I haven't done much welding. Even exhaust work has been years ago. So I never scraped the green off me. I'm filling an antenna hole. It's 70s or 80s GM sheetmetal. I cut a shape to fit the antenna hole from a house framing 2x4 bracket. I tacked it in place with my new HF 90 amp wire feed. Now, I've been trying to solidify the edge around it. I left the feed on it's slowest because I was blowing holes through things. I had the min/max switch on min, thinking that would help keep from blowing through. Because if I tried to weld continuously in a line, I've been tacking only. Tack. Tack. Tack. But, the line around the patch piece was still apparent. I've gone through several cycles of tack & grind; not really making progress. Now, trying the min-max switch on max, things seem to be coming together. Slowly, but I'm still in practice, learn and screw up mode. My take on it is the min setting was preventing good penetration. And might be more appropriate for in-line work (on thicker metal anyway.) In the future, would a good direction to take be to lessen the wire size since I'm working with thinner metal? Any other welding for idiots tips or linkes you'd like to throw my way are welcome.
It's flux core. That welder will never make a bead. Clean the metal real good, set the switch to high, and wire speed slow. TACK TACK TACK until it's done. Also, buy a can of anti splatter spray.
If a house framing bracket is a galvanized joist hanger get some other metal. You can also try backing it up with a piece of copper plate to keep from burning through when welding.
practice on stuff you don't care about 'til it works. And above all, PLEASE don't weld plated metals (like 2X4 brackets) The fumes from all plating and coatings like Galvanized and zinc and chrome are extremely toxic.
Inhaling a little zinc galvanizing won't kill you, although I certainly wouldn't recommend it. The fact that you are grinding the weld off and still noticing a line around the piece means you are not PENETRATING either of the metals (fender or house bracket piece). Many things to consider here: 1st: If you haven't welded much, you probably aren't great at grinding. Every time you are grinding a "weld" you are probably grinding the fender too. That fender will get THIN quickly and lead to bigger problems fast. 2nd: If you are using the flux cored (NR-211) wire provided with your buzzbox, be aware... That shit crystalizes when it gets too hot and becomes brittle. Your little filler piece will crack right out after you grind the welds. I just repaired a bunch of patches on a car that had this problem. 3rd: Get someone to show you how to weld before you go crazy on your project - it will prevent you from fucking up rare old stuff...or whatever you're working on. Trust me. Good luck!
Hi/Tack seems to be how I'm making progress, Beau. Took a bit to figure it out though. I ground all surfaces of the bracket after I cut it out. I know the zinc isn't something I should make a habit of. I made a copper spoon from some old tube tonight, but there's no way it's setting flush against the back side at this point due to the boogers on the back. Yeah, Randy, I wondered about the thickness at this point. I think there's a welding night class in Glendale. Will fit something like that in before I do anything critical like chassis work. Your 2nd: It's not in a load bearing area; I'll beat on it enough and inspect for cracks before doing paint, since the fender it's replacing has some old body work that led to cracked paint. And your signature describes this pretty well! thanks.
I use a 110 volt campbell hausefelf flux core welder and it does quite well on 16-20 gauge sheet metal. I always set mine for the highest setting and turn up the wire feed speed so it lays a nice tack without burning through. Then I got a qire brush on a high speed drill to clean it in between tacks. If your gonnna use it on the low setting make sure there is a slight gap were your welding for good penatration.
I understand that this is the machine you have and you want it to work but you are in for endless frustration. If you can afford it now is the time to step up to a better machine with a gas valve so you can run solid wire. Look for a new or used name brand. It will go a long way toward raising the "fun" factor of your project.
thats true also. My first welder was a 90a stick...dont even want to think about how hard it was to learn with that. Good school thou.
Perhaps you should consider gas welding or brazing just to get this job done and practice with your mig, or as others mentioned, I would look for a better welder.
I've got SOME experience welding with a MIG. Most of my previous experience had been with Ox/Ac welding. When I first got the mig it had flux core wire. My experience with sheet metal it tends to burn thur if any more than a tack was done with the flux core wire which was .030. The flux core needs a little more heat to weld I think. Made the switch to solid core wire and CO2 Argon tank. WOW what a difference. Also thinner wire .024 for sheet metal will help. These 2 changes made a WORLD of difference.
Yep, I realize there are shortcomings with the flux wire feed and eventually I'd like to get a nice TIG. What went through my mind before opening and using this welder which was a gift: I have 110v to the garage and want to get a few small things done (that won't require higher amperage) like sheetmetal and exhaust. Running 220v is a future goal, but although I have the wire to run from the breaker box to the garage, I'm much more inclined to attack the goal of widening my garage. Without adding $$ or gas to the fray, I consciously chose to stick with this unit for the time being. Thanks for confirming the thinner wire, mrts. I'll be sure to consult with you guys in the distant future on those goals. Happy to learn.
I suggest you pick up a couple of junk fenders and practice on them before you screw up a "good" fender. Practice practice, practice. Learning what not to do is as important as learning what to do. Gene
My buddy has the same welder as you. We made it work for doing little things on his motorcycle. That's why I know what you need to set it at. They are not powerful, therefor, slow wire speed makes sure you either burn through it, or penetrate. The anti splatter nozzle tip spray will make the weld a little cleaner, and also make clean up a lot better. Just spray the part down, let it dry, then weld. I find that worn out "flapper" disks for an angle grinder are the best for grinding down the weld and getting smooth finish. If you plan to use body filler, it really doesn't need to be welded solid IMO. I started on a buzz box, then a better machine with flux, and now MIG. Learning on shit machines will only make you better in the long run. As long as you know what the limitations of the machine are. I have had really shitty looking welds how up to tons of abuse. I have also had really nice looking welds fail right away. As stated, weld a bunch of scraps together and try to bust them apart. You'll learn what works and what doesn't. ..and last, the amount of money I spent on shit flux core wire (and wire brushes, anti splatter spray, grinder disks and time cleaning those welds) could have bought me a nice MIG machine. Flux core is expensive and crap. After 12 years of flux core, I got a MIG. I'm an idiot.
Here is a way around the " boogers " ,years ago ( many !!) I worked at a body/ restoration shop and came across this problem a lot. What I did was to take a hole saw, the kind that is used for electrical work that was bigger than the hole I was patching and drill a new plug out of a scrap fender/door ,what ever was available, put it over the hole and scribe a line around the hole or bad repair. If it was solid metal i would take a smaller hole saw and drill it out,if it was a hole i would grind it out with a die grinder using a old speaker magnet to hold the new plug to get the gap right. Now you can put your copper spoon behind so you can weld. And like every one has said ,get you some scrap stuff and practice before you do this on something that could be expensive / hard to replace. Good Luck !!!! Kenny
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