All things welding

[mrblaine]

Alright, I’m looking for some constructive criticism here. I am very inexperienced at welding and struggle with consistency and general lack of knowledge. I bought a welder 2 years ago; Miller Multimatic 220. It has autoset, which helps but may hurt by not making me figure the settings out myself. I also took a class at a local community college (not a real class, just a community outreach thing that was 5 or 6 evenings for a couple of hours where they would have a process theme for the night (MIG, stick, TIG, gas welding, using a torch etc.). Then you were basically given some scrap metal and turned loose with the equipment. No real teaching. It actually just seemed dangerous, given the experience level of the participants. I’ve used YouTube, of course and stayed with MIG. I’m aware that one big problem I have is, I’ll go for months without welding then pick it up for some project and wonder why I suck at it. Anyhow, here are my latest welds (a Genright cross member for my TJs transmission as part of a Atlas and higher tuck project). Here is the crossmember:
View attachment 504295

View attachment 504294
I was happy enough with the welding of the stamped piece to center tube. The side tube to curved tube went OK and the smaller diameter to larger diameter welds look awful.
Then there was welding the tabs to the frame.
Passenger before wire brush:
View attachment 504296
Driver after wire brushing:
View attachment 504297
In my estimation, they look marginal, at best, even for a beginner .That was very awkward. My technique consisted of turning the voltage down a bit and pushing the weld from the bottom up after tacking them. I tried both welding half of each side and switching as well as doing an entire side.

What do the experts and pros see? Just give up? I know I need more frequent practice but what else would anyone suggest for these particular welds? Thx for looking.

Not for nothing but welding that exhaust hanger to the crossmember is a mistake. We make that part bolt on because it traps the crossmember. You have to slide that off of the exhaust hanger rod to the rear and you can't do that with the tabs locking the crossmember in place.

 

[Woodrow]

Not for nothing but welding that exhaust hanger to the crossmember is a mistake. We make that part bolt on because it traps the crossmember. You have to slide that off of the exhaust hanger rod to the rear and you can't do that with the tabs locking the crossmember in place.
View attachment 504367

Good idea. My exhaust has V-band clamps so it's not real hard to separate but still that was going to be a PITA. Time for a slight change. Thanks.

 

[Woodrow]

You couldn't ask for a better weld on that stamped piece to center tube, very nice. The tabs on the frame don't look too bad either, you should be proud & don't give up. On the driver side tabs, there's a lot of soot & spatter which is most likely gun angle or wire stick out. Focus the gun nozzle more on the puddle & less of the direction of travel. On the passenger side tabs, the one on the right isn't bad but the one on the left looks "cold" meaning you didn't have enough voltage.

The tube welds look like too much WFS or moving too slow. Those types of joints are tricky, especially on smaller diameter tubing because you're not moving in a straight line. Sometimes you have to just put down a small weld, like 1" at a time & grind down the end of the previous weld to give you a good place to tie in the next weld.

How did you weld the large tube to the small tube? Vertically or horizontally? When I can I always try to position what I'm welding to the easiest position possible. Also, it looks like you've got some porosity on the right side. Everything looks pretty clean so It might not be from bad welding technique.
View attachment 504358

Whenever you seal off a tube you need to let the air inside cool off before you put the final weld. The heat will increase the pressure inside the tube & force the air out through the weakest spot which is your weld puddle.

Other suggestions I'd make are more for better structural strength. Whenever you have corners, it's best to continue the weld around the corner. The starts/stops of a weld are usually the weakest part. When you couple that with the corner, you're putting 2 stress risers at the same point which can lead to a failure. Also when you start & stop on an existing weld, grind down the ends which will help you put in a better transition.

Thank you for the pointers and encouragement. I very much appreciate this thread. Good spot on the above pic. Started without the gas on

 

[mrblaine]

Good idea. My exhaust has V-band clamps so it's not real hard to separate but still that was going to be a PITA. Time for a slight change. Thanks.

An easy way is to drill the tube all the way through slightly over size. Then drop in a coupling nut. With round tube, you can leave it sticking up and weld around it. Run a tap through the welded end before you weld the other end, then run the tap back through again from the other way.

For your Autoset stuff. The settings are close but as I've mentioned, I'm continually changing it in small amounts to get something to work better. I welded up some of our assist brackets, I'll get some pics to show what I mean a bit later.

One thing that will help is to swap to .030 wire if you aren't already. Lays down less material and makes it easier to get out of being rusty a bit easier. It is a more forgiving wire size since you can weld slower with it.

 

[mrblaine]

Thank you for the pointers and encouragement. I very much appreciate this thread. Good spot on the above pic. Started without the gas on

My stupid Miller Autoset has a very annoying habit that drives me mad. For some reason, it doesn't get gas to the nozzle on the first weld of the day very much unlike ever other welder I've used. My regulator also does not leak at all. So, I've had to get in the habit of hitting the trigger, running out an inch of wire and snipping that back for the first weld of the day or any time the bottle has been closed.

If you also get in that habit, you can hear the gas and know you are good to go.

 

[Woodrow]

My stupid Miller Autoset has a very annoying habit that drives me mad. For some reason, it doesn't get gas to the nozzle on the first weld of the day very much unlike ever other welder I've used. My regulator also does not leak at all. So, I've had to get in the habit of hitting the trigger, running out an inch of wire and snipping that back for the first weld of the day or any time the bottle has been closed.

If you also get in that habit, you can hear the gas and know you are good to go.

That may have been what happened. It WAS on but not flowing so I turned it up a bit. I'll test that next time I use it.

