Gasless Mig welding.

[Burnerman]

I tend to use .8mm solid wire.....wondering if the same diameter gasless wire is something like .6 with a core.
No matter really, as long as it works!
With thin material, its stop / start all the time and keep the gas flowing to cool things.....works well enough for me!
John

 

[Keithmac]

Looking back I did suffer with the MIG gas getting blown away from the weld a few times so maybe flux cored wire is the way forward for me?.

For the sake of a reel of wire and a couple tips it's worth an experiment on some scrap steel.

Read a few people using normal MIG welders with gasless wire and "normal" polarity without issues so gives me hope!.

If it doesn't work out I can get a bottle sharpish from Hobbyweld..

 

[Avocet]

Bit late to the party here, but a few thoughts:

1. Adams Gas is another one like Hobbyweld if you want to try. I use them for my welding stuff. Same sort of deal, no rental but a deposit. A "half height" bottle lasts me a couple of years!

2. For car bodywork, DEFINITELY use 0.6mm wire. The energy required to melt it is significantly lower than 0.8mm wire (just over half the cross sectional area) and much closer to what you need to blow a hole in rotten car bodywork! Most MIGs come with a double-grooved pulley for the wire feed - one will be for 0.8 wire, the other for 0.6. Just undo the retaining screw and turn the pulley round. You'll also need 0.6mm copper tips. The torch and liner stay the same for both.

3. A lot of people report better results with pure CO2 rather than Argon or Argon / CO mixtures when it comes to very thin stuff like car bodywork. I don't know this for certain, but I'm told the CO2 allows the heat to escape faster than Argon does, resulting in less heat distortion and less chance of blowing holes in thin stuff. I tend to use Argon for everything though, because I often have the opposite problem (welding 5 and 6mm stuff with my poor little single phase MIG, trying to get adequate penetration)!

 

[Burnerman]

One of the great problems with my MIG is that it is left sometimes for ages in a damp garage - and the wire rusts, despite its copper coating. When this happens it doesn't pass through the rollers at all well.
So, I wrap the wire spool and any other exposed bits with cling film, and its ready to go next time.
John

 

[lostinthelight]

Theres nothing more frustrating than trying to weld with partial rust coating stopping the wire and tip making proper contact..I take the roll indoors when ive finished welding.
I also get my pub cylinders filled with food grade c02 the local gas supplier.
litl

 

[Keithmac]

Resurrecting an old thread!.

I was asked to help with a Ford Transit so I decided to have a go with a spool of 0.8mm SIP gasless wire.

I didn't change polarity on the welder, I didn't have any 0.8mm tips but I drilled a couple out to 1mm (will buy a pack of these).

The Plug welds were done on High power and went great, good penetration and no spatter to speak of.

The wing above had to be done on medium and low to stop blowing through the wing.

The new metal was 2mm thick, I gave it some grief with the hammer to bend it round and the welds were solid as a rock, very happy with it!.

 

[Nozzle]

That seam weld needs more penetration and must be complete all along. Get a bright torch and look through your joint with the lights off - there should be nothing shining through

Nozzle

 

[Burnerman]

A pretty sound attempt on a vertical panel....not the easiest!
John

 

[Keithmac]

That seam weld needs more penetration and must be complete all along. Get a bright torch and look through your joint with the lights off - there should be nothing shining through

Nozzle

I couldn't get any more heat in without blowing through the original panel. The seam was finished on the inside.

Will be having a go at the other side soon so will have another look.

 

[Nozzle]

Try clamping a chunk of copper somehow, not so easy like this but you could wedge it with a piece of timber from the inside. If you're usign Pub gas, this can be a problem, unstable arc which can be stabilised by turning up the volts then it starts blowing holes. Or are you using argon/co2 mix?

Nozzle

 

[Keithmac]

Try clamping a chunk of copper somehow, not so easy like this but you could wedge it with a piece of timber from the inside. If you're usign Pub gas, this can be a problem, unstable arc which can be stabilised by turning up the volts then it starts blowing holes. Or are you using argon/co2 mix?

Nozzle

I'm trying out 0.8mm gasless wire, wasn't as bad as I was expecting to be honest. It does like more amps but the panel didn't!.