MIG Welding Basics For Beginners

Summary

Highlights

• TimWelds provides a full start-to-finish MIG welding tutorial packed with information and timestamps. 🎥
• MIG welding works by forming an electrical arc between a metal wire electrode and the metal, protected by gas. 🔌
• Ensure you have the right protective gear, welding wire, and shield gas to start welding. 🛡️
• Proper machine setup is crucial, from connecting the MIG gun to setting the correct polarity and speed. ⚙️
• Learn to adjust voltage and wire feed speed to optimize weld quality, with emphasis on experimentation. 💼

Key Takeaways

• Start with the right tools and safety gear like a helmet, gloves, and jacket. 🛠️
• Understand the welding process, including the importance of the wire feed speed and voltage settings. 🔧
• Practice proper welding techniques, such as maintaining stick-out, gun angle, and consistent movement. 🎯
• Adjust body position to aid in maintaining technique and comfort while welding. 🧘
• Experiment with settings and techniques to develop a hands-on understanding over time. ⏳

Overview

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction This chapter serves as an introduction to a comprehensive MIG welding tutorial. It outlines the tutorial's scope, covering everything from the necessary equipment to the setup process and techniques for running good welds. The introduction also mentions that the tutorial is time-stamped, allowing viewers to easily navigate to the most relevant parts. Furthermore, for those interested in a more guided learning experience, affordable online courses are available. The chapter concludes by introducing the concept of gas metal arc welding, commonly known as MIG welding, which operates through forming an electrical circuit.
• 00:30 - 01:00: How MIG Welding Works MIG welding involves creating an electric arc between a metal wire electrode and the materials being welded. This arc generates intense heat, melting the base metal so it can fuse. The wire, similar in composition to the base material, is fed through a MIG gun via an electric motor to reinforce the weld. Gas is released from the nozzle to shield the molten metal from atmospheric contamination, which is crucial for maintaining the integrity of the weld and the correct functioning of the arc. There are multiple variations of the MIG welding process.
• 01:00 - 01:30: Required Equipment for MIG Welding This chapter discusses the essential equipment required for MIG welding, emphasizing the importance of safety gear. The basic equipment needed includes a welding machine, a welding helmet, preferably auto-darkening with adjustable shade settings typically from shade 10 to 12, thick welding gloves to prevent burns, and a welding jacket for added protection.
• 01:30 - 02:00: Choosing Welding Wire The chapter discusses selecting the appropriate welding wire, focusing on ER 70S-6 as the most common type. It explains the significance of wire diameter, with .030 inches being suitable for sheet metal up to a quarter inch thick. Other sizes like 0.035 inches are also mentioned for slightly thicker materials. The choice depends on the welding task requirements.
• 02:00 - 02:30: Shielding Gas for MIG Welding In this chapter, the focus is on the importance of shielding gas for MIG welding. Commonly used gas combinations include 75% Argon and 25% CO2, or pure CO2. While other gases are available for specific materials or variations of the process, they are less common for typical fabrication work. The use of MIG welding pliers is also highlighted as a versatile tool for cutting wire, removing nozzles and tips, and cleaning spatter from nozzles. The chapter also shows how to set up a welding machine, starting from its initial out-of-the-box state.
• 02:30 - 03:00: Setting Up the Welding Machine The chapter 'Setting Up the Welding Machine' starts by emphasizing that while specific welding machines might have slight differences, the overall setup process remains consistent. It begins with installing the MIG gun, which features a large connector at the end designed for wire passage. Inside the cable, there's a liner similar to bicycle brake cables, which guides the wire. This liner is durable and usually accommodates several wire spools before needing replacement. The large metal surface on the connector ensures an electrical connection, and holes between the O-rings allow for gas flow. The process ends with inserting the connector into the machine.
• 03:00 - 03:30: Drive Roll and Wire Installation In this chapter, the process of drive roll and wire installation in welding machines is explained. The chapter discusses the integration of the gun with the machine, covering the different types of connectors involved. These include a specific plug for the trigger switch and another common style that manages both electrical connections and gas flow, which can be secured by a hand nut. The chapter further explains the importance of selecting the correct polarity for effective operation, notably connecting the gun to the positive terminal and the work clamp to the negative, a setup known as DC Electrode Positive.
