tips for welding tubing mig.

[Sleeper]

I am a decent welder and can get it done,but god it looks like shit. Tons of slag . Is spend hours cleaning it all up from the inside of the pipe as to not damage the turbo

[Pooter]

Might be a dumb question to start out, but are your pipes close fitting before welding them up also? That will also minimize anything going thru to the inside to clean up, taking the time to get them fitting right will help a lot.

Might practice more with heat/speed to get it dialed in on whatever tubing you're working on.







*Not a pro, just crap ive picked up*

[Sleeper]

Yes they are close. I usually weld at least 1/4 inch stuff this thin wall shit is fun.

Trying to decide if I want to build my own turbo kit or buy one.

[bobs94formula]

If you still want to build it you could just tack it together good and have someone else finish weld it.

[Sleeper]

If I'm going to build it, I'm going to build it.

Also for the rest of the info.

75/25 gas .23 wire.

Welder is a Lincoln 125 it has 4 heat settings, and adjustable wire speed.

I had it on heat setting c with a wire speed of 7-9 when I did this.

I can weld better than this. These are my first two attempts of welding something this thin.


The second weld could have fit better I was just farting around.
Notice all the crap on the inside.

[sosoe]

Pull out a piece of scrap and weld on that and also mess with the settings till you get it just right, or something the same thickness on what you will be welding on.

[sosoe]

I usually do half moons ( ( ( ( ( ( when welding with my mig, I am not the best but get the best results like that and also going a bit slower than usual and controlling the puddle of weld.

[Sleeper]

That's why their is all the starts and stops on the first weld. Playing with heat, wire speed.

I tend to do overlaping circles on something like this. Atleast on thicker stuff like oilfield pipe.

[turbostang]

First, I'd bet the heat setting is WAY too high.

Next, you'll have to grind that aluminized coating back at least 1/4". It will weld much better.

Then, most 'weaving' won't work on thin guage tubing, especially with a poor fitting tube. The gap has to be at least what the wire is, or less.

Long story short, I think you'll have to experiment (like what you are doing) and see what works for you. I'll say this though, MIG is much faster and I still TIG weld everything.

[Matt]

I hate welding thin gauge with the mig. Looks like you need lower heat setting. There is probably a chart on the welder that shows you the correct heat settings. It seems like it is never right for how I like to weld, but should get it close then you can adjust your machine from there to get it how you like.

[Sleeper]

So you suggest doing a series of tacks all the way around brooks, or a push pull?

[Matt]

I push and don't weave, just a straight line.

[Sleeper]

Getting better. 3rd attempt.

[turbostang]

Getting better. 3rd attempt.

That's a lot better. Like Matt said, straight lines on thin tubing seems to work MUCH better.

[Sleeper]

I can weld, even if im not the best. I can still do better than that. Going to order some tubing and practice some more. This was just some 3 1/2 scrap i had on hand.