how do i get rid of the dingkleberries!?

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i loathe and despise flux core mig, but am forced to use it at the shop til i can but a tig rig from here hopefully.. or a nice gmaw unit for cheap if possible. so, i got a bobber project i'm building at the shop. welded the fender up and all those tiny BB looking spalls fall into the worst places and weld themselves in. so, is there a way to set up the machine so it won't produce those damn little balls of steel? or, am i stuck with it as it's the nature of the beast? i'll get pics up and post in the projects section when i get batteries for the camera http://kawispeed.com/ -moderator and tech deluxewww.myspace.com/trickortrack -cuz i have no life
Reply:I haven't used it in a long a$$ time but they make some anti splatter $hit you can spray in the area your welding on before you weld, it prevents the pellets from stickin, I got flux down to a science, my flux welds actually look ****. the key with flux is to use new wire, treat it like 7018, and keep it in a dry place, moisture fucs it up, sometimes when I buy those little baby rolls from depot, they are no good right out of the wrapping, so I buy it from lws when I can, I'll try to dig up some pics of mu flux welds, they can look of tig quality if done right"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal"   -Henry Ford
Reply:Cooking spray such as (pam or any of them) will work and is a lot cheaper than anti spatter spray. I use the cheapest I can find at the grocery store, when I need it.Miller Thunderbolt 225Millermatic 130 XPLincoln HD 100 Forney C-5bt Arc welderPlasma Cutter Gianteach Cut40ACent Machinery Bandsaw Cent Machinery 16Speed Drill PressChicago Electric 130amp tig/90 ArcHobart 190 Mig spoolgun ready
Reply:I use Weld Kleen by Weld-it.  It is about 12 bucks per gallon.  Applied from a squirt bottle.  I hate the flammable anti-spatter sprays.
Reply:Do you have to keep the spot your welding clean of the anti-spatter or just spray everything?
Reply:Just spray everything. Be warned tho, the stuff will catch fire if you spray enough on. Your shop/garage will smell like popcorn too  Fire!, Fire! Oh wait, that's my torch...Lincoln PT-225 TIGLincoln 175 MIG
Reply:I noticed that about the flux core that came with my machine. I just turn the wire speed down until it goes away and stay out of the puddle.Nothing Ever Got Done By Quitting, Never Give Up.
Reply:What wire, machine settings, and gas mixture are you running?  What position are you welding in?Most gas shielded FCAW can be set to produce little or no spatter.  Self shield FCAW is another story.Maybe we can help you dial in the machine settings to reduce or get rid of your spatter problem. Originally Posted by whitehendrix!i loathe and despise flux core mig, but am forced to use it at the shop til i can but a tig rig from here hopefully.. or a nice gmaw unit for cheap if possible. so, i got a bobber project i'm building at the shop. welded the fender up and all those tiny BB looking spalls fall into the worst places and weld themselves in. so, is there a way to set up the machine so it won't produce those damn little balls of steel? or, am i stuck with it as it's the nature of the beast? i'll get pics up and post in the projects section when i get batteries for the camera
Reply:thanks guys!! good idea with the pam spray.. haha i am using a lincoln pro core 100, and i think its on "3" for wire speed on the A setting.. but i'll usually lay a root pass on low then crank it to C or D for a the layover passes. wire speed seems to not be adjusted tho.. slight tweak sometimes... thats it.3.5 maybe on speed.. forgot the wire type, BRAND new roll tho.. lincoln flux core stuff. i wouldn't have this problem if i could get a tig or smaw rig, but just don't have the money.unless someone has a beat up old tig or mig they wanna get off of? (wouldn't matter what shape.. i'll make it work..)i still need batteries for the cam, so as soon as i get them, i'll post up what i got going on.it just doesn't seem consistent with the splatter tho..http://kawispeed.com/ -moderator and tech deluxewww.myspace.com/trickortrack -cuz i have no life
Reply:A quick check on Lincolns website tells me that your machine is rated for 18-33 volts, 50 - 300IPM, 30-88 amps.Guessing that your WFS setting has 10 divisions, yields ~25 IPM per division.  So a setting of 3 should equate to 125IPM.  You could check this by holding the gun trigger for 10 seconds, then cutting off and measuring the wire that's fed out.  should be about 20".I'll take a wild guess and say you're probably using Lincoln NR-211MP 0.035".  Please confirm.  THis is their small diameter general purpose wire that comes on small spools.You should also be setup for DCEN polarity for self shielded fcaw wire.  If you've used this machine for GMAW, with shielding gas before, double check your cable hookups.  Wrong polarity for ss-fcaw is sure to cause excess spatter.Your settings sound reasonable, although I would try using voltage setting B or C for the cover pass, not C or D.  It's tough to be sure what voltage setting is right, because I can't find anything that describes precisely what voltages the 4 tap settings correspond to on your machine.  IF the root goes in alright, don't change anything, if you're seeing a lot of spatter on the root pass, try turning down the WFS 1 notch.  I generally decrease voltage and wfs slightly for a cover pass, since the base material is already hot and lower settings make undercut  on the toelines easier to avoid.Make certain your wire is fresh, and stored in a sealed dry container.  Don't leave ss-fcaw wire out where it can pick up moisture.  This will surely cause you grief.  take it out of the machine and store it in a sealed container or plastic ziplock bag when you're done welding.Also double check that you're holding abou 1/2" of stickout from the contact tip.  Too Short a stickout doesn't allow the heat of the arc to preheat the wire.  This can cause moisture trapped in the flux to boil off in the weld pool, causeing more spatter and a harsher arc.  If things are better with shorter stickout, try not to use less than 3/8", and make double sure your wire is fresh and dry.Benson's Mobile Welding - Dayton, OH metro area - AWS Certified Welding Inspector
Reply:Wipe better after using the toilet!
Reply:wood chisel, end of story. holds up to scraping against steel al day. but unless you are welding with straight C02 you can set your machine to produce minimal berries. i will take FCAW over GMAW any day
Reply:A_Dab; thats the same wire, same settings.. everything..i have played with wire speed a bit.. i try not to waste material too much! haha.. i figured it was pretty much just the nature of the beast, but if you guys are getting clean and consistent welds, maybe i need to play with it? experiment a tiny bit? the reasoning behind this is because i've used FCAW before once just as a "here, try this!" from a buddy of mine.. i layed a nice bead down with no splatter at all and i was actually impressed.. now, i get this machine (not mine, but have been offered a good deal on it now) in the shop, and i can't seem to get really clean, splatter-free welds like that one time.. up until now, i've religiously used gas-shielded mig welding machines.. i always figured the gas helped it NOT splatter somehow..when i brush off the slag, i see a nice bead.. it's not like i got chickenchit welds going on, so to me, the settings have to be right.. that classic mig sizzle is present.. no popping or anything..pulling the bead.. pushing the bead.. no matter what i do, i just can't get it clean. i gotta sit there with a 3" cookie and a screwdriver and pry or grind off the little spalls that muddied up my work http://kawispeed.com/ -moderator and tech deluxewww.myspace.com/trickortrack -cuz i have no life