Teflon tape on Mig nozzle?

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Can that be used so I can set the contact tip recess? When the nozzle is screwed down tight, the contact tip sticks out a little less than 1/8". I'd like to try it flush to see what happens.
Reply:dont you think it might get quite hot? maybe if you found some high temp. teflon it would work? dont know I have only used teflon for water type stuff.Mullets&Pullets
Reply:maybe grind a 1/8" off end of cup.   i did that w/ one for my mini mig thread on
Reply:I could cut 1/8" off the thread end of the contact tip but wondered if there was a way to tighten the nozzle at a certain point. Other than drilling it and putting a set screw in.  Seems odd that Lincoln brand tips would stick out that far past a Lincoln brand nozzle. I'd think they'd at least be made so they were even.
Reply:Hello JD1, various manufacturers deal with the issue you are having in different ways. Sometimes there are different nozzles that are available to deal with tip-to-nozzle distances. Other times, different contact tip lengths may be available. Depending upon how the contact tips or the nozzles are attached to the gun you can make your own variations and or adjustments to set this orientation. Whatever you use to take care of this will have to be "highly" heat-resistant, particularly if you are running high voltages/wire speeds, you might get away with it when you are using short-circuiting transfer with small wire diameters and low heat settings in a very short/intermittent manner. Yet, anything that is plastic or susceptible to melting/burning from heat is generally a poor choice. Good luck on your modifications and best regards, Allanaevald
Reply:If the contact tip sticks out too far just cut it back, they're solid copper. Make sure you profile the end like the original and polish it up to prevent spatter sticking.
Reply:Yup...done the above many times...simply remove nozzle and walk installed tip across spinning flap disk till you got it trimmed...then poke oxyfuel old timey tip cleaner of correct size in burred up wire hole....if gas nozzle is tread on type with O-ring gas seal, see if you can simply unscrew it a couple of threads without losing gas seal like I do on my big spool gun.When I bought my Hobart/Miller 210 mig, I strolled into Harbor Freight and for a few bucks bought their clone tips and gas nozzle multi packs really cheap...from there I placed a few of the nozzles on my table belt sander and made them a little shorter to bring the tip up even with the nozzle....I must have 5 different lengths laying in welding cart tool holder......I can't do that with the bigger IronMan machine cause no one sells that big thick heavy nozzle but Hobart or Miller and they aint cheap, but at least the tips are.Edited to add: Don't be afraid (if slip on-non threaded nozzle without O-ring) to wrap a wrap or several wraps of tef tape around area where nozzle slips over torch...It will usually give you much better gas seal...And NO, the tef tape won't melt because neither does the O-ring, huh? Last edited by wornoutoldwelder; 02-29-2016 at 03:50 AM.
Reply:Originally Posted by wornoutoldwelderYup...done the above many times...simply remove nozzle and walk installed tip across spinning flap disk till you got it trimmed...then poke oxyfuel old timey tip cleaner of correct size in burred up wire hole....if gas nozzle is tread on type with O-ring gas seal, see if you can simply unscrew it a couple of threads without losing gas seal like I do on my big spool gun.When I bought my Hobart/Miller 210 mig, I strolled into Harbor Freight and for a few bucks bought their clone tips and gas nozzle multi packs really cheap...from there I placed a few of the nozzles on my table belt sander and made them a little shorter to bring the tip up even with the nozzle....I must have 5 different lengths laying in welding cart tool holder......I can't do that with the bigger IronMan machine cause no one sells that big thick heavy nozzle but Hobart or Miller and they aint cheap, but at least the tips are.Edited to add: Don't be afraid (if slip on-non threaded nozzle without O-ring) to wrap a wrap or several wraps of tef tape around area where nozzle slips over torch...It will usually give you much better gas seal...And NO, the tef tape won't melt because neither does the O-ring, huh?
Reply:Profiling the tip isn't rocket science, just sand it down to the length you need and round it off a little with an 80 grit flapper.
Reply:The tip sticking slightly out is a bit better for short circuit only and & visibility combo. I'm one of those that buys an extra nozzle and grinds it down so the tip will stick out a bit."The things that will destroy America are prosperity at any price, peace at any price, safety first instead of duty first, the love of soft living and the get rich quick theory of life." -Theodore Roosevelt
Reply:Originally Posted by JD1I think I'd rather cut the threaded end rather than dealing with trying to reprofile the tip. About the teflon tape, my nozzle is a screw on one so my thought was that if I put enough turns on the gun threads, I could stop the nozzle at the point I needed and it would stay. I have it unscrewed so it's even now but it's real loose and won't stay there.
