ive been practicing my mig welding, and ive been able to lay down some pretty decent beads...but i dont think im getting enough penetration into the base metal....any suggestions on what i should do? im using the reccomended wirespeed and voltage from the welder

If we could see your welds we could offer more help. Chris F and Tim T are the experts, but I will give you my 2 cents, too. Just a guess right now (without the pics) slow down a bit and add a tad bit more heat.

so, a little more voltage?

give us pics...it'll help big time here.

ok, will do soon

Are you keeping the gun still in a straight line? or are you "stitching" ?

When MIG welding you often have to either stitch the weld like:

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

or do it in circular patterns, which will result in that roll of nickles look if you are doing it right.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Or you can manually "pulse" weld by welding a small patch, stop, welding another small patch, stop, etc... and overlap the patches slightly.

also, depending on the welder (if you have infite adjustments) you can often just slow the wire down a little, and add a little voltage untill you get the desired result.

Hope that helps some,

Tony

You could always try spending the night in a Holiday Inn Express the night before you weld.

Paul

thanks tony...i didnt know about moving the welder around a little..i ll try that...

while not the greatest guide...this at least has some pictures of different welds:

http://www.hobartwelders.com/pdfs/MIG_Welding_Tips.pdf

I would suggest looking for a couple books on the subject, there are some good ones out there (just can't remember the names right now) but its mostly practice, practice, practice...

good luck,

Tony

After I bought my Hobart 35, I read somewhere that pulling or pushing the weld (I forget which) supposedly gives better penetration. In general I just start with the chart, then play. I also bought an auto-darkening mask to eliminate that factor.
Ed

The Welder's Handbook is available at Lowe's & Home Depot for about $17. It's a good read.

I agree with Cha914, I was taught to use a C shaped pattern. Try more voltage and wire feed speed. Also, you could try to slow down with the speed and voltage you are using. As was said earlier, a picture would help, give us one of the back side if you can.

Randy

is a auto darkening mask really worth it...i was thinking about one..but theyre so pricey, and i have so many parts to buy for my teener first

the auto helmet is really nice. You can see where you are before you pull the trigger or strike the arc.

Auto darkening helmets are ok but if you do alot of out of position weldin as I do they suck, because if you ever experienced welding with an auto darkening helmet and the sensor gets blocked you will get severely flashed!

for the money and practicality I would choose the standard helmet wit a flip up of course