Lincoln 140 MIG being weird

[hairy_apple]

So, finally decided to buy 75/25 today for my little 110 welder. I am needing to get a "real" welder sooner then later, but really don't have the money right now. So I figured I would get gas set up on this and that would be OK until I can get a bigger welder.

Got it hooked up, changed out the wire and switched the +/-. It's got .25 wire in it (the only solid wire I had at the house) changed the roller and tip for the smaller wire.

It's burning back like crazy... actually, it's just doing a tiny weird crappy version of spray transfer. I cranked it all the way up, and all the way down and it's never welding normal. I have no idea what's up.

I messed with it for a while, but it was dark and cold and I was out of ideas. Anyone have an idea what's going on?

 

[Weber Sarge]

Make certain you have the correct roller drives and the tension is set properly . If it slips on the wire it will drive you nuts trying to figure it out .
Sarge

 

[hairy_apple]

Yeah, I swapped the drive rolls for the smaller wire one. It just got too dark and cold tonight to stay down there messing with it. I highly suspect it's got to be either a drive roll problem or I am also wondering about the liner. I have had the welder for a few years and have not replaced the liner. I wonder if it's just dirty/worn enough to cause issues with the smaller wire hanging up.

I'll play more tomorrow and hopefully get it figured out. Just wanted to see if anyone had any ideas I have not thought of. Thanks.

 

[danxcsp]

curious

Just curious -- did you get this figured out?

 

[hairy_apple]

Yeah, drive roll was slipping when there was any push back. It was feeding fine, but the minute the wire hit the metal it started slipping. It was goofy. Working great now.

 

[ojaij40]

Glad you got it working, but for other than sheet metal, that old tombstone machine is 10x the welder that mig is.
You can Tig with that tombstone also, I can tell you how to make a free rheostat to make the tombstone run cooler also for tigging sheet metal

 

[hairy_apple]

I am actually hoping to get that old welder set up for scratch start TIG. I just haven't done it yet. I rarely have any use for a stick welder, but I use it sometimes for the heck of it because I think stick welding is more fun then MIG. I'm way better at MIG, but I find stick to be enjoyable.

I have been hoping to buy a PowerMIG 256... but funds are tight right now. Want to get a "real" MIG welder. I'm actually really surprised how well my 110 is welding now that it's got gas. It's a little slower and harder to get sound welds, but if I take my time and are careful it's making some very nice welds.

 

[ojaij40]

One of the big pluses to stick is if you get some 6010. "5p". Rod, it doesn't care if your material is dirty or rusty, or if you have a big gap or no gap, it will weld just fine, then once you get in a pass, you can switch to 7018 if you want. Most hobby Weldors don't store 7018 properly once it's opened and that is a problem. As I said your old machine will tig up a storm, but even at the lowest setting would be too hot for sheet metal, but there is a fix for that. And by the way, when they say scratch start, if you are a pro, you don't really ever touch the tip, you pull your tig wire in between your tungsten and work and keep your tip needle sharp