Gasless mig welding on ATVS..

[song4u]

I just purchased a gasless mig welder { speedway series 125 amp-110volt} and was gonna use it to make some racks, skid plates,etc...Anyone on here use a mig welder to do things like this with? Any recomendations you have so I get a decent weld is appreciated. It uses either .030 or .035 core flux wire..I went with the .035 and may try to do some [practice welding tommorow on scrap pieces. Not sure if I should push or pull the bead and was wondering if I will need to buy something to keep the nozzle from becoming clogged,

[Which 450?]

I would have went with .030. Because when you are welding tubing, you cannot have the heat very high, or you will burn through. .035 only needs a tiny bit more, though. I have a little bit of experience welding tubing, like 4 wheeler frames, exhaust, etc, and I still burn through. With some of the stuff, it seems like if you pause enough to blink, you will burn a hole in it. The best way to learn is to do what you just said, practice on some scraps. You will be pulling the bead along, you push a stick weld. To keep the nozzle from being clogged, I guess you mean the tip? Because you are welding gasless, you dont need to worry about the nozzle being clogged. But you should but a few spare tips. If you hold the tip too close to what you are welding, you will weld the wire to the tip, and its can be a pain getting it apart. But just start practicing. Thats how I learned. And watch what you weld, there are some things out there that put out poisonous gas, like galvanized, when you heat it up that much. and keep your ground clamp as close to the weld as possible

[440ex kid]

I weld with no gas with a .035 wire. Ive welded thin wall conduit and not burned thorugh. If you turn the voltage up a little more and the wire speed down it actually helps from burning thorugh. If you pull a weld it will sit on top. Pushing a weld will give you better penitration. If you are going to weld galvanized you should glass bead the coating off or use some emery. Just my opinion.

[Scott-300ex]

Set it all, then all you got to set every time is just the wire feed speed which you can keep the same.

Pull, it makes it clean then you won't mess up the weld by running over it if you push, Pull and wiggle side to side at the same time, just get a piece of thick steel and weld a bead, practice till you get the beads perfect. It was like my first try and I had a perfect bead, MIG is easy, then start making welds welding 2 pieces together, there are like 15 different type of welds, but just fool around.

Nozzle's will clog up, just try and keep the wire flowing and don't get to close to the metal and you'll be fine.

Gas just protects the weld and helps it hold.

[rancherrider69]

what i have seen and experienced is push arc mig tig push always been cleener penetrated better if u have problems with messing with how it looks from the nozzle touching u are a little to close or u have it angle horizontal to much but remember there is a fine line between pushing and pulling and practice ALOT it will make a difference in the long run u will be able to get it cleaner as for having the gasless that doesnt seem right to me because mig welders are made to have the gas it acts as a shield to keep oxygen out without it ur gonna have alot of pinholes and it isnt goin to be as strong.... just my 2cents

[CDCHONDAS]

I've been welding for a long time mig tig stick, brazing, flux core. etc and have been through many big spools of wire, while i worked in a fab and repair shop. got to say when i run mig i push, now if i am going vertical down i have the nozzle facing up hill, for as small of welder as you have i would have gotten 30 wire as your machine would probably burn it easier, but i dont know what you have, flux core is a little different than gas shielded mig but not that hard. just practice alot, wire speed and a steady hand mean alot. it takes a long long time to get a real steady hand and mine might not even be what i wish it could but having a steady hand makes things like torching and plasma alot easier. if you are really shaky improvise and find sometime to use as a rest. also get gloves, i welded without gloves for along time until i got into high amperage where the heat was too great, now that i wear gloves i have being without. mig is the easiest to weld with so its a good place to start. also on things like tubing try to get real good fitment on your joints, it will go soo much easier.

[1fst400]

I would try to do without the flux core wire if its possible. From what I have found the flux core wire requires more power, to do the same thickness steel. So if you had regular wire and shielding gas, you could weld much thicker steel.

Also IMO its easier with regular wire. expecially on real thin stuff.

also, definetly push, dont pull.

[NorCalRacer]

Originally posted by rancherrider69
what i have seen and experienced is push arc mig tig push always been cleener penetrated better if u have problems with messing with how it looks from the nozzle touching u are a little to close or u have it angle horizontal to much but remember there is a fine line between pushing and pulling and practice ALOT it will make a difference in the long run u will be able to get it cleaner as for having the gasless that doesnt seem right to me because mig welders are made to have the gas it acts as a shield to keep oxygen out without it ur gonna have alot of pinholes and it isnt goin to be as strong.... just my 2cents

Technically, mig means inert gas and does require argon/co2. However, you can purchase wire feed welders that operate similar to migs but instead use flux core wire and no gas. When the flux burns it creates the shielding gas.

I would do whatever feels best to you, there is no right or wrong way to do a weld as long as you are getting the results you want. Personally, I pull stick and push MIG, but I have never tried flux core before. Your best bet, as always, is ALOT of practice. Good luck:)

[Which 450?]

In my experience I have had better luck welding thin metals, like tubing and such, welding with a flux-core wire, the shielded gas welds seem to get hotter, thus burning through easier.

[NorCalRacer]

Originally posted by Which 450?
In my experience I have had better luck welding thin metals, like tubing and such, welding with a flux-core wire, the shielded gas welds seem to get hotter, thus burning through easier.

Shielding gas welders require less amperage for a weld because they only have to burn the wire, not flux. Example .030 mig wire has more steel in it than .035 gasless, but you still ned to burn the bigger wire through the gasless because your arc has to melt the wire and burn the flux. If your machines are set correctly the actual MIG should run a little cooler. Gas welds tend to penetrate the metal better than gasless welds, that could be your burnthrough problem.