
Clean metal is indeed important Get used to that 4" angle grinder. It's your best friend!! Here are some other basics of wire drive welding that I still have not mastered.
Wire drivers are good at filling gaps. That's how you get penetration with it. Try for gaps about half the metal's thickness.
Be sure you have enough gas flow. Insufficient gas flow allows oxygen into the weld zone.
I tend to get my helmet as close to the weld as possible so my feeble eyes can't focus on the weld area. Never said I wuz smart, but if I back off to about 18" I can see the whole weld zone.
Test and learn on heavier metal samples, such as 1/8" stock. The typical setting for .035 wire on 1/8" stock is 19 volts and 50 inches per minute wire speed, with about 15 CFM gas flow.
Hold the tip about 3/4" to 1" from the weld zone. We tend to get the tip too close to the metal as we travel. (A longer distance permits more wire preheating from the current in it before it hits the weld puddle)
The weld joint takes longer to create than you thought, as .035-.040 wire ain't got much mass. It takes a long time to deposit enough metal to create that nifty 1/4" wide bead with the cute brown dots on it. (dirt and gas oxide inclusions floated onto the surface)
Keep a wire cutter in your pocket. Snip the end off everytime before you start to weld. This will get that insulative ball of oxidized crap off the wire tip, and the arc will start nicely.
Yes, I have stuck the wire to the tip about 7000 times and will likely continue to do so.
Steve