Hello to all , I am new to this site, have been welding for some time, looking for some input. building hand rails and custom work I like to use a Miller Passport -w-.030 wire + co2. the next machine up is a MM 250-w-.035+ 75-25 gas. I have these two machines dialed in good. the last time my welding instructor-state cert. tester, (bill) stopped by, he said I should try 90-10 with the hard wire. It would flatten the weld. on hand rail and decorative stuff build up has to be ground smooth. idid not find that to be the case, i found the arc was less stable and I had a lot more spatter.did not find the weld to be any flatter. I have used 90-10 with metal cored wire and a spray transfer process. seems to me that the 90- 10 makes the hard wire act more like globular transfer process than short arc. Soooooo back to the 75-25. any info would be helpful. thanks Dan
- Otto Nobedder
-
Weldmonger
-
Posts:
-
Joined:Thu Jan 06, 2011 11:40 pm
-
Location:Near New Orleans
Welcome, Dan!
You'll find that, despite sometimes slow responses, this is probably the best site of it's kind. Whoever answers your questions will do so to the best of their knowledge without any of the posturing and belittling some larger sites seem prone to.
As to your question, I've MIGged with straight CO2, 75/25, and (accidentally) straight Argon. Of the three, the 75/25 has given me the best results. There is one other choice I highly recommend, but good luck getting anyone to spend the money. The same Tri-mix you probably use for 308/309 SS produces beautiful, flat, nearly spatter-free welds with E70-s-series wires. It's a hotter arc than with the other gasses, so the settings must be dialed back a bit for the same thickness material.
When I MIG at work, I'm most commonly using 308 or 309 wire (.035), so the machine is usually set up with Tri-mix. Then it's not uncommon for me to have, say, twelve inches of carbon to weld, and I can justify using the expensive gas against the time to change to 75/25 and back. You may have an argument for time saved cleaning/grinding/dynafiling your handrail welds against the cost of the gas, especially if you have low air movement near the weld so the flow can be reduced.
Steve
You'll find that, despite sometimes slow responses, this is probably the best site of it's kind. Whoever answers your questions will do so to the best of their knowledge without any of the posturing and belittling some larger sites seem prone to.
As to your question, I've MIGged with straight CO2, 75/25, and (accidentally) straight Argon. Of the three, the 75/25 has given me the best results. There is one other choice I highly recommend, but good luck getting anyone to spend the money. The same Tri-mix you probably use for 308/309 SS produces beautiful, flat, nearly spatter-free welds with E70-s-series wires. It's a hotter arc than with the other gasses, so the settings must be dialed back a bit for the same thickness material.
When I MIG at work, I'm most commonly using 308 or 309 wire (.035), so the machine is usually set up with Tri-mix. Then it's not uncommon for me to have, say, twelve inches of carbon to weld, and I can justify using the expensive gas against the time to change to 75/25 and back. You may have an argument for time saved cleaning/grinding/dynafiling your handrail welds against the cost of the gas, especially if you have low air movement near the weld so the flow can be reduced.
Steve
rankamateur
- rankamateur
-
Active Member
-
Posts:
-
Joined:Sat Apr 28, 2012 12:49 am
We do all our handrails in-house and I gotta say I agree with Otto 100%. We've done enough with the 75/25 that we can keep the welds just about flat, hit them with a flap disc and they're done. We have played with tri-mix gasses and had good luck, but the boss doesn't like to spend the money. I've been playing with dual-shield lately for an upcoming job, and it seems to flatten out pretty good with T-1 and 75/25. Boss has the same money qualms, though.