What am I doing wrong

[Shield Arc]

When working, I would walk right passed any engine drive welder that wasn't at least 400-amps.
These new steel wing walls for the Washington State ferries. Require a lot of welding. We drive the plumb pile on location. Stand the pre-fabed wing wall on top of the plumb pile, and weld them together. Then drive batter pile in the saddles. They get welded all the way around. Like I said, a lot of welding!

 

[woodlandfarms]

THanks for all the replies. Yes, too hot is an issue and I have the breeze issue, although I make sure I do not lay a weld when the wind is really blowing. I have upped my gas a bit and have turned down the juice a bit.

Here are picks of the welding (These are test welds, I am building something with 4x4 1/8" square tubing.



So I have a new issue. In my head I know what the might be a cause but... Anyway.. So instead of sizzling bacon I am getting a sputter sputter sound and the welding handle jerks around. It is the wire not arcing, that I know, but I am not sure why it is not arcing. I am thinking that even though I feel I have cleaned the metal, maybe I have not as well as I should. I am using solvent. So I am wondering if there would be a mechanical reason that I get the "I am not going to weld" that I have not considered. I will me more diligent about cleaning to see if that helps.

 

[Shield Arc]

Those welds don't look too bad, for being on a flat plate.:thumbsup:
Check your ground clamp, make sure it is on clean metal.
I really like Lincoln's L-56 Mig wire.

 

[Shield Arc]

If I'm having trouble with mill scale in the weld zone. I use a 36-grit sanding pad on a 4-inch grinder.

 

[sd455dan]

Is it possible your drive wheels are slipping occasionally on the mig wire?
That can sometimes result in a loss of arc because the arc gap increases during the time the wire stops feeding, Usually more of a problem on cheap migs (like mine:laughing or could just need a little more tension on the drive wheel(s) just something to check, and can be done by just keeping the trigger pulled while letting the wire feed without actually welding.

Also might check that the correct tip is installed - don't want a .035 inch on .025 inch wire.

another thought on getting a good ground was a tip from Jodys site using a piece of fine strand copper wire placed between the work and ground clamp- supposedly increases the number of ground contact places and results in better more consistent current flow
but i haven't tried it.

 

[Shield Arc]

The way I check the drive roll tension, run 4 or 5-inches of wire out. And bend it a little with a gloved hand, then pull the trigger. If the wire continues to bend, without the drive rolls slipping. Good enough.

 

[Arc weld]

Another way to check drive roll tension is to tighten it just enough it coils up in your hand from about 2-3" away but slips when push your hand a little closer. What you don't want to do is crank the tension right down.

 

[woodlandfarms]

So my machine (Lincoln 180C) sits for months on end without use. Does it make sense to release the coil tension? The rollers appear to be metal....

 

[IslandTractor]

So my machine (Lincoln 180C) sits for months on end without use. Does it make sense to release the coil tension? The rollers appear to be metal....

I find I only need to adjust drive roll tension when I change a roll of wire. I don't recall needing to readjust simply because the welder sits unused for months (which mine certainly does too).

 

[Arc weld]

Normally you don't have to anything with the adjustment.

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

You may be holding too far off and getting a little extra spatter. Tighten up arc to less than 3/8" from contact tip to metal. Also if you are running pure CO2 it will cause more spatter. Otherwise, try turning down the voltage. If you have a tapped machine, this may be hard to do.