Welding Tips and Tricks

I recently purchased a Lincoln Pro Mig 180. Its a nice mig welder and its perfect for what I use it for. My only issue is that the nozzle is a threaded nozzle, not a slide on type. When the nozzle is screwed all the way down and tightened, the contact tip is flush with the edge of the nozzle. In the past, every mig welder I used had a slide on type nozzle and I was taught as a general rule that you position the nozzle 1/8 to a 1/4 inch past the contact tip. So my question is this, can the mig gun that came with this welder be modified or converted to a slide on nozzle without having to buy a whole new mig gun?

I have the Lincoln weldpak 180 with the screw on nozzle. I have had no problems either flux core or mig with the setup. Gas coverage seems to be fine, no splatter problems, etc..... I would have to go look to verify whether it is flush or not.If memory serves me correct, it might just be flush, or damn near it. But as I said, no problems. Is it working for you? If so - don't worry about it? As long as your stick-out is correct it should be ok.

So far its welding fine. I'm mainly concerned about future gas flow problems down the road. And as I said, I'm used to mig welding with slide on type nozzles. I guess I'm just gonna have to get used to not being able to adjust my nozzle. Thanks for the reply.

Was curious, so I checked - the gun nozzle and the spool gun nozzle are both about flush with the tip. I'm only familiar with Lincoln, their design works fine for me, so if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I know Jody's talked about him liking "flush" or Protruding an eighth or less....
I've found it doesn't make a lot of difference for me.
When I mig aluminum my tip is up in the nozzle 1/4inch.
But bare wire mig, 40-200amps, I like it flush.

My 2 cents,

~John