how do you get the ridges?

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Hello,I just purchased a Hobart Handler 180. I've been practicing for a couple days now. I think I am realizing that I'm moving the gun a little too fast. My beads seem to be high and I don't think they are penetrating very much. I need to get some more scrap metal and continue practicing. However, I do have a question. How do you get those ridges in the bead? Do you have to use a weave motion or a back and forth motion? Just for reference, I am using .030 solid wire with Argon/CO2.Thanks for any help.Josh
Reply:Two things might help if you want "the ridges":first, turn up the heat a bit to wet the puddle more and, second, do a little half-circle weave as you travel this way  ->  (((((   ->Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:What smith is saying about heat, there are two things that affect heat.  Amps are controlled by wire speed.  However, you must have the voltage brought to the proper level.  if its narrow and tall, the weld bead, increase your volts.  If its real low and flat and getting excess spatter try lowering th evoltage.  The wire is adjusted till you get the sound of sizzling bacon almost.  Its a very satisfyin electrical sound IF it Catches...Let it Burn
Reply:thanks for the replies. I'll try that. So I just assumed those ridges are characteristic of a good weld. Is this true? Do they stregnthen the weld as opposed to a straight bead without them?
Reply:The best way I can describe how to do it is like coloring in things or erasing things with a pencil only slower.  Just kind of move side to side or up and down depending on what angle your doing.   I just actually figured out how to do nice beads with my Lincoln 175.
Reply:A strong bead tends to have a nice profile or shape.  The little ridges are not necessary, but are the by-product of one particular good technique.  If you look at a big propane tank, the welds have no ridges at all (there was no weave and it was done by a machine), but the profile is generally pretty close to perfect.  The weaving is just a technique for using human motion to compensate for weld variables...You might weave to make the bead wider to fill in more, or to keep from burning through the base metal, or because it helps in out of position welds.  Sometimes you do it because it's a habit...I do it even when I don't have to.  I almost have to try to NOT weave.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:I do it to get better mixing of metal between the two metals.  Sort of really mixes them together.
Reply:and when you get to the end of the weld dont just stop.."blip" the gun a couple of times to fill in the hole thats left if you dont..thats where cracks start   ...zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:"blip" ?  Just curious"Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine"However "lack of planning on my part may constitute an emergency on yours"
Reply:blip...pull the trigger fast a couple of times at the end spot..while its hotfill in the hole thats left at the end..if not now then you'll have to go back and do it later...and i hate doing it again later  ...zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Usually when I get to the end I do a circle and that seems to work.
Reply:I usually just double back a half inch or so at the edge (pretty similar to the circles that rubenZ is talking about), but the "blip" that zap is talking about works just fine also...I have a pre- and post-flow timer, which I am too lazy to mess with, that makes the "blipping" a bit of a timing trick on steel...The really nice thing about the quick blip is that it's quicker and the metal and wire are usually still hot, so the bead remains uniform and doesn't look like a second start, and you don't overheat the edge of the workpiece.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:I almost never weave . when i was learning welding ( apprenticeship @ Mare Island ) they first started on 6010 rod (elec  trode ! ) then , when we got proficient , they said , now forget everything we taught you , cause now you're going to low hydrogen , & you'll   LIKE  that . we don't weave the low high. NOT necessary . so , i never weaved anything else . They also taught us , on thin stuff do the ends , first , then weld to the ends . that way you don't burn out ,or burn THROUGH . if you look at an aluminum boat , you'll see that the ends of the long seams were tigged , then the rest is done with mig .
Reply:That's the way I tig...ends first, because for 15 years I didn't use a pedal to control amps.  Now that I have one.  I can't break the habit.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.