Newbie questions

[tkappeler]

Santa brought an Everlast Power iMig 140e. It is my first attempt at welding in almost 40 years ago in high school metal shop. I was just trying to lay down some beads on 1/8" flat bar stock. I know that the sweet spot sounds like bacon frying. I know that it's a combination of voltage, wire speed, gun angle and speed. Of course, getting the right combinations will take lots of practice. That and feedback from the wealth of knowledge here

Here are my first beads. What causes the splatter? Any good sites for diagnosing issues? All comments welcome.

 

[FredH]

You running it with gas or no gas ? No gas = Flux core wire and you will get the splatter .

Fred H.

 

[tkappeler]

yep. flux core wire. .030. I know that CO2 and CO2/argon are the shielding gasses that are common. What are the +/- for each one? I plan on picking up a bottle but have not had time yet.

 

[CNC Dan]

yep. flux core wire. .030. I know that CO2 and CO2/argon are the shielding gasses that are common. What are the +/- for each one? I plan on picking up a bottle but have not had time yet.

Self shielded flux core wire is nice if you have to weld outside in the wind, or when you want to take the welder someplace, and you don't want to lug the heavy tank too. It works better than gas shielded wire on less than clean metal.

Gas shielded wire and C25 gas, can give good looking beads on clean metal, and there is less spatter to clean off. There is no slag to remove either.

You can also use CO2 as your shielding gas. It is less expensive than C25, and it will give a bit more penetration. A bit more spatter too.

You will need to change polarity when changing betwen flux core wire and solid wire.

 

[dragoneggs]

Santa brought an Everlast Power iMig 140e. It is my first attempt at welding in almost 40 years ago in high school metal shop. I was just trying to lay down some beads on 1/8" flat bar stock. I know that the sweet spot sounds like bacon frying. I know that it's a combination of voltage, wire speed, gun angle and speed. Of course, getting the right combinations will take lots of practice. That and feedback from the wealth of knowledge here

Here are my first beads. What causes the splatter? Any good sites for diagnosing issues? All comments welcome.

View attachment 404200

You will like the results (looks) much better with gas. If you will pretty much be welding in your garage then gas and solid wire is the way to go IMO. Definitely takes some practice. I just picked it up again since college many moons ago and that was stick. Love the MIG for the relatively light gauge I play with and how easy it is. Do some test bends and really see you are doing with various thicknesses.

 

[Shield Arc]

I got to play with an Everlast PoweriMig 140e recently.
The majority of self shielded wires run on DCEN. As CNC Dan mentioned you did change the polarity by changing the wires inside the machine? If not you'll need a 10 mm socket and extension.
Stickout will cause a lot of splatter too. You'll need to force the nozzle back, so the contact tip is flush with the end of the nozzle.

 

[Shield Arc]

I thought I took pictures of the Imig e with Lincoln's NR-211.

 

[tkappeler]

... You will need to change polarity when changing betwen flux core wire and solid wire.

I got to play with an Everlast PoweriMig 140e recently.
The majority of self shielded wires run on DCEN. As CNC Dan mentioned you did change the polarity by changing the wires inside the machine? If not you'll need a 10 mm socket and extension.
Stickout will cause a lot of splatter too. You'll need to force the nozzle back, so the contact tip is flush with the end of the nozzle.

Thanks! I have read many posts and some talked about reversing polarity but did not know what the rules were about when to switch it. I will give it a try as it will be a month or so before I will pick up a bottle and go solid wire (and switch polarity back).

Shield Arc, those are some nice looking welds (as always).

BTW: I anticipate that most work I will do will be non-structural. Table bases, seating, furniture and such ... at least for now

 

[Shield Arc]

Remember now anything that produces slag you'll want to drag. If you're right handed, start on the left side, and weld to the right side.
I found with .030" Lincoln L-56 Mig wire that machine had a very nice arc. And real easy to find the sweet spot:thumbsup:. With .025" wire the voltage had a smaller window for finding the sweet spot.
Here is my first weld with that machine. .030" Lincoln L-56 Mig wire. Notice the splatter? Once the gun got warm enough where I could slid the nozzle back, that really cut down on the splatter.

 

[CNC Dan]

I thought I took pictures of the Imig e with Lincoln's NR-211.

What size wire was that, .030?
I haven't had much time to fool around with my 140E yet. Put in a roll of .030 flux core since it fit the drive roll that came with it.

I want to cut the nozzle back, but I might hold off untill I can make some longer contact tips(I work at a machine shop).

I plan on timing the wire feed speed so I can use IPM instead of just the numbers on the knob.

And I have a DC clamp on ammeter, so I can adjust to an actual current level. It would have been nice to have that chart on the inside of the door, like most welders. Guess I'll just have to make my own.