Spoolgun frustrations

[Garage guy chris]

dont mean to thread-jack...

for those with the spool gun especially on the MM210 how thin can you manage to weld im having no luck at all on 1/8" i now have a TIG too but just wondering i never did get that spool gun figured out i just figured it was for 1/4" and up

[Jetmekdc-10]

I have not tried 1/8" yet chris. I may give it a try this weekend.

[shott8283]

ive welded thiner then 1/8" with my spoolmate.. welds just fine..just had to turn down the amp nob and speed.. the guy at my LWS once told me that the spoolmate doesnt need as much amps as your M25 gun does b/c it only uses the 1lb spools instead.. i just nodded and smiled and cashed out..not sure why he said that..doesnt make alot of sense..

[captcbw]

I recently bought a 3035 for my mig machine,was very impressed with the ease of welding & weld quality. The recommendations inside the welder cover are very hot. I used to work at a job where I would use a Spoolmate II. It was very finicky, always burning back & ruining tips. I still use Tig for most of my Aluminum welding, but a friend just got me a side job of some forklift ramps; the spoolgun will get a workout.

What causes the burning back, thus ruining the tips? I have the same issues and trying to find an answer?

[aametalmaster]

What causes the burning back, thus ruining the tips? I have the same issues and trying to find an answer?

The tips nose dia is too small they heat up and the hole gets smaller. I converted my 3035 spoolgun over to the standard Miller mig gun tip and never looked back. I can even run a .030 tip with .035 alum wire and do it all day long with zero issues. All you need to do is remove the copper head tube from the barrel, chuck it up in a lathe and remove a good 1/16" from the length. Drill and tap it for 1/4-28 and put it back together. Problems gone. Plus you only need to stock one style tip instead of 2 different ones. Why didn't Miller or the other copy cats do this from the beginning...Good question. If anyone needs the lathe work done hit me up...Bob

[TS-Off-Road]

Great tip (no pun intended) aametalmaster!