welder show and tell

[sugmag]

First time, long time. I just picked up a welder, it's a Mig from Eastwood, 135. It will be used for mostly sheetmetal and exhaust. Today was literaly my first time ever welding. It is set-up for .030 flux wire and I was welding on 1/8th angle and 16 guage exhaust pipe.
Comments are welcome.

[cabrlicious]

I have used that same little machine on a bunch of stuff when my miller's weren't around. its a good machine for exactly the stuff you are trying to do.

first thing i notice is the brown **** everywhere after the welds. And it looks like the metal is damn clean (for mig). What kind of gas are you using? 75/25 mixed? is it old gas, is it coming from a GOOD dealer (I fought with aluminum tig issues for a while and it turns out they gave me a **** bottle of argon). The gauge pic doesn't do me any good as to what the tip flow is. pull the trigger and let some wire come out for a few secs and set the gauge for the flow when its running. when you get off the trigger the solenoid closes and the needle will go up a lot and sit as XX. Also are you pushing or pulling when you weld? Take the cup off the torch and make sure the little ports for the argon flow arent blocked. If you use tip spray they will clog up all the time. if you aren't using spray they can get spatter seized on them and block the gas flow. Also check to see if your gas lines from the tank, through the machine and out the gun aren't leaking, sucking in oxygen somewhere spitting it out at the weld puddle. the brown poopy soot all over is a sign of poor gas coverage.

make sure the right tip is screwed into the body, and its not protruding past the gas nozzle, or too far inside the nozzle. I had someone do that on me once at the shop. Swapped out the tip from one machine to another like a retard, even though it screwed in the gun, it was way to long and the nozzle wasnt shielding the weld puddle. took me a few mins to figure that one out too.


And dont weld in a tornado outside. ANY draft, wind or even an over head fan will blow the shielding gas away in a heart beat.


Are you plugging the machine DIRECTLY into the wall? not on a mile long thin ass extension cord. Even though the thing is set to D max voltage, the amperage might not be behind the outlet to power the machine properly. If its directly in the wall, have someone test the outlet to make sure the electricity is clean and strong. Been there too, fought with a machine at a location that had piss poor commercial power. bring the machine to my shop on the same settings and it was night and day different. If you need an extension cord, better get a friggen heavy duty one!


Lastly has this machine ever been running flux core, and maybe later converted to gas? maybe a used machine and the prior owner had it set up for that. If so the ground and gun cables might be backwards! check those.


on to setting the machine up, mig voltage/wirespeed is all by ear...at least that's how I do it. You want it to sound like frying bacon in a hot pan, steady crisp crackling. If it sounds like pops and farts, and lots of big spatter pieces all over, keep adjusting!

yeah I forgot to ask about the brown ****... its driving me mad. The gas is 75/25... if camping tomorrow is bust (hope not) I'm gonna go to the gas place first thing and get it refilled with fresh stuff. It's definitely old. I've tried push, I've tried pull, I've also just not even tried any kind of technique in frustration. The little ports where the gas should come out seem to be kind of tight against the thing (wound wire?) that the mig wire rides in, but they weren't fouled with dirt or otherwise clogged. I haven't been using the tip jelly because it made no measurable difference on the outcome.

What's the proper place for the end of the tip to sit, flush with the nozzle? If so, that's basically where I have it. I might just put a fresh tip on for ****s and giggles.

Amperage is a great question. I forgot how crummy the wiring is in my house.. to check, what I'm going to do is plug it into an outlet that is running on literally one foot of wire from the panel. Where I've been using the welder is outside on my patio plugged into an outdoor outlet that runs underground that my dad installed a few years back. He's not a chuckle head or anything but whatever else that's on the circuit could definitely be an issue because our panel is somewhat maxed out.

As for the polarity I spent a few minutes looking at it to make sure it was on right, and actually the little picture under the cover does have a thing showing which way for flux or for gas shielded. That much is right.

I haven't gotten the 'frying bacon' EVER with this machine for as long as I've been borrowing it. It might do some pops and farts that are even and consistent enough to sound that way but I know what you're saying and its not doing that. I did a little welding with a stick welder at my old job and I know how it should just be SMOOTH and even and its about as far from it as possible.

I checked the tip, its correct too.

I think its time to do the 'parts changer' type of trouble shooting starting with getting a fresh tank of gas. Then a new ground. Then a new gun... hah. and its not even my welder

I've got quite a few things to check through thanks a lot for your suggestions. I wonder about a leak and having the proper gas flow set.. I thought you just dial it in to 25 or 30 and you're good to go... gotta check that out for sure.

