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I can’t weld worth %#&@!
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DerrickfromNC1
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 10, 2020 1:45 pm    Post subject: I can’t weld worth %#&@! Reply with quote

Was practicing with my Eastwood 110 welder on some scrap metal in preparation for fabing a set of 1” drop bumper brackets and my welds do not appear to penetrate the base metal. I have had this welder for a while but have only used it a couple times. Was hoping I could do this w/o turning to a professional. By these pixs can someone tell me what I’m doing wrong or maybe my welder is not up to the task.
Last thing I need is for my welds to fail and my front bumper fall off at 60mph.
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Evil_Fiz
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 10, 2020 5:04 pm    Post subject: Re: I can’t weld worth %#&@! Reply with quote

I can't offer any help on your welding because I am a pretty bad welder myself. I can however tell you that the Esatwood MIG 135 (110 VAC welder) is more than capable of welding 1/8" wall tubing and 3/16" flat stock. I built my rotisserie with it and it has been holding up my convertible Ghia for almost two years. I used flux core for the rotisserie but I can't see why MIG would not work equally well.

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beetlenut
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 10, 2020 8:20 pm    Post subject: Re: I can’t weld worth %#&@! Reply with quote

What kind of gas are you running, and do you have the pressure turned up enough? You shouldn't be seeing those kind of burning marks.
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 10, 2020 8:52 pm    Post subject: Re: I can’t weld worth %#&@! Reply with quote

are you using gas or flux core wire? check the polarity of the torch. adjust the wire speed to the sound of bacon frying. looking at the settings I would turn them both down to 50% and go from there. you are also welding on coated metal. not good.
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DerrickfromNC1
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 10, 2020 9:07 pm    Post subject: Re: I can’t weld worth %#&@! Reply with quote

Using 0.023" Steel MIG Wire without gas. I think that coated metal may be an issue since my practice attempts on raw flat iron strips resulted in ugly but solid welds. I have the settings maxed out. On my successful attempts my weld puddles seem to be too large.
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 10, 2020 10:44 pm    Post subject: Re: I can’t weld worth %#&@! Reply with quote

Those metal pieces look like galvanized steel braces. DO NOT WELD GALVANIZED METAL, unless you take precautions. Deadly!

Get some cold rolled steel and try again. Clean anything you weld, shiny clean, freshly exposed steel. Use am Argon mix gas, or flux core.

And MAKE SURE THE GROUND CLAMP IS ATTACHED TO GOOD CLEAN STEEL, CLOSE TO THE WELDING. well, as close as possible.
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 10, 2020 10:51 pm    Post subject: Re: I can’t weld worth %#&@! Reply with quote

DerrickfromNC1 wrote:
Using 0.023" Steel MIG Wire without gas. I think that coated metal may be an issue since my practice attempts on raw flat iron strips resulted in ugly but solid welds. I have the settings maxed out. On my successful attempts my weld puddles seem to be too large.
That is your issue. You CANNOT use MIG wire without a shielding gas. Flux core yes, but not MIG.
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 11, 2020 6:15 am    Post subject: Re: I can’t weld worth %#&@! Reply with quote

welding over chrome is a big no no too btw.
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DerrickfromNC1
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 11, 2020 8:00 am    Post subject: Re: I can’t weld worth %#&@! Reply with quote

67ctbug wrote:
DerrickfromNC1 wrote:
Using 0.023" Steel MIG Wire without gas. I think that coated metal may be an issue since my practice attempts on raw flat iron strips resulted in ugly but solid welds. I have the settings maxed out. On my successful attempts my weld puddles seem to be too large.
That is your issue. You CANNOT use MIG wire without a shielding gas. Flux core yes, but not MIG.


The Eastwood Mig135 came with a spool of .023 mig wire so I assumed I was ready to go....I should have looked at some tutorials b4 I started practicing. Will be going to Lowes to pu some Lincoln Electric 1-lb 0.035 flux this afternoon.
Based on the suggested settings that came with the welder for flux core it indicates that I should turn the wirefeed to a setting of 3 on a scale of (1-10) and drop arc volts to almost 1/2 power.

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Lingwendil
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 11, 2020 8:03 am    Post subject: Re: I can’t weld worth %#&@! Reply with quote

grind off any coating on the metal, and use gas or flux core. You will have terrible results otherwise.
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type241
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 11, 2020 8:04 am    Post subject: Re: I can’t weld worth %#&@! Reply with quote

Make sure your ground is hooked up correctly at the welder. The ground is connected differently for FLUX CORE vs MIG on my Lincoln welder.
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 11, 2020 8:23 am    Post subject: Re: I can’t weld worth %#&@! Reply with quote

dont fergit amp levels. many people(including I), start off with not enough and end up loosing control of the bead/flow.
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DerrickfromNC1
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 11, 2020 8:46 am    Post subject: Re: I can’t weld worth %#&@! Reply with quote

type241 wrote:
Make sure your ground is hooked up correctly at the welder. The ground is connected differently for FLUX CORE vs MIG on my Lincoln welder.


