Welding Tips and Tricks

I've been working to tune-up my old Millermatic 35 and knock some rust off my mediocre welding skills. A couple good things happened in my practice today.

I have been perplexed about how much splatter I was getting. So today I cleaned the liner tube, removed the recently installed Weld-Aid felt wire cleaner, recessed the contact tip back into the nozzle about .100 and cranked up the wire speed. 430 IPM, .035 wire, heat tap 5, 140-180 amps on .250" T-Joints. Much better results.

But I have 68 yr old eyes and I struggle with wandering off my line. I run a Miller Digital Performance hood so I just started playing around with weld shade settings. Normally I am set on #10, but after trying 11 and 12, I dropped down to #9 shade and shazam! I could see the puddle and the toe of the bead I was trying to follow. After that, I ran the best beads I have since jumping back in.

Now, I start wondering if a 9 shade is safe of MIG short-circuit?

All shades are safe IF your eyes can handle the brightness. Lower shade #s do not let in anymore UV/IR radiation than higher shade #s.

Good quality hoods and being able to see clearly are key. I usually run my shade at 9 or 10, and will only occasionally go up to 11 or 12 when running really hot. My rule of thumb for the shade: so long as you are not seeing spots after the weld when you lift the hood, then the shade is high enough.

I just changed my outside lens after who knows how long. It felt like a new hood. Shade 10 is usually pretty comfortable, but I was seeing white spots after. Had to bump it up to 11.