What am I doing wrong? Need some advice.

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I know I'll probably get flamed for these pictures, but I'm kinda lost…Here are a few shots of a 1/4" plate I tried to run a few beads down. I'm pretty sure I'm doing something wrong. I'm pretty new to wire feed. I can Arc weld but having trouble with wire. This is with a Hobart 125 Handler. .030 FC wire. Wanna get gas soon but haven't quite yet. Advice please?I'm guessing I need to slow down and maybe more heat?Thank you guys in advance for any advice.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Reply:Hello. To start off with, your machine doesn't have the balls to do 1/4" material under real world conditions, despite what the manufacturers literature might say. 1/8" is about the max you can hope to do and with 125 amps even that is pushing it. 14 ga would probably be a better real world thickness for that machine if you are running on a dedicated 20 amp line with no extension cord. If you are on a standard 15 amp outlet with other things plugged in and using an extension cord of any length, reduce the top end thickness accordingly. Almost all manufacturers over rate these little machines.It' looks like you could slow down a bit. Best bet would be to get some 14 ga or 1/8" material to practice on. When you post up picts, also add what your settings are for voltage and wire speed, as well as the wire size and gas or FC that you already listed. Your biggest issue is lack of heat, and that's unfortunately something you can't do anything about with this little machine. To do a decent job on 1/4" you will need at least a 180 amp 230v class machine..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:Thank you. I was kinda thinking that the material was too thick for the machine but wasn't sure if it would be okay for just practicing or not. It's just kind of what I had laying around. Sorry I forgot to list machine settings. I was running through a list in my mind but forgot those. I believe those were done with wire speed at 35 or so and power on 3. I  am still getting use to setting the machine up. Thanks for the advice.-PatSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Reply:Depends what you want to do for "practice". Yes it will allow you to lay down material, but it's hard to get good feedback on how you are doing when the material is too thick for the machine. Small migs are notorious for making "pretty" welds with no penetration on thicker material. That's fine if you are doing yard art and not critical things. The down side is it tends to give newer welders a false sense of what their machine can really do.Thinner material for practice will help give you better feed back visually and also help you learn how not to burn thru. Burn thru on thin metal will be your biggest issue when using FC wire on material in the range of that machine. Burn thru will be less of an issue with solid wire gas mig until you get down below say 18 ga.If you want to learn how to weld well, pick a material to practice on that is well within the limits of the machine. If you are practicing to do welds for a project, then practice with materials you expect to use so you can work out in advance what settings and so on will give you the results you are looking for.There are tons of "learning" threads here you can look at and get the basics from. Sit back and go thru a bunch of older threads and see what you can pick up from others who have asked similar questions in the past..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 DSWDepends what you want to do for "practice". Yes it will allow you to lay down material, but it's hard to get good feedback on how you are doing when the material is too thick for the machine. Small migs are notorious for making "pretty" welds with no penetration on thicker material. That's fine if you are doing yard art and not critical things. The down side is it tends to give newer welders a false sense of what their machine can really do.Thinner material for practice will help give you better feed back visually and also help you learn how not to burn thru. Burn thru on thin metal will be your biggest issue when using FC wire on material in the range of that machine. Burn thru will be less of an issue with solid wire gas mig until you get down below say 18 ga.If you want to learn how to weld well, pick a material to practice on that is well within the limits of the machine. If you are practicing to do welds for a project, then practice with materials you expect to use so you can work out in advance what settings and so on will give you the results you are looking for.There are tons of "learning" threads here you can look at and get the basics from. Sit back and go thru a bunch of older threads and see what you can pick up from others who have asked similar questions in the past.
Reply:You're gonna find that it's much easier to lay down nice beads with gas.  Just make sure you change machine polarity when you switch it over.TA Arcmaster 300CM3XMT 304S22P12 suitcase feederX-Treme 12VSOptima pulserTA161SMaxstar 150STLHypertherm PM45OP setupStihl 020AVP, 039, 066 Magnum
Reply:Originally Posted by Drf255You're gonna find that it's much easier to lay down nice beads with gas.  Just make sure you change machine polarity when you switch it over.
Reply:Okay so it's been a while since I've posted on this thread but I think I'm getting better… maybe. Suggestions and criticism welcomed.Hobart Handler 125.030 flux core wireVolts turned all the way up to setting 4Wire speed set at 29 to 30Material is 1/8" angle iron.Thanks-PatSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Reply:Anyone have some advice for a young man trying hard to learn to weld?-PatSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Reply:Originally Posted by AMWelder89Anyone have some advice for a young man trying hard to learn to weld?-PatSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Reply:Originally Posted by AMWelder89Anyone have some advice for a young man trying hard to learn to weld?-PatSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Reply:Originally Posted by AMWelder89Anyone have some advice for a young man trying hard to learn to weld?
