MIG Weld Wire for Sheet Metal Repairs

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by crossfire84

flux core is good stuff, only problem is lots of splater, dont have that with gas.

That's what they make flap discs for - cheap bastards like me! Lol
But seriously, I'll go to gas ASAP and do the best job I can.
Ill also work on my practice door upright since thats how I'll likely work on my real doors.
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[1project2many]

"EZ Grind" is a brand name, not a description of how the work will go. It's still fairly hard stuff. I keep a roll here. But the last thing you want to do is grind. It adds unnecessary work, leaves metal thickness inconsistent, and creates additional work needed for smoothing. Plan and do everything for minimum grinding.

Do you have trouble with humidity in your area? When not using the wire it will help if you protect it from moisture. Rust buildup on the wire can cause real headaches when you pick the welder back up after some time off.

[Russell Ashley]

Dan, from my experience, get the tank now and give the flux core wire to Ogre, LOL.

[Dan in Pasadena]

No humidity issues in SoCal but its a good point. What do you guys do to protect the wire when not in use? Remove it from machine and store it some way?

Russell, I agree it's time. I'm gonna use part of my tax return to buy the bottle & wire so it doesn't hit the household budget. I'm gonna practice on those doors. Knowing me ill get impatient and start working on my permanent doors soon including patching interior BIG holes a prior owner cut to install speakers. It's what I got the spare door from Rude Dude for.
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[arturo7]

Somewhat OT question:

There are welding helmets available with a self-darkening screen. Does this work? What about those at HF?

[crossfire84]

the auto dark helmets are really great i.m.o. you can adjust the time to auto dark so your eyes don't get blinded. no lifting the hood to start welding. i bought mine from one of the venders on this site. a sale price of $39.95. hope this helps.

[mr48chev]

Originally Posted by arturo7

Somewhat OT question:

There are welding helmets available with a self-darkening screen. Does this work? What about those at HF?

The good ones from Speedglass or other top end helmet makers work great. I don't know what my son replaced his Speedglass helmet with but it cost him about 300.

I've got one of the HF ones and although it works I can't recommend one to anyone else. I'd rather see a guy buy a quality regular helmet with the large glass in it and save for a high quality auto darkening helmet.

[crossfire84]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

The good ones from Speedglass or other top end helmet makers work great. I don't know what my son replaced his Speedglass helmet with but it cost him about 300.

I've got one of the HF ones and although it works I can't recommend one to anyone else. I'd rather see a guy buy a quality regular helmet with the large glass in it and save for a high quality auto darkening helmet.

I agree the large glass is the way to go, but I'm happy with what i have.

[_Ogre]

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

Thanks for the encouragement Ogre. I have flux core in my machine now. I've been putting off practicing on a spare truck door I have thinking I shouldn't bother with the flux core!

yes flux core welding has a lot of splatter but i grind everything i weld.
all welds are usually ground, flux core welds look the same as mig welds when ground.

lots of welding on the bed of truk to get it like this, all flux core.
sectioning the 22 ga metal on the trunk lid was challenging but mig wouldn't have been any better on 22 ga.
the metal on our trucks is 18 ga at least, 12 ga on the bed



i've had a hf autodark hood for 12 years, it's always worked for me
recently replaced it with another hf helmet because the headband broke

[Kim57]

I use an HF helmet also. A guy at the welding store said they are as safe as the expensive ones. Been using it for years with no problems.
Kim

[Dan in Pasadena]

I have a HF auto darkening hood too. I'm certain a high dollar one would be more comfortable, maybe "better" in some way. But mine has worked fine when I've used it.

Ogre, Are you sure our beds are 12 gauge? Cause that's really heavy and they still got beat to hell in most trucks. My bed is surprisingly straight but I've seen some that look like they were intentionally beaten with a ball peen hammer!
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[DransportGarage]

The HF helmets have worked well for me. I just replaced mine after 6 years. It didn't want to darken correctly. The instructions say there's a battery in the element somewhere, non-replaceable. That was probably why my first one went south, but at $39.95 it was a no-brainer to get another one. The instructions for setting the electronics are a lot better now, and I think the newer one might be a little better quality (if I'm allowed to use the "q" word when speaking about HF tools ).