• 03:30 - 04:00: Connecting the Shielding Gas and Work Clamp The chapter covers the steps to set up a welding machine for self-shielded flux core wire welding without using shielding gas. It starts with switching the terminals to connect the electrode to the negative side, crucial for using self-shielded wire. It continues to explain the importance of selecting the correct drive roll size, which matches the size of the wire being used. The chapter notes that the drive rolls have labeled grooves indicating the appropriate wire size and that some machines offer multiple positions for different wire size settings.
• 04:00 - 04:30: Machine Settings: Voltage and Wire Feed Speed In the chapter titled 'Machine Settings: Voltage and Wire Feed Speed', the focus is on wire type and installation for welding. It describes the different wheel grooves designed for flux-cored or solid wires, which are used in welding machines. Smooth V-shaped grooves are preferred for solid wires. The procedure for installing the wire is outlined, highlighting how smaller spools may require removing an adapter, whereas larger spools involve tension adjustment through the fastener of the adapter. The chapter advises not to over-tighten the adapter, ensuring optimal wire tension and performance.
• 04:30 - 05:00: Understanding Voltage and Wire Feed Speed This chapter focuses on the setup of a welding machine, specifically discussing the handling of wire spools and the feeding mechanism. It emphasizes the importance of securing the spool to prevent it from unwinding unintentionally. A pin must align with a hole on the spool to secure its position, ensuring a controlled feed. The wire is then guided through various components: the wire guide, drive roll, gun liner, and secondary guide. Secure the idler to enable smooth wire feeding. The chapter also instructs on removing the nozzle and contact tip from the welding gun to allow the wire to emerge, highlighting the role of the contact tip in establishing electrical connection.
• 05:00 - 05:30: Short Circuit MIG Welding Explained This chapter provides a step-by-step guide on setting up a short circuit MIG welding machine. It begins with checking the size of the wire electrode, pulling the lead out straight, and feeding the wire to ensure it fits the machine. The chapter explains how to thread the contact tip, reinstall the nozzle, and trim the wire. It also covers connecting the shielding gas, blowing out dirt from the cylinder valve, and installing the regulator. The procedure ensures the equipment is properly set up and ready for operation.
• 05:30 - 06:00: Voltage Experimentation This chapter focuses on setting up equipment for voltage experimentation, specifically detailing the process of connecting the work clamp to the negative terminal. It covers the operational range of flow rate in cubic feet per hour and liters per minute, and provides instructions on the machine settings, including voltage, wire feed speed, and potentially inductance. The author suggests practical tips, such as clamping the clip to the welding table instead of directly to the work piece.
• 06:00 - 06:30: Welding Technique Fundamentals The chapter discusses the fundamentals of welding techniques, focusing on machine settings. It highlights the benefits of using a machine with automatic settings and provides insight into how to manually adjust these settings. The chapter explains the significance of voltage and wire feed speed, offering specific recommendations for 1/8th of an inch thick material: 18 volts and 310 inches per minute. The importance of consulting the chart inside the cover of most welding machines is emphasized, although it is noted that personal experience may lead to adjustments of the recommended settings.
• 06:30 - 07:00: Contact Tip to Work Distance and Gun Angle The chapter 'Contact Tip to Work Distance and Gun Angle' explores welding settings when working in different positions, such as vertical or overhead. It suggests using lower settings for these positions by referencing the settings for one or two material thicknesses lower than what the chart suggests. The chapter emphasizes understanding the fundamental principles behind these settings for better fine-tuning as experience is gained. A common misconception, like assuming that voltage solely dictates the heat in the weld, is addressed to provide deeper insights into welding techniques.
• 07:00 - 07:30: Common Mistakes in Welding Technique This chapter debunks a common misconception about wire feed speed in welding. Contrary to popular belief, wire feed speed is not primarily about adding more material but is a crucial factor in controlling the amperage of a weld. The primary takeaway is that increasing the wire feed speed increases the heat input, which is why it is adjusted when welding thicker materials. This explanation helps welders understand how to effectively manage heat input for various welding tasks.
• 07:30 - 08:00: Travel Speed and Gun Manipulation The chapter titled 'Travel Speed and Gun Manipulation' delves into the technical aspects of short circuit mig welding. It explains the role of wire feed speed in controlling both heat energy and the wire's addition, contrasting this with voltage functions. The process operates by feeding wire out of the gun to make contact with the workpiece, initiating an arc that burns back the wire. This action occurs repeatedly, many times per second.
