Mig Welding Basics part 3-Setting Voltage and Wire Speed

For a more detailed article along with mig welding settings charts visit www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/m...
This is part 3 in a series about Basic Mig Welding.
Setting Wire speed and voltage without a chart.
This method for setting a mig welder works for me and is more accurate than others I have tried.
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[@romanykemp9042]

Thus guy is just great. I'm a 65 year old novice here that just wants to be able to do some hobby welding around the shop. His videos answers a lot of questions....

[@kevinburnett610]

You should start a welding school....you're the man!

[@user-hb8be5wb4q]

Man, I’ve never seen welding info like what you are putting out here. I didn’t get all thru the vlog, but I subbed and give you a high five. Thank you, thank you, thank you for not talking “above” us in your instructions. Most all sights I’ve listen to have gotten way over our heads info. And we were lost before the introduction was over. I’ve got a new Lincoln welder(mig) 120/140? Gotta get welding!

[@joehunt3512]

You made these videos the same year I completed my welding course. I would've really liked to have these videos as a reference source. You know your stuff my man. You're a great instructor.

[@TrenchRat297]

how you doing now

[@1clnsdime1]

Thank you for your video's!!! Im a machinist but my company is getting slow on work in the machinist department. Im not great welder but i was offered a position in the welding shop instead of being layed off. You video's have helped my welding drasticly thank you very much for taking the time to help people like me.

[@lendavidhart9710]

Hi Andrew, that was nice you able to get that welding position, i, just like you were saying learned tons from this guy, he's a great instructor.

[@1faulk]

Thank you Jody, I live in the Philippines now and do not have the resources I had when I lived in the USA so your videos have been a lifesaver. I purchased a portable gasless MIG welder because gas is almost impossible to get here and if you are lucky enough to find it it is very expensive so most welders are stick or gasless Mig. I have to say there are a lot of folks who put up good videos but you are the best. I was really struggling to get a good bead going on my workbench project but thanks to your help I was able to get it done being a first-time welder.

[@danieljosecastillo-crowe4951]

Hi there . This is Danny from greenwich London. thanks very much for all the videos. I am really enjoying them and getting educated at the same time. I have been in the Motor Trade business since the 70s when i was 9 years old and everything was soldered with Oxyaceteline.I am just over 50 now. I work in a bodyshop where I restore Ferraris, Aston Martins, Rollers, etc, and all the material you teach has been invaluable to me , especially as I used to be on the painting side before. you're never too old to learnI have an english made transformer welder, the Oxford Migmaker 270-1. amp range from 15 to 270. really loving your courses. they are funny, informative and bloody helpful. Thanks again.

[@owlislike]

Three parts into this series and I feel like I have learned more than I have in half a semester of MIG classes -_-. Thank heaven for this channel!

[@specialks1953]

Mrs. Jodi will keep you in line. Nice to put a face on your better half. I'm kinda new here so I don't know how often she pops in but it was good of you to share a few seconds of your video time with her.

[@wray1104]

Thanks so much for this. I was "taught" to weld ages ago, on an industrial Miller power source and feeder where the settings were only vaguely correlated with the actual voltage and and wire feed speed. My "teacher" "seat of the pants'd" the settings, and not having better information, setting the machine up by ear got me to reasonably decent welds for years. Recently I bought myself a schmancy Miller power source and wiz-bang feeder and tried to set the thing up using Miller's recommended settings. According to them, 1/8 mild steel wants about 290ipm in .035 at 18.5V and 145 amps. Set up on the nose with measured wire feed speed, I'm either blowing holes left and right, or making rat turds. Set the thing up by ear, and it welds sweet enough, but I was starting to think I was nuts. Then I find your chart. Makes me think maybe it's Miller that's nuts - my "ear" came up with 190-200ipm and 20-21V (the torch that came with the Miller feeder has a recessed contact tip), which puts your chart a lot closer to my reality than Miller's recommendations!

[@fredsmith6160]

I'm just getting back into welding mig with my everlast welder. Your videos have helped me clear the cobwebs from my brain.

[@andrearinaldi3354]

Thank You very much! You are truly great! Your lessions are very clear and useful. Best greetings from Italy. Andrea.

