As I posted on another thread recently I still use my Pro90 on car bodywork/sheet metal. It’s ideal for it (IMO). The appropriate settings seem to be right in its “sweet spot”, not so low that it won’t weld properly but well within its capabilities. It’s restricted in terms of what it will do, but what it does it does well.
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As I posted on another thread recently I still use my Pro90 on car bodywork/sheet metal. It’s ideal for it (IMO). The appropriate settings seem to be right in its “sweet spot”, not so low that it won’t weld properly but well within its capabilities. It’s restricted in terms of what it will do, but what it does it does well.
Pics of a test piece that worked ok, welded in horizontal and angled, there was blowouts near edges. Setting was mostly 1 and a few on 2. (The small crappier welds bottom left are where my son was learning the old mig)
Other pics are welds of new panels on car, you can see plug welds needed a lot of filling and blow out holes. I don't see any difference between my this and my old clarke welds.
turning up the wire speed usually results in higher weld build up and more blow outs, on 1 it can sputter a fair bit., you can see the blow outs can happen on the new metal side only sometimes.
Last two pics were welded on wire feed 2 with min power
I can make crap welds like this for under £100
I reaslise this is mostly down to my lack of ability but surely this should produce better welds than a 20 yr old clarke gasless even if I am crap.
I don't think I can afford to run a gas welder, I used about 1//3rd of a bottle yesterday doing a few small patches.
I'm trying to like and justify this welder but I don't think as a welder of my experience I am getting any benefit and I have to buy expensive gas to produce the same crap I usually do.
Appreciate the help
Other pics are welds of new panels on car, you can see plug welds needed a lot of filling and blow out holes. I don't see any difference between my this and my old clarke welds.
turning up the wire speed usually results in higher weld build up and more blow outs, on 1 it can sputter a fair bit., you can see the blow outs can happen on the new metal side only sometimes.
Last two pics were welded on wire feed 2 with min power
I can make crap welds like this for under £100
I reaslise this is mostly down to my lack of ability but surely this should produce better welds than a 20 yr old clarke gasless even if I am crap.
I don't think I can afford to run a gas welder, I used about 1//3rd of a bottle yesterday doing a few small patches.
I'm trying to like and justify this welder but I don't think as a welder of my experience I am getting any benefit and I have to buy expensive gas to produce the same crap I usually do.
Appreciate the help
you need some one local to give you half an hour of their time , it would help , not enough penetration on those welds , maybe a looser fitting patch would help , or turn the power up a click , but if those were cleaned up the patches would fall off ,, big bottles of gas work out a lot cheaper and a two stage reg helps , but I can weld for weeks off a bottle of gas. try a pea shooter flow gauge too , if your not sure how much gas your using. Some of the spot tacks on the first plate are grand though , so your not a million miles away from cracking it ,, remember its a five year apprenticeship to be a welder , you cant be an expert in a few days.
ajlelectronics
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Not enough penetration. Get your Voltage up, possibly wire feed down a smidge and check your earth connections. Difficult to analyse without being there but it does suggest a poor earth to me.
Thanks, I have a peashooter gauge, I guess I need to disconnect the wire to test with that.
I am using hobbyweld 5 size and the regulator was supplied with the parweld kit, it has two dials one for gas remaining and the other as output in LPM. no leaks anywhere, I am surprised at how much gas I am getting through.
The welds on the plate are fine, I find the difficulty in getting the same on the car, even the new metal blows holes yet the same setting as the plate test.
I'll try higher voltage for todays work.
Thanks again
I am using hobbyweld 5 size and the regulator was supplied with the parweld kit, it has two dials one for gas remaining and the other as output in LPM. no leaks anywhere, I am surprised at how much gas I am getting through.
The welds on the plate are fine, I find the difficulty in getting the same on the car, even the new metal blows holes yet the same setting as the plate test.
I'll try higher voltage for todays work.
Thanks again
Morrisman
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Some of those samples look like you’re welding onto rust. It needs to be ground clean, bare shiny metal.
It also looks like you’re having problems seeing where you are welding, with blobs all over the place. And as others have said, it looks like you need more power, not less.
Do you rest the gun against the metal when welding, or try and hold it away? When I’m working on something like that I rest it, align the wire just where I want the weld, then pull the trigger briefly. Maybe not how the pros do it, but my hands and eyes aren't as good as some.
It also looks like you’re having problems seeing where you are welding, with blobs all over the place. And as others have said, it looks like you need more power, not less.