• 08:00 - 08:30: Body Positioning for Effective Welding The chapter focuses on the significance of body positioning in achieving effective welding results. It highlights an experiment where the voltage is adjusted to observe its effect on welding efficiency. By keeping the wire feed speed constant at 310 inches per minute, the voltage is varied. At 14 volts, issues such as the wire stubbing out and maintaining an arc arise, indicating improper functioning. At 16 volts, improvements are noted, suggesting better performance though still not optimal.
• 08:30 - 09:00: Conclusion and Further Resources The chapter discusses optimal voltage settings for a particular equipment or project. It explains how performance varies at different voltage levels, notably at 18 volts, 20 volts, and 22 volts. The chapter finds that the equipment runs best between 18 and 19 volts, where there is minimal spatter and back-burning in the arc. This refinements ensures optimal functioning and suggests that fine-tuning the voltage can improve results.

MIG Welding Basics For Beginners Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 this is a full start to finish mig welding tutorial covering everything from the things that you'll need how to get set up how to run good welds and because there's so much information in here i've time stamped the video feel free to skip around to find the parts that are going to be most helpful for you and if you'd like me to work through the learning process with you step by step i've put a link to my affordable online courses down in the description let's go ahead and get started by talking about how the process works so we're talking about gas metal arc welding it's often called mig welding and it works by forming an electrical
• 00:30 - 01:00 arc between a metal wire electrode and the parts that you are welding to locally heat it to a very high temperature this melts the base metal allowing it to join together the wire which is usually a similar material is fed out of the mig gun by an electric motor and pushed into the weld puddle to reinforce the weld gas flows out of the nozzle to protect the molten metal from contamination by the air and the gas is also important for the arc to work correctly there are actually about half a dozen different variations of this process we're going
• 01:00 - 01:30 to be looking at the most common one here others might weld different materials or use different gases to get a slightly different result let's talk quickly about the things that you're going to need of course you'll need a welding machine but there are a few other things that you'll find really useful first of all for safety you'll need a welding helmet auto darkening helmets are nice and they usually allow you to adjust the shade i normally run from a shade 10 to a 12. some nice thick welding gloves keep my hands from getting burned and a welding jacket offers some additional protection
• 01:30 - 02:00 i like these cotton style jackets you'll need solid welding wire the most common type is er 70s-6 now make wire comes in a bunch of different diameters different sizes i usually run .030 or 30 thousandths of an inch diameter this is good clear from sheet metal thicknesses up to right around a quarter of an inch thick and so it works well for me there are other sizes larger or smaller depending on what you're doing 0.035 or 35 000 is another common size if you're kind of on the thicker end of that same range that i was talking about
• 02:00 - 02:30 you'll need a cylinder of shield and gas usually either 75 argon on 25 co2 or straight co2 now there are several other gases that are used for different variations of the process or different materials but those are less common for regular garage or shop fabrication work big welding pliers are really handy i use them all the time they can be used to cut wire remove nozzles and contact tips and they can also clean spatter out of the nozzle now i'll show you how to set up your machine i've completely disconnected one of my machines just like it was when it came out of the box
• 02:30 - 03:00 some things on your machine might be slightly different but the general idea should be the same the first thing i'll do is install my mig gun the big connector on the end has a hole for the wire to enter now inside this cable there's a liner that's similar to a cable for brakes on a bicycle and the wire feeds through this and it can wear out over time but usually i'm able to run several spools of wire through a machine before i have to replace that liner the large metal surface handles the electrical connection and there are holes between these o-rings for the gas to flow through i'll slide this into the machine
• 03:00 - 03:30 and secure it with the screw on this style of gun there's also a plug for the trigger switch which will plug into the machine another common style of connector looks like this and handles all of the electrical connections and the gas flow it just plugs in and secured with the hand nut on most machines you'll need to select the right polarity or whether the gun is connected to positive or negative by connecting the gun to the positive terminal and the work clamp to the negative terminal now this polarity is called dc electro positive because the electrode or the wire is connected to
• 03:30 - 04:00 the positive terminal if you are going to run self-shielded flux core wire without any gas in the future you'll usually need to switch those terminals and connect the electrode to the negative side next we need to set up the right drive roll there are little grooves on these rollers that push the wire through and you need to be using the right size groove for your wire they are generally labeled in a way that shows the size it is installed for on the side of the roll on this machine there are multiple positions for different sizes of wire now you might notice on some rollers
