I suck at welding also, some quick tips?

[Skullver]

I have only been welding for 2-months so please bare with me.

I have a crappy mig wire feed welder, 120v,85amp max output, 40% duty cycle, anyways to weld 1/4" steel I turned the power all the way up(4), and set the wire feed speed at 2.5/10, using .030 flux-core wire, this worked great and I was able to get some real smooth beads and decent penetration(just a lot of splatter).

Well I recently set it up for gas(yes I switched the polarity of the leads and the wire) and now I have to turn the wire feed speed to 4.75/10 to get the same bead consistency but I don't seem to be able to get quite enough heat for the weld to really lay down(I assume), although there is much less splatter. they penetrate really well when they do lay down though. Any thoughts, hints, suggestions, rude comments will be appreciated. I can take some pics if that wwould help, although it may be humiliating, I have to learn somehow. Thanks much for reading.
Chris

 

[88XJScott]

After you convert those little welders to MIG, they dont get very much penetration. I would imagine that you would be able to do up to 1/8", if you are lucky. To get your bead to lay flatter, hold the gun as close as you can to the metal (keep a really short "stick out" in welding terms) that will get you maximum penetration also.

Let me know if that works for you.

 

[chris_amrein]

I agree getting closer will help make the weld burn hotter.

You can slow your wire feed speed down and that will slow your weld speed down which will produce more heat.

Keep in mind welding is like painting...the prep work you do before you pull the trigger is as equally as important as the welding itself. Take the time to v-groove, chamfer and clean your weld surface.

Keep in mind your welder's consumables (contact tip, nozzle, gun) are all probably pretty light duty and attempting to build more heat will drastically shorten the life of these parts.

Hope this helps.
Chris

 

[Skullver]

Thanks guys, I am actually having to buy scrap metal now just to get this thing dialed in, I think I am just going to sprout for a Lincoln or Miller 220v. Thanks for the tips.