welding splatter: why and how not? (1 Viewer)

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Reversing polarity on flux welders cuts splatter in half......
 
indeed,
so, Grant, you meant - to gun?


(edited for typo)
 
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Have you tried welding on clean metal yet?
 
ummm, not real clean no, just wire brushed.

Unfortunately, I just looked and sure enough it was set to - to gun. So no potential breakthrough there.
 
FCAW should be DC neg..
 
FCAW should be DC neg..

interestingly, and IIRC, on the cover of the (Lincoln SP100) it showed that for 25 and 30 thous wires it was + and for 35 it says - ... why is that?
 
I bet if you look closer, the 25 and 30 are solid core

35 is rosin core.

The difference is Mig and FCAW
 
I've been watching some videos online today at TonyWelding.com. Pretty basic stuff but I've picked up a few pointers in the process. There's got to be 20 hours of instructional video on this site.
 
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I've been watching some videos online today at TonyWelding.com. Pretty basic stuff but I've picked up a few pointers in the process. There's got to be 20 hours of instructional video on this site.

excellent find! been watching some already. More fun than reading.
 
Little late to this party, but yes, you need to clean the weld area first and flux core does spatter.

I feel that flux core is best when welding outside and it's kinda windy. Gas shielding works best when the wind is not a factor. Stick is also good outside.
 
well, I've been playing with TIG. What a difference with the flux core. Soooo much more controllable. And zero spatter too....
 
tig???

Or mig?
 
well, I've been playing with TIG. What a difference with the flux core. Soooo much more controllable. And zero spatter too....

You get zero spatter with spray transfer too. Have you tried running solid wire (mig process) on your welder using clean steel or are you still using the 1 lb roll of flux core that came with the welder?
 
You get zero spatter with spray transfer too. Have you tried running solid wire (mig process) on your welder using clean steel or are you still using the 1 lb roll of flux core that came with the welder?

no, I have not tried MIG on that machine, just flux core. It's a big roll, don't know what it is (not my machine). And not set up for gas right now. Little guy. Lincoln SP-100 IIRC.

But I doubt it's better than TIG. I can see how the variable current can really help in fine-tuning the puddle. Plus I get something like 450 A or so to play with... :) Admittedly, I haven't figured out how fast to feed the rod into the puddle yet. (And not hitting the Tungsten every so often... :eek: ) So there the auto wire feed may help (although the lack of remote speed control may be frustrating?) But no spatter when I did the TIG even without cleaning the parts too much. Nice!

It's truly remarkable to be able to melt the steel, stop, let it cool down and see no oxidation whatsoever on the surface... Cool...
 
Good that you are having success with your TIG process. Dont give up on the GMAW (MIG) process though. You need to dial in the correct parameters with regards to base/filler metals, thickness, wire diameter, shielding gas, etc.......always clean the metal you are working with regardless of process used. a light pass with a grinder will work wonders. If you are using that Lincoln SP machine it should have suggested settings on a sheet inside the machine.....If not contact Lincoln or go thru their website to obtain that info.

Control of the GMAW process is possible (thats why robots make thousands of welds every day across the world)

Using FCAW make sure you check the polarity setup.....use the manufacturers recs. for the wire you are using
 
yes, I'd like to try MIG as well. I'm sure it can be set up great and it's gotta be easier and faster than TIG. So I guess basically a trade of speed for precision and control...
 

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