Welding and Metalworking - Mig Welding Problems

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ryan_H123
01-27-08, 12:14 PM
hay im a kinda rookie welder. im in highschool and i have a welder at home. it is a lincon and there is no gas its just electric. i bought new wire cause the old stuff wasent run ning a good bead and this is ER70s-5 or -6 and the arc wont even strike for me. i have tried moving closer to the ground clamp, but nothng works. this is for 1/4 inch angle too. so any help would be great. thanks


CycleZen
02-01-08, 08:51 AM
Does the old wire work on the angle iron weld piece, but the new wire does not?

One thing to check: make sure you've got a good ground: remove paint, rust, dirt, whatever and ground to bare metal if possible.

ryan_H123
02-02-08, 04:16 PM
well the old wire did work on this peice, i got another type of wire and it struck for about 3 beads and than it wouldnt strike, i went really close to the ground but that did nothing, :wall: so im really frustrated.
it has a thin layer of paint but that never affected it before.


gaclements
02-02-08, 10:45 PM
What amps do you have the welder setting on? It sound like you need to turn up the amps. Also do you have to right wire gasless (flux) or gas.

CycleZen
02-04-08, 08:01 PM
Found some info at this link:
http://ww.esabna.com/EUWeb/MIG_handbook/592mig5_4.htm

Ryan's original post said "it is a lincon and there is no gas its just electric" so it sounds like he has a fluxcore welder. If that's the case, then once you get your arc striking problem settled then the ER70s-5 or -6 wire won't work well: it requires a shielding gas. Some of those fluxcore welders can be rigged for shielding gas with an add-on kit, but it may be easier for you to use a different wire.

gaclements has a good point about adjusting your current. And by grounding to bare metal and striking the arc on bare metal, you can eliminate those unknowns as part of finding the solution.

Very cool to have a welder. How did you come to have it- a gift? A family member's? Has the machine caused a problem for anyone else, and were they able to get around it?

ryan_H123
02-05-08, 05:31 PM
Found some info at this link:
http://ww.esabna.com/EUWeb/MIG_handbook/592mig5_4.htm

Ryan's original post said "it is a lincon and there is no gas its just electric" so it sounds like he has a fluxcore welder. If that's the case, then once you get your arc striking problem settled then the ER70s-5 or -6 wire won't work well: it requires a shielding gas. Some of those fluxcore welders can be rigged for shielding gas with an add-on kit, but it may be easier for you to use a different wire.

gaclements has a good point about adjusting your current. And by grounding to bare metal and striking the arc on bare metal, you can eliminate those unknowns as part of finding the solution.

Very cool to have a welder. How did you come to have it- a gift? A family member's? Has the machine caused a problem for anyone else, and were they able to get around it?

that is something i never thought about(the fluxcore) ill try that and relpy after to let you know how it went

the welder is my dads but i use it more than he does, and i has never caused a problem for anyone else but it was hardly used before i started to use it about 2 months ago. i was also thinking about getting a arc welder for heavier metal, any ideas on what to buy?

ryan_H123
02-05-08, 06:03 PM
i just went out and tried the welder out just to check if it would work, it works and the arc will strike but the welds dont look good, it makes a popping sound no matter what the amprage is set at, and i am using nozzle dip. this is exactally why i want to get a arc welder, much less problems

anyway thanks for all your help
ryan

BTW its a Lincon Weld Pak 100

mikeTN
02-05-08, 07:09 PM
i just went out and tried the welder out just to check if it would work, it works and the arc will strike but the welds dont look good, it makes a popping sound no matter what the amprage is set at, and i am using nozzle dip. this is exactally why i want to get a arc welder, much less problems

anyway thanks for all your help
ryan

BTW its a Lincon Weld Pak 100

hey ryan! BEEN THER; DONE THAT! i'm WAY past high school and i had that problem. a flux core welder is good but messy. they make a splatter spry that you can use before welding that will help. however, nothing is better than having a gas shield. i use 75/25 argon/co2. it is cheaper than straight argon but not quite as good. co2 will also work, but not on everything. the flux clean up is my biggest gripe about the flux core welding wire. one thing! in welding "CLEANLINESS IS OF THE UTMOST" if you want a good weld that will hold! do not avoid cleaning what you are going to weld. an air grinder(if you have a compressor) is a handy tool-and cheap. it takes TIME AND PRACTICE to be a good welder. don't rush it!

560Dennis
02-23-08, 08:10 PM
My opinion is that your machine doesn't have the energy for 1/4 . The MAW or GTAW Short ARC are only good up to 1/4 max , Practice on sheet metal. Don't trust the weld on 1/4 becuase the base metal penetration is not there and if you cut a cross sectof the weld and the base metal your will see what :) I mean.

drizler
02-26-08, 04:49 PM
http://www.hobartwelders.com/weldtalk/

IMHO one of the best sites on the net though they can get a little grumpy if you bash George Bush.

lame_penguin
03-02-08, 02:27 PM
If you have a wirefeed machine with no capability for shield gas, then yes you need a fluxcore wire. Fluxcore is exceedingly expensive for these little machines, but it does make more heat at the arc than does a hard wire with CO2.

Personally, I wouldn't bother with it. Get a good stick welder and do some learning. All the old 180 amp buzzboxes are good machines, but they all have the same drawbacks: low duty cycle, AC only, very high open circuit voltage. The open circuit voltage issue is good to keep in mind as it makes electrocution more likely.

I advise people to stay away from the Lincoln square wave stick/tig machines. I bought the small one (175 amp) new for one job and found it's a fairly good tig machine but poor for stick welding.

Used commercial machines are generally the best value. With the price of copper they've gotten more expensive but they're still the way to go.

lp