Quote:
Originally Posted by Othen
A question about welding if I may Juular,
Have you been using the cored MIG welding wire previously? I've never tried that (I use the small argon/CO2 bottles) - but often wondered whether it wouldn't be more convenient for small jobs. How have you found that? Your previous work has been very neat and tidy, was that done with the core type wire or using gas?
Alan
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Everything previous (including all of the 240) was done with solid 0.6mm wire and Hobbyweld 5 gas.
The recent work on the amazon was 0.8mm flux core from Lidl, and I have now moved on to a roll of 0.6mm Lidl flux core (which seems to be very difficult to find!).
The gas welds are significantly neater than the flux core ones, mainly because of the bead pattern and the fact that the flux core leaves behind slag and a lot of splattering. It's also more difficult to see what you're doing with flux core, as the weld pool is obscured somewhat by the melting flux and splatter. It takes a bit of getting used to.
The flux core also seems to run hotter (even on 0.6mm) which means the risk of blowing through is higher, so it's more difficult to lay a neat bead and sometimes you have to do a fair bit of filling in with the wire. You also have to work slower, or work in a star pattern, moving between different areas to prevent one part from overheating.
Saying that however, the flux core is massively easier to deal with in terms of not having to constantly lug the huge gas bottle around and reposition it every time you move to a different area. It sounds like a small thing, but psychologically it makes going out and working on the car a completely different game. If I had a welding trolley I'd probably not be bothered as much.
When working outside, even though the gas weld is much neater, I've found it very frustrating when even the slightest breeze comes along and you end up with big popcorn-like porous welds that you have to grind right back. In the end, the lack of neatness from flux core is offset by not needing to stop and wait every time the wind gets up.
It's been a windy summer here and I've spent the majority of it not working on the Amazon for that reason, so I thought flux core was worth a shot just to get some work done. I've been very impressed so far, and the Lidl wire is really superb, especially the 0.6.
Down to the nitty gritty, the flux core welds are just as good underneath the appearance as the shielded ones, and that's really what matters.