Reply:Different reasons for tip sickout, all the ideas to adjust have their merit. As far as using teflon tape on your threads thre is no problem with that, it's good to 625 degrees, WAY, WAY, WAY more than Viton (400), Silicone (450), or nitrile (250) that your O rings behind your gas nozzle may be made of.RyanMiller Multimatic 200 tig/spool gun/wireless remoteMillermatic 350P, Bernard/XR Python gunsMiller Dynasty 350, Coolmate 3.5 & wireless remoteCK WF1 TIG wire feederMiller Spectrum 375 XtremeOptrel e684Miller Digital EliteMiller Weld-Mask
Reply:+1 TheBFA, way easier to profile the end than the thread. If you really want to put a clean bevel on it... chuck it up in a drill and then hit the sander.
Reply:Originally Posted by xryanDifferent reasons for tip sickout, all the ideas to adjust have their merit. As far as using teflon tape on your threads thre is no problem with that, it's good to 625 degrees, WAY, WAY, WAY more than Viton (400), Silicone (450), or nitrile (250) that your O rings behind your gas nozzle may be made of.
Reply:Oh yeah, that's why you aren't supposed to cook with nonstick cookware if you have pet birds, cause it can kill them.
Reply:I cut all my nozzles down so the tip is flush or sticking out a little. I also use a 1/2" or larger nozzle and a little more argon flow for better gas coverage just like when your tig welding. If you can't see the tip its hard to see were your welding.www.georgesplasmacuttershop.comPlasma Cutter and Welder Sales and Repairs--Ebay storeTec.Mo. Dealer Consumables for the PT and IPT torch's
Reply:Originally Posted by forhire+1 TheBFA, way easier to profile the end than the thread. If you really want to put a clean bevel on it... chuck it up in a drill and then hit the sander.
Reply:Originally Posted by JD1Nice. I like that. I decided I'm going to slip a tight O ring on right behind the nozzle and screw the nozzle down tight on the O ring. There is a tiny rubber shelf the O ring will sit on and will keep it in place. That should work. If for some reason it doesn't I'll use that drill press advice. Great idea. The whole reason for the flush mounting was experimenting with gas coverage to try to cure a pop pop pop just only at the very start of the arc then it smooths out. Don't have it on flux core. Tip further in, tip further out, tip flush. I've looked at everything else I can think of and that was my last attempt.
Reply:I looked at that. I disassembled the clamp, ran all parts through the wire brush on my bench grinder to get it back to shiny metal, polished up the tab on the end of the wire and all the washers/nuts, reassembled, clamped it to the shiny flapwheeled metal (22 ga mild steel) and pop pop pop.  One thing that did help was turning the wire feed up very slightly from the door chart. Chart says 2  1/2, I've got it on 2 3/4.I don't have it on flux core which made me think it might be gas related. Or maybe because it's 22 ga. and my settings have to be real low. IDK.Last edited by JD1; 03-02-2016 at 10:36 AM.
Reply:If you can't see the tip its hard to see were your welding
Reply:Originally Posted by tackitI called Miller about my 2003 model 251 popping at start of a weld... they told me to remove either the # 8 wire or the #79 wire from the contactor to disconnect the hot start feature..... it helped,  it's the white wire with yellow marker on my machine.
Reply:Originally Posted by HT2-4956IDK about that.   Unlike TIG welding where you need to be able to see the tip of the Tungsten so you can monitor your arc length, when you're wire welding all you really need to see is the puddle.  A lot of the time you don't even need to have a direct line of sight to the arc.  In fact when working at higher amperages running larger diameters of dual shield or metal core wire I often times try to get my head positioned so the nozzle is blocking a direct view of the arc.  Even when running smaller diameter hard wires at lower amperages where you've got a smaller puddle to keep track of and herd around I think you're needing to see more where the end of the "wire" is than where the end of the "tip" is.   And the end of the wire (where the arc is happening) is always out in front of the tip end.   If you know where the end of the tip is in relation to the end of the nozzle I don't think you actually need to see the end of the tip while you're wire welding.I guess I just can't think of a situation where having the end of the contact tip sticking out past the end of the nozzle would be helpful.  Not saying you couldn't get a way with it and get decent results under certain circumstances but it just strikes as a general form of "bad practice" because it would put you more at risk for loss of gas shielding problems.I know when running 1/16" metal core where you're wanting to hold around a 3/4" stick out I like to have my contact tip end recessed an 1/8" or so.   Then I just concentrate on keeping the end of my nozzle around 5/8" (or so) back from the puddle.
