Newbie question.. bouncing?

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So, I laid the first bead in my life on Sunday.. and I've spent about 4 or 5 hours welding every day since and I'm starting to be able to lay a strong, clean bead.Until yesterday.  I had originally purchased a "Northern Industrial" 130amp mig (115v), then I found a really good deal on a Lincoln pro-mig 140 ($366 at Lowes) and brought it home, set it up, and noticed something different right away.The previous machine would feed wire smoothly, making it easy to keep a nice , even puddle.. the Lincoln, though, "bounces", for lack of a better term, which splatters the puddle all over the place.It doesn't appear that the wire spool is binding, or anything.. it seems more like the wire is touching the metal and not arcing immediately, so the wire pushes the gun away from the metal, then it zaps, and the gun lowers back down to the weld..I've tried different speed settings, heat settings, etc.. can't figure out what's going on.Again, I'm super new.. so I'm probably not using all of the correct lingo.  I just miss the beads I was able to lay with the Northern.. any ideas?
Reply:First, welcome to Weldingweb! Secondly, I'm not sure why you bought two 110V MIG welders.  Usually, once a person has a good 110V, they purchase another MIG but in the higher 220V model. The Northern MIG is either a Lincoln or Clarke welder. It looks familiar. Finally, the bouncing, as you call it, can either be attributed to too much stick out or a bad ground. Make sure you ground is as close as possible to the weld area and make sure it is NOT on top of paint, oil, dirt or other surface contaminents. Make sure when welding you are no further than 1/4 - 3/8 of an inch from the weldment.John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:After checking the ground and the stickout, I would suspect you need more voltage or less wire speed.Even if you don't think it's related, you need to tell us everything.  Process, wire, shielding gas, polarity...everything!
Reply:Good point MAC, his wire speed might be a tad too fast.John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:The polarity may be backasswards also......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:Originally Posted by zapsterThe polarity may be backasswards also......zap!
Reply:Yea, I am thinking polarity or wire speed, as mentioned above.  Micro, you are right.  I think the Northern machine is actually a Lincoln in yellow paint...I'm a Lover, Fighter, Wild horse Rider, and a pretty good welding man......
Reply:I have that welder, and I'm new to welding also. I found that problem also. If I turn the wire speed down 1/2 a number from what the chart recomends it stops. Also make sure your material is clean-degrease first, then brush. Make sure you clean the spot where your ground is positioned the same way.Last edited by MB2005; 07-19-2007 at 09:49 PM. You only need to be 2% smarter than what you are working on.Lincoln pm140hacksawa big hammer
Reply:I bought the same welder for the same "sale" price from Lowes.  Couldn't pass it up.Funny, I noticed the same problem today.  It had been working fine, then I changed ground spots and it started doing the same thing you are experiencing.  My first thought was bad ground (not enough juice) because it had been welding fine on the same settings on the same type of metal earlier.  I moved the ground, but the metal is a bit oily where the ground was the second time too so it kept doing it.  The weld area was clean, but I guess a bit of oil is enough for a sloppy ground (it was on otherwise clean metal [no paint or anything])  I was running late to an appointment and needed a shower so I just put everything away and figured I'd come back to it later.  Good to know its not a problem with the welder itself.  At first I checked to make sure nothing was binding, the hose wasnt kinked or something, etc.  I was getting nervous that something might be wrong with my new tool!Those that say "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" just don't understand!Fast-Cheap-Reliable:  Pick two.
Reply:Just a thought, but if they still have the rinky dink cheapo ground clamp on the small machines you might think about buying a good one and putting it on instead.  I found it help my old 110V mig when i did that as far as losing a ground.I'm a Lover, Fighter, Wild horse Rider, and a pretty good welding man......
Reply:My vote is wire speed thats what usually happens when the wire speed is to high on my mig.Last edited by Rory; 07-20-2007 at 12:31 AM.