[kkkustom]

yeah I forgot to ask about the brown ****... its driving me mad. The gas is 75/25... if camping tomorrow is bust (hope not) I'm gonna go to the gas place first thing and get it refilled with fresh stuff. It's definitely old. I've tried push, I've tried pull, I've also just not even tried any kind of technique in frustration. The little ports where the gas should come out seem to be kind of tight against the thing (wound wire?) that the mig wire rides in, but they weren't fouled with dirt or otherwise clogged. I haven't been using the tip jelly because it made no measurable difference on the outcome.

What's the proper place for the end of the tip to sit, flush with the nozzle? If so, that's basically where I have it. I might just put a fresh tip on for ****s and giggles.

Amperage is a great question. I forgot how crummy the wiring is in my house.. to check, what I'm going to do is plug it into an outlet that is running on literally one foot of wire from the panel. Where I've been using the welder is outside on my patio plugged into an outdoor outlet that runs underground that my dad installed a few years back. He's not a chuckle head or anything but whatever else that's on the circuit could definitely be an issue because our panel is somewhat maxed out.

As for the polarity I spent a few minutes looking at it to make sure it was on right, and actually the little picture under the cover does have a thing showing which way for flux or for gas shielded. That much is right.

I haven't gotten the 'frying bacon' EVER with this machine for as long as I've been borrowing it. It might do some pops and farts that are even and consistent enough to sound that way but I know what you're saying and its not doing that. I did a little welding with a stick welder at my old job and I know how it should just be SMOOTH and even and its about as far from it as possible.

I checked the tip, its correct too.

I think its time to do the 'parts changer' type of trouble shooting starting with getting a fresh tank of gas. Then a new ground. Then a new gun... hah. and its not even my welder

I've got quite a few things to check through thanks a lot for your suggestions. I wonder about a leak and having the proper gas flow set.. I thought you just dial it in to 25 or 30 and you're good to go... gotta check that out for sure.

I bet the bottle is full of **** gas. That should make a big difference. Do you have anyone else that MIG welds? Bring your tank to them on their machine and see if the problem follows to them. One thing to try, pull the wire out of the feeder, light a candle, fire up the welder and point the torch at the flame on the candle, pull the trigger and see if it blows out the candle. The argon will put the flame out if its getting to it. easy way to make sure you are getting SOME gas coverage. Also the nozzle might not be sealing to the torch too, so oxygen might be getting sucked in behind the nozzle at its base where it is slide/screwed onto the torch. replace it, they are like $5.

the tip should be inside the nozzle, not flush and def not past the nozzle. Also I dont like the tip jelly, I use the spray stuff. spray it on and start welding. slag wont stick to the inside of the nozzle and tip, a swift knock on some metal will knock all the junk off inside and you can shoot a little more on and keep welding. best stuff ever

good idea on the amperage test. If he used some 12 wire for 50 feet or something would have a bunch of loss I would bet. you have the idea, plug it in close and see what happens. If I am welding and the compressor kicks on, even on another circuit/breaker I can see/hear and feel a slight difference for a second or so as the compressor motor starts to spin up. and I have some damn good power at both shops.

good on the polarity then.


Try to turn the wirespeed up actually. If its to slow, when you pull the trigger the feed the wire, it will arc and if its hot, set on D, the wire will melt fast and rather long, as in all molten up into the tip, then fall into the puddle, loose the arc, feed more wire melt too fast and too high, fall into the puddle... and so on (or even cool and clog inside the tip). that would make the pop pop pop sound and alot of spatter. Turn up the wire speed. the frying bacon sound is a nice consistent close arc. As in the wirespeed is fast enough to keep up with the melting speed and distance up the wire as per the voltage and wire dia thus keeping the arc between the wire and the work close. Thats also why with thinner wire you need a faster wire speed for the same voltage as a thicker filler wire. the thinner wire melts way faster and doesnt wick the heat off (as it slide through the tip).

I would also check the tension knob on the feed roller inside the cover. pull the trigger or have someone else try to weld and watch the wire over the feed roller, make sure its not slipping. Put a turn or two into the tension and try again. also look at the roller itself. it should have little teeth almost, perpendicular ridges across the C shaped valley the wire rides in, griping the wire to push it along. They will wear out and slip, causing all kinds of inconsistent wire feeding. Also, if the machine isnt cared for and you coil up the lead from the welder to the gun in tight loops, that will kink the steel braided flex housing inside that the wire rides in, putting a ton of tension on the wire and making the feed roller and the feed motor work that much harder. snip some wire a foot prior to the feed roller and a foot past the tip on the gun and release the feed tensioner... slide the wire by hand and see how it moves, there shouldn't be much resistance at all. if there is you will want to replace the flex guide inside the cable.

