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Learning to FCAW

ShoeterMcgav

NAXJA Forum User
NAXJA Member
Location
Colorado
Welp, as the title suggests... it ain’t rocket science! LOL but it’s different then my last setup... unfortunately I had to sell my Lincoln power mig in order to move to CO... but alas I picked up this little hottie from a pawn shop. Nothing fancy, mind you- but it’ll work for now. It’s a harbor freight special- but one of the stronger ones from what I’ve seen. Chicago electric mig 180. Got er setup for flux cored .035 with Lincoln NP211 wire. According to the chart it can’t even weld 1/4”, and 3/16ths only at the max setting (F). It has wire feed speed in 1-10 and voltage in A-F. SO, of course I want to weld 1/4” brackets to my axle, duh! But after welding a 3/16th axle truss on... I’m getting confused.

Wire speed is a hair past 6, and power is at B! Call me crazy but at this setting I still got some under cut and penetration is borderline too hot!

I’ll share some pics for reference... but I know this much, slag you drag, 45ish degree work angle, keep the tip closer to the puddle, and less is better as far as puddle manipulation. Learned most of that the hard way of course. No cursive e or anything fancy to emulate stacks of dimes.

Should I crank her all the way to F, solely because I’m doing 1/4”?

Unfortunately I don’t have any extra 1/4” material to play on- and the metal yard has shut it’s doors afaik. Doubt I will be blowing through the axle or anything... being used to digital volts and wire speeds in inches per second has me second guessing myself. From what I’ve read flux runs hotter inherently too right?
 
Let the flaming begin!!! LOL

Short little lap weld
picture.php


Butt weld... of course the 2 parallel beads came stock on the truss- I think the pic orientated with mine vertical
picture.php
 
Wow... posted my welds online expecting to be lit on fire... nothing?

I’m on the hunt for some 1/4 inch scrap to get some test beads down.. my scrap pile is non-existent here.. basically just what I cut/ tore off the axle. Pretty surprised this little welder is getting the penetration it is at the setting it is. I guess it’s better then being too cold turned all the way up :shrug:
 
Meh, this ain't pirate and not like you got bird shit welds. I'm no expert but I think they look decent.
 
Lol that is true! Pirate would def find something to burn me for!

With the axle shafts now pulled I can see I have good penetration on the axle tube from the inside so I’m calling the truss good.. hoping the LCA mounts come out as good being slightly thicker material and actually structural and load bearing to a degree I don’t wanna mess around. I’m thinking at least setting C, and adjust wire speed. I want good strong welds but I don’t want to crank her up for just to say I did. I’d be shocked and amazed if the HF special could blow through the axle tubes... maybe the abcdef did isn’t doing much more so wire speed, welding technique, and wire type/ thickness.

Just gonna send it and hope for the best
 
I am no expert either but if my first welds looked like that I would call it a day, stop practicing, and get to welding.
Picked up a Millermatic 135 last year and have played with it a couple times.
I need so much more practice. LOL.
 
:cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers:

Guess the settings don’t matter if the welds are sound.. just odd from my previous machine.

Game on!
 
I've been a Miller GMAW user for decades, so Lincoln settings are not familiar to me. FCAW is more challenging to produce "pretty welds" than using GMAW, but practice will become your best friend.

"Stacking dimes" technique looks cool and if performed with the proper technique, will be structurally strong, but as a novice welder you should focus on just maintaining proper tip angle, wire stickout and gun speed as you move down your joint.

100_3195.jpg


Like any skill, there is no substitute for practice to become proficient. Work on even penetration of both sides of the material that you are joining and your technique to produce even beads. Once you can do this with consistency, then you can experiment with modifying your technique to make the weld "prettier".

From what I can tell by your pics, your welds are decent and acceptable.

When joining pieces of different thicknesses,such as axle tube to truss, concentrating the focus of your puddle on the thicker metal and pushing the puddle to the thinner piece, while maintaining an even bead will result in a strong weld, without the risk of melting thru the thinner material.

https://ewi.org/gas-metal-arc-welding-basics-welding-current-welding-voltage/
 
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10-4 roger that good buddy!

Definitely focusing puddle on thicker material and swinging into thinner to limit undercut... and I may have worded my initial post wrong... in no way am I looking for a “stacked dimes” look in any of my welds while using flux core. To your point, there is plenty of evidence to suggest this weakens the weld when performed using GMAW even. No need to get into that as I don’t even have gas!

I definitely agree; tip angle, stick out, gun speed, and work angle are most important.


And just for the benefit of anyone who reads this, you said “pushing” in reference to the puddle... slag you drag.. so the motion is definitely a “pull” - just so everyone is on the same page.

My biggest worry was the settings on the machine being far less accurate to the chart as my mig was... I have found that this little machine has some kick and is HOT even at the lower settings with the current wire.

I have no issue with the “looks” of my welds, only that even at the second lowest setting I’m getting undercut on 3/16ths. Structurally it is sound, but my OCD prefers the fine tuning of my last machine. In no way do I doubt the bonds or strength of the welds with this machine- it’s just the nuances of what is a lesser quality I suppose.


I’ve done some more welding with it and for the price I’m pretty pleased with its power tbh


Now, if only I had a plasma cutter to go with it!
 
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