Welding help

[88WhiteTurd]

Hey guys so while I’m getting ready to do my SAS I’ve been practicing my MiG welds, I felt like I had it dialed in decently while doing flat lap joints on 3/16 steel but as soon as I went to try some vertical and upside down welds I just kept getting saggy nut sacks :/

I understand that you want to run lower settings and always weld going upward for penetration and I got them to look better (doing vertical) but they still look really cold (proud)

And seeing that most of the welding I’m going to be doing for the swap is going to be upside down / vertical I would appricate some help

Also some pictures of what would be an acceptable weld and would not be acceptable would be sick. or some video
recommendations I’ve seen a few on YouTube but I would like to hear from people who weld on trucks.

Oh and I’m using 035 if that makes a difference, thanks

 

[4xFoorOffroad]

Weldingtipsandtricks.com check out the mig series - they’re on YouTube but they’re put in order on the website. .030 wire would be better for .188

 

[the bodj]

your travel speed needs to increase when welding overhead, and run up wire speed the slightest amount. You want to punch wire into place and move to the next spot, only going fast slow enough to get the desired fill. If you move too slow you’ll get blobs and drips.

 

[88WhiteTurd]

your travel speed needs to increase when welding overhead, and run up wire speed the slightest amount. You want to punch wire into place and move to the next spot, only going fast slow enough to get the desired fill. If you move too slow you’ll get blobs and drips.

Makes sense, but how am I able to tell if I got proper penetration if I’m going overhead am I just looking for a flat toe like I am doing on a flat surface?

And what kind of pattern are you doing in the over head position?

 

[the bodj]

Makes sense, but how am I able to tell if I got proper penetration if I’m going overhead am I just looking for a flat toe like I am doing on a flat surface?

And what kind of pattern are you doing in the over head position?

Proper bead profile, wet toes, the machine has a good sizzling bacon sound. I don’t have a set pattern I do for any situation. Honestly depends on what the joint fit up is like, if there’s a good groove to fill or if it’s a T joint…

 

[88WhiteTurd]

Proper bead profile, wet toes, the machine has a good sizzling bacon sound. I don’t have a set pattern I do for any situation. Honestly depends on what the joint fit up is like, if there’s a good groove to fill or if it’s a T joint

Ok I see, but as far as bead profile for overhead and vertical is it normal for it to be a little more crowned up in the middle because of gravity?

 

[4xFoorOffroad]

Vertical up / down have different techniques than overhead if you mean overhead horizontal (and even within that you have butt weld, lower horizontal outside corner like the bottom edge of a frame plate, overhead horizontal inside corner etc. that all have their own details).

Main thing is to practice as much as you can on something similar to what you’ll be welding on the vehicle to get your settings and technique down. Jamie on WT&T has some good vertical welding and probably overhead (horizontal) weld videos.

Also, I’ve seen people who can make perfect welds with their arms stretched out all the way from their body; that said I like to keep my head as close as I can to the puddle while I’m doing pretty much any out of position weld where I’m not just looking down at a table. Like @bodj said, getting your wire feed, power, and movement matching the amount of weld you need and getting that nice sound without leaving cold lack of penetration, overheating everything and even having drips, or eating up the parent material will vary from weld type and the quality of the fit up but will get good results as you make adjustments and practice over time.

Biggest game changer for me after lots of practicing was having 220/240V but if you’re getting drips it may not be an issue of how much power you can have going into the puddle.

 

[88WhiteTurd]

I hear you, practice practice practice going to the metal yard tomorrow to get more coupons! Thanks for answering my newb questions, you’ll see me back here if I got anymore lol