total newb with dumb questions

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I realize im about to ask some stupid questions here so bare with me.....I just bought my first welder....was sick of taking my work to someone to have it done....I bought a craftsman 110 mig......Does the grounding clamp need to be grounded to the work or can it be grounded to something else????? What if im welding something round that it cant clamp to?I was trying to run a bead on a piece of rusty i beam today but had very bad results. At first the wire wasnt even arcing. I realized it was prob too rusty so i hit it with the wire wheel but it still didnt help much so  I hit it with the angle grinder...I finally got some arc. but I wouldnt even call it a bead.Or if someone could point me to a good tutorialalso im using flux core .030 wireLast edited by themow; 09-17-2008 at 08:13 PM.
Reply:Originally Posted by themowI realize im about to ask some stupid questions here so bare with me.....I just bought my first welder....was sick of taking my work to someone to have it done....I bought a craftsman 110 mig......Does the grounding clamp need to be grounded to the work or can it be grounded to something else????? What if im welding something round that it cant clamp to?The only stupid question is the one you dont ask and someone gets hurt; if you dont know, ask... Electricity needs a complete path. Whatever it takes to get that done. If you have an all steel table, you can clamp to one of the legs and it will work fine, as long as the top is clean enough for the current to transfer thru. If you have a round piece, tack something on it if you need to, and clamp to that. I have welded several pieces of rebar together to make it to a column when I couldnt get the truck close enough. Whatever it takes...I was trying to run a bead on a piece of rusty i beam today but had very bad results. At first the wire wasnt even arcing. I realized it was prob too rusty so i hit it with the wire wheel but it still didnt help much so  I hit it with the angle grinder...I finally got some arc. but I wouldnt even call it a bead.Or if someone could point me to a good tutorialalso im using flux core .030 wire
Reply:not only do you have to clean the the weld bead area but also the ground path. If the table top and work are reasonably clean grounding to the table is fine and done every day.
Reply:Ground clamp gets attached to your work piece the closer to the weld the better. I f you can't clamp it on the work piece set the piece on a piece of plate with the clamp on it.. Grind the metal clean in all the spots you will make contact. No rust, paint, dirt etc metal must be clean. Not sure about this welder but if it is capable of using gas make sure that the cables are connected for the type of filler (flux core positive ground solid wire negative ground). Practice, practice, practice. This is a small welder make sure you aren't asking to much it as it is made for light gauge steel.
Reply:Try holding your tongue out of the other side, no no! A big 'C' clamp attached in an opportune location can serve as a grounding point for your machines cable.City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:What about a magnetic grounding strap?BTW, Welcome 2 The Play Ground,  Bruce The Welding ChefLincoln Weld-Pack 3200 NORWELD StickStanford Hill Farm