| I can't say that I'm an expert , but I have done my fair ( unfair? )
share of welding. As a rule of thumb I tend to set the gas at 10-12
ltr/min and run a moderate wire speed. If welding car body panels it
becomes fairly obvious if the wire speed is too slow, You melt holes in
things. And also for that application I tend to keep it at a low power
setting. I normally use .6mm wire . The other thing that can cause
scrappy starting point but very good quality welding from there on is
to do with the gas. I only use BOC argosheild TC, I have great
difficulty getting welding to my satisfaction with Co2. Little 1 or 2
kilo bottles from halford are a waste of time and money.
The only other thing that I can think of that may account for poor
start is the welder it's self. If you have paid a lot of money I hope
this is not so ,but a lot of the welders on the market have a single
stage trigger in the torch. This means that when you pull the trigger,
you get wire straight away with the gas to follow. You need the gas
straight away with the wire to follow. I know for sure the BOC turbo
mig 130 and the SNAP-ON version both have the 2 stage trigger. Having
said that it is less of a problem at slow speeds , so it may not be
your problem.
As a final word, if you don't have a large cylinder of gas,
preferably argosheild tc, and will be doing a lot of welding, get to a
BOC cylinder centre of the like and rent 1. it is by far the cheapest
way to go. Annual rental ant the moment for a B size is �22.85 and the
refill charge is about �16 ( including vat and handling charge) and a
mini-mig gas conversion (regulator,gauge and hose) is about �30.
I'm sure that someone out there will can do better than me ,but I
hope it helps. Best thing is to get a couple of bits of scrap and give
it a go and see what settings seem to be best.
Good luck
Garry
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| The only things I might add to -.1 are:
- Make sure the welding surfaces are absolutely clean, free of paint
and rust.
- Make sure the two pieces of metal are in firm contact, and that the
current return clamp is also to unpainted metal.
It seems perfectly obvious, but those were often the problems I had
when welding a Spitfire that should probably have been scrapped...
Paul
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| Paul, Garry
Thanks for your replies,
I think it's a 2 stage torch (at least the gas comes immediately)
its brand is Bizel (I'll check tonight).
The whole welder exudes a 'High Quality' feeling
from the finish on the casing to the type of castors attached.
Yes I am using BOC Argoshield tc C/W I stage BOC regulator, and .6mm
wire. I suppose the problem I had was that I hadnt made the connection
in my mind between slow speed == Higher temperature at metal (I suppose
it's fairly obvious when I think about it!!)
Anyway, I will keep on trucking,
Thanks,
Brian (forgot to put my name on initial note)
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