Welding frame - can i get some advice?

[Longstep70]

So I'm practicing welding frame material on a couple of stubs cut off from another frame i had lying around - around 1/8" thick i guess. I'm using my Miller 180 and .035 wire.
I started with the factory settings for speed and current on 1/8" steel - 4.5/50. I was trying to nail down my settings for full penetration. The first couple of tacks I tried i wasn't getting the weld all the way through. I started playing with the settings and the gap between the two pieces. Increasing both numbers helped but I was getting a *lot* of heat and a lot of material in the bead very quickly so i backed off the current and tried to bump the wire feed to try and increase penetration without building up a large bead on top. I got mixed results and I have a few pics. Can I get a little advice from the more experienced of the welders on here?
Here's my first couple of tacks showing the weld pieces and the gap I was trying:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...e/IMG_3423.jpg
and here's the back of the same 2 tacks:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...e/IMG_3424.jpg
Here is a later pair after tried running a couple of small beads. i know they don't look great but bear with me..
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...e/IMG_3427.jpg
and again from the back:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...e/IMG_3428.jpg

By the end of this sequence I had nudged up the settings on the MIG to 5/60 and I still don't feel like I'm getting proper penetration even with a chamfer on the edges. How should I proceed here?
thanks

-Andy

[fixit-p]

Try decreasing your wire speed only When I weld uphill or over head I'll either turn my voltage up a bit or decrease the wire feed you can control the voltage somewhat while welding by increasing or decreasing you stick out also I would practice your welds going uphill for max penetration.

[Twisted Minis]

I have a 175 for backup in the shop. For 1/8" plate I run it around 6 to 6.5 on the heat setting, and around 55 on the wire speed, and just go slow with the gun. Here's one from the 175.

[79gmcsierragrande]

Sometimes it’s better to cool it off and move slower, you have to give the material a chance to heat up. It’s hard to get tacks to penetrate without turning the heat way up.

[Custom 68]

Twisted, those are some nice looking welds. Is that a "Pushed" weld using an 80Argon 20 CO2 mix or what?

[Twisted Minis]

The part on top of the frame rail is pulling, the part running along the side is pushing. It was all one stroke so I had to reposition. I was running 75/25 mix.

[Longstep70]

Thanks Guys.
Twisted - those numbers are pretty much what i ended up with after playing around with my settings so I'm reassured. I need to practice though now I see your beads. =)
As for going slower to get heat into the material - I had NO problem doing that.
This seems like a pretty powerful little machine. I was trying to run the bead with a 1 -AND- 2 - AND - 3 type of rhythm from point to point to make sure I got a good deep weld at each point rather than running continuously along the bead - is that correct?
Thanks again

-Andy

[Twisted Minis]

Ya it is a pretty good machine. Mine is in for warranty work right now, something with the circuit board. But I have done 3/8" in a single pass with no issues in the past. That's it's limit though, and it hits its duty cycle pretty fast at that heat/thickness.

I'm not quite following the 1 - 2 - 3 thing. I use one of two patterns. The "C" walking the torch to one side, then coming back towards the weld, and walking the torch to the other side, then repeat. Hard to explain. The other technique I use, is circles. Usually only do this when I want a weld to look like dimes, and I am pulling it. So the technique depends on the position for me too.

[Longstep70]

Ah ok, I get what you mean with the circles - are you chamfering the weld at this material thickness?
By the 1-2-3 thing I mean I was pausing very briefly at a point, then moving on and pausing again, then moving on - like a series of tacks chained together with a slight 'hold' at each tack then a small movement and on to the next one. Is that clearer?

-Andy

[shortbed70]

6/55 and use a c pattern and push your weld. Also I think your metal is around 3/16" Circles work too whatever is easier for you and you cant always use one or the other. So get good at both. I have found over head welding (SUCKS) works better with the c pattern and verticle down works with both on steel mig. I'm going to try to get some vieo of different methods soon.

[Longstep70]

I went out last night and tried a few short runs with the settings you guys advised and I definitely got an improvement. I realized I had been laying the gun tip down too flat to the workpiece and so i straightened up and instantly got much better weld penetration. I didn't have time to really practice but I'm going to get back to it at the weekend.
Should i be chamfering material of this thickness? I've been clamping it with a gap about the thickness of the material but the quick beads I ran last night I didn't chamfer and it didn't seem to make much difference.

-Andy