need some help on mig welding

[richi]

okay so im trying to weld, just cant grasp the tech of how to do it, everytime i do it i cant get a continues weld, it starts then stops straight away, im i how much of the wire do i want out of the mig before i touch the metal? any other tips would be helpful, i found a vid on the net but doesnt really show how to keep the flame continues

[paul james]

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/

read up all you can first, then practice on scrappy bits of metal.

You only need a small amount of wire sticking out to start off, make sure the wire speed is fast enough for the metal your using. And make sure your getting enough gas out, i turn the dial upto full on mine.

[richi]

im only welding soem 3mm steal for the car, got gas turned all the way just cant get it to be a continues weld, or if it is its really thin

[Martin]

I set my welder(s) up via sound, you kno wen ya fryin bacon and it makes that fizzin/cracklin noise.. you wanna get it liek that, then fine tune the wire speed & temp ;)

[Martin]

im only welding soem 3mm steal for the car, got gas turned all the way just cant get it to be a continues weld, or if it is its really thin

Sound liek your either moving your hand to fast or the wires to fast..

have you got an auto-flash helmet? or using a hand held one?

i prefer the auto ones, leaves both hands free, i like to get my left hand layed flat(ish) and then my right hand holdin the gun/trigger so the last three fingers are restin on my left hand and then my thumb on top of the gun and index finger on the trigger and just weld slowly(obvs not to slow) and dont put to much pressure on your ledft hand you should be able to slide both hands to the left and right..

just practise mate..

[Adam]

im only welding soem 3mm steal for the car, got gas turned all the way just cant get it to be a continues weld, or if it is its really thin

What welder is it? Amps?
3mm is a big thickness, and will cause a low amp mig to struggle.

[ade]

as above - what mig you using?

I have a clarke 110e gas welder and am just learning but have had some good results (welded a new bottom bolt hole on a mk1 wing today)

There are some really good books and dvd's to help you - try amazon and ebay but the main thing is practive - oh and reading trhe mig site above. thats v helpful.

[richi]

yeah that website is pretty good, i only have a handheld helmet as i wont be needing the mig again, its 2mm steel everytime i touch the wire to the plate it pops, i have the amps on the lowest setting think its a 30amp mig

[mikey14sr]

I need to have my 90Amp welder turned right up to full power for 2mm, so I reckon you'll need to turn yours up a bit too, for example, doing an exhaust for the vectra yesterday I had it on full power, full gas flow (one of those disposable bottles), but the wire speed only needed to be around the 3 mark to get good welds.

Is it arcing (popping) even if you haven't pulled the trigger? if it is it's either a very old welder with a live torch or somethings wrong with it.