Welding Tips and Tricks

I'm sure this has been answered before, but after reviewing all 176 topics I didn't see it.

What is (in your opinion) the BEST wire for a NOOB to use..

Here's the Setup..
Millermatic 212 W/ AutoSet
came with a .030 and .035 dual drive rollers.. I'm planning on using ARG/CO 75/25 LWS has rentals for $49/year for 140cuft cyl.
Don't even know what I'll be welding, but it'll probably be less the 3/8" 90% of the time..
Should I get .030 or .035 ?

What brands work the best ? any STILL made in the USA ? I bought a starter spool of .035 Lincoln wire, but it's made in mexico..
I've been using professional tools for 30 years, but welding is new to me.. I know the value of a good tool/consumable, but don't want to spend needlessly..

I've seen this stuff on amazon "INEFIL" brand is that any good ?

any help is appreciated...

Thanks in advance.

In my opinion, .035 is the best choice for that machine in any alloy. .030 will "bird's nest" too easily at the feeder.

.035 will do everything most of us want to do in anything but heavy sections, and it will work there, too, with the right settings and multiple passes.

The only purpose for a wire lighter than .035, in my opinion, is auto body work, where I'd choose .023, which would require different drive rollers AND a different liner for your whip. .035 will work fine here, though, once you have experience with it.

As for brands, you can't go wrong with Lincoln. Even though it's made in Mexico, it's made under license from Lincoln Electric and must meet their standards. I'll have to double-check Monday, but I believe the wire we use at work is branded "Oxford", and works well. We use E-70s6, 308L, 309L, all supplied by National Welding Service (We have a gentleman's agreement... they cut us a break on gasses and consumables, we cut them a break on their cryogenic fleet repairs.)

Personally, I avoid "made in China" brands, as there are few internationally accepted standards for alloys that China recognizes.

Steve S

Does anyone know of any MADE IN USA brands exclusively ? I'd like to know that the wire I'm using helped put food on some American's Table.. if that isn't possible. Then I guess I"ll go with the European imported ones..

If you can't find American made...

You'll put more food on American tables buying from Mexico. NAFTA puts American truckers to work.

NAFTA puts American HD tow truck drivers to work anyways..... S/F.....Ken M

Well it appears that the majority of the Hobart Brothers (not the Hobart welders company) wire is made domestically.. Hopefully my LWS sells it and isn't looking to make me take a mortgage to purchase some..

I'll keep that in mind. I'll buy American when I can.

Thanks.

There is a reason why so many people use 75/25 gas and ER70 S-6 or 3 wire when GMAW welding....................it works. It feeds well and if you are on some really thin stuff you can trigger the gun.

Kevin

lazerbeam wrote:There is a reason why so many people use 75/25 gas and ER70 S-6 or 3 wire when GMAW welding....................it works. It feeds well and if you are on some really thin stuff you can trigger the gun.

Kevin

So what wire do you use ??

lazerbeam wrote:There is a reason why so many people use 75/25 gas and ER70 S-6 or 3 wire when GMAW welding....................it works. It feeds well and if you are on some really thin stuff you can trigger the gun.

Kevin

Yeah. It's a low-cost compromise that delivers satisfactory results.

Weld carbon steel with tri-mix, and do the cost-benefit analysis. Most places think the labor to clean the welds is cheaper than the helium.

I'm going to try a carbon MIG weld with straight helium in the near future, just as an expirement on something non-critical.

Tri-mix on carbon leaves very little spatter or blacking to clean.

Steve S

I teach at a community college part-time (I'm retired) and our dept. head places orders and we order whatever the lws can get us the best deal on. Cheap wire on a flimsy plastic spool can cause feeding problems because the sides of the spool will flex out and the wire will jamb into the crack. We are welding with viking wire right now and I have no idea where it is made.

Kevin

When I need consumables for my welders, I visit my local suppliers and get them to give me the information that I am looking for. Then, I buy whatever I can afford based on the options put in front of me. So far, I've never gone wrong with this approach and if I ever did have a problem, my supplier would have that consumable back on his counter top, while I asked for a refund.

PS: It's a lot like going to the grocery store and asking which apple tastes the best? You are going to get a lot of opinions. In the end, the only opinion that matters is your customers and yours. (The customer is always right? At the end of the day, they pay your bills.)

I realize that I am going to get a lot of opinions, it's what i'm looking for. i choose to ask here, as to get a varied response, vs what my lws stocks and carries. I like being an informed customer. And would prefer to order american made if possible.

and if someone says brand X is crap and buggered up my machine and I'll never use it. i take that into as much consideration as someone who says brand Y is DA Bomb..

lazerbeam wrote:I teach at a community college part-time (I'm retired) and our dept. head places orders and we order whatever the lws can get us the best deal on. Cheap wire on a flimsy plastic spool can cause feeding problems because the sides of the spool will flex out and the wire will jamb into the crack. We are welding with viking wire right now and I have no idea where it is made.

Kevin

Kevin, I've dealt with that problem on the plastic spools. Even had one dumb kid that didn't realize you can't just "throw down" 20 kilos of wire on a plastic spool without some breakage!

To avoid binding from simple spool flex, I've backed off the spool tensioners at work as low as they will go without "freewheeling" at the speeds we run. A benefit is that I can slightly reduce drive-roller tension, as it has less to overcome pulling from the spool, and has reduced "bird's nests" when the tip gets boogered up.

I made my point recently, when I laid two nearly full broken and useless plastic spools on the boss' desk, and asked him if it was cheaper than one roll of good stuff.

Steve S

You are exactly right about the spool and drive roll tension. I have reduced both and it has solved most of the problem. Having a student slam down a spool of wire and breaking the spool is a problem I have not been able to deal with successfully. But I am thinking that the price difference for the better wire would be offset by having to toss one spool of the cheap stuff.

Kevin