WOW....just checked the instruction diagram inside the panel door on the welder. The ground cable(polarity) was connected for flux while I was attempting to weld with mig wire.

Should it have worked at all??

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type241
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 11, 2020 9:53 am    Post subject: Re: I can’t weld worth %#&@! Reply with quote

MIG(Metal Inert Gas) wire needs a gas bottle hooked up. If no gas bottle, you have to run flux core wire. Your welder ground needs to correspond.
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infiniteLoop
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 11, 2020 11:50 am    Post subject: Re: I can’t weld worth %#&@! Reply with quote

Clean down to bare metal some how. Grinder with the knotted brushes works well and Harbor Freight ones are just as good as the ones that cost 4X more.
That or use a thin cutting disc(finer stones) in a grinder and work it on the flat part near the edge.Or use a regular grinding disc. A 3" cut off tool would work good too. I'm assuming the pieces shown are for practice but your welding on the edge for some reason. If that is not practice ,your missing the base metal completely. It's easier to get into the V if you tilt the work so the bottom of the V is at the bottom.

On the 'L' , your voltage is too low and your not moving the puddle fast enough so turn up the voltage and start moving faster.

Welding has a least 4 parts.
Metal prep
Fit up
Set up (adjusting voltage/wire speed)
and the actual welding.

Set up the welders voltage and wire speed.
To get a general idea, use the chart in your manual ,the cabinet sticker or a chart of a similar amp welder on the web. FIRST set the voltage to a setting that will get you decent penetration. Then adjust the wire speed so it doesn't melt off in globs OR stub into the work piece.

Practice by making a puddle. The pool should be established within 4 seconds or less. After the pool is established ,move the pool at a travel speed that keeps the wire in the first third of the pool if dragging the nozzle and not pushing it.
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 11, 2020 2:39 pm    Post subject: Re: I can’t weld worth %#&@! Reply with quote

I personally have been far more successful with the .030 wire as compared to the .035.

Then again I am a hack with an old Campbell Hausfield welder that I bought 20 years ago and still weld with today Very Happy
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orwell84
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 15, 2020 7:58 am    Post subject: Re: I can’t weld worth %#&@! Reply with quote

You would be much better off with gas especially for thin metals. For thicker metals flux core is fine but gas produces nicer welds.

I found YouTube videos to be really helpful. Practice on scrap and experiment with different settings. Before I start welding on a project, I always dial in my welder on some scrap. A lot of beginners make the mistake of welding too cold (on too low a setting) assuming sheet metal needs the lowest setting. This results in big globs on top of the work with poor penetration. My welder uses a tap switch A-E. I almost never use the A setting. I use B for butt welding sheet metal and C when plug welding one layer of sheet metal over the other just to give you an idea. Wire speed is also important.

You’ll get it. Practice and don’t give up.
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beetlenut
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 15, 2020 9:49 am    Post subject: Re: I can’t weld worth %#&@! Reply with quote

The .023 wire is what you want to weld the thin body panels on the VWs. You should just get the bottle set up and add it to your welder, you'll get much much better results than from the flux core, and no removing the leftover slag you get from the flux core either. Once you get the pressure right, a bottle will last you awhile.
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... I spend more time shaking it than directing it?! I get a pretty decent blast for 8sec. then have to shake it again.
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Evil_Fiz
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 16, 2020 10:48 am    Post subject: Re: I can’t weld worth %#&@! Reply with quote

beetlenut wrote:
...Once you get the pressure right, a bottle will last you a while.
This is only partially true with the Eastwood MIG 135. The problem is that this welder does not have the ability to disable post-flow of the gas. This translates to about .5 Sec. per tack weld and about .75 - 1 Sec. of gas flow after you let go of the trigger. You end up wasting more gas than what you actually use for the welds.

It may be possible to circumvent this issue by replacing the gas solenoid but I have not reached a conclusive answer yet. If you are going to use gas with the MIG 135, buy the biggest gas bottle your budget will allow. This will result in fewer trips to the welding store and a lower cost per unit of shielding gas. MIG and .023 wire are the way to go but it is possible to weld sheet metal with .035 Flus core wire.

I find the ideal Flux Core setting for sheet metal on the MIG 135 to be:
wire Speed = 2
Voltage = B.5 - C (closer to C in most cases)
stickout = 1/2 in. - 9/16 in.

Lincoln flux core wire is brittle. Avoid it. I have been using .035 Flux wire from Harbor Freight with good results.

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PostPosted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 5:35 pm    Post subject: Re: I can’t weld worth %#&@! Reply with quote

The eastwood is a gas hog, but I don't care because use co2

Save the argon for mix more critical applications.
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