[1project2many]

I guess I'm stubborn. I use a traditional helmet with a large lens. Traditional type because I just can't put faith in the auto darkening lens, and large lens because I always seem to end up trying to look over the top of my glasses and under the top of the lens with small lenses. I also use a blue tint traditionally used for aluminum welding. I feel it helps sharpen the image.

I love seeing pictures and videos of southern CA projects. It blows me away to see trucks parked outside and stripped bare of all paint and primer. That's not going to happen here. This part of NH has higher average annual rainfall than Seattle by nearly ten inches per year and over twice as much precipitation as Pasadena.

At the shop we generally leave the "normal" roll of wire in the welder when not in use. It gets used often enough that rust doesn't occur. If I'm switching to a different wire for a specific job I generally switch back when I'm finished. Out in the barn I have to pull the roll whenever I'm done since that's an unheated environment with a dirt floor. I seal wire rolls that aren't in use into plastic bags before putting them back in the box.

[Chevette]

Originally Posted by Russell Ashley

Dan, from my experience, get the tank now and give the flux core wire to Ogre, LOL.

I agree.

[63 & 64 Bowties]

Originally Posted by DransportGarage

The HF helmets have worked well for me. The instructions say there's a battery in the element somewhere, non-replaceable. That was probably why my first one went south

Exactly the problem with the cheapo helmets. You can't replace the battery.
I found out the hard way.
I replaced it with a Miller helmet ($130) and it has a button inside that you push to turn it on. You verify it's on by two flashes. And the battery is replaceable.

[DransportGarage]

Originally Posted by 63 & 64 Bowties

Exactly the problem with the cheapo helmets. You can't replace the battery.
I found out the hard way.
I replaced it with a Miller helmet ($130) and it has a button inside that you push to turn it on. You verify it's on by two flashes. And the battery is replaceable.

Yeah, but geeze louise, the thing lasted 6 years. I beat the fool out of it, I now have a brand new one with new battery and new glass cover (with blue FLAMES on it, which makes it twice as good as the first one!), and I don't have to turn it on and off.

[crossfire84]

Originally Posted by 63 & 64 Bowties

Exactly the problem with the cheapo helmets. You can't replace the battery.
I found out the hard way.
I replaced it with a Miller helmet ($130) and it has a button inside that you push to turn it on. You verify it's on by two flashes. And the battery is replaceable.

the helmet i bought from the vendor from here has a solar panel on it also.

[DransportGarage]

Originally Posted by crossfire84

the helmet i bought from the vendor from here has a solar panel on it also.

That thing that looks like a solar panel is the flash sensor.

[Denee007]

I used to use the smaller spools of wire from HF! But I had frequent trouble with the wire getting tangled. I'd have to cut a bunch of wire to straighten it. The small spools seem like a loaded spring. When I went to the large spool of .23 for my northern tools mig, I never had another problem, and I keep .35 in my Systematics 175 for heavy duty stuff. The large spools seem to last forever! ; ).
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[crossfire84]

Originally Posted by DransportGarage

That thing that looks like a solar panel is the flash sensor.

ok, that explains what triggers the lens, thanks for the info.

[Chevette]

Originally Posted by DransportGarage

That thing that looks like a solar panel is the flash sensor.

Beep....beep...beep...back up the truck. There are many solar powered helmets on the market and they've have been around for several years. On some units the solar panel is in the same lens as the flash sensor.

[Tims37chevy]

Originally Posted by DransportGarage

That thing that looks like a solar panel is the flash sensor.

It is also what charges the non replacable battery

[DransportGarage]

Originally Posted by crossfire84

ok, that explains what triggers the lens, thanks for the info.

I should mention that I thought it was a solar cell too at first. That wasn't a dumb conclusion. It looks exactly like one.

[DransportGarage]

Originally Posted by Tims37chevy

It is also what charges the non replacable battery

Egg on my face. I stand corrected, and Crossfire84 is the genius!

[All59]

Hard 3 ,I have use a few spools of easy grind ,works good on dirty metal not sure why they call it easy grind because it doesn,t seem to grind any easier will have to try blue star 3 next time