[@nickpepper4592]

Jodi, first of all thank you for the countless hours of perfect instructions. I'd like to get some welding done for hobbies and, eventually when I'm good enough, build things like bumpers for quads I own. Would you please put up a video about what exactly is needed to be purchased to actually begin welding with MIG

[@BackFire10mm]

Parachute in. Sounds like some of the welders I've used lol. Love this guy

[@robstorms]

I like that smile you gave yer gal at the end. I guess a lot of us feel we have gotten to know you after all the watching. My guess is that you two are as happy as you look, and it couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

[@weldingtipsandtricks]

What can I say? I love her. Married Almost 33 years now

[@Solomantecreery.]

weldingtipsandtricks muy bien amigo

[@azza9423]

weldingtipsandtricks God bless.

[@rsz90182]

weldingtipsandtricks 35 now?

[@dykim8107]

robstor

[@frankfeldstein6611]

I just recently got a 30# spool of .063 308L wire for $8. After seeing your video I came up with the wire factor for this spool knowing that we need to compare areas (.045/.063)^2 = about 0.5 for wire factor - and it works!!! I'm able to use my bargain now, thanks!

[@kevinlwiltfong7941]

Thank you, Jody, for taking the time to create this series. I have used my Century GMAW since '96. Lately it has been as cantankerous as a honey badger in heat. While voltage and wire speed are both variable, not steps on the voltage, I was not able to tune it in. Finally followed your example of stop watch and tape measure to set wire, then tweeked voltage while welding. Found I have two issues needing addressed. The rheostat for wire apparently has a dirty wiper. I also need to clean or replace my liner to smooth wire feed.

[@kevinburks110]

Ive learned a lot from this guy! Things most people would have never thought of! All the little things add up and does make a big difference! Keep it up!!

[@PeaceCountryBoy]

These are great videos. Not very often can you see the puddle and penetration in a welding video but these ones are pretty defined. I really like that method the old timer showed you of making a series of u's or cursive e's, it works really great and turns out a good looking bead. Thanks for taking the time to make these films, it's helped me out lots!

[@CSSIandAssociate]

This is truly a gem of a teaching video. I am new to this. I took welding in High School in the 80s. This stuff wasn't around then. Since retiring from the military I am setting up my Home Shop and this education truly helps. Thank you Sir...

[@upnorthyooper1196]

This is one of the best setup videos I have seen. When people call the shop for help trying to make there new christmas present work, I am going to send them to this video. And the pretty girl at the end seems like a wiseguy she must be fun, some guys have all the luck.

[@markstevens7211]

what a fabulous series of basic tips, wish I'd have seen this before many failed attempts at mig welding. Keep up the good work, heading into the workshop to try out your tips ☺

[@khosrowmkh2554]

Just one word "Thanks".Extremely helpful for beginners

[@windnwaves2011]

I've just finished a "basic welding" certification at a local community college and have started an "advanced" class. Wish I'd of done this twenty years ago.. Looking forward to pipe and structural certification this fall. Love welding, despite the challenges that new guys experience. Your videos have been a TREMENDOUS help! Really appreciate what you do! I ordered a Tig Finger too. Holy shit is that a big help! Lol Thanks, Jodi! Huge fan!

[@SuperLEEEDWARDS]

Hi all, first off I’m NOT a welder by trade I’m a Mobile Crane Operator but I’ve always been doing up cars mainly the classic MINI. I just wanted to say how helpful these CLASSES have been. You really do have a wealth of knowledge and I find it very respectful of yourself to impart this onto us (well me) who didn’t know a quarter of what I know now so tomorrow out comes the mig to test what I’ve learned so a big thank you from the UK PEACE.

[@james5553]

Thanks so much for this just what I need to get me started with my new mig setup. I haven't used the process before but am really enjoying learning. Going back to school to get some proper tuition nearer the end of the year.

[@barrytaylor6217]

Jody, I really like the videos you have here! In answer to your question about settings for voltage and amperage of different wire sizes and types. Do an internet search for the specifications of the specific manufacturer type and size of wire and you will find a chart that shows wire diameter, wire speed, amps, volts and electrode stick out. Merry Christmas from a Wyoming welder.

