What am I doing wrong here? pics

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Fired up the 211 for the first time today, here are some pics of a few of the welds. I was trying to figure out what I was doing because the welds seem really "tall." I think the arc gap was too small but I guess im not real good at adjusting the gap because I couldn't change the weld profile. These are on 1/8" plate with the 211 on "auto set." None of these welds had that stack of dimes look to them, the only welds that did for me was a lap joint with the 1/8." Those three welds looked perfect. Any help is greatly appreciatedIm not sure if this pic will be helpful or not Last edited by my65289stang; 11-15-2011 at 09:17 PM.
Reply:Looks a lil cold, but then again almost all mig welds do to me for some reason...If youre bead is getting too tall, you could very well be putting down too much metal in not enough space, so, you could try moving faster. You got a sweet machine, btw [Account Abandoned 8/8/16 Please Do Not Attempt Contact Or Expect A Reply]. See you on YouTube! -ChuckE2009
Reply:It could be hotter.No stack of dimes needed.    Just weld it.I think it could use more heat, try one setting hotter.  DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:First off, clean your base metal to bright shiny metal with a sanduing disk or grinding stone. Doing this will help the weld puddle wet out better. Secondly, when you run beads on a flat plate you need to set the machine settings lower then you would for welding an actual joint design. The reason being because the flat plate has no were for the weld metal to go, so it just going to pile up. The higher your machine settings the taller your weld will end up being.Now if you are trying to do some type of circular oscillation to create the stack of dimes look you mentioned, this to is going to cause the weld puddle to pile on that flat plate. For  1/8" material all you need to do is pretty much travel straight along the weld joint with maybe adding a slight side to side wiggle of the gun to aid weld puddle wet out.ESAB Migmaster 250 Hobart Ironman 230Multimatic 215TWECO Fabricator 181i & 211iHH125EZ - nice little fluxcore only unitMaxstar 150 STH - very nice
Reply:Awesome, thanks for the help guys, and the compliment on my 211. Its my first mig and today was day 1. I have to work tomorrow but I will try turning up the heat on Thursday (all day, I will have to get more scrap). Thanks again
Reply:The stack of dimes look is typical for tig not mig. What you have there is a typical mig weld as far as looks. Concentrate 1st on learning to make good solid sound welds, then you can start manipulating things to start getting a specific look.Too many guys try to make mig look like tig and end up with poor quality "pretty" welds..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:What DSW said, no "stack of dimes". You can flatten your bead profile by aiming your tip more perpendicular to the surface, if you drag with a strong angle, weld will "pile up". You can pause a bit at the end to fill the craterYour first beads don't look bad, here's mine a year ago when I couldn't see where I was goingLast edited by wirehead; 11-15-2011 at 11:16 PM.XMT304 (school)SP125+ (home)HF 4x6 BandsawGood judgement comes from experience and much of that comes from bad judgement.
Reply:Hey stang,Your beads do look a bit cold. Increase your heat a bit , CLEAN THE DAMN SURFACE, & I have to challenge wirehead..... increase the gun angle to flatten the bead. 90* will give the deepest penetration & highest profile..... change the angle to 75-80* to flatten & keep a steady movement & distance of tip to surface. Takes a bit of practice.....the more you do, the easier it will get. Get practiced with consistency of distance, gun angle, & travel speed for optimum results.DennyComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:Using a push technique vs a pull will also help to flatten the bead.Syncro 250 DX Dynasty 200 DXMM 251 w/30A SG XMT 304 w/714 Feeder & Optima PulserHH187Dialarc 250 AC/DCHypertherm PM 1250Smith, Harris, Victor O/ASmith and Thermco Gas MixersAccess to a full fab shop with CNC Plasma, Water Jet, etc.
Reply:Without challenge, life would be boring, eh? Yorkie, I think we are saying basically the same thing, just a different choice of terminology. I have no academic background in welding. Guess I should have said "drag angle" and not "gun angle"? Just to clarify, this is from the AWSStang, you can see this yourself (highly recommended) if you just cut through your beads, grind flat and smooth, then etch with some naval jelly like my avatar.Last edited by wirehead; 11-16-2011 at 07:59 AM.XMT304 (school)SP125+ (home)HF 4x6 BandsawGood judgement comes from experience and much of that comes from bad judgement.
Reply:Awesome, thanks for all of the help guys. I'll be able to get back to it on Thursday and try again. Next problem to solve it popping the house breaker. I need to run a dedicated 110 and 220 for the welder.Thanks again, much appreciated
Reply:Originally Posted by my65289stangAwesome, thanks for all of the help guys. I'll be able to get back to it on Thursday and try again. Next problem to solve it popping the house breaker. I need to run a dedicated 110 and 220 for the welder.Thanks again, much appreciated
Reply:I think you will find that the AS on your 211 is not 100% , there are times when I have to turn it back just a bit.
Reply:Originally Posted by Thats HotI think you will find that the AS on your 211 is not 100% , there are times when I have to turn it back just a bit.
Reply:Does that machine have a welding voltage adjustment? Try turning it up a bit.
Reply:Originally Posted by Thats HotI think you will find that the AS on your 211 is not 100% , there are times when I have to turn it back just a bit.