Is a flux cored welder any good?

I agree a mig is easier and cleaner ,but not worth a crap under a car outside in the wind.I dont have a problem with a flux core on sheetmetal either.A real welder can use either .I have a cracker box stick welder that i have used around here on small stuff for ten years.Yes ,i have used it on everything from top chops ,to rocker panels.Dont see too many people that stick weld sheetmetal successfully cept me (low amp setting and tiny rods + a keen eye and short welds ).If your gunna be welding sheet metal for a living i'd proly get a mig.If your not gunna be using it every day ,i'd get the fluxcore.Welds on body panels will be ground off anyway ,so they dont have to look like a row of nickels as long as its a good solid weld .Just my $.02 ...

 

I can't think of an instance where I've ever used multi pass MIG but for tools, where on a car would you use it or advocate it to a novice?
All I got from that Lincoln article was don't expect to see many silicon islands with our wire, don't include them if you do. I can't imagine what you're doing to have so much silica or why your experience should be so different, I'd love to know more about it but can't find anything, and my welding encyclopedia is too old . I've only had a problem with fine grinding dust in my eyes when I've been forced to use nothing but MIG and lots of abrasives.

What's wrong with either laying the wire on an edge of the work or clamp to part it? If you're not starting in the root what's the difference? Hardly like radially grinding a tungsten, I'm pretty certain starting at the root affords less penetration than starting beside it.
I think bodyshops butt joint with MIG because modern high tensile precludes gas, I've only come across one guy who could do it anything like as well as gas and he would turn up the edges to compensate for shrinkage, grind and beat. Still nothing like tacked ground and gas welded. I've never seen fluxcore claim to weld sheet thinner than 18 gauge and I don't think you can ever hope to do half decent body work with just a wirefeed, they're only good to me for tacks and plug welds on sheet.

yet another opinion http://www.markthewelder.co.uk/id35.html

 

Wow! I got to say that every MIG bead I've ever made that was worth a shit had silica on top! The majority of the MIG welds I've made that weren't worth a shit had silica on top.The ones that aren't worth a shit are always due to lack of prep.

Can I mention one other thing? Silica and silicon are two different things, as are silicon and silicone.

I don't mind flux core....I've laid down some bitchin' welds with flux core. It did take a bit of time to get used to using the stuff though...I find it a bit different and more tempermental than regular MIG.

For sheetmetal, I'll stick with my Henrob or my Meco until I can upgrade to a TIG. Got almost all of the parts (including a hi-freq unit), just looking for a good AC/DC that's in my price range. Here in farm country, the old Lincoln 225 AC/DC welders still seem to go for big money. Ok, so the MIG is nice to tack some stuff together real quick and you can buy an ok unit for less than I have in my Henrob, regulators, and tanks, but I'll stick with gas welding sheetmetal for now.

I'm not a professional, certified welder by any means, just a maintenance guy who first started out on the MIG 25+ years ago, but I'll side with the guys who have advice that jives with what I have seen. In my world, getting it fixed NOW and making it stick are the two biggest requirements.

There are two things in life where penetration is a requirement.........one of them is welding.

Tim D.

 

you do realise that silica isn't silicone, which you keep referring to. I know you're not a certified professional welder, but not knowing the difference between the two sheds tons of light on your knowledge of the subject. Fact is you're arguing technicalities with people who are required to know and follow specific procedures in regards to them for a living... Which you clearly are not. Do what you want and what works, but professional welders will always look at it differently.

 

I started with a stick weider back in the 70s,how i have a miller tig,a miller210 mig and a lincon 100 mig it uses flux and gas.I use the lincon for small job and the only problem with the 100 or110 welders that run on 120v is you only have about 10 to 15 percent welding time before it kicks the reset buttom, if you can afored a bigger welder you may be happer.

 

Places I've used multiple pass using a spray transfer / spray arc process:
Motor Mounts made of 1/4 thick plate steel. Also, leaf spring riser blocks made of 1/4 inch thick plate steel. Trailer hitches too.

 

Another place I've used multiple pass in car fab :
When subframing a Nova, usually common to narrow the entire front stub....thus you end up having to narrow the Tie Rod too........in doing this, I also use multiple pass BUT no MIG involved. Cut bevel to a point, use around 5 passes for the root with TIG, then fill the rest of it in with multiple pass of ARC.

Carl Hagan

 

And silicon oxidizes to silica on the weld no? If you're not using high silicon wire what's the source?

Tim I'm curious where you like the Henrob

Carl sounds like you did a nice job but I don't think the tierod would meet govt spec here

 

The (S) on the wire ID E-70S-6 means the wire is silicon killed. It act's like a flux when you are welding. The little glass dot in the puddle or on the sides of the weld is the results of the silicon acting as a flux. As the weld cools and contracts the little glass (silicon dot) pops off and will allmost always nail you in the eye.
Multi pass butt welds (through the tickness) on cars would almost always be on frames or heavy parts.