[@benjaminbutton2897]

Amazing, this helped a lot. I've been using stick for years and have recently bought a mig welder. Completely different feed back from this type welding, although easy to weld with, I was a bit concerned with settings. I wasn't convinced I was getting the penetration I needed. After watching this video, I'm now convinced my settings were not far off. My welder did not have a chart, nor did it have voltage settings or wire speed settings indicated on the dials. The 6 second measure was great and helped enormously, keep up the good work. Now I know my gates won't 'ping' apart at the galvaniser :)

[@robbelk6465]

Over the last 5 years you have been my go to for questions,thanks for savin my butt at least a thousand times 😄👍👍thanks for your awesome channel.

[@andrewsesterhenn3179]

Love the videos! You do a great job. I've been learning mig with my Everlast power Mig 140. In the manual and in miller's manual, they say to set voltage first then adjust wire feed speed. Seems to make more sense the way you present here since it's based on thickness. Thanks again for all the insight!

[@joeychastain3359]

I enjoy your videos and learn from them very much I'm just a beginner and they're very helpful I don't have any problem understanding exactly what you're doing you explain yourself very well if you're not a welding instructor you are to be thank you very much please keep posting your videos I will continue to watch thank you very much

[@richardgraiff9995]

Thank you , for the video's . I have owned a Lincoln 100 for years that I inherited. I ordered the Hobart Ironman 230. Because I have a trailer project to do. I wanted something that would burn in a little better. I have been watching your videos for the last couple of days. I have learned a lot . The 100 Lincoln might have done my job. I am sure the 230 will do great. keep teaching us welders . you can always learn more.

[@TedTremendous]

Love the shot at the end of you two. So cute! Great video series. I learned a bunch and just got a hobart welder myself to fix stuff on my old car. Thanks!

[@tomwilson9024]

Hey Jody from England. LOVE the videos, very helpful indeed the vocabulary you use helps make easy sense of what you are trying to teach us. Anyway I'm watching this one because I have a weld test next Friday for a new job making shipping containers, they want me to demonstrate a good vertical down mig run (easy as pie) but also want to see an overhead mig and a vertical up mig, bit more difficult especially as I'm used to using a very good kemppi machine and I fear the equipment they will have will be craps so all your mig welding videos are like y bible for the next week! Keep up the amazing work and keep sharing your amazing knowledge. Top respect to you.

[@WV591]

one of the best and most educational welding channels on tube. best closeups. this channel is auto TU

[@sunpowerrules]

Just started playing around with my new Mig Welder the other day. Your videos are very informative and I certainly get why experimenting with the feed and heat rates help to make better welds. I think it’s time to play around and check out physically what you showed....

[@zjeng1]

One remark - on welders with a 'soft start', wire feed speed may start out slow and then bump up when the arc establishes as you start welding. Took me some time to figure out this was the reason the 6 second wire speed determination didn't add up for mine. Having said that, you make awesome videos! Best welding videos on the net by far. No nonsense talking, just quality content all along!

[@leonardpearlman4017]

I have that run-in setting, which is turned "OFF", until I figure out how to use THAT, it seems like it would be helpful, but in practice so far it just adds confusion. Without it you definitely start with a bang.

[@roberternest2402]

You are the best on youtube! I get so much more out of my everlast welders because of your videos.

[@viscache1]

40 years of farm welding has taught me that .35 wire, Xenon gas and adjust the feed to the thickness works good but I always come back to find out how to improve my weld. It seems I cannot convince myself to just accept ‘good enough’. Great video! Really appreciate your effort to help us DIY=ers

[@jwdickinson643]

finally an understandable relationship between wire speed & amperage! Thanks!!

[@jimmilne19]

Sweet ending! Still enjoying and learning from your great videos. Great you are for sharing.

[@bobengelhardt856]

Fantastic technique for setting voltage & wfs!! I can't wait to try it.

[@danielchambers1958]

I just started welding only to repair my equipment on my property and I found your videos! Thank you for this information . . .

[@raykim1812]

Setting wire speed and voltage in MIG welding is the most important and difficult thing..Thanks for your useful video..

[@alexvonbosse5090]

Just what the Doctor ordered! Thanks Jody for sharing your knowledge!

[@alexhearn9644]

Hi Jody - I'd asked after MIG video 1 for you to get into volts vs WFS, this is exactly what I needed to see. Thanks!