Do you rest the gun against the metal when welding, or try and hold it away? When I’m working on something like that I rest it, align the wire just where I want the weld, then pull the trigger briefly. Maybe not how the pros do it, but my hands and eyes aren't as good as some.
a two stage regulator is a different beast than a regulator with two gauges , I buy mine as out of date spares or repair off flea bay and usually pay 20 or 30 quid go , I think I save that in two bottles of gas , I do a lot of tacking / stitching , once in w while I get to run beads . Have you a decent mask and good work light , and without being funny , hows the eyesight ? as mentioned in earlier posts , if you cant see it you cant weld it.
Nick DV
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This could be because if you welded the test plates on a bench or floor, then the heat would have dissipated quicker than on the car.
AFAIK, your mig should breeze this, and it sounds like you need to spend some quality time with it. As suggested either get some 'tuition' or set up a load of very clean test pieces and methodically work your way through the combination of mig settings until you hit the sweet spot. Practice over and over again and when you're totally comfortable, start back on the car
Thanks guys,
What diffeence would I find with a 2 stage regulator? The parweld reg I have is a single stage 2 gauge.
I wish Parweld would do better videos on how to best use their welders especially for car work.
American companies have great youtube videos that go into great detail and also helpful welding tips, here I get a 5 min video that offers a short time on thin plate on a bench and zero help when asking the company.
If not for this forum I would be struggling much more so I appreciate the experience and helpful advice. Parweld and others should run their own forums for buyers of their kit then they would realise what we buyers and users need.
What diffeence would I find with a 2 stage regulator? The parweld reg I have is a single stage 2 gauge.
I wish Parweld would do better videos on how to best use their welders especially for car work.
American companies have great youtube videos that go into great detail and also helpful welding tips, here I get a 5 min video that offers a short time on thin plate on a bench and zero help when asking the company.
If not for this forum I would be struggling much more so I appreciate the experience and helpful advice. Parweld and others should run their own forums for buyers of their kit then they would realise what we buyers and users need.
Shedendman
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Theres a saying i use,its not the welder,its the welder
,put a shout out on here for someone to give it the once over,dam sure theres a forum member near you willing to see 1st hand what the problem really is
,put a shout out on here for someone to give it the once over,dam sure theres a forum member near you willing to see 1st hand what the problem really isfire hazzard
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As much as I dislike parweld, I would say your machine would be fine for body work. You just need some more experience car body work is awful to weld on, rust/various gauges of steel on the same piece of steel/wind/paint/trapped moisture. There's a lot of negatives to deal with, I would happily show any of my welds at work for scrutiny. Now would I say the same for welding I have done under a car ? Not so much definitely more function over form. I recently welded a shock top mount on a vw transporter, I think it would be a fair statement to say better steel could be found on the titanic. I fabricated two new mounts as the originals that were there a month ago when I quoted the job were no longer around. Which would explain the customers reports of banging from the rear. I burned through the floor a few times but that's always going to happen when the metal work varies in thickness and your trying to weld net curtains.
julianthegypsy
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I'd definitely try 0.8mm wire, I find 0.6mm is a nightmare. I'd also get a peashooter, it sounds like you're using far too much gas, and that is probably badly affecting your welds too. If I'm struggling on thin stuff I go in half second bursts, shifting the torch slightly every time, and it ends up looking like a seam. Good luck. Plug away at it and you'll soon find it's way better and way cheaper than gasless.
I went from a Clarke Mig102NG gasless, which I managed to get ok-ish vehicle patch welds with....eventually and with different wire.
Now I have an Oxford MigMaker 180-1 - (Transformer Mig) and with it I found that the Oxford is easier to weld thin stuff using 0.6mm (tho lots of experienced welders on here seem to prefer 0.8mm).
Notably though where for a given setting where I'd use wire speed of about 3.5 on my dial with 0.8mm wire - to get a nice strike up and tack with 0.6mm I need to turn the wire speed up to around 6.5 - then I get a good penetration strong tack without blow-through (& I can often do "sort of runs" by tacking in an uninterrupted line).
I can also use voltage setting 2 (of 6) and get a decent tack without blow-through as long as I'm not ham-fisted.
Now I have an Oxford MigMaker 180-1 - (Transformer Mig) and with it I found that the Oxford is easier to weld thin stuff using 0.6mm (tho lots of experienced welders on here seem to prefer 0.8mm).
Notably though where for a given setting where I'd use wire speed of about 3.5 on my dial with 0.8mm wire - to get a nice strike up and tack with 0.6mm I need to turn the wire speed up to around 6.5 - then I get a good penetration strong tack without blow-through (& I can often do "sort of runs" by tacking in an uninterrupted line).
I can also use voltage setting 2 (of 6) and get a decent tack without blow-through as long as I'm not ham-fisted.
