advice needed to improve mig weld
 

I read MARTINSR's great FAQ for mig welding but have a couple questions to try to improve my skills (or lack thereof). With my new Miller 175 I seem to get a lot of spatter in the nozzle. Is this a sign that the weld is crawling up the wire - and thus the speed is too slow or is it evidence of some other fault? I've tried adjusting the voltage and speed up and down a bit but still seem to get a build up in the nozzle. BTW I'm using a 25/75 mix of gas and .030 and .035 wire on 1/8" to 1/4" steel.

Dewey

Here is a link
 

Try and keep about 1/4" stickout of the wire..may need to use more flow of gas..bring up the heat..that should help control the spatter..Still gonna have some tho..

Take a flat plate and get comfy and run bead all afternoon until you are getting a good consistent result..good beads do not need to be ground just wire brushed is all..When the local tech school trains welders those guys spend all day every day in the welding booth till they get it right...

Body sheet metal is a different thing as we do grind those welds to get a smooth surface for paint..

Here is a link with some pics of good and bad bead..

http://www.twi.co.uk/j32k/protected/band_3/jk43.html

Hope this helps a bit..

OMT

Re: advice needed to improve mig weld
 

That might be normal, I use this nozzle gel that you dip the mig gin tip into while still hot and it helps to keep the spatter from sticking its cheap and last forever. ed ke6bnl

You might also look inside the nozzle for buildup. At work, the guys always screw them up and they get plugged up inside. That reduces the gas flow, and causes considerable splatter.

the no spatter stick gel mentioned above is a big plus. I noticed that i always had spatter in the nozzle,not a problem, just required periodic cleaning.... I saw the antistick stuff at my local welding shop, for 4 bucks, i'll try dang near anything, and it did help.:thumbup: