Vertical welds with my mig ?

[Straightshot]

Hey all, another noob here.
I just purchased a M/M 252, i'm starting mig class at the local CC in early april. I was dying to get this thing fired up and run some beads.
A friend gave me a real cheap (free) welding table, it;s 30"x72" with a 3/8" top, it seems to be pretty straight/ flat but it's been sittins out in hes feild for a couple years.
It's proving to be quite the project, a kick in the but but pretty labor intense.
I'm adding quite a few add ons that i've seen on this forum, where i'm having issues is my vertical welds ?
do I need to drop my volts down a hair, I'm getting my droopie puddles and it seems to be burning through on a couple of spots, when it does this I make a wider pool and it seems to cool enough to fill it. Any advise ?
I'm welding 2'x2' 1/8 tube, my settings are 17.5 volts and 247 feed speed, 030 wire. My index on the machine says start at 18v/250 feed but 18 was definatly too hot.
Thanks and I do love this 252, it seems to be very adjustable.

[Jeep80CJ7]

I use that machine almost everyday at work, that or the 251. When I do vertical welds my machine is set at 18.6 volts and wfs at 165-170. I keep it at these setting for any vertical weld i place. You may want to try a trigger up weld. pull the trigger let the weld fill up, release trigger, watch the color of the metal, as soon as it starts to fade(through the dark lense assuming your not using a autoshade) move up right into the root where your last puddle ended and pull the trigger let the puddle fill again, then release trigger. Repeat until weld is finished. Does that make sense?

[nfinch86]

I use that machine almost everyday at work, that or the 251. When I do vertical welds my machine is set at 18.6 volts and wfs at 165-170. I keep it at these setting for any vertical weld i place. You may want to try a trigger up weld. pull the trigger let the weld fill up, release trigger, watch the color of the metal, as soon as it starts to fade(through the dark lense assuming your not using a autoshade) move up right into the root where your last puddle ended and pull the trigger let the puddle fill again, then release trigger. Repeat until weld is finished. Does that make sense?

Jeep;
What are you telling this person to do ??

[Jeep80CJ7]

Well i figured he is only modifying a welding table. No ones life should be on the line with this project if a weld fails. I was thinking about this all day at work too. I know that's not proper welding so I should not have told him that. I actually do this alot at work when working with the 1.5"X1.5"X1/6" square tube. I would never do that on something that could kill or injure someone if the weld was to fail. So none of the stuff i do at work like that is critical in that sense.
To be honest, i'm not sure why it's improper welding. I would love to know. Maybe I will never do it again if i understood.

[SundownIII]

Jeep,

What you get is a series of "cold starts" and a poor weld. I can't believe that that's acceptable in any production environment. Bad advice.

Straightshot,

You will normally run a little less v/a(ws) when welding vertical up than you would in the flat position.

I use a MM251 but your 252 should be similar. Try setting the Volts at 16.5-17.00 and your WS to 235-280. Use a small whip from side to side, only pausing briefly at the edges and not in the center of the joint. Come up slightly with each side to side whip. The weld bead should be continuous.

You may wish to download Miller's GMAW instruction manual on technique for welding vertical up. It's available under resources at the top of the page, or better yet, go ahead and order their "Student Pack". It will be the best $25 you spend in welding.

I'd recommend practice on some scrap stock before you go to the table itself.

[Straightshot]

I appreciate the info guys, I will check Millers site and check the student pack.
I did kick the volts down to 16.7 and inched the wfs up to 260, it worked quite a bit better.
I need to practice my steady hand, I been doing a C motion and I noticed I needed to speed across the gap and stall on the edges.
I've been watching this forum for months and can honestly say you guys are pretty cool..
I'll try and get some "before & after' pic's up, if I can figure out how to do it ?
Thanks again Jon