I have a Lincoln 3200HD, a 110V wire welder. Virtually all my work is in 1/8" scrap steel. I'm having a real problem learning how to do vertical welds, especially a plain inside corner vertical weld.
What techniques do you guys use when wire welding vertical with .035 fluxcore? I can do beautiful work horizontal, but when doing vertical inside corner welds, it's just a mess, all lumpy and ugly. I normally use power setting D and wire speed 3 1/2, stay very steady, and try to follow the Lincoln directions, but I've been through 100 pounds of good
1/8" scrap and it still just won't come out right. Can somebody give me a tip?
After posting I googled on this newsgroup and found a couple of experts advice. They said vertical down looks better and does not get as deep penetration. Therefore recommended for 1/8 inch and thinner. For thicker metals you need deeper penetration.
I did try it and was surprised at producing some welds that looked much better than I was expecting.
When you point the gun up, the molten BB tends to run back down the wire. Try increasing your wire speed. And, as in any vertical uphill welding, you have to build a shelf to put the next pass on.
Start at the top, with the tip pointing a bit higher than normal, and drag the puddle down the weld line. Sometimes a little less arc help.
And Im NOT a welder...only a dauber
Gunner
"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.
Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner
I think I used the wrong description. When I said the Linoln instructions said to "tilt the gun upwards," I meant tilt the handle up, with the wire pointed downward. Then start at the bottom and drag the weld upward. So that's what I'm doing. I guess I can try various combinations of vertical up and vertical down, with the tip pointed up and down, and see what works. Still kinda irks me that I follow the instructions exactly and it doesn't work, though. You'd think Lincoln would know what to put in their own manuals.
It is easier to weld vertical up with the wire pointed up (pushing the weld). Dragging the wire up can be done but that is best saved for when the skill levels are at a more advanced level. and even then it is a bit of a pain to create a weld as nice as pushing the puddle up the plate. Pointing the wire directly at the plate is more common when using flux core.
You will find that a slight side too side motion will help you in flattening out the weld bead profile; start with a 1 sec pause on each side initially. Increase in 1 sec intervals to see what you get;.
The side too side motion should be more of an oscillation increasing your bead width by 1/16" each side rather than a weave which would increase the weld size by an 1/8" or more each side.
The easiest way to create a good weld in 1/8" plate or thinner is to try the vertical down technique ( dragging the puddle down the joint). To ensure you get good fusion initially it is a good idea to leave a very small gap between the plates (1/32"-1/16") try different gaps to see the difference in the bead profile on the back of the plate. If the weld has good penetration then a small bead will be formed on the back of the plates.
This practice can be applied to both fillet and groove welds in sheet metal.
Thanks for the tips. Like I said, i was just following the instructions in the Lincoln manual, which have a picture of dragging it upwards. The bead I get is... how do I describe it... sort of a series of bulky teardrops. Holding the wire more perpendicular or changing the speed of movement doesn't alter the results. It also looks like it's more on top of the metal, not penetrating.
Again, we're talking about inside corner welds.
Anything in horizontal position is a piece of cake, very neat and professional looking.
The tear drop effect is very common when first starting to learn to weld; there are two things you could try to reduce this
1) Increase travel speed. start the weld traveling as fast as you normally would; then as each inch goes by increase the travel speed. It may help to mark the plate with soap stone in 1" increments. Where the weld starts to look good is the proper travel speed.
2) reduce amperage at least ten amps to start with. If you only have a course wire speed control then see #1.
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