[@gregparker5461]

Thank you so much! I have just found you videos and love your knowledge and delivery.

[@Sinister_Reaper]

Love the videos, i manufacture heavy agricultural equipment, i see a lot of the guys in the shop getting cracked welds, most of them run slow and cold and produce really pretty welds but they always look convex and just seem like they didnt tie into the toes of the weld and sometimes i wonder how it would look on a micro etch, i was taught to run hot and fast and i have yet to have a failed weld for example on 1/4" to 1/2" inch most of the guys weld at 23 volts and 375 inches with .035 while i weld at 30 volts and 400 inches with .045, i can see the difference, my welds are nice and flat, i can see really good penetration on the toes of the weld, if i weld 3/16 ill usually get undercut but if i do a little back and fourth it fills the undercut and turns out good, anything from 3/4 to 1 and 1/4 inch i weld around 35 to 36 volts and 550 to 600 inches a minute, i really wish there was a way to upload pictures on the comments, i see people go by wire feed speed but it gets kind of difficult when you get up to 1/16th dual shield or .072 or 5/64th self shielded so i always went by volts and adjusted wire feed speed, for 14g and to 10g i would weld at 21 volts and 225 to 275 ipm with .035 for 1/8" i weld at 26 to 27 volts and 325 to 350 imp with .045, 1/4 to 5/8th around 30 volts and 400ipm with .045 and 3/4" to 1-1/4" i weld 35 volts and 550 ipm with .045, ocassionally i end up welding 2 inch steel for ring mounts on some of the heavier equipment and will run 40 volts and 600 to 650ipm with .045, the company will only allow us to do single pass welds since they are more focused on looks, i told my boss straight up that he should be matching fillet weld sizes but he refuses so i run hot and fast to compensate because i dont want to send out a piece of machinery that fails and someone gets hurt and they come back to throw it in my face

[@martijnjonkers2179]

For the metric people, numbers below referring to the 1:12 mark: 1 Ampère for every 0.025mm of material thickness. So for 3mm thick plate (1/8 inch) the ampere setting should be 3/0,025=120A. Small deviation in sheet due to roundoff. For 0.6mm wire: 90wire/amp, 125amps * 90 = 11250 mm per minute (check. 11250/25,4= 443 inch per minute) For 0.8mm wire: 51wire/amp, 125amps * 51 = 6375 mm per minute For 1mm wire: 40wire/amp, 125amps * 40 = 5000 mm per minute Thank you jody for the years of information you gave me, and for the useful items in your webshop!

[@doi1948]

thank you so much my brother

[@kellyjones334]

Thanks for all of your tips in your videos. You explain things that definitely help.

[@snakeeyes7751]

U are the best welder i have seen in my life

[@prasiprassi]

In metric system: To get the amps: thickness of material [mm] * 40 = [amps] example: 3 [mm] * 40 = 120 [amps] To get the wire speed: For 0,75 [mm] wire: 5 * ___ [Amps] = [cm/min] example: 5 * 120 [Amps] = 600 [cm/min] = 10 [cm/sec] , ==> 60 cm for 6 seconds For 0,875 [mm] wire: 4 * ___ [Amps] = [cm/min] example: 4 * 120 [Amps] = 480 [cm/min] = 8 [cm/sec] , ==> 48 cm for 6 seconds 1 inch = 2.51 [cm] or 2.5 [cm]

[@azza9423]

prasiprassi Thank you soooo fucking much!

[@Fuckoff-1]

prasiprassi god damn ty i was sitting there like okay 0.03 which is 0.75 times.. life saver

[@prasiprassi]

aronS:') I just adjusted the formula from American units to International units. I think i took the original formula from the video or a link the guy provided.

[@MotorCycleTheray]

+prasiprassi is there a chart I can see on the internet somewhere with all the settings? and for wire speed, what if it's 0.9mm thick?

[@prasiprassi]

MotorcycleTherapy You can google "welding charts" and look around but it will most likely be for a specific machine.

[@poopwoop99]

Just bought my first DIY grade MIG. I can stick weld easy but couldn't get my MIG to run right. Thanks for all the help here - project tomorrow to get it running right!

[@barkatkhan4426]

Thank you sir, you're the best teacher. this is helpful for me.

