JackMcCornack wrote:
Omterry wrote:
...so on the recommendation of Dismantalus (who was whining* about welding wire not working for him), I got the Lincoln stuff at Home Depot. He was right.
Dismantalus, please share your welding wire rant with the rest of us. It sounds like useful information. And if Dismantalus doesn't feel like repeating himself, Omterry, perhaps you can summarize.
The rant was about the inferior wires that seem to pervade the industry now. I don't have to tell you the country of origin...... I did a welding certification earlier this year, two guys doing a 3/8" vertical up plate, short circuit GMAW (Mig). They got set up and started making some practice runs. Dog Sh*t. No matter how they adjusted the machine, they could not get a nice consistent weld. I checked the wire, and it was something I had never heard of. Talked to the distributor, he had not had any complaints about the wire. Had the customer go out and get a spool of Lincoln Superarc L56. It is an ER70s-6s wire. Had them do a couple of practice runs, made a few adjustments to wire feed and voltage, and BAM, ran like butter. Smooth, consistent arc. You could HEAR the difference. One of the problems is that a lot of the shops that these suppliers sell to don't know they are having a problem, they think the wire is supposed to run that way. Once they see how wires like the L56 run, they know what is possible. The other problem is that so many of the "Financial" guys won't spend a nickle more for the better wire, and so the poor guy doing the welding is getting blamed for poor quality / production, etc. To compound the problem, companies like Hobart appear to have two lines, the "Chinese grade", and the "Good Stuff".. You have to ASK for the good stuff, or they will typically sell you the garbage. Terry saw the difference as soon as he started with the L56. It's why I always now have the customer have it on hand for a test, or I bring a spool with me just in case. Welding tests (and LoCosts) should get the best wire you can get your hands on. It's cheap insurance. Takes one more variable out of the equation. Another issue that pops up, although not as frequently in our crowd, is the "Foreign" wires are not well tolerated by the newer inverter machines, particularly in the pulse settings. I had a roll of the Radnor (Chinese) stuff left over from when I started the 7 and was using my 30+ year old Millermatic 200. It was an .023" ER70s-6 as well. Seemed to run ok in that machine. When I moved my shop to the house last year, I put old faithful in storage, and set up my Lincoln PowerMig 350. Couldn't get it to keep a decent arc at all. Short circuit, pulse, nada. Threw a roll of the L56 in, and just like that, we were back in the game. I guess the point of the whole rant is that if anyone is having problems like those described, don't just take the distributors word that "He's never heard of any problems". Maybe it's that no one has complained! Yet. Try a roll of the L56, or the "Good" Hobart stuff and I think you will see a huge difference.
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