Learning MIG welding

[Joel_BC]

Not long ago, I got equipped with a MIG welder. Then it was time to really learn MIG and flux-core welding technique, since I'd no longer be dependent on short-term borrowed use of neighbors' equipment. My earlier experience had been mostly with oxy-fuel welding, heat forming, and cutting.

These are some of my favorite MIG and Flux-Core instructional videos from Youtube. Mainly, they're about technique and welder adjustments (wire-feed speed, and voltage) for achieving appropriate, good-appearing, strong beads for different types of joints.

This is a thorough, methodical "classroom" type general introduction to MIG - very comprehensive, but if you know the machine and its functions, and the safety procedures for using it, you can skip it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzBGZaS1apw
Same thorough teacher showing "advanced" (but, truthfully, mid-level) practices and techniques:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMdQT-eswYY

This fellow, who has a "Welding Tips and Tricks" channel on Youtube, explains the "cursive e" bead "weaving" technique for well-finished, strong welds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4RrDeUKcH4

For troubleshooting your MIG (GMAW) and flux core beads, these two by the Lincoln company are excellent:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJ4y7snY3Wk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD7Y57gK3yU

This one is quite good on basic often-used joints, including gap-filling technique. He shows how the "push" method can sometimes be better than the "drag":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMLWKqdn920

Here's one by Kevin Caron, on getting the feel for MIG voltages and wire feed speeds:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4RrDeUKcH4
He's done a lot of vids on welding with different sorts of equipment, all relaxed and friendly and explained so it seems simple. Here's Kevin Caron's channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/kevincaron?feature=watch

 

[the_whingnut]

that channel is a great resource. he also has a website Weldingtipsandtricks.com

 

[Icu4dzs]

G'day mates,
I've been making some attempts at getting better at the use of a MiG welder over the past several years. While I don't get much time to do any welding (primarily due to the demands on my time for other pursuits) I have managed to acquire at least two of them. One is a Hobart 135 which runs on 110v and the other is a Lincoln 216 but that one needs 220v.

Each time I have needed to do a repair or even when I am making something, I will admit that my "aesthetics" leave a great deal to be desired. I don't seem to be able to get that nice clean little row of loops that make it look like I know what I am doing. I realized on one of my projects that the gas wasn't shielding the weld (i.e. not coming out of the gun) and the welds looked horrific. Yes, they are holding OK and fortunately are not under a great deal of stress but I sure would like to have a prettier piece of work.
Additionally, materials are a bit difficult to get up this way so just sitting down and melting steel all over the place isn't good use of scarce resources for me.

All that having been said, I have recently acquired several books, of which one has turned out to be rather good. The first two are a machinist's training course text book set and they seem quite old despite the fact that I just ordered (and received) them. The third book is called "Metalworking, Sink or Swim" written by a guy named Tom Lipton. He writes it from the perspective of talking to someone who is in the metal working business rather than someone like me who is trying to learn to do things in his own environment. So despite the approach, he writes really well, has a great sense of humor and I have learned a great deal from the book thus far.
Why am I saying this to guys who are probably way more advanced? I'm not sure except to say that if you read this guys book, maybe your own expertise is worthy of recording in book form for amateurs like me...

In the mean time, I'll keep trying to figure out which of the many welding machines I have will do for which job... I have an Airco 225 stick welder, an oxy-acet rig and the two MiG sets mentioned above. I have also found (kind of in the trash) two older Lincoln stick welders and have wanted to play with them too but given my limited time and materials, I have let them sit.

Any recommendations for a part-time hack?

 

[Joel_BC]

Hi, Trim. Well, I won't say too much - I'm an amateur - and though I value my welding equipment and have done a lot of useful things with it that I could do no other way, my experience is limited. The_Whingnut is a pro, and hopefully he will post something answering your needs here.

My wire-feeder Lincoln 180 is a compact 240v MIG/flux-core rig. It is said to be useful for up to 1/2-inch mild steel welding. I've never used it for anything over 1/4-inch, and if the weld must be strong even that often requires a second pass.

Maybe 1/2-inch material could be done with my machine, but it would definitely be a two-sided bevel-edged deal (e.g., for steel plate). Those thicker-stock jobs, if you have the equipment, are usually what people use their stick welder rigs for.

Shielding-gas flow issues for MIG are well discussed in this video. Yes, the people who posted the vid on Youtube are ultimately trying to sell you their product, but the issues involved are relevant in all MIG set-ups and situations, I think. Usefully informative info:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgEy8HVOIVc