Please look at stainless weld

[rat4spd]

I'm relatively new to MIG. I've dabbled in the past but never really did much, at least that mattered. I'm making some locking mechanisms to upgrade on cash machines at a bunch of car washes for my part time gig.

I need to weld 3/16 plate to the face of the machine (1/8")

The machine I have is HH140. Settings for this weld were 4/50, 98Ar/2 O2 set at 20 CFH. The weld supply shop did not have tri-mix in a small enough bottle, so that gas is what they recommended.

I don't imagine I'll be doing a lot of stainless in the future, but I'd like to make it work.

Thanks

Dave Ames

Edit: I watched the puddle closely. The 3/16 on top looked like it got a full penetration into the side, but I'm not sure about the 1/8 it' sitting on.

Oh yeah, material unknown, but nonmagnetic, wire is 0.030 Hobart 308L

[lars66]

Looks cold to me I wonder if a 140 is enough machine to do this.

[Thomas Harris]

the bottom of the picture looks kinda cold like it didn't fuse well.

[joebass]

First of all that gas is for SS spray which you machine is not capable of outputting. Second of all 3/16 is border for mild steel with flux-core. Your machine is a poor choice for SS even if you had the correect gas which is Tri-mix and were working with thinner stock. Do your self a favor and stick weld it or have someone TIG it.

[rat4spd]

So the bottom line is it's not possible? 120V is all there is to work with.

[joebass]

I would say no, not with what you have. Are you doing this for a customer? You said you have only dabbled in MIG, what do you mean? Are you new to welding? I don't understand why people take jobs, when they have no idea how to do something and don't have the right tools. If you are not new to welding then rent a Dynasty or Maxstar and be done with it. TIG it or SMAW it.

[rat4spd]

Don't be so quick to judge me. I am not by any stretch of the imagination more than a complete novice at welding. The bottom line is, the owner I work for (part-time) asked me to deal with the problem, and I'm doing what I can. I needed a small mig for small jobs, and instead of waiting for him to line up a mig from a friend, my wife nicely bought this one for me.

Most of the mig welding I've done, which is VERY little, has been done on a Millermatic 250 at work.

[z0diac]

You're getting cold lap on the bottom. Remember whenever you're welding 2 pieces of different thickness, to direct most of the heat to the thicker piece, or you could end up with the bead welding into the thin piece and just "sticking" to the thick piece.

[joebass]

Why would you accept a job offer if you are not eqipped to do it with experience or tools?

[rat4spd]

The 1/8" plate is on the bottom. The 3/16" plate edge is completely melting. Is it because the plate on the bottom is dissipating the heat faster because of its larger surface area?

I tried a counterclockwise circular motion to cover the bottom first and seemed to get better penetration. As pointed out though, I may be urinating in the wind, but at least I'm giving a shot. Thanks for your feedback.

[TXWelder]

Rat, I'd say yer only real issue is the gas. I've seen very similar results w/the wrong gas in other applications.

As for the machines yer using: it's OK for what your'e doing....dissenting opinions be ****ed.

[cluna]

What is wrong with the 98/2 gas?

Even 75/25 is fine for single pass

[rat4spd]

I switched to tri-mix. It seems to make a weld with better apearance. I cut a weld to look at the cross section, and there is full penetration on the 3/16. It was hard to tell on the 1/8 with the cut marks.

This is really only to beef up security a little. It dosn't have to be perfect, but I think for my purposes it will work. The weld supply shop wasn't most excited about taking the 60 CF tank back, and they don't sell tri-mix tanks. I had to lease a pretty large tank, about 1 1/2 times an 80.

They swear up and down that the local pipe fitters use 98/2 when using 120 machines, but they are pros so who am I to argue.

I appreciate your guys input. There really is A LOT to learn about this stuff.

Joe: This is not a job offer. I already have a job with him. When you own 17 car washes, you don't sub every little thing out. It gets VERY expensive. You have to be an electrician, a carpenter, a plumber, and yes, sometimes pretend to weld. Any Farmers out there??? If this is a chance for me to learn so be it. If it don't work, it don't work. At least I tried, despite having assumptions made about my character. In the end, I'll still have this small welder, and gained some experience. I learn every chance I get, even if I'm not "professional grade", that's reserved for my day job, which I assure you, I know a lot about.

[243]

Did you happen to check the polarity?

[rat4spd]

Yeah, I spent the first ten minutes wondering why it sounded like a blow torch . I think I have a weld we'll be satisfied with. I've got about 50 feet of #10 rubber cable to make an extension cord with, so most of the hurdles have been overcome.