Help. Running a long bead on 22 ga.

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I'm building a box and need to run 4" beads on 22 ga mild steel. .025 L-56 wire with CO2 (only gas I have). Once all sides are tacked in place, I suppose I'd weld about 1/2", then switch to another edge to let the first cool down. My question is, when I come back to edge 1 for another 1/2" bead, is there some way to keep all these 1/2" beads looking even and continuous without showing a whole bunch of starts/stops? Or do I just forget about it and grind it all when I'm done?
Reply:When welding something that thin I just weld like like I'm tacking. on, off ,on off. Practice on some scrap first, you can eventually make it look like a tig weld.                                      MikeOl' Stonebreaker  "Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes"Hobart G-213 portableMiller 175 migMiller thunderbolt ac/dc stick Victor O/A setupMakita chop saw
Reply:If you could find an aluminum or copper backer to act as a heatsink and run downhill, it might work.Eventual master of the obvious, practitioner of "stream of consciousness fabrication".  P.S. I edit almost every post because because I'm posting from my phone and my fingers sometimes move faster than my brain.
Reply:Originally Posted by SedanmanIf you could find an aluminum or copper backer to act as a heatsink and run downhill, it might work.
Reply:heat sinks are not going to work as the piece itself will have to be fully saturated before transferring somewhere else. several things come to mind, why 22ga if you know it has to be welded? Could you weld less by forming two C's and nesting them. much less weld and you get rigidity from the pressed bends. I weld corners on ~20ga alot, some of it could be 22. I weld vertical down and let gravity pull the bulbous shaped puddle downhill. I am stitch welding these. They are continuous and pretty low profile for easy grinding. I would tac your piece ALOT. like every 3/4" and then grind down the tac welds so that when you run over them there is not an ugly crash. you should be able to get a similar weld on all 12 of your 4" welds. The 22ga is going do what it is going to do. Just weld it continuous and see what happens. Outside corners like that dont have alot to pull on. if not, 22 ga is not the ideal metal selection.Lincoln Power Mig 216 B 150Last edited by Jimmy_pop; 02-21-2016 at 04:41 PM.
Reply:I don't have a bender so I'm just using 6 4x4 sides and have a piece of 22 ga to work with. Partly a practice project. Grinding down the tacks - good idea. I like your explanation about why downhill. Stitch welding? I don't see the individual stitches. Can you explain more? You do a stitch, the puddle runs down maybe 1/8" and that's where you start your next stitch so it looks continuous?Last edited by JD1; 02-21-2016 at 04:57 PM.
Reply:Originally Posted by mla2ofusWhen welding something that thin I just weld like like I'm tacking. on, off ,on off. Practice on some scrap first, you can eventually make it look like a tig weld.                                      Mike
Reply:Part of making stop/starts look nice is all about practice. I drive students nuts because I can often start and stop beads and you can hardly notice. It's all about understanding how to read and manipulate the puddle and lots and lots of hours of practice..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWPart of making stop/starts look nice is all about practice. I drive students nuts because I can often start and stop beads and you can hardly notice. It's all about understanding how to read and manipulate the puddle and lots and lots of hours of practice.
Reply:A couple more photos from this morning welding a 20ga open corner, vertical down, MIG weld. Lincoln Power Mig 216, B - 150 setting .030 solid wire.You can see my start of the weld at the top. multiple zaps until there is a bulb that has formed and ready for gravity to start pulling it downhill. I am never pointing the MIG welder where I am welding on the steel substrate. I am welding to the weld. Keeping the weld a round profile and above the surface of the metal so I can use a flap disc to re-create the perfect, sharp corner. The bulbous spaced weld pushes and encapsulates the sheetmetal edges. Again, I am never welding directly to the sheetletal. I am not using a copper backer. I used to but it is not necessary. You just need a cylinder shaped weld, that is above the surface of the base metal so you can use a sander to actual shape the corner, by subtraction.Hope this helps. This particular corner was the worst one provided to me by the press brake operator. It was a gap of about 4mm.
Reply:Thanks! Fine looking result. I'll see if I can work with that idea. I'm worried that staying on the bead all the way down is probably going to burn a big hole but I'll give what you said a try. I've already set my Lincoln for 24 ga per the door chart and still get burn through after 1/2", perhaps due to straight CO2. I've still got A, B, and C lower settings and I'm on 2 3/4 wire speed so maybe I'll try dialing everything even lower.The pop pop when starting the arc was messing me up, but I think I've fixed it by adding a touch on the wire speed and cutting the wire on a sharp angle.
Reply:i am stitch welding (on/off) moving about 1/16th-1/8" down at a time. PM216 .030 75/25. never blows through, i could fill a 1/2" gap if I had to, but so far my press brake operator has not sucked that bad, yet. Last edited by Jimmy_pop; 02-28-2016 at 03:19 PM.
Reply:More good advice, thanks. I've got to help someone lay a floor tomorrow but if I get time I'll try it.
Reply:Originally Posted by Jimmy_pop
Reply:Originally Posted by shovelonLooks great after grinding the outside. How does it look on the inside? Most of my trays have a maximum inside radius to hold. That is why I use an alum backer on steel or stainless trays. I use a steel backer on alum trays.
Reply:Have you ever tried EasyGrind wire on those corners? Flows like butter and grinds like butter as well.Weld like a "WELDOR", not a wel-"DERR" MillerDynasty700DX,Dynasty350DX4ea,Dynasty200DX,Li  ncolnSW200-2ea.,MillerMatic350P,MillerMatic200w/spoolgun,MKCobraMig260,Lincoln SP-170T,PlasmaCam/Hypertherm1250,HFProTig2ea,MigMax1ea.
Reply:Originally Posted by shovelonHave you ever tried EasyGrind wire on those corners? Flows like butter and grinds like butter as well.