[@hakimmic]

Thank you for the mig basics videos.

[@elepskymillan]

I enjoy your videos Jodi! thanks for all the great content.

[@1duskyknight]

Thank you very much for the great tips. I'm new to welding and i would not consider myself a welder in any shape or form. I managed build a steel shed although the welds looked like pigeon poop it held up and your video has helped me a great deal to produce better welds. Thanks again.

[@TheMetalMageArtEmporium]

This is great! Thanks so much, I love your videos and your podcast. Thanks for sharing all that knowledge in your noggin for free, much appreciated!

[@akbychoice]

Welded thousands of hours with pow-con welders. They were great welders.

[@home-slicedevin2614]

Thank you for your videos man I've learned alot I am now a welder thanks to you i passed my test 3 days ago so thank you

[@kikikirikiw]

Could you do that chart in metric please for all of us Europeans watching. Love you're channel. Greetings from Slovenia 😊🇸🇮

[@kaidahlqvist8778]

He is simply multiplying the thickness in thou with a factor to get inches. You can do the same in millimeter. 2mm thickness * 1000 * Factor = Wire Feed Speed in meter/minute. Millimeter is a "thou" of a meter!

[@Clete88]

I seriously doubt you'll be teaching that lady of yours welding anytime soon! Appreciate your knowledge and willingness to share. You are top notch.

[@keithvance3352]

Loved it you teach in an easy to learn method that makes perfect sense

[@stevehicks8314]

enjoyed your information about welding, you give great and accurate video's, thanks and have a blessed day

[@waterboy8999]

Brilliant end Jody, your lovely lady was full on taking it all in!

[@outdoorzone]

Excellent tips Jody!!! Never knew that method!!

[@rotlerin]

Hey Jody you broke your rule . . . . . . never bring welding into the house. From the look on your wife's face I guess she just loves you weldingtipsandtricks and all. Bless you both.

[@hacc220able]

Excellent demo - thanks for sharing.

[@douglasalan7786]

No comments in two years ??? This is the best vid on the net to learn how to set a mig for a noob. I'm sitting here with a kid who speekee zero Ingwish....but he gets it ! Back out to the shop. OH. Its an autoset 211 but I want him to learn the real method. The tapped lIncoln 140 on CO2 is what he starts on.The dude is a great stix welder so he can read a puddle.

[@anthonyfieldthetrollbuster9930]

Ive watched plenty of videos on how to determine the wire feed speeds by using the 6 second rule and measuring the amount of wire thats fed from the gun and making a quick chart for future reference. Yesterday I learned something interesting about this process and decided to share my findings because Ive not seen mention of it anywhere else. Like the welder you were demonsrating mine has the clickable power settings and an infinately adjustable wire feed knob. For no reason at all I set my power knob to the lowest of 6 available settings and did the test for all 10 wire feed settings and even wrote my results on the top of my welder and decided I was done for the day. I packed everything away and was sat looking at the results thinking they all looked a little on the low side, so I dragged my machine back out and did the same test on the highest of the 6 settings and EVERY SINGLE NUMBER was DOUBLE that of the lowest setting indicating to me that the machine speeds the wire feed speed up the higher the power knob is set. Of course I did thetest for the other 4 power settings and the IPM's were in between the lowest and highest setting so now I have 6 IPM charts that correspond to the different power settings of my machine. As Ive said Ive not seen any mention of this phenomenon anywhere else so I would be interested to hear what any of you reading this think of this and ask that you try it on your own machines and see what results you get. Ive got 2 other machines to try this on and one of them is a 3 phase 350 Amp monster with 12 power settings so I will be doing the same test on those when I get back into my unit. Hope this helps and I look forward to any responses.

[@hcfab1397]

Thanks! I've got a thermal arc 211i and love it. Great video as usual!

[@jessemarin5044]

I had an instructor tell me your voltage is 10% of your wire feed. Inwas on a Lincoln machine and didn't get very far as inwas burning tips. So after a bit, I went to the machines recommendation, and it worked. 256 Lincoln is what I used, a nice machine. 20A at 500 wf is where it was happy at. I did 20 at 200 and I couldn't get going like it was too hot and burning back the wire into the tip.