• 04:00 - 04:30 that you might have a groove with little knurls or little dents all the way around the outside that's generally used for flux cord wire for solid wire like we're using today you'll usually have smooth v-shaped grooves the wire can now be installed if you're using a small two-pound spool of wire you often need to remove an adapter to install the spool on larger spools the fastener for the adapter usually controls the tension of the wire now it's best if you don't crank the adapter down too tight it's
• 04:30 - 05:00 really just there to keep the spool from spinning freely there's a pin on most adapters that i line to the top so it's easy to engage with the hole in the spool make sure to keep a grip on the wire so that it doesn't unspool and feed the wire into the wire guide over the drive roll and into the gun liner secondary guide clamp down the idler and the wire is ready to feed to allow the wire to feed out of the gun remove the nozzle and contact tip now the contact tip up here in the end of the gun that makes the electrical
• 05:00 - 05:30 connection between the machine and the actual wire electrode and they come in different sizes so now's a good time to check and make sure you're using the right size it's usually stamped right on the side with the machine on pull the lead out straight and press the trigger when the wire feeds out of the end thread on the contact tip reinstall the nozzle and trim the wire now we're ready to connect the shielding gas crack the cylinder valve open and close it quickly just to blow out any dirt install the regulator to the cylinder and to the machine and then turn the gas
• 05:30 - 06:00 flow rate up to 25 to 30 cubic feet per hour which is 13 to 15 liters per minute last thing for setup is connecting our work clamp now work clamp is connected to that negative terminal and while it's best to clamp the clip right onto your work i usually just hook it to my welding table and that works good enough for me now let's go over the settings on your machine now most machines have the same two common settings voltage and wire feed speed you might have other settings like inductance if you do have inductance just turn it
• 06:00 - 06:30 up a little bit over half that should be good enough but it's not as big of an impact as these main two settings we're going to talk about this machine has automatic settings which is a great feature that i use a lot but i'm going to turn it off in the interest of learning now inside the cover of most machines you'll find a chart which gives some settings for voltage and wire feed speed based on wire size and the gas you're using for 1 8 of an inch thick material this machine recommends 18 volts and 310 inches per minute now my experience has been that the recommended settings on
• 06:30 - 07:00 most machines are good enough if you are running in the vertical or overhead positions sometimes you need a little bit lower settings so you can just use the settings for one or two material thicknesses lower on the chart and that works out pretty well a lot of the time but let's dig into some of the fundamentals behind these settings and how it actually works so you'll be able to you know fine tune things as you gain more experience so you might intuitively think that the voltage just controls how much heat energy is going into your weld
• 07:00 - 07:30 the wire feed speed just controls how much material is being added makes sense right that's what i thought when i first started that's actually not the case your wire speed actually affects the amperage of your weld or it's the primary variable to control how much heat goes into your material for that reason if you need more heat turn up your wire feed speed that's why you'll see on charts the wire feed speed changes and goes up dramatically as you go thicker in
• 07:30 - 08:00 through the material so if the wire feed speed controls both the amount of heat energy that's going in and the amount of wire that's added what do we need the voltage for it all well it has to do with the way that the process operates and this particular variation of the process is called short circuit mig welding now in short circuit mig welding the wire feeds out of the gun contacts your work and then an arc starts and it burns back the wire then it goes out the wire feeds in and this repeats over and over again many times per second your
• 08:00 - 08:30 voltage has to be tuned in for that to happen in the right way let's dig into this a little bit more by running an experiment i'm going to leave the wire feed speed at the recommended 310 inches per minute but then i'm going to run weld beads at a number of different voltages so i've turned the voltage clear down to 14 volts and notice how the wire stubs out it's hard to keep an arc going the arc definitely isn't running the way it needs to 16 volts it's running better but it's
• 08:30 - 09:00 still pretty sputtery at 18 volts it's running pretty good this was the recommended voltage it works pretty well at 20 volts still not bad but the arc is starting to burn back and i'm seeing a little more spatter flying out of the well and turned up to 22 volts it's burning back some more and there's even more spatter so the sweet spot is somewhere there in the middle i'd say between that 18 and 19 volts would give you a really good
• 09:00 - 09:30 weld let's take a look at the welds that came out of this experiment notice how the beads become more flat as the voltage increases you'll generally see this because the increased voltage not only makes the arc run properly but it does increase overall heat energy that's going into that weld as well as the effective length of the arc and that longer arc spreads things out a bit too as you get started i'd recommend just starting with the recommended settings on your machine that's usually good enough until you get a little bit of experience with technique but keep these principles in
