Ok, good--that's what I was hoping to hear. Your wire feed rate and amperage have to compliment each other. Generally, higher wire speed is needed for higher amperage and vice versa. Wire thickness also plays a part: smaller diameter wire requires a higher feed rate for a given amperage. Thicker wire is harder to melt and can stab the metal instead of melt to it. Conversely, thin wire can melt too easily at higher amperages, melting itself off in your tip.
For the 18GA stuff you'll be doing, you'll want an .023 wire. Make sure you get tips to match. You don't want to use .035 tips with .023 wire if you can help it.
You'll have to play with it, but it will mean less grinding and grief if you can get a fairly flat bead--which means more heat. Welding downhill is a popular body man technique, because it tends to result in less penetration and a prettier bead than, say, uphill. A technique I like on the MIG is to use a moderate amount of heat (on my 220V machine) and weld-pause-weld-pause rhythm. Basically you make a little button or "dime," pause, then make another. Each button can be made with a horizontal, V, or circular stroke. You can get complete fusion in each segment of the weld because you're fairly hot. On the other hand, you can control distortion and blow-through by watching how the metal responds button-button-by-button. I also use that technique for welding thick and thin stuff together; a little technique, and you can get full penetration in both without blowing through the thin stuff...much.
For the 18GA stuff you'll be doing, you'll want an .023 wire. Make sure you get tips to match. You don't want to use .035 tips with .023 wire if you can help it.
You'll have to play with it, but it will mean less grinding and grief if you can get a fairly flat bead--which means more heat. Welding downhill is a popular body man technique, because it tends to result in less penetration and a prettier bead than, say, uphill. A technique I like on the MIG is to use a moderate amount of heat (on my 220V machine) and weld-pause-weld-pause rhythm. Basically you make a little button or "dime," pause, then make another. Each button can be made with a horizontal, V, or circular stroke. You can get complete fusion in each segment of the weld because you're fairly hot. On the other hand, you can control distortion and blow-through by watching how the metal responds button-button-by-button. I also use that technique for welding thick and thin stuff together; a little technique, and you can get full penetration in both without blowing through the thin stuff...much.
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