[nubVR]

Anyone seen, or used one of these yet??? Just got one Tuesday at the shop, I love it, gonna order one for home!

[kkkustom]

Anyone seen, or used one of these yet??? Just got one Tuesday at the shop, I love it, gonna order one for home!

is it liquid cooled?

yeah the pyrex cups are tits, but are delicate. and dont resist the heat well either, so the duty cycle isnt there i guess. meaning you cant go non stop with them or they will shatter.

for cage work a liquid cooled micro torch and shorty Pyrex cup is a must. the torch is as light as a sharpe marker, and about 1 inch tungsten to back cap total, so it can weld the inside of a cylinder head port if need be!

for aluminum work when the amps are high and the on time is alot longer liquid cooled is a must to begin with, so they are great IMO.

[nubVR]

Yes that's liquid cooled.... 7 5" sch 40 passes at 242amps, flat footed, all in about 20 mins.... I figured if it could handle that it can handle most anything! There gas torches also have 100% duty cylce, theyshow a cut out of the gas area in the torch, it has twice the volume for cooling, pretty impressed! I'm thinking about a pencil torch at home too!

[kkkustom]

wow thats intense!

the penile ones are cool as hell! I want liquid cooing on my home tig bad.

[big65]

Your beads are to cold so your heat is to low, bump it up about 10 amps and run a new bead to see how it comes out and cut your wire speed back about a point or so. Your gas should be running about 25 - 30cfm and you wont know if its right till you do what was said above and I would not trust that gauge your using seeing as how its internals are exposed to the elements with out the plastic lense on it.

Ment for cabrilicious.

[big65]

First time, long time. I just picked up a welder, it's a Mig from Eastwood, 135. It will be used for mostly sheetmetal and exhaust. Today was literaly my first time ever welding. It is set-up for .030 flux wire and I was welding on 1/8th angle and 16 guage exhaust pipe.
Comments are welcome.

Pic 2 cut your heat down about 5 amps, pic 3 if that is a vertical up weld then do a slight zigzag weave side to side or a J weave and always keep your heat lower on a vertical up as your going to be pushing the heat up through the weldmont as you go higher.

With the galvanized you did good to get the coating off but you should take it off about 8 inches from the weld area and use a grinding wheel on a drill to get the coating off of the inside as well and do it with a fan behind you to blow the dust away as its bad even in dust form. Turn your heat down with the thin stuff so you dont get those burnt welds and watch your gas.

[big65]

Oh yea, with thin stuff run short beads of say 2 or 3 inches at the most and stop and let it cool otherwise you'll blow a hole through it.

[Jckl]

Well I am cheap and suck but here we go..

Second TIG project and used left over stuff. SS exhaust pipe, 16GA. Cheap temp catch can.


And added galvanized pipe.



Now the part most of you will hate...



First time TIG ever was my exhaust.




So here a new person to TIG has posted

[big65]

for a first time your doing well at it

[cabrlicious]

is there anybody in jersey who would like some beer in exchange for spending the afternoon with me figuring out what the heck is going on with this welder? To say I'm getting frustrated is putting it mild ... I've had this thing a year and have yet to get a single solid weld out of it.

I did try the outlet right off the panel the other day but it was windy and I doubt my little tent did enough to allow the gas to stay put. Speaking of gas, I was previously welding with 100% co2, and went to get a fresh bottle and got 75/25 argon. I have to do another little test weld using the outlet right off the panel which is on its own dedicated breaker just to compare with what I get on my remote outlet on the patio (my roof-less, wall-less garage). It did seem to get more usable amperage than the other one but I don't have any two pieces of work that are directly comparable. I think its gonna rain tomorrow anyway so ... bah

Now the part most of you will hate...

it's got primary colors ... just seems like it has less red or blue than most welders like on a machine. what's so bad about that?

[Jckl]

it's got primary colors ... just seems like it has less red or blue than most welders like on a machine. what's so bad about that?

There is nothing wrong with it other than there are people who say anything other than the red or blue machines are garbage. This unit is actually a 250A TIG, Stick and 60A plasma combo and does both DC and AC. I have seen them weld just as good as a miller and in some cases better than the 200DX. I have not had any issues with mine yet and they offer a 5 year warranty so I decided I would give it a try and I like it.

[nothing-leaves-stock]

miller tig, syncrowave 250

[big65]

Very nice work indeed.

[Jckl]

How well do you guys like the eastwood MIGs?

[nothing-leaves-stock]

welded this up this morning, both bends and DV for a RX8 with a RX7 singal turbo swap

[big65]

Good work, I'm currently working on a stainless 4 inch schedule 80 pipe in the 6G position and do it left handed and right handed.

