question about MIG welding for those who know

i have trouble seeing the puddle as probably all do. i know about looking to the side of the gun and putting more light on the work. i even try pulsing but i cant see the puddle enough to prevent putting too much weld on one side and not keeping the strength equal. any good ideas. thanks.


for those that dont know. mig welding is a method of joining two pieces of metal together. it uses a wire feed out of a gun instead of the rods you may have seen welders use.

Ray:


You can try to get a lighter shade of glass in the helmet. Depending on the guage of the wire and the heat you are using the intensity of the arc may be lower. The glass comes in shades usually in increments of 10 if I remember correctly. If you are using a number 90 tint, it is very very dark.


Any welding store should carry a 70 or 80. I've been out of welding for a long time so the numbers may be off a bit but you get the idea.

thanks that may be a solution. i dont know what my

helmet is but i think they come in like 10,11, 12 etc. now, they also make an electronic one that changes but if you are doing lots of starts and stops its going to get your eyes as you will be looking thru weak glass alot. i dont know what is the weakest that is still safe from the ultraviolet light.

Ray,


I don't know what you're welding, but it sounds like you need lots of practice. If the material your trying to weld together is stout, you should try to get as much heat into the weld as you can without burning through the metal. It's been a while since I welded, but puddles and mig welding don't mix. Oxy-acetylene welding and puddles go together, though. If the material isn't very solid, then you should take it to a tig welder and let them do it. The secret to a strong mig weld is heat penetration. If the metal is too weak for that, then mig welding is the wrong way to go. Practice on something similar and think beads, not puddles. If the bead you wind up with looks like it's sitting on top of your metal, then you didn't get good enough heat penetration--turn up the heat and try again. Look at a professional weld and try to copy that. Don't get a lighter lens shade! You should be almost blind until you start to weld, then you should be able to see somewhat clearly. I have had a minor case of flashburn. Trust me--you don't want to deal with it. Imagine that the inside of your eylids are sandpaper and nothing will take the sensation away. My case lasted one night, but I've seen co-workers who have burned their eyes to the point where it took three days to heal. It's agony. If you give me a better picture of the work you're doing, I might be able to give you more specific pointers.