[@ateleskier7066]

The #1 go-to location on the Net for solid welding tips. Come here and learn to do it right first time.

[@DannerPlace]

I'm just learning to weld, and and watching your videos. Great stuff, thank you for doing all this :-)

[@TG8Z]

Ive seen all your videos you always have good advice. Thanks again!!

[@gabmik38]

Great video, very smooth welds, wished I could be 1/2 that good

[@jimgam730]

So Jody, what did she tell you to do when you ran out of 030 wire and you had to use the 024?

[@brodywolverine5143]

Man your videos are helpful. Great job

[@dadams19111]

Thank you for all of the tech tips!

[@kellie4115]

That chart is awesome thanks!

[@whasumara73]

Thank you. Great teaching.

[@Velvethamma]

Great tutorial

[@markproulx1472]

Huge thanks for including the “bird’s nest” sequence!

[@shootemgamebirds6899]

Congrats on your 100000 subscribers

[@malayrojak]

Well over 500k subs now. Talk about an explosion in 4 years.

[@mrPauljacob]

Good video man always learning stuff from you, being im an ametuer welder.

[@jimc6481]

excellent video sir...thank you.

[@RBurgendy100]

Jody, You really are a big help to beginner welders. I used your vids for studying when I was in school. Never welded before like the other students. Some how I got all A's. Thanks for taking your time to help others. :) :) One question. I'm looking at getting my own welder now that I bought a house. Should I pay an electrician to wire up an outlet for a more powerful machine? I'm thinking I'll only weld up to 1/2 in. material

[@Inspironator]

Jodi, I really like this method. I'm sold on it. The recommended settings on different machines are just wrong, IMO. I used to rely on manufacturer charts at first, but not getting the best welds consistently. So I started tweaking, based on experience, but that wasn't perfect either. This makes too much sense not to use it! Cheers and Props.

[@gordylocks]

Thank you! I was unsure of how to go about looking for a chart a mig welder at my work. I've experimented around with my personal welder and i can adjust it relatively easy. Its a 140 amp/115volt welder where as my works is a 230 volt type that had different size wire. I'm not a professional welder but actually a auto/fleet mechanic so i get scared having to weld haha. Anyhow i did find your website and got the charts you showed in this video and had hard time reading/understanding them but now all that is clear as mud...haha just kidding! I didnt understand that you had to set wire speed and then adjust the voltage bu i get it now haha. I wanted to do some practice tomorrow as i have some garbage trucks which need couple steps rewelded back on. Oh, and i also have some light holders which also need to be installed so they have some additional backup lights. Thanks again for your awesome and helpful videos!!!!

[@sunnydhiman3940]

you are Doing good job for welding world

[@r3d33m3dn78]

Welding for the past 15 years, I have a pretty good idea what settings are needed (voltage/wfs) whether pulse, spray, short arc On water cooled 455 or my miller 211 in my garage. My approach seems to be the opposite but works for me. I set the voltage for the material and dial in the wfs. Reason i do it that way is there was always a cheat sheet under the door. :)

[@olddawgdreaming5715]

Thanks Jody great information.👍👍

[@jonarbuckle1560]

Thanks, Jody. Please keep making videos :)

[@enveng4279]

One thing that I learned just recently that will lead to a totally frustrating experience is running shorter contact tips where you really need long ones. Because the machine tries to maintain a constant voltage the increased stickout decreases amperage a ton. You have to use the right length tips for your gun.

[@brustdiesel]

Mrs. Weldingtipsandtricks.com is just WOW! Lucky dog you...

[@evyatarbar9411]

Thank you, its was very helpfull.

[@michaelnishizawa6688]

Loving these videos. I'm actually waiting on a Hobart 210 MVP to arrive. I grew up welding stick but I haven't done anything in probably 20 years and never used a MIG. The 210 just looked like the best option to me for flexibility since I don't have any equipment and about 4 or 5 projects to get done that are very different. My question is, do you have any specific tips, tricks, or quirks with this particular welder that you've discovered and would like to share?

[@Stadpad]

love these videos!!!

[@adammurray3560]

Thank you so much for the video.

[@1Splat]

Jody, thank you for your videos. I just subscribed but havent seen all your vids yet. Is there a video that goes over Mig welding different thickness metals together? Thanks and may God bless you brother.