MIG Welder decision

[dfrank]

I would get some gas lines for welding and get rid of that clear tubing. Something like this depending on what threads you need. http://www.usaweld.com/Gas-Hose-p/hose.htm

[randy500]

nice welder you got there...wish they had that inverter 211 when I bought mine. On your welds...the spots there in the middle right look real nice. The others look cold or maybe your gun was too far away from the metal. I have found that I use the autoset and it does work right, used it both manual and autoset and autoset was the best. When I bought it I thought the autoset was dumb because I have been mig welding for over 25 years but it does work!

[BR3W CITY]

Cougar, here's my .02 on the weld I see:

It looks like your trying to go for the overlapped "bead" aka the Mig-like-tig weld. Totally fine to do, but on thin sheetmetal (like a truck repair) it doesn't really teach normal welding technique. As you overlap those little beads, your keeping a lot of heat in one area creating a higher chance of warpage.

Try spacing your tac's out an inch or so and keep your fitment tight. On a sheet repair you'd hammer and grind the seam, and then come back for another round of tac's and small welds, planish, repeat.

To improve your general welding, get yourself some thicker material to practice on. Thicker stuff can be a bit more forgiving on heat, and you can get a better (longer) time with the puddle to observe its patterns. As I mentioned above, the technique on the thin stuff is pretty different than "structural" welding for lack of a better term.

Pickup some scrap 1/16, 1/8, 1/4 flat and/or some sch40 and 80 black pipes. With that stuff, watching videos from Jody @ WeldingTipsAndTricks, and setting up your scrap in the basic 1g,2g etc etc positions, you can progress through most of the basic fitments and weldments, and it'll give you a really solid base for any fab you want to attempt in the future.

[pwdcougar]

Right now I just want to get to the point where I'm comfortable welding in the patch panels on my Suburban. Continuous welding on heavier metal is something where I can lay down a respectable bead.

On this piece I cut it apart and welded it back together. Welds 1,2 & 3 are butt welds using Harbor Freight butt welding clamps. Welds 4 & 5 are lapped. I used a flanging tool to create the lap.

On all of the welds they were tacked at 4 points. I used single bursts to add to each of the tacks never doing more than two bursts in a row. If the metal felt hot I took a break for a few minutes. By weld 5 I thought I was starting to get the hang of it. On the two lapped welds I increased the heat setting a little bit from auto set.

Oh and my gas pressure is set at 18.

Thanks for the tips and comments.

Paul

[pwdcougar]

Originally Posted by dfrank

I would get some gas lines for welding and get rid of that clear tubing. Something like this depending on what threads you need. http://www.usaweld.com/Gas-Hose-p/hose.htm

The clear tubing is what came with the welder and looks reinforced. Is it something that should be replaced?

Thanks

Paul

[wahl4m]

id weld /blow air on weld /hammer and dolly spot if needed /grind with thin wheel 90 degree to weld /and or use a shrinking wheel if needed?? good luck

[wahl4m]

i woudlnt worry about the clear tubing /a lot of new welders come w/ that ???

[dfrank]

Originally Posted by pwdcougar

The clear tubing is what came with the welder and looks reinforced. Is it something that should be replaced?

Thanks

Paul

If it came with the welder than it is probably fine and I would leave it go. Sorry for the confusion.

[tinydb84]

The tube is fine. I dont like the clamps or flanging. The clamps are two wide of a gap for me and the flanging prevents you from being able to planish, makes bodywork harder, and leaves a place for moisture to accumulate.

I will use the clamps if my gap is bad and allows for it but I prefer a gap that is no wider than the wire thickness I am using. Here is what I shoot for. I tig most of my sheet metal work now but keep the fit up the same.

When using mig I will set the welder to somewhere between 1/8'' and 3/16''. I never do two tacks next to each other. This is done with mig. This was three rounds of tacks letting it cool in between. I would normally planish in between each set of tacks but I didnt have anyone to hold the dolly with this section.

Now for fit up I use clecos. They are really cheap and easier to work with.

[pwdcougar]

Great pictures. Thanks for all the tips. With the clecos you weld up the holes afterwards?

Paul

[tinydb84]

Originally Posted by pwdcougar

Great pictures. Thanks for all the tips. With the clecos you weld up the holes afterwards?

Paul

Yeah. For that I use a mig. It leaves an 1/8" hole. Just a quick pull of the trigger and you are done.

[Mr. 250r]

I would say they're still on the cold side as evident by the cold lap where one tack meets the next, crank it up to nuclear. Or not but just a little lol

[BIGglaSS]

I just bought the Miller 215. Tried it out last night for the first time. With the autoset, it piles a huge bead compared to the lincoln that I have been borrowing for the last few years. I hate grinding! I turned off the autoset, ran about 17-18 volts and 190 wire speed. Had great penetration on tight gaps, and not too much bead to grind. Don't take these settings for gospel, I'm still trying to dial it in to my technique. Using .023 er70s-2 wire.

Also, lap welds are not for "visible" sheet metal. Do a butt weld on the panels that are visible.

[GASoline71]

That Miller 211 is a nice unit.

I have a Lincoln Power Mig 140C and it suits me perfect for the body work I've been doing on my 1972 GMC. I can fine tune my heat and speed settings without preset "clicks" on the knobs. That's the main reason I bought it.

This is the first time I've done sheetmetal repair work as well. With my MIG I try to keep a gap far enough between panels for the weld to penetrate both panels, so when I grind away some of the weld, there will be strength in the weld. But I'm still learning as I go. So my welds are looking better since I started.

Gary

[dwcsr]

try between 20 and 25 on your gas.
Here is the best way to dial in your machine for a particular gauge sheet metal quickly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=P...&v=6eB9qnktmDI