More Newb Critique Please

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Got the HF 170 out again today and cut up some scrap stock, and did some more practicing.First pics......1/4", .035 FC wire, Max/1, wire spd 8, Cap on.Front and back pic of a butt weld, no clear "dimes" definition and the weld was kinda flat. It did seem to penetrate though. To hot? The guide says that I cant weld 1/4" with FC wire and that I need to run Max/2 with a wire spd of 8-10. When I run it with the cap on it melts the crap out of the material......no matter how fast I go, and the wire spd didn't seem to matter.The next set is 1/8"........Min/1, .035 FC, wire spd of 5, cap onThis is a butt weld and a bead, heavy discoloration on the backside. Decent welds?This last weld was kinda strange, flat on the top with slag only on the sides..............What happened?1/4", .035 FC Max/1, wire spd 9, cap onI think that I'm getting a little better at reading the puddle about 60% of the time. Trying to figure out the new settings now that I added the capacitor. There is nothing in the manual that tells me what the settings outputs are, except that the minimum is 30 amps and the max is 170 amps. I'm thinkin that Min/2 is around 75 amps and Max/1 is 125 amps. With the cap on it adds 20-25% to those settings, so now I have to re-learn settings and wire speed settings for 8 settings instead of the 4 it came with.  HF 180 amp/240 volt Mig (cap mod)1987 Harley FLHTP (project)1990 F350 XLT Lariat S/C dually1990 S&S 11SC Cabover Camper2011 Ford Ranger S/C XLT
Reply:Your 1/4" piece you might have gotten metal to flow between the two pieces, but it's not fused well on the back side from what I can see. Same thing would apply to your 1/8" but joints. If all you are seeing is discoloration, you aren't getting full fusion to the back side of the plates. You should see what looks like a smaller version of the bead on the back where the weld melted all the way thru. That's a tough thing to do with 1/8" material butted up tight together with large wire unless you really have the heat cranked up. It's easier if you bevel slightly or gap the pieces. Your machine lacks the power to punch thru 1/4" even with the gap. It looks like it might be close, but the slightly blurry pict makes it hard to tell exactly. 3/16" would probably be a more reasonable max from what I can see..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 DSWYour 1/4" piece you might have gotten metal to flow between the two pieces, but it's not fused well on the back side from what I can see. Same thing would apply to your 1/8" but joints. If all you are seeing is discoloration, you aren't getting full fusion to the back side of the plates.
Reply:But joints are probably the hardest to do. Part of your issue might be due to the lack of adjustability in your machine. One setting is too low, the other possibly too hot. Running hotter and speeding up might help. I'd really need to see what you are doing to make a good call on this. You'd need to see the weld keyhole to show you are going all the way thru, and need move fast enough that the hole doesn't get out of control. There are a number of "tricks" to help control the puddle, moving out to the side to remove the heat so the weld can cool some, speeding up a bit more, backing the gun off the plate and increasing stick out are just a few of them, and you may be doing several at the same time.The flaky stuff is probably scale forming due to the heat of the weld on the back side..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:I'll take it DSW......I am still playing with the settings since the mods! Will cut some more up tomorrow and see if I can put your thoughts to metal. Will try the same settings with a bevel on the 1/4" and again will try no bevel and a higher setting with a faster hand and attempt some of your "tricks".Does the flake showing mean decent penetration?HF 180 amp/240 volt Mig (cap mod)1987 Harley FLHTP (project)1990 F350 XLT Lariat S/C dually1990 S&S 11SC Cabover Camper2011 Ford Ranger S/C XLT