Help MIG welding car frame?

admin

Hello I am new here and need some real welding advice! I will be welding a reverse shackle kit on the fully boxed frame of my scoutII. It has 1/8" thick metal in the frame.  It is my first time welding something of this importance  so I want to make sure I do it right.-This is what I have been welding with      -Hobart handler model 135 MIG welder with 115 Vac       -I have used this welder to do a spring over lift in the rear and weld         up new shock mounts and make bumpers. Everything has held up for the last 5                years.-Here is my question: what is the best welding rod and gas to use for this size metal?          -I have been using .030 diameter wire, with E70S-6 welding wire and            75% Argon/25% CO2 sheilding gas.          -I read on the Hobart site that switching to straight CO2 shielding gas will help            penetrate deeper than the shielding gas I am using. Is this true to a point that it           will make a difference?        -Should I switch to a different welding wire also or what combo would work the best?Thanks!!!!! Brandon
Reply:What you have is fine.  CRANK it up.  DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:-So you don't feel changing to a different shielding gas would make any difference in the penetration?
Reply:Probably not enough to go thru the hassle of getting another bottle. As David said you need to crank that machine almost all the way up. Penetration comes mostly from power and less from special gasses or special wire. Different gas and wire have their place but raw power will replace that in most cases.BTW Welcome to the forum. Be sure and post some picts of yopur welds and work for us all to see.
Reply:Thanks for the replies guys, I have one other rookie question. Does it make  a significant difference in voltage if one uses a 15 foot extension cord to plug in a welder like mine, that is what I have been doing as the original chord is only maybe 10 feet tops. I am trying to get as much power as I can out of the old girl for this.....Thanks...
Reply:Yes, on a 115volt machine, the longer the cord, the less power at the machine.  Had a buddy of mine try to run his Lincoln 140 off of a 50 foot cord, couldn't even get the puddle to stick to the base metal.  Use the shortest length you can reach with, and the largest gage cord available.I r 2 a perfessional
Reply:Originally Posted by bdog_vThanks for the replies guys, I have one other rookie question. Does it make  a significant difference in voltage if one uses a 15 foot extension cord to plug in a welder like mine, that is what I have been doing as the original chord is only maybe 10 feet tops. I am trying to get as much power as I can out of the old girl for this.....Thanks...
Reply:hobarts manual for the 135 shows 90amps at 20% duty cycle on a 20 amp circuit vs 60 amps at 20% on a 15 amp circuit. IF you can get a 20 amp 115v circuit I would use that.On an extension cord, depends what you plan on using. The little 18g ones for christmas lights wont cut it. Use a 12 g cord thats as short as posible and you wont have any issues on power. Well at least from the cord.While I was at it I looked at hobarts chart on the 135. At 1/8" they suggest using the #4 tap and setting the wire speed to 50 on 75/25 for .030 wire. on CO2 the still suggest the #4 tap but decreasing the sped to 20. You should get similar penetration with both of these settings.Last edited by DSW; 06-15-2008 at 04:57 PM.
Reply:The manual with most power tools that draw 15 amps will state that if you use an extension cord with that tool that it should be 12 guage and not over 50' long. 10 guage will handle 20 amps at that distance. I ran a 230 amp AC stick welder a long time ago on a 100' cord. I made it out of three #4 TW wires and it weighed about as much as the machine. I didn't have any voltage drop though.
Reply:If it's possible run the machine on a 30 amp breaker with no extention cord if possible..That will make all the diffrence in the world......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:I plugged my SP100 into the engine drive.  It always worked great.  If you switch to Co2, you need a couple more volts to get the same weld.  Volts are precious in a 110 volt machine.I did weld and plate my cheby pick up frame with the SP100 and innershield.  DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:Well I checked the breaker box in the garage and it is a 60 amp box. Warning I have no electrician experience........     -So does this mean that all of the outlets in the garage are going to be 15 amp circuits?  IF not how does one check for this?     -Does anyone know what it would cost to change it to a 90 amp box or the amount of work involved. I want to get as much juice to this thing as possible. Thanks guys
Reply:You have to find the breaker or fuse that goes to the outlet you are using.  It should say 15 or 20 on it.Maybe run a few beads on similar plate to be sure you have enough heat.DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:this is just a guess on what you have ,but unless you specifically had 20 amp recepticles installed and the proper wiring, upgrading the breaker to a 20 amp isnt gonna make the difference. most recepticles are rated for 15amp and i belive(dont hold me on this) that all of the gfi recepticles other than the orange ones are rated for 15 amps.my setup for my welders is 100ft of 4/4 on an outlet wired 2ft from the panel with 4awg,to a 60amp breaker. on the other end of the cord i have a "custom" (probly not legal, im planning to get a spider box) box that has the proper receptical for my 220 welders and a 110v receptical pulling one leg of 110 for my 110 wirefeed. NOT TO BE USED AT THE SAME TIME, NOR IS THE 110 USED FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN THE SQUIRT GUN.when i get the spider box it will have all of the appropriate breakers for each outlet on it.Millermatic 211weldpack 3200 squirtgunsquare wave 200victory journeyman kitHypertherm 30xptoo much other crap to listtinkerer extraordinaire
Reply:Well I went to buy a heavier duty extension chord in case I need one in the future and this is all I could find at Home Depot.  -One 2 foot extension with 12 gauge wire: just in case I need a short increase in length.-One 10 foot 14 gauge extension chord.-I could not find a 10 foot chord in anything larger than 14 gauge. They had 50ft chord in 12 gauge but that doesn't help any.  The recommendation chart listed using a 10 gauge chord for welding but the store didn't carry any. Does anyone know a good place to pick one up?   THanks....
Reply:I think I got my 25' 12 G cord either from Depot or Lowes. You could always just cut a cord an add a new end or build one from scratch with SJ cord and plug ends. I have several shortened cords, Unfortunately few were shortened by choice. I know we ordered extension cords for work from some place but I don't know where right now. We got our 10G cord from them. Top quality cords that don't get stiff in the winter like most cords , but the prices were very high compared to the average HD cord. They would make them to what ever length you wanted in what ever color you wanted. Ours are in the most god awful colors and all have the company name on the cords so they don't walk off jobs.
Reply:buy wire and male/female  stuff and make the cord--get  heavier wire than recommended--oversize it and the loss through it will be negligible..keep it as short as practical without hurting yourself...
Reply:Actually, there is a thread on this board about someone who did that, and he got all he needed at Home Depot.   A search should reveal it. Originally Posted by weldbeadbuy wire and male/female  stuff and make the cord--get  heavier wire than recommended--oversize it and the loss through it will be negligible..keep it as short as practical without hurting yourself...
Reply:a 10/3 would be ok in a short length(50ft or less) as dellwas stated, home depot does have a ridgid 10/3 cord that should work for what your doing.Millermatic 211weldpack 3200 squirtgunsquare wave 200victory journeyman kitHypertherm 30xptoo much other crap to listtinkerer extraordinaire
Reply:For long extension cords, I would not spend money on anything less than 12 guage up to about 25' - 50' or 10 guage up to 50' - 100'. This is just a rough guesstimate, but thicker wire is always better, it's just heavier and more expensive. It's even better, when you can, to plug in direct.Last edited by tanglediver; 06-19-2008 at 12:21 AM.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