How to Weld - MIG Welding

Step 9 Wire Fuses to Tip/Change the Tip

Sometimes if you are welding too close to your material or you are building up too much heat the tip of the wire can actually weld itself onto the tip of your welding gun. This looks like a little blob of metal at the tip of your gun and you'll know when you have this problem because the wire won't come out of the gun anymore. Fixing this is pretty simple if you just pull on the blob with a set of pliers. See photos 1 and 2 for visuals.

If you really scorch the tip of your gun and fuse the hole closed with metal then you need to turn the welder off and replace the tip. Follow the steps and the overly detailed photo series below to see how it's done. (It's digital so I tend to take too many pictures).

1. (Photo 3) - The tip is fused closed.

2. (Photo 4) - Unscrew the welding shield cup.

3. (Photo 5) - Unscrew the bad welding tip.

4. (Photo 6) - Slide a new tip into place.

5. (Photo 7) - Screw the new tip on.

6. (Photo 8) - Replace the welding cup.

7. (Photo 9) - It's now good as new.

Comments

[amoroso82]

I recently found the need to get a MIG welder to do some repairs around here, since I have never used this meathod of welding before I got a book and began to read up on this. Now I saw this article in Instructables that has raised some questions.
 I purchaced an 120 amp welder from Harbor freight as I am not going to use this machine to do structural welding I got their middle one. ( there is one cheaper and one more expensive) I guess since I was buying crap I didnt want cheap crap.  Any way they said that there is no need to use an external source of inert gas even though the machine is set up for it, I was told that I could use wire that has flux or some material that produced inert Gas while you are welding. Is that an inferior way to weld?and do I need to get this bottle?
 The reason I asked this is because I have read almost through this whole article and the writer has only mentioned the flux core wire once. I got this thing because it was less expensive than a buzz box and I can weld thin metals easier but if I have to shell out more spondulix for gas bottles and gauges the price can go up dramaticly.
                                            Michael.

[brandon_a_boyer]

Technically speaking alot of Flux cored wires produce better quality welds than solid wires do. They do have drastically different techniques though.

flux cored wires require longer electrode stick outs and faster travel speeds. Also, you'll need to use a slight drag angle instead of pushing.

[Rollin 007]

Wow, I did the same thing you had done and I am too getting on line and trying to find out a little info on my "220 VAC Dual MIG Welder". Luckily, I have a current 12 yr. experienced welder in the family. Yes, I could ask him any ?'s I might have and see if he could teach me the basics of welding but I couldn't ask him to do all of that if I haven't done any work on my own. So here I am, trying to find a little more detailed info on welding. I see you posted your response back in April, have you gotten anywhere since then? I'm sure you've gotten further than me, have you learned any tricks to the trade? Maybe, we can help each other out or maybe you could possibly find the time to help me out on where to go from here? I'm am eager to learn and would be most appreciative of any help. Thanks

Rob

[Sexy_Beast]

If you use flux core wire, there is no need for shielding gas. However with flux core wire, you can only weld mild steel. Flux core wire can be used on any MIG welder, you just have to have the polatity reversed than you would for if you were welding with shielding gas. (usually easily done by flipping a switch or reversing the gound wire and the drive motor wire on the machine. think car battery terminals. your manual should cover how to do this on your machine). The advantage of flux core welding is that you get deeper penetration with the same amount of current than you would with your machine set up to use shielding gas with that same amount of power. Also, flux core is better for use outdoors where there may be a breeze that would otherwise blow your shielding gas away. In flux core welding, the flux is inside the wire, and as the wire burns, the flux creates a shield around the molten metal, protecting it from oxygen, which would otherwise contaminate the weld and make it weak. The disadvatage however is that it produces a lot of spatter, and the welds don't look as pretty either. BUT it does do a better job of penetrating rust/paint better than it would if you were using an external shielding gas. (although, you're really supposed to remove any rust/paint first). You do not have to buy a bottle of shielding gas or regulator if you weld with flux core only, but I'll tell you right now, it's a LOT easier to get good looking welds if you use shielding gas. As for what gas to use, for aluminum you have to use 100% argon. For mild steel, you can use CO2, Argon, or a 75%/25% Argon/ CO2 mixture. 100% Argon will give you the best looking weld, CO2 will give you the best penetration if you're welding something thick, but generally what is recommended is is the CO2/Argon mix, since overall it combines the best of both worlds. However it is slightly more expensive the the other two. As long as you want to weld mild steel, you don't HAVE to use shielding gas, so long as you use flux core wire. But if you want to weld stainless, or aluminium, or get really clean welds on steel, you'll need gas. On a side note, if you DO weld aluminum, you'll have to get a teflon liner for your welding wire hose. Otherwise, since the aluminum welding wire is so soft, it will get bent or caught up in the hose causing what's called "birds nesting". hope I answered all of your MIG questins. Happy welding, bro!

[migallday]

LIAR ALWAYS USE A GAS. i weld mild steel high heat with flux core all day and i use argon. without it i couldnt weld.

[brandon_a_boyer]

Wrong. You can indeed weld stainless steel with flux cored wire.

also switching to U-groove drive rollers will help feed aluminim wire more effectively.

[forschoolonly559]

I started to learn to weld a week ago and those mig pliers bentherkahn was talking about are great! BUT i have one concern. they arnt balanced meaning they constanly fall of the table or rack, the grip is awesome when using thick gloves but the grip makes it difficult to stuff in my back pocket.The pliers are hard to pickup off a table.  I got the same pliers, perfect for removing the nozzle, tips, and it per-measured to cut the wire and leave exactly 1/2" wire.  I use welding dip, i dip it every twenty-five welds or so usually everyother day welding for 10minutes a day practicing.

[tenfingers]

I've sometimes been sucessfull reusing a burned back tip by filing or grinding down the tip to free the wire.

[scott58]

 We use a container of petroleum jelly at work. After you welder is hot just dip the tip and it helps allot with build-up,

[benthekahn]

It seems like there is a lot of build up on the cup in these pictures. I found these MIG pliers help a lot.

[tzhauling]

A tip to avoid spatter from sticking from the tip it to dip the tip into liquid flux before welding, and a few time during welding if welding for a long period.