Welding advice

[Mark_BC]

Not exactly 3rd gen related but I am building a roof rack for my 3rd gen.

I got a little Lincoln Mig Pak 140. I started using the flux core wire which made a mess but I was generally able to run a bead.

It is thin walled mild steel tube welded to itself or to electrical conduit with galvanizing ground off.

I got a bottle of Argon / CO2 today for MIG welding since the flux core is so messy. But I can't run a bead, all I get are blobs. I have the voltage on the lowest setting to avoid burn through and speed at around 3 out of 10. I've tried varying the speed a bit and voltage up one notch but it doesn't seem to make a difference.

I have a hard time believing it's because of bad technique, it must be my settings. Does anyone know what settings are right? Tank you muchly.

 

[Black798]

I have the smaller mig pak 10 and primarily use flux core but have use co2 a few times. You will.need to run higher voltage with it because the steel wire doesn't burn as hot as the flux core. I'd say try running two notches higher on voltage and put the wire feed somewhere between 2 and 4 and see where that puts you. Also set your gas flow around 10 cubic feet per minute to ensure you have proper sheilding.

 

[Mark_BC]

I did some googling and it seems that running the speed too fast can cause the metal to build up before it has a chance to melt into the pool. So I'll try that, slow it own, and then increase voltage as you say if that doesn't work.

 

[Red October]

Running a shield gas actually causes more resistance in the arc. Many people will run a smaller diameter solid wire when welding with gas as a result. For example, my 110 volt welder runs great on 0.030 flux core wire, but that is too heavy when using shield gas, so I step down to 0.023 and it runs much better.

Obviously you can also turn the "heat" up...