Burning holes (welding)

[monkey biz]

I swear I've tried every setting combination on my welder (Linclon 110 140amp). I'm welding 3/16 brakeline and some 1/8 solid together every time I just try to do a tack weld it burns a hole in the brakeline and it's driving me nuts. If anyone has some tips or suggestions I would appreciate it.
Thank You

[weck]

sounds like you have it set too hot...turn down the voltage...

[joesbruiser]

Welding brake line with a mig sucks.

Turn the heat down and the wirespeed up and get on and off the trigger real fast.
Make sure to start on the solid and let it flow to the brake line.

Another option to help is find some solid and cut small peices to insert in the end of the breakline then weld the joint.

[Eritex Inc.]

What size wire are you using? On my Miller I use .030 and have no issues welding 22 gauge steel and 3/16 brake line. I will say that is takes practice and a quick trigger finger.

Edit
Also, is it true MIG or are you burning flux core?

[Prybar]

Dude, you are using a sledge hammer to drive thumbtacks. Try soldering or brazing it. If you must weld it you would be better off using a tig machine with pulse capability. Brake line is very very thin and it'll burn through every time.

[joesbruiser]

Not everytime.

[exploreron40s]

If your using MIG, you need gas. Gas not only makes the weld easier to obtain, but it also will give you less spit and slag. Flux Core is good for thicker material that is solid. On top of that, the Lincoln 140 EZ that you have is capable of 5/16" solid steel and it is even too powerful for 1/8" steel, I know, I own one and it is great for 1/4" plate. If you want to really to continue to weld small stuff like brakeline, it would really be worth it you get a hobby TIG welder, that way you can hand feed your rod and control your heat constantly.

[hitman46mod]

I agree gas is a must for small tube. I have made 2 tubers and the first I used gas and the other without and I have burn through and spatter like a mofo. I did not have these problems before.

[monkey biz]

Thanks for your help guys. I'm using .025 mig wire with gas, I probably need more practice like suggested. I do alot of brazing already but that gets expensive after awhile just looking to save a buck.The welder just sits on my porch so I thought I would give it a try. Anyways I'll try again tomorrow I'm not gonna give up yet.

[Eritex Inc.]

I just welded 2 sticks of 3/16 break line tubing together in a butt joint and shot some video. Let me upload it and show you.

[Eritex Inc.]

It is uploading now, give me another minute or so....

[Eritex Inc.]

Sorry for the grainy video, had to lower the quality to get it to load faster...

http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...gbrakeline.flv

[717CRAWLERS]

Originally Posted by Prybar

Brake line is very very thin and it'll burn through every time.

Yeah, if you don't know what your doing.. TIG is the way to go, if you are going to weld it together. MIG can work, but it's uglier and a PAIN on small tubing.

[monkey biz]

Wow... dude thanks for the videothat helps I think my settings were to high and I got be quicker on the trigger.

[Eritex Inc.]

I also shot a quick vid of welding 22 gauge steel. Like I said before, welding a tube chassis with a MIG is more then doable. You just need to find the correct setting on your machine and practice.

[rockcreepin']

What about brazing. Will it work? Is it easier than trying to mig it. Or should I go to my buddys and TIG it.

[vw_thing]

Welded up most of the joints on my tuber with a Lincoln 140HD, .025 wire, CO2/Argon. No problem making strong welds, some take a little grinding to look right. I think the settings were "C" heat (maybe "B"?) and "2" feed speed. It doesn't take more than a second or two, but make sure you hear the sizzling. Otherwise it is just a lump of filler on top of the tubing.

Brazing gives a smoother looking joint with almost no cleanup. Really just a personal preference, the welder takes less time to make each joint if you do it right.

[War Pig]

Silver soldering is the way to go for tube work. Strong, clean, no grinding afterwards, and no burning through the tube. It's more expensive, but you won't go back after you figure out how to do it right.

[EvilTwin v2]

I've built several tube chassis now. I started out brazing w/ mapp gas, and the last several I've done have been with a Hobart Handler 187 mig (I forget which gas I'm running). Here's my thoughts on both brazing & welding.

Welding:

Pros:
- easy to setup.
- you have the mig gun in one hand and your other hand free to either steady the gun or hold a piece to be welded.
- extremely strong (when done right)

Cons:
- while setup time is minimal, there's a tremendous amount of time needed to grind the welds afterward to even come close to the look of a brazed joint.
- it's easy to burn through if you're not carefull. Even after building several, I still occaisionally blow a hole and have to go back & fill it & grind it.

Brazing with silver solder:

Pros:
- when done right, you get absolutely beautiful, clean joints that require only a little cleanup afterward.
- it's cheap to get started. A $40 or $50 mapp gas torch, some rosin, and some silver solder along with some sort of work stand and you're off & running. No need for a several hundred dollar welder, wiring a 220 circuit, and then a couple hundred more on a bottle lease & fill for your argon.

Cons:
- if you don't have a couple nice tools (vise, magnets, etc.) it can be a pain to hold your work still, as you almost need a third hand (one for the torch, one for the filler rod, and one to steady your work).
- Not quite as strong as a properly mig'd piece.

[bob1961]

i bought safety silv-45 in a kit for 20 bucks a 1.5 years ago and have done 5 tube frames with it already and can do 2 more with what wire i have left....that's $3.33 a frame so far how cheap is it to use a mig welder with the gas, eletric and wire used....just a thought..............bob

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