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I've had an eye on that - "Easy-to-understand operator interface", etc. Don't know what the negatives would be? Maybe there aren't any.
Thank you for the information. I have one too but cant get to weld 18G without too much distortion. What wire do you use?MIG - Millermatic 180 - trying to teach myself as I go. Also picked up the MIG book that Miller sells - watched a few videos on the web. Love the welding so far - don't care much for the grinding
The 180 is great - working on the sill it might be cool to have a TIG for small things, more control, like welding nuts on , etc. Might try to go there some day if I can find a TIG class and scrape the bucks for equipment together. Funny how the welding opens up lots of projects I could never approach before. Again the Miller is great - if I get a TIG at some point I will save up my pennies and it will be a Miller.
Thank you. Those are great tips. I will see what I do..I'm not a welder either, my 180 is the only machine I've had my hands on. I feel like I've had somewhat decent results - seems to get better - but I am slow. And I've only smelled the top of my head burning once so far
Things I worry about:
1) Use small .024 in (0.6 mm), high quality wire...
2) I try to keep setting on the higher side - cold welds that need to be reworked seem like one of the biggest pains for me.
3) I try to get a really good fit on the butt-joint patches, etc.
4) Try to use a heat-sink of some kind, if possible (thanks to Miker)
5) Make sure everything is really held in place (clamped) - so things don't start moving around on the first few tacks...
6) Tack everything with good 2 sec min tacks - spreading everything out trying to watch the heat - always thinking about the heat and where things will move. Sometimes I use a small fan, running, pointed away, tack a few places on one side of the truck, point the fan on that area and tack somewhere else on the cruiser, then move the fan, come back and keep going...
7) I'm worried about good welds/penetration and I always start to get distortion as the tacks get closer together, finishing up and I'm looking at the backside for solid welds. I do a little hammer work too (another reason I'd like a TIG) - but I'm afraid to bang around too much on a MIG joint. Still always feels like too much filler material is going down - I assume someone who knows TIG could really control the filler material.
8) I used to try to grind the tacks and come back, tack-to-tack along the seam - but I had trouble with the tacks acting like a heat sink (even ground down), uneven heat along the seam, bad penetration, etc. Now I grind the tacks down and go back over to finish, but I don't weld over a previous tack anymore - trying something a little different (see drawing). Still get some distortion but seem to get a better (complete fusion on far side) weld.
Boy - starting to sound like I should get a life...
. I could not get 0.6 wire and had to do with 0.8. Thats probable one reason we are not making it fine?
Thank you for the advice. 0.035 equates to 0.6 ?
Thank you. Those are great tips. I will see what I do..
Ehsan
This might be obvious but the .023 is solid core wire used with shielding gas. A gas mixture of 75% Argon and 25% CO2 is recommended for sheet metal work.
Running straight 100% CO2 gas will burn hotter than the 75/25 mix with all else the same.
Flux core wire will also burn hotter and dig deeper into the metal than solid core with a shielding gas. Therefore, flux core is not as desireable for sheet metal.
The advantage of using the .023 over the .030 is that it will let you turn down the amperage and voltage on the welder. You will have a bit more time to control the puddle before melt through. You should also have less material and grinding to remove after the welding is done.
Fit with sheet metal is very important and any small gap can easily be burned through.
I try to point the wire more at the middle of the weld puddle as you move along rather than the leading edge like you would for a best penetration weld and this will help reduce burn through because there is more material in the middle of the puddle and it acts as a better heat sink. Just don't spent too much time in any one spot or
Don't be afraid to release the trigger if you think you're not doing something right or you've been in one spot too long. Stop and let it cool. Clean the area. Grind if necessary and start again.
An auto darkening helmut is a real plus for sheetmetal. It makes things a lot easier when you are starting and stoping a lot.
I like to use a drag technique rather than a push as this lends itself to pointing the wire at the weld puddle rather than the edge. At least this seems to work better for me.
If you do have a hole to fill, then if you angle the gun more, even initially up to 45 degrees, it will help to avoid burn through. Once you have some thickness laid down at or next to the hole or gap then you can move the gun to a more standard position and wip the puddle into the open hole to fill it. It may take several times to get it filled but this is the technique I use for holes and poor fitment.
maybe just one more clamp
- they won't be falling off anyway. Funny how it seems like I always know when I'm about to screw something up and I go ahead and do it anyway.