Reply:Originally Posted by JD1I looked at that. I disassembled the clamp, ran all parts through the wire brush on my bench grinder to get it back to shiny metal, polished up the tab on the end of the wire and all the washers/nuts, reassembled, clamped it to the shiny flapwheeled metal (22 ga mild steel) and pop pop pop.  One thing that did help was turning the wire feed up very slightly from the door chart. Chart says 2  1/2, I've got it on 2 3/4.I don't have it on flux core which made me think it might be gas related. Or maybe because it's 22 ga. and my settings have to be real low. IDK.
Reply:Try touching the wire tip to the base metal before you pull the trigger, if you're not doing this already.  This can help reduce hard shorts when you start welding.  Keep the stickout shorter at the start, if you're using short circuit transfer.  For spray arc use the regular stickout at the start than you would during welding.JD1, I didn't see what power supply you're using, but this technique to touch the wire before pulling the trigger can be more helpful with inverter power supplies. A hot start feature may(depending on how the manufacturer designed it to work) be raising the voltage for a very short time right after you pull the trigger.  When the system doesn't sense a drop in voltage that comes with establishing an arc, the hot start my boost voltage more, to try and get the arc going.  When the arc finally does happen, the higher than needed voltage causes a violent short.  It takes a couple of shorts for the system to get out of hot start and into regular operation.  Starting with the wire touching the work piece keeps all of this from happening.  It won't eliminate every pop at start, but it should reduce the chance that it happens.If you're already doing this then look at the base metal condition where you're striking the arc.  Mill Scale, slag or glass residue from previous passes are all insulators that act as a barrier to striking the arc.  Starting the wire on these types of surfaces is almost a guaranteed way to produce some popping at the start of welding.  Starting with the filler wire touching clean metal should produce a clean start most of the time with a quality welding power supply.Last thought, get in the habit of clipping the end of the MIG wire and starting with a clean wire tip.  Wires like 70S-6 have a lot of silicon and you can freeze the wire at the end of a weld  get a tiny dot of silicon on the wire tip.  This silicon is an insulator and can make for rough starts.  Really high end industrial machines usually have a ramp down when the welding stops that tapers the wire tip for a good restart.  More basic machines don't do this, so clipping the wire tip before restriking can help.Benson's Mobile Welding - Dayton, OH metro area - AWS Certified Welding Inspector
Reply:DAB,As always, good info with lots of insight into the finer details that help ensure good results.Originally Posted by A_DAB_will_doTry touching the wire tip to the base metal before you pull the trigger, if you're not doing this already.  This can help reduce hard shorts when you start welding.  Keep the stickout shorter at the start, if you're using short circuit transfer.  For spray arc use the regular stickout at the start than you would during welding.JD1, I didn't see what power supply you're using, but this technique to touch the wire before pulling the trigger can be more helpful with inverter power supplies. A hot start feature may(depending on how the manufacturer designed it to work) be raising the voltage for a very short time right after you pull the trigger.  When the system doesn't sense a drop in voltage that comes with establishing an arc, the hot start my boost voltage more, to try and get the arc going.  When the arc finally does happen, the higher than needed voltage causes a violent short.  It takes a couple of shorts for the system to get out of hot start and into regular operation.  Starting with the wire touching the work piece keeps all of this from happening.  It won't eliminate every pop at start, but it should reduce the chance that it happens.If you're already doing this then look at the base metal condition where you're striking the arc.  Mill Scale, slag or glass residue from previous passes are all insulators that act as a barrier to striking the arc.  Starting the wire on these types of surfaces is almost a guaranteed way to produce some popping at the start of welding.  Starting with the filler wire touching clean metal should produce a clean start most of the time with a quality welding power supply.Last thought, get in the habit of clipping the end of the MIG wire and starting with a clean wire tip.  Wires like 70S-6 have a lot of silicon and you can freeze the wire at the end of a weld  get a tiny dot of silicon on the wire tip.  This silicon is an insulator and can make for rough starts.  Really high end industrial machines usually have a ramp down when the welding stops that tapers the wire tip for a good restart.  More basic machines don't do this, so clipping the wire tip before restriking can help.
Reply:What size wire? If you're running .030 I'd step down to .025, you'll get much better starts.
Reply:I'm running .025