First time out with a MIG, suggestions?

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So this past holiday season I treated myself to a Miller 211 to replace a $80(new) no-name transformer stick welder. I've had the transformer unit for over a decade and it only worked around 10% of the time you powered it on, and even then the results were less than stellar.Yesterday evening the woman was out, temps were in the 50's-60's, and I finally got a chance to try out my new toy. I have to say, despite the welds looking like garbage compared to some of the stuff I've seen on here, it's worlds better than anything I got out of that old POS transformer unit. I think with a little practice, I might actually be able to do something useful with this thing.Material is a random steel plate I had lying around and some tabs I lopped off an old futon frame. Filler is 0.030 Lincoln flux-core wire I picked up from Lowes. I don't have a bottle yet. My impression is that either the auto-set was feeding the wire too quickly or I was moving too slowly. Penetration seems decent. I beat the hell out of each tab with a large hammer, and while the tabs bent around the middle (less material around the holes), the joints didn't budge a bit.Any advice from the pros?For full resolution pic CLICK HEREAnd the obligatory pic of my new setup. Please forgive the cheapo HF cart.
Reply:If I were you I would spend some time on the web and review Jody and Lanse's videos (weldingtipsandtricks and chucke2009 on youtube). They both have "how-to" series on MIG welding for beginners. I would also check out Steve Bleile's video. it is very good. The secret seems to be, keep your stick out short, not too much gun angle and keep the wire in the leading edge of the puddle to ensure good penetration. Other than that, you can drag it, push it (gas only), or use different nozzle manipulation patterns like the cursive "e".Miller Multimatic 255
Reply:Auto-set is for solid wire only.ESAB Migmaster 250 Hobart Ironman 230Multimatic 215TWECO Fabricator 181i & 211iHH125EZ - nice little fluxcore only unitMaxstar 150 STH - very nice
Reply:Originally Posted by Louie1961If I were you I would spend some time on the web and review Jody and Lanse's videos (weldingtipsandtricks and chucke2009 on youtube). They both have "how-to" series on MIG welding for beginners. I would also check out Steve Bleile's video. it is very good. The secret seems to be, keep your stick out short, not too much gun angle and keep the wire in the leading edge of the puddle to ensure good penetration. Other than that, you can drag it, push it (gas only), or use different nozzle manipulation patterns like the cursive "e".
Reply:Originally Posted by ndnihilI bet this is the part where you tell me to read the instructions
Reply:I really need closer picts to see your welds better. They look cold, but that could be from simply having way too much wire or going too slow as it's impossible to see much in those picts. Speed looks erratic as well.Info we need to help us help you... Machine used (check). In your case if you are on 110v or 230v power. Wire type and size ( check), material thickness, wire speed, voltage setting. The more we know, the better we can answer your questions and make suggestions..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 CEPNo way! No man looks at the instructions, that's like looking at a map!
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWI really need closer picts to see your welds better. They look cold, but that could be from simply having way too much wire or going too slow as it's impossible to see much in those picts. Speed looks erratic as well.Info we need to help us help you... Machine used (check). In your case if you are on 110v or 230v power. Wire type and size ( check), material thickness, wire speed, voltage setting. The more we know, the better we can answer your questions and make suggestions.
Reply:Also one more question. Why does the polarity need to change between solid core and flux core wire? What changes in the process that makes such a difference?
Reply:Originally Posted by ndnihil"pretty thick" for the plate.
Reply:Originally Posted by CEPI must have an out dated tape measure, I can't find that on my tape.
Reply:For 10 ga on 110v power, you'll want your voltage to be at close to max. 1/8" is about the max thickness you can achieve under real world conditions using 110v power. FC wire will give you a slight edge, but not much. That assumes a dedicated 20 amp circuit and no extension cord. on a 15 amp circuit or when using a long or undersized extension cord, or a circuit with other things drawing power, max thickness may be reduced by the lower amount of power being supplied to the welder. .030 wire will allow you to use the most of what power is available.The heavier steel will try to wick heat away from your bead. Usually you go higher than you typically would if both pieces were the same thickness ( both being thin). Then you concentrate your heat on the thicker piece and wash the bead over onto the thinner one.Pict #1 the right hand pict doesn't look too bad as a filet. bead has more material on the top than on the bottom though. legs should be equal top and bottom. Far left one looks like your aim was too high and you weren't down on the lower plate enough. Center is kind of "muddy" and hard to tell what you were doing wrong at the moment. It almost looks like you ran one bead, then went back on top for some reason.Pict #2 the welds all look like but joints with no prep and I bet the beads didn't penetrate well. That's usually one of the hardest joints to do with the machine maxed out unless you do a good job of prep like beveling or gapping the pieces. You simply don't have enough power to burn thru the steel thickness, especially when one piece is that thick and acting as a heat sink. Of the lot on pict 2, the right side one looks the best. Center one looks like you moved too fast and out ran the puddle. left side looks like you might have been a bit slow on your travel speed..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 CEPI must have an out dated tape measure, I can't find that on my tape.
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWWe had a guy once who called out measurements in " thirds". WTF??! Where  do you find 1/3rds marked on a tape?
Reply:What!? He didn't measure them to 3 decimal places?    We had a friend who came over to help us out do form work when the boss was expecting his 1st child. He usually does finish carpentry and cabinet work. He's measuring and marking forms to 1/64" and I'm cutting lumber with a chainsaw since we don't have site power on this job.... .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 CEPOne time on a bridge job, we were removing falsework beams off the bridge deck. I ask this kid to measure all the beams, and mark them before rigging them. I was on deck of the derrick landing the beams. One beam was marked something like 29' – 4 4/16”.
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWWe had a guy once who called out measurements in " thirds". WTF??! Where  do you find 1/3rds marked on a tape?
Reply:Originally Posted by CEPI must have an out dated tape measure, I can't find that on my tape.
Reply:Are you welding the pieces while in the vise? Ahhh, might want to move the red rags, or the woman might get really peeved if you burn her charger up. I know I've fired a rag up before.Thermal Arc 210 - Tweco 211I - Cutmaster 52