Reply:Thank you guys. I'm trying hard. I try to get out to the shop every night after work to practice and on the weekends. I'm hoping to get a regulator, bottle, and hose soon. What size bottle would you guys recommend for a hobbiest that welds often/every night for at least 2 to 4 hours?-PatSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Reply:On average figure you will use about 15-20 cubic feet of gas per hour ( CFH) with mig. More if you are outside with any kind of gentle breeze, maybe a bit less inside in still air. Cylinders are generally figured in cubic feet, so it's fairly easy to determine how big you will need. A 20 cf cylinder would last about one hour of weld time, a 40 cf 2 hrs, and 80 cf 4 hours and so on. Most gas suppliers usually will only sell cylinders smaller than roughly 150 cf or so. After that most times you need to lease/rent to get a larger cylinder, though there are exceptions to this. Gas also usually costs less per cubic foot in larger cylinders. The gas supplier tacks on things like hydro charges, handling fees, hazmat fees, transport costs and so on to the total. Usually these are all the same whether you have a 20 cf cylinder or a 300 cf cylinder. You may not see these costs as they may simply wrap them up in the total cost and not itemize them. It only costs me about $5-10 more to exchange my 282cf O2 cylinder vs my 100cf cylinder. I get almost 180 cf of gas for almost nothing. Of course that cylinder is huge, and isn't the greatest option if I need to lug it around with me. That's why I still have the small one. The smaller mig cylinders also work better on my mig cart. Also keep in mind the fact you have to go and get the gas. My supplier is just down the street., If I had to drive a long distance every time I ran out of gas, that would change the way I pick up gas somewhat. We quickly found the 40cf cylinder that came with my small mig was way too small, we upsized quickly to an 80cf, followed by getting a 60cf as a backup for when we would run out on the weekend and the supplier isn't open. Now My mig cylinder is a 125, and I have a spare roughly the same size. If I didn't have to offroad my mig to use it, I could get away with a larger 300 cf cylinder like I have for my tig.Get the largest cylinder you can afford and easily transport..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 AMWelder89Thank you guys. I'm trying hard. I try to get out to the shop every night after work to practice and on the weekends. I'm hoping to get a regulator, bottle, and hose soon. What size bottle would you guys recommend for a hobbiest that welds often/every night for at least 2 to 4 hours?-PatSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Reply:Been a while since I posted any of my welds to be critiqued, didn't want to start a new thread just for that. Ran these a few weeks ago, just forgot about them, been pretty busy. Anyways, rand with a Hobart Handler 125. .030 flux core Washington wire. Wire speed set at 29-30, amps were maxed to setting 4. No cursive "e" or really any other technique. Just ran the gun straight and kept a close eye on the puddle. These were ran to join two pieces of angle stock butted together length wise. So what do you guys and gals think?Thanks in advance.-Pat
Reply:Right hand one looks pretty good. Left hand one has a few issues, mostly with the inconsistencies I see. Center section looks good, but the ends have some issues.Keep practicing, you are doing better..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:I'm not experienced enough to judge your welds, though they look like you've made great progress to me. But I'm a beginner. I will say that in my area (mid-Atlantic) none of the gas companies will let you own anything bigger than 80 cf... 120 and above has to be rented from them. As DSW noted, the $$ difference in filling bottles is trivial. And, if you are turning your gas on and off (I think with MIG your machine solenoid will do that?), then remember that when someone says it will last 1, 4, or 8 hours, they mean actual welding time. That could be weeks.Roberts, who I had a grudge against for some past bad behavior, has turned out to be very helpful. They took a 40 cf I'd bought on craigslist and upgraded it to an 80 for something like $30 (that was like $180 credit or something). The Argon fill was about $50 (pretty average price in this area). Airgas was only going to give me "a little credit" for my 40. IMO you either want an 80, or a rental. If you're able-bodied an 80 is pretty easy to hoist around. I have a little (40? Acet uses a different scale) Acetylene for plumbing/HVAC, and I might even upgrade it, but I move that all over the place, including tight spaces (air-acet torch for soldering/brazing). So I might keep that small. It depends on if I really get going on oxy/acet, in which case I think I'll quickly want a bigger bottle. But I'm in an urban area with gas suppliers all over the place: Airgas and Roberts are both less than 3 miles from here. So refills are easy.Can't really help you on the welds, but if you're foolish enough to keep reading... I notice the left one has more splatter than the right, I wonder why that is (maybe a little hotter)? Also, the stops on both of them are in shadow in the pics, so I can't really tell what's happening there. You don't say what size stock, if I were pretending to know what I'm talking about I'd say it might be too thick/massive for the welder, since I'm not sure there's good penetration even though the beads look pretty hot: as if the heat is being conducted away too fast: the added mass/heat fin of angle iron might change the behavior of things (butted together how, exactly? Corner to corner, edge to edge, corner to edge). Everything I've just said is worth every penny you paid for it, since you already have more experience than me!Keep up the good work.Miller XMT304 CC/CVBernard TIG coolerSSC foot pedal"It's a poor craftsman who blames his tewls toles TOOLS" (!^$#% keyboard)
Reply:Thanks guys, I can't remember what kind of issue I was having at the time with the weld in the picture on the left. I'm trying to get better. Hoping to get some proper instruction soon. Haven't got much hood time in a while. Been busy with working here and there among other things. -Pat