Welding advice

[Jukelemon]

Looking to patch some steel. I will be using 1/16" stock. New to welding and plan on practicing a lot prior but specifically to the 40, what levels did you guys use on your welder and what did you weld with i.e. stick, mig. My Father in law has a very nice mig welder and is used to repairing large farm machinery. However, the equipment he is used to working with is much much thicker. so, I am trying to avoid burning holes in the stock. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Poser]

.023 wire for thin stuff...

Any idea on the make of welder?

Practice on similar material, A LOT.

If this is body work...remember...No continuious welds, quick tacks spaced all over the work, anything more will cause the metal to warp. I try to keep the work area cool enough to the touch of a bare hand, anything more, and you risk distortion and warpage..Do not be in a rush to accompish anything, otherwise it will look like it.

Good luck!

-Steve

 

[Bull22]

I agree with Poser. I use a mig welder and You should slowly stitch your welds. For thin stuff use a low voltage and the thicker you go bump up the voltage for better penetration. If you are welding and start to burn through the metal turn the voltage way down and make little welds till you fill the gap. Just practice its fun.

 

[Jukelemon]

Thanks guys. Good advice. I just read on line that a .023 wire, 75-25 mix and 50 amp setting is a standard recommendation for thin body metal. Poser, I will get you a make model. It ran my FIL around 2k. He was told it is top of the line a year ago. I am glad that the tack approach is recommended. Those seems (flow) are what differentiates a novice from an expert.

 

[brian]

[quote author=Jukelemon link=board=1;threadid=12485;start=msg114526#msg114526 date=1078346311]
Those seems (flow) are what differentiates a novice from an expert.
[/quote]


beads, their called beads.
and when talking mig, volts are generally used rather than amps.
amps are normally used for stick and tig.

the machine i use at home does'nt have a read out on the out put, but if i'd have to guess, with .023 solid wire and 75/25, 10-12 volts maybe, i don't know though.
however at work when the mig is called in to play, i normally run .045 to 1/16 flux core with straight co2 around 25-30 volts. that translates to between "smoking hot" and "kill".

 

[HI^C]

and when talking mig, volts are generally used rather than amps.
amps are normally used for stick and tig.

WHAT? most commonly mig is CV or both cv/cc, and stick and tig are CC.

cv= constant voltage
CC= constant current

No matter what you weld with amps, volt output deals with the arc,
how easy it arcs, etc...

12 volt 3 amp battery wont weld worth a crap if at all, 12 volt 1000 amp battery will do 10 times better.

i personally use .030 which allows a higher amperage, so i can weld thin and 1/4 or so without changing spool and rollers. solid, low copper wire.