 

[hosejockey61]

My stupid Miller Autoset has a very annoying habit that drives me mad. For some reason, it doesn't get gas to the nozzle on the first weld of the day very much unlike ever other welder I've used. My regulator also does not leak at all. So, I've had to get in the habit of hitting the trigger, running out an inch of wire and snipping that back for the first weld of the day or any time the bottle has been closed.

If you also get in that habit, you can hear the gas and know you are good to go.

Same here.

 

[AirborneTexasRanger]

Started without the gas on

Don't feel too bad, I felt like an idiot when I was working on a project yesterday. Got all my gear on, prepped the metal nice & shiny, clamped the ground cable, turned on the gas. got everything to fit up just right & was holding everything together so I could tack it, pull the trigger....nothing. I look over & saw that I forgot to turn the damn machine on.

 

[sab]

I have the first "AutoSet" MIG welder Miller made. It's a Millermatic 250MP, and I bought it new when they first came on the market in 1992. It's got a programmable switch on the gun that you can set for either wire feed speed or voltage, and you can adjust it as you weld. I don't use that though - never found it useful. The machine settings are pretty accurate, but it was a flop, and they stopped making it about five years later. I used it only a few times until about 10 years ago. Since then, I use it quite often. It doesn't share the lack of gas flow for the "first weld of the day problem" that y'all are reporting, but occasionally when I turn it on, the display is blank and it won't work. It's done that for at least 20 years, and sometimes I have to shut it off and turn it back on a bunch of times before it wakes up. I hope it never quits for good because the control boards are no longer available!

 

[hosejockey61]

Don't feel too bad, I felt like an idiot when I was working on a project yesterday. Got all my gear on, prepped the metal nice & shiny, clamped the ground cable, turned on the gas. got everything to fit up just right & was holding everything together so I could tack it, pull the trigger....nothing. I look over & saw that I forgot to turn the damn machine on.

Better than not turning the gas on and getting a porous weld that you have to grind down!

 

[sab]

... I forgot to turn the damn machine on.

Better than not turning the gas on and getting a porous weld that you have to grind down!

BTDBOT (Been There, Done Both of Those). Also, had to transfer trigger discipline from shooting. No finger on the trigger until go-time!

 

[tworley]

Don't feel too bad, I felt like an idiot when I was working on a project yesterday. Got all my gear on, prepped the metal nice & shiny, clamped the ground cable, turned on the gas. got everything to fit up just right & was holding everything together so I could tack it, pull the trigger....nothing. I look over & saw that I forgot to turn the damn machine on.

I've done that more times than I care to admit

 

[mrblaine]

Then there was welding the tabs to the frame.
Passenger before wire brush:
View attachment 504296
Driver after wire brushing:
View attachment 504297
In my estimation, they look marginal, at best, even for a beginner .That was very awkward. My technique consisted of turning the voltage down a bit and pushing the weld from the bottom up after tacking them. I tried both welding half of each side and switching as well as doing an entire side.

What do the experts and pros see? Just give up? I know I need more frequent practice but what else would anyone suggest for these particular welds? Thx for looking.

If you are like me, you have 2 problems following best practices and advice. 1, you don't weld often enough to stay in practice. 2, you will never be good at uphill Mig and even if you practice enough to get good, you will lose it in short order if you don't keep practicing.

What I do instead, is get really good at downhill.

This is all downhill, they will never fail, and I need something I can do every time that will give acceptable performance that doesnt' look terrible that I can get right back into the swing of doing in fairly short order.

 

[AirborneTexasRanger]

If you are like me, you have 2 problems following best practices and advice. 1, you don't weld often enough to stay in practice. 2, you will never be good at uphill Mig and even if you practice enough to get good, you will lose it in short order if you don't keep practicing.

What I do instead, is get really good at downhill.

This is all downhill, they will never fail, and I need something I can do every time that will give acceptable performance that doesnt' look terrible that I can get right back into the swing of doing in fairly short order.
View attachment 504490

View attachment 504491

You run your welds really hot. I'm not saying that's bad. I usually tell welders to run as hot as they can handle without losing control of the puddle.

 

[mrblaine]

You run your welds really hot. I'm not saying that's bad. I usually tell welders to run as hot as they can handle without losing control of the puddle.

I do, on purpose. I like to keep it right on the edge of being too hot where I get spatter. I try to stay just back of that edge. Iffen you're gonna be a fucked up welder, at least compensate with some penetration.

 

[P man]

H

I do, on purpose. I like to keep it right on the edge of being too hot where I get spatter. I try to stay just back of that edge. Iffen you're gonna be a fucked up welder, at least compensate with some penetration.

Hot and fast

 

[hosejockey61]

Since somebody brought up the auto-set function, I'd like to explore that a little. I've researched where career welders say that auto-set doesn't run hot enough. Is that statement relatively true across all platforms? I run a Millermatic 211 auto-set and it seems to do a pretty damn good job for the most part in my amateur opinion.

 

[tworley]

Since somebody brought up the auto-set function, I'd like to explore that a little. I've researched where career welders say that auto-set doesn't run hot enough. Is that statement relatively true across all platforms? I run a Millermatic 211 auto-set and it seems to do a pretty damn good job for the most part in my amateur opinion.

Does auto-set work as I think it does? Set your amps and speed and it adjusts itself on the fly?

 

[Apparition]

Does auto-set work as I think it does? Set your amps and speed and it adjusts itself on the fly?

Set wire size and material thickness. It sets voltage and wire speed.

 

[sab]

I'm curious to hear how the modern Auto-set works. On my old 250MP, I set the wire size, gas type, and material thickness, and it sets the wire feed speed and voltage for me.