[MARTINSR]

Brian Martin has written a very good article on mig welding it was here on hotrodders and other forums. search "basic of basics" inverted Mig welding. you can down load Millers $ 20 Tig Handbook for free. I get a welding video each week from Jody Collier, he was a welding instructor now has a one man shop. Welding tips and tricks. com. I learned more from jody's posts than i did a night class

Here is that "Basics of Basics" . http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/basic-basics-welding-how-do-i-repair-body-panels-44009.html

Print it out and read it a few times and get out there and practice.

Brian

 

[MARTINSR]

Good stuff Henry, you hit on something I really believe in, weld hot! If you aren't blowing thru practicing you aren't welding hot enough. It's easy to lay something on top that isn't penetrating worth a darn. But start out welding pushing it and burning thru once in a while and learning the limits. It is much easier to back off a little than to push it more I have found. Besides when welding sheetmetal the faster you can weld it the less heat you have created.

Brian

 

[MARTINSR]

What are you trying to learn on... If it's a 110 unit,, It will be harder to learn on....The right machine has a lot to do with it...I had guy's come to my shop that bought some small machine and was having a hard time learning,,, I took about 15 Mins on my machine with them and they couldn't believe just how much better they was in ONLY 15 Mins..

What is really amazing is welding with a 220 3 phase. I was blown away with it at a shop I worked at with one. You could just about weld thru grease or something, it was amazing. From what I understand about it, as you mentioned the 110 is harder because it is one "wave" of current, while 220 is two making less of a "skip" from one arc to the next. The 3 phase gives you three, so it's of course even better.

We get a lot done with the 110 at work, we have about six of them and they do a heck of a job as long as you aren't trying to weld something too heavy.

Brian

 

[MARTINSR]

You likely have a worn out tip or the wrong size. Your tip size needs to match your wire diameter. Have you checked that? Also, cutting the wire off before you strike the arc the better off you will be to, the wire "pokes" the metal making a clean start.

But I would say it's likely your tips wrong or worn out.

Brian