Welding woes...frustrating!!

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dartfreak75

Restore it, Dont part it!
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As many of you know and have discussed with me I am fairly new to welding I welded in high school with a stick welder pretty efficiently but mig and flux core is pretty new. I bought a harbor freight flux core a little over a year ago and have played with it some and have had success with it. But it seems like when I'm playing with it or practicing I can make really nice welds but then when I go to actually work on a project it goes all to hell. Today I was welding a patch on a rusty part of my frame I cut out all the rust cleaned the area good and cut a piece of ankle to go over the hole. I made first weld and it looked really good. After that all hell broke loose. One thing I noticed was that my vertical welds looks alot better than the horizontal ones. I cannot get a bead to form going horizontally it's like it just splashed off. I tried different wire speeds with no help. I read that a 4 or 5 was ideal for what I was doing I couldnt get a puddle with that speed 7 or 8 seems to do better but it still seems like I'm not getting any penetration. Here are some pics the vertical one to the left was my very first weld it looks pretty good to me. The rest are garbage. Yes I cleaned the metal between every weld. It is dirty in the pic because I just finished my last weld and it started to rain so I put my tools up and snapped a few pics. Any help is appreciated.

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Weld is to cold, turn up the amps. Also, you need a steadier hand.. IMO
You dont want any sputtering while welding, needs to be constant welding. No stopping while running a bead....
 
Weld is to cold, turn up the amps. Also, you need a steadier hand.. IMO
You dont want any sputtering while welding, needs to be constant welding. No stopping while running a bead....
The welder is as high as it will go on amps. It has a high and low it's on high. Lol. The steady hand thing is on me it was burning the f@$k out of me with all the damn splatter. It kept sputtering out bad especially after about an inch or so it's like it would loose ground then spark back up. That would explain why it was cold. I couldnt even see a puddle for most of it.
 
Im gonna clean it really good and grind it down and try again on my next day off
 
Flux core wire is especially sensitive to proper hand and nozzle tip position.

When doing a vertical weld with flux core, you're going to get the best welds going from bottom to top. Going from top to bottom causes the flux to drip down into the puddle causing an "overlap" condition where the weld does not penetrate. Try holding the nozzle so that it points slightly upward, then start at the bottom and weld towards the top.

For a horizontal weld, tilt the nozzle backwards slightly from the direction of travel and "pull" the puddle. Flux core wire does not like to have a puddle "pushed".

And above all......THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ABOUT FULX CORE is to be able to tell molten flux from molten metal in the puddle. Flux will NEVER tie into the metal....only molten metal will tie in. So being able to recognize and control the puddle is the key to the whole deal.

I might also add that you will have MUCH better results using a tri-mix gas and solid core .023" wire....especially for Sheetmetal and most general automotive welding jobs. It's also MUCH easier to get good clean welds.
 
Practice using the same metal thickness, in the same orientation to get the settings correct. If the voltage is all the way up, slow the wire feed a little. You should hear a hissing sound and NO POPPING.

My guess is the angle is thicker than the railm so concentrate the wire on the angle and drag/loop it to the frame rail. Sort of like writing a cursive "e".

If it's a 90 amp welder, it's not really up to snuff to do 1/8" Typically need 1 amp per .001 of material.
 
Flux core wire is especially sensitive to proper hand and nozzle tip position.

When doing a vertical weld with flux core, you're going to get the best welds going from bottom to top. Going from top to bottom causes the flux to drip down into the puddle causing an "overlap" condition where the weld does not penetrate. Try holding the nozzle so that it points slightly upward, then start at the bottom and weld towards the top.

For a horizontal weld, tilt the nozzle backwards slightly from the direction of travel and "pull" the puddle. Flux core wire does not like to have a puddle "pushed".

And above all......THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ABOUT FULX CORE is to be able to tell molten flux from molten metal in the puddle. Flux will NEVER tie into the metal....only molten metal will tie in. So being able to recognize and control the puddle is the key to the whole deal.
So I need to angle the gun toward the direction I'm pulling? That makes sence what I was doing wrong. I was angling the gun the opposite direction
 
Practice using the same metal thickness, in the same orientation to get the settings correct. If the voltage is all the way up, slow the wire feed a little. You should hear a hissing sound and NO POPPING.

My guess is the angle is thicker than the railm so concentrate the wire on the angle and drag/loop it to the frame rail. Sort of like writing a cursive "e".

If it's a 90 amp welder, it's not really up to snuff to do 1/8" Typically need 1 amp per .001 of material.
Mine is a 125 but it may not be pulling that much it may not be enough welder.
 
So I need to angle the gun toward the direction I'm pulling? That makes sence what I was doing wrong. I was angling the gun the opposite direction

YES!

If going from left-to-right, you would want to tilt the nozzle slightly towards the left so that the wire comes out towards the point where you started.
 
YES!

If going from left-to-right, you would want to tilt the nozzle slightly towards the left so that the wire comes out towards the point where you started.
I drew a picture (crappy one) to make sure I understand what you are saying lol is this correct?

Screenshot_20200226-191545_Samsung Notes.jpg
 
I struggled learning too with flux core. I finally sucked it up and bought mixed gas and solid wire. The difference and ease was night and day. I still suck but the gas helps and I can get by.

Jim
 
If your budget allows I would get a non flux core mig welder I have a mig 175 from eastwood. I run .023 to .025 wire on a 220 outlet. I had a problem when using the thinner wire. It wouldn't feed properly I needed to get a knurled roller. Maybe the machine isn't feeding the wire properly or not at proper tension Just a suggestion
 
I struggled learning too with flux core. I finally sucked it up and bought mixed gas and solid wire. The difference and ease was night and day. I still suck but the gas helps and I can get by.

Jim
I'm considering buying a better welder I like this little welder for small stuff it has helped alot on small projects like fixing my lawn mower deck welding washers to remove my lca bushings etc but it doesnt seem to like to run a bead longer than an inch or so my puddle just disappears. The reason I didn't get a bigger one to start with is I dont have a 220 hook up at my house I'm considering getting a generator then I can run 220 with it.
 
I'm considering buying a better welder I like this little welder for small stuff it has helped alot on small projects like fixing my lawn mower deck welding washers to remove my lca bushings etc but it doesnt seem to like to run a bead longer than an inch or so my puddle just disappears. The reason I didn't get a bigger one to start with is I dont have a 220 hook up at my house I'm considering getting a generator then I can run 220 with it.

I'm just running a 110V Lincoln 110 (or 120) from Lowes.
 
Also, what are you using for a power source? A long undersized extension cord will hurt you, as will a small gauge supplied outlet in an old garage, say.
 
If your budget allows I would get a non flux core mig welder I have a mig 175 from eastwood. I run .023 to .025 wire on a 220 outlet. I had a problem when using the thinner wire. It wouldn't feed properly I needed to get a knurled roller. Maybe the machine isn't feeding the wire properly or not at proper tension Just a suggestion
It doesn't seem to fees right but I double checked everything and when I'm not welding the wire feeds just fine it just seems to slow down during welding. It very possibly could be because im using an extension cord to run the welder. I'm using the size cord it called for in the manual but maybe its loosing to much juice in the cord
 
Also, what are you using for a power source? A long undersized extension cord will hurt you, as will a small gauge supplied outlet in an old garage, say.
I am using a drop cord but it's the correct size the manual recommended
 
It's a 10 gauge 25 foot cord. The book recommends 10 gauge for anything up to 50 then 8 gauge over 50
 
Yes, when I bought the welder it was to make gates for my back yard. I was running an extension cord for some of the work way out in the back 40 and it was obvious the difference.
 
I'll concur that the quality of weld is night and day better with a true MIG setup as well as the ease.

I use a Hobart 140 (still a 110V) and the difference was very apparent welding 1/8".
 
Don´t waste any more time with the flux core. Tractor supply has the Hobart 140 on sale for $499 buy one and never look back.
 
In a previous life I was a metal worker.

a cheap welder makes a sometimes difficult skill to learn even more difficult. Arc or MIG. Everything from striking an arc to vertical etc.

I don’t necessarily condone this, but you can get 220 from two 110 plugs. Pros will tell you not to do this, but other dudes will tell you they have been doing it for decades.

I would never want to learn MIG with flux. Yes, I know and understand budget sometimes trumps quality.

I am on board with save up for a better Miller, Hobart, Lincoln etc and going from there. 220 if possible. Gas. Craigslist has bargains sometimes.
 
Check your polarity also. Some welders have to have the + and - reversed if using flux core or reg wire. Try some thicker metal 1st and keep the tip close. Wind or fans will have an effect on it. I would grab the speed knob while attempting a bead then adjust speed until it starts running smoothest. I use 1 hand to hold the other steady and the same distance. A good auto helmet helps too. Look close at the tip and metal and make small c shaped moves as the puddle forms. A high end welder, lincoln etc will pay you back as they work like butter compared to cheap ones. Keep the tip clean. Flux core wire makes stronger welds than reg wire. Good luck. You'll get better the more you practice. I sucked when i first started but can weld my @$$ off now. Oh yea and dont forget duty cycle. Probably 20% on that 1. Weld 2 min and wait 8 min before starting again. Caps have to store up power.
 
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I drew a picture (crappy one) to make sure I understand what you are saying lol is this correct?

View attachment 1715477560
Simple rules...

Move the weld to the right, lean the welder gun to the left...and vice-versa.

Weld from bottom to the top and lean the welder gun to the bottom.

Let the weld spot lead the tip and lean away from it. Push the weld ahead from the tip, don’t trail it. Maintain constant contact and flow as you go and don’t lift until you are done the seam.
 
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