Welding Tips and Tricks

Hello!

I recently purchased the Eastwood MIG135 MIG welder. I decided to go with this welder because it had so many great reviews (especially on many different forums), it was affordable, could do gas/less, and the Eastwood website said it could weld up to 3/16” (.1875”) w/ solid core wire and gas, and up to ¼” (.250”) with flux core wire. I had hoped to use this welder in my home garage (120V) for sheetmetal repair, exhaust tubing, and to weld in some sub frame connectors.

Now that I’ve got the welder home and have looked through the directions, I’m a little confused with the chart on the inside door of the unit. The first project this spring is to weld in Hotchkis subframe connectors into a ’70 Nova SS with stock rear frame rails. Instructions located: http://files.hotchkis.net/instructions/4007.pdf . The subframe connectors are made from .120 thk steel and I’ve received mixed feedback from automotive suppliers on the gage of the stock rails. Some say 14ga (.075”), others say 18ga (.048”), and in between!

With all of that information, and assuming .030 solid core wire, 75%AR/25%CO2 gas, and 18ga rear rails, how should the welder be setup? Do I set it up for the thicker material?

Is it not capable of using steel core/gas MIG weld effectively as .120 is greater than .105” on the “Suggested Settings for Welding” chart? The chart stops after 12ga (.105”).

I was hoping to use gas as it’s supposed to be a cleaner weld. I [obviously] plan on practicing with some scrap .120 / 18ga, but thought it best to investigate with friendly input because I’d like to ensure that I only have to weld connectors to the car, once!

Thanks, in advance!!

If you can get feed wheels and tips small enough I wouldn't hesitate to go down to .023-.025 solid wire. 1/8 metal is thin enough that the thinner wire would still work but would allow you to slow down and have more control. It also works well for exhaust tube and floor patches.

409, welcome to the forum.

Thanks for the tips and "welcome"!

I don't have an issue going down to the smaller wire, but one of the neat things about this welder is that it comes with an "easy" programming chart...

http://www.eastwood.com/images/pdf/12011_chart.pdf

Do I set up the welder for the thicker subframe material, or thinner frame material?

Thanks in advance!

Depends on the joint configuration. But if it's a standard lap joint or fillet, then you only need to make a weld as strong as the thinner metal. Anything over that is ok but it will just be for looks.

This is a personal preference, but for MIG on dissimilar thicknesses, I set the machine closer to the setting for the thicker of the materials. My reasoning is to be sure I have the required heat to penetrate the thicker material without cold-lap. Then not cutting too deep into the thinner material is a technique thing, timing of one's arc manipulation.

Steve

Otto Nobedder wrote:This is a personal preference, but for MIG on dissimilar thicknesses, I set the machine closer to the setting for the thicker of the materials. My reasoning is to be sure I have the required heat to penetrate the thicker material without cold-lap. Then not cutting too deep into the thinner material is a technique thing, timing of one's arc manipulation.

Steve

I run the same - hot enough for the thicker material.

Great! Just what I wanted to know.

Thank you!!!