[kkkustom]

is there anybody in jersey who would like some beer in exchange for spending the afternoon with me figuring out what the heck is going on with this welder? To say I'm getting frustrated is putting it mild ... I've had this thing a year and have yet to get a single solid weld out of it.

I did try the outlet right off the panel the other day but it was windy and I doubt my little tent did enough to allow the gas to stay put. Speaking of gas, I was previously welding with 100% co2, and went to get a fresh bottle and got 75/25 argon. I have to do another little test weld using the outlet right off the panel which is on its own dedicated breaker just to compare with what I get on my remote outlet on the patio (my roof-less, wall-less garage). It did seem to get more usable amperage than the other one but I don't have any two pieces of work that are directly comparable. I think its gonna rain tomorrow anyway so ... bah



it's got primary colors ... just seems like it has less red or blue than most welders like on a machine. what's so bad about that?

WIND IS A WELDERS WORST EMEMY! cant be ANY. like I said, even the ceiling fans in my shop, 14 feet up wont allow me to tig at all when i sit under them. Mig I can if I cup my hand/glove around the weld.

Who ever said turn the flow up to 25-35 is nuts... please start buying argon fills from my store then buddy! I run my migs around 13 or so, but never above 20. TIG I am around 15 for aluminum with gas lenses and bump it up a little more for stainless (and longer post flow) to ensure a colorfull bead for the customer. Anything more is a straight waste of gas.

100% co2 will get you better penetration/heat into the base metal, but piss poor shielding, since its still allowing oxygen into the puddle (porosity). Argon pushes oxygen away, thats why tig is usually done with PURE argon. Thats also why tig beads are perfectly clean, no soot or smutz anywhere. Empty that bottle of the CO2, have the shop purge it with pure argon to insure there isnt any junk air in there, and have them will it with standard 75/25 mix. You will notice a WORLD of difference. infact I would bet that as long as the machine doesn't have any gas line leaks (sucking in atmosphere through the leak) that might be entirely your problem.... minus welding outside in windstorms! lol

[big65]

Running %100 argon at 25CFH on a schedule 80 stainless pipe 6G with a backing ring with 120 amps on 5th layer at the moment using a Linde 300 oooollldd school set up and a number 5 gas lense.

[TBT-Syncro]

am i the only one running an ESAB welder? (digipulse xr)

[nubVR]

snap a pic of that if you can.... id like to see the sch 80 welds

[big65]

am i the only one running an ESAB welder? (digipulse xr)

We have some at work that are older than jesus and still run like chili peppers through a baby.

snap a pic of that if you can.... id like to see the sch 80 welds

Wish I could but if I get caught with a camera on company property its federal prison time.

[nubVR]

Wish I could but if I get caught with a camera on company property its federal prison time.

good point, commy spy!

[MKIGTITDI]

Know how that goes....Got a couple pics of things i made with my phone (psylo's)....Technically same consequences but i didnt get caught...

[nubVR]

Got a little MIG time in today, first welds in probably 6 months.... .179 5454 alum, millermatic 350


Sorry for ****ty phone pics

[nothing-leaves-stock]

vband exhaust.

[nubVR]

3/8" angle 6061 to .179 5454, I was a little colder then I wanted... No big deal though

[nothing-leaves-stock]

^^that looks nice

[nubVR]

Thank you Time for some beers and TIG welding in the garage

[big65]

vband exhaust.

Might be the picture but you've got concavity going on from 12 to 2 oclock and at 11 oclock positions unless your not using a filler to join the two pieces.

[big65]

Yea it really does look like its undercutting the edge of the lip for the flange even further down the right side, with it being exhaust I would think that the flange would flex and possibly crack the weld without a reinforced bead with filler added as opposed to pulling the two parts together and weakening the thickness of the material for either item. Keep in mind that I'm not sure if the photo is showing the bead properly and I am no expert on exhaust work and right now I hate stainless and pipe for the principal of it.

[nothing-leaves-stock]

1st off...i'm still learning and will to the day i die! so i'm open to people that know better telling me how to be better

the Vband flanges i use have a larger lip the goes over the pipe. this picture i did NOT use filler. and normally do not on these Vbands because of the lip. i have never had one break at all at this seam. if it was a flat seam, then i'd use filler and make it stronger.

[Jckl]

When I welded my vbands on my exhaust I wish that I would not have used filler. I have been told that if the seam is a butt joint, it will need filler for strength where if its a lap joint then it will not require filler.

NLS: Do you ever get the v-band hot enough to warp or are you using some type of heat sink? The company I purchased my v-bands from told me to use a large aluminum block under the v-band. I did not use anything and just welded about an inch or two at a time and if I could hold my hand with TIG glove on it, then I went a little more. I ended up not warping any of the 4 I welded.