 

I once heard a welder is only as good as the welder. Still trying to figure that one out......

 

the "welder" is the machine the "Weldor" is the person with the skill good or bad.
the "welder" is only as good as the "weldor " this line was used in lots of hand out materials in welding classes in the late 60s

 

Yup, thats probably when I first heard it. My smiley didn't post up for me...

 

Why do you want a flux core? Get yourself a small MIG, like a Miller or what I use, a LE 175 Pro. Its small, portable, with a few little extras, you can weld fluxcore to your hearts content, any wire from .023 up, plus you can weld Alum. and stainless with the right gases, drive rollers, etc.

I have a brand new 255 amp Mig and bottle setup........I only use it when I gotta do the really big stuff!

You do know that fluxcore is only used when there's a good breeze that can blow your shielding gas away, don't you??????? Well, that is, usually. I use innershield on the big stuff.........

 

You Da Man!!!!!!! Like a old friend told me a few years back, "Ya know, You are gonna find out there are 2 types in this field......those can weld, which are quite a few, and those that are welders, those that are quite few!"

 

Gosh darn it fellas, that last page of posts, I thought you all were gonna start chunkin chippin hammers!!!!!!!!!

 

Hey, we all know who's who when we're behind a hood. One look at a bead, and we know. We all know that Certs. just gets us in the door to do the test. And if anyone that thinks the 'coupons' come in the sale papers to get discounts, 'takin' pictures' are for the digital cameras, and 'wagontracks' and 'Keyholes' are things that can be found around the house, well, we know who knows what.

Personally, I'm not gonna ride in anything that the person that welds on it doesn't know what those 'terms' mean. If your gonna ride in anything thats been welded by a novice, and risk you butt on it......let me just say this......skin grows back really slow and bones will mend, but its just way to dawm painful for it to be grownin back on me.

 

i started with a flux only 110 craftsman a while ago. you really had to work to get a good weld, especailly pushing. It ran really really hot and would warp the shit out of sheet metal with a tack, if not babied. it wass good up till about 1/8, maybe 3/16. I just got my millermatic going this last week. started with flux on that too because i had no bottle and had a couple extra spools around. switching machines made a world of difference and was loving it on 3/16. i can't wait to switch to mig just because its cleaner but was thinking like previously started, flux made me a much better welder. I had to manipulate it in everyway i was taught to get it to work. change angle, distance, push/pull, bevel edges, all depending on what thickness i was welding on. i would suggest getting one that is upgradable but i got mine for trade for work and it was the only thing i had and really wanted to weld so i made it work. flux is fine

 

I'm having a heck of a problem with little Craftsman flux core welder.

It's always done this really annoying kind of jerky thing where the wire just doesn't feed at a constant rate. Up until now I assumed it was because the wire was getting kinked, I was doing something wrong, the machine is just plain cheap, etc., but recently it's gotten pretty bad to the point where the wire sticks in the gun all the time. I either have to knock the gun on something to get it loose or actually pull the wire out a bit with pliers.

Doing that I just noticed that the wire is blued in spots 1-3 inches down from the welding end. What's going on here? It's probably been doing this all along and I just now noticed. Does bumping the nozzle on the work ground it or something?

 

The blue spot is where the voltage is going to the wire before you ground the hot end of it. If you get an arc from the nozzle to ground you have some slag between the inside of tip and the nozzle. The nozzle has an isolator between the two. I'd get rid of the Craftsman and get a good welder, Miller is my personal choice, everybody else has their favorite too.

 

I started wire welding with a Lincoln 110 Weldpak with .035 flux core. I had good luck with it.

I have even fabricated a set of rock sliders out of 3/16 tubing with this setup that held up well in Colorado on a buddy's rig. I cranked it up pretty good and burned it in well, and it held well. I did short weld times so as not to overheat the unit while burning that hot, and it worked flawlessly.

We have been using the same unit lately on sheet metal with argon/co2 flux gas, it works well also.

 

Hmm, ok, I'll take it apart and check down the holes again. I don't really think I'm touching the nozzle to anything, but it seemed like that might be causing the sticking. I'd REALLY like a better welder, but right now I'm just pretty much trying to tack stuff together and even that is practically impossible when I have to unjam the wire every other tack.

 

Machinos --

You might consider getting a tub of spatter guard gel to dip the tip in as your welding. It helps to keep the tip clean and helps to keep the wire from sticking to it.

Another trick I've heard was to spray a thin coat of lubricant to the spool of wire to smooth out the feed.

You may also look at investing in a new inner shield for your stinger lead. Something may have gotten inside the shiled catching on the wire, or it may have gotten kinked causing the jerking of the wire. They're pretty cheap and an easy fix if needed.

 

Another thing, every time you change the roll or whenever you want....blow out the whip with a torch or compressed air to remove any wire residue.