• 09:30 - 10:00 mind as you get a little more experience and dial things in and the way that i like to do it and what i'd recommend especially if you're just getting started is to run an experiment just change one thing at a time and run welds over and over again and really get that hands-on understanding of what affects turning each of the knobs has now let's talk about welding technique this is the most important section of the whole video i've worked with a lot of people who have struggled with settings and asked for help with that and more often than
• 10:00 - 10:30 not it turns out to be a technique problem rather than an issue with the machine that's why we spend so much time in my online courses going through and practicing each element of welding technique to really drill it in so the first thing that you need to pay attention to is your contact tip to work distance the distance from your contact tip to your work it's often called stick out because that's how far the wire sticks out of the gun this needs to be right around a half inch or a little bit less even for short circuit mig welding most beginners tend
• 10:30 - 11:00 to be a little bit far away the second thing is your gun angle there's two different components to gun angle one is called your work angle this is the direction perpendicular to the direction of travel on a flat plate you'd be 90 degrees right in and out of the plate or if you're welding a t-joint down in a corner then you'd be 45 degrees in and out of that corner there when you're doing that type of a weld it's called a fill-up weld by the way the other component is travel angle which is in the direction of travel usually an angle of 10 to 15
• 11:00 - 11:30 degrees in either direction works just fine a drag angle can provide slightly more penetration though i tend to use a push angle which is more comfortable for me and consistent with the technique needed on other materials a common problem that people have is maintaining their stick out and angle along the length of a joint this is because there seems to be a natural tendency to twist your wrist in order to travel this throws off the angle and leaves you
• 11:30 - 12:00 finishing your weld with a long stick out which will affect the function of the arc now you might not even notice that this is happening so take a look at your wire as you finish and maybe you're moving farther away if it's long but if you're like most people i've taught you tend to use your wrist to curve right there so keep an eye for that it'll make a difference in your weld the last thing to get right is your movement there are two aspects to movement first is your travel speed how fast you move along the joint now travel speed generally
• 12:00 - 12:30 controls the size of the weld if you travel slower you're going to get a larger weld if you travel faster a smaller one there are limits to that though if you're welding on really thin material and you go too slow you're just going to blow holes right through it and if you're welding on thicker material and you go too fast what will happen is you'll melt out more space than you're actually able to fill in and you end up with a little recessed spot that's called undercut another aspect to movement is gun manipulation there's been a lot of chatter over the years on manipulation of the gun whether it's
• 12:30 - 13:00 loops a weave or one of the other bajillion shapes people have come up with the reality is that it's usually not necessary to manipulate the gun at all and if you do it's often best to keep it relatively small now in some situations especially on vertical welds uh running a bit of manipulation or a little bit of a weave can be pretty helpful just to keep your weld from crowning up too much it keeps a little bit flatter and also a little bit of manipulation can be helpful just to pace yourself as you move along but
• 13:00 - 13:30 don't think that you need to get carried away with that or that's going to be the key to success because that hasn't been my experience watch as i run this weld without any manipulation at all i'm just maintaining that stick out work and travel angles and moving along as smoothly as i can just using the recommended settings on the machine and it's coming out pretty nicely now last of all let's talk about body positioning body positioning and comfort are pretty important to getting a good weld because that's what allows you to
• 13:30 - 14:00 really focus in and maintain your welding technique and so it's best if you're able to use your other hand to prop when i first started welding school i thought you know what i'm going to do everything freehand then i'll just be awesome at that and i soon learned that there's no need to make life harder than it needs to be though you do sometimes have to work freehand and you just do what you have to do but whenever you don't it's best to use your other hand to prop up and either slide along which is ideal or if you can't just collapse your hand
• 14:00 - 14:30 down to be able to prop on something kind of triangulate and get comfortable so take a minute to get comfortable before you run every weld it'll really make a big difference in how your welds turn out well that's everything you need to know to go from the beginning clear up to laying down beads that you're proud of i've linked in the description some other videos that you might find really helpful as you're learning to mig weld as well as my online course i've been so excited to receive feedback and all the things that people are learning taking these courses you know if it saves you a couple hours of time or even one piece
• 14:30 - 15:00 of material it will have already paid for itself so check that out if you're interested and until next time weld safe and we'll see you then