350P on the lower side with plated steel

[FusionKing]

I have left my 200 spoolmate and 10-A feeder over at a buddies shop so I can fool around with thinner gauge steel when needed over there.
This has left a hole in my set-up. I had never tried the 350-P on thin steel other than once I had tried to weld some decorative windmill blades for my mother using .045 and 90/10 spray mix. I sucked with that.
Well anyhow this nice lady who lived down the street brought by a dog kennel door. She had it crammed inside her car. How could I turn that down?
As you can see she already attempted to "weld" it herself
So I went and bought me some 75/25 and some .035 wire.
Trust me I was prepared to fail mentally...this gate/door had all the parts actually worn thru each other and it was also IMO cadium plated. If it was galvanize it was certainly thinner than most of the galvanize I have done before.
I just read the chart on the machine and set it as low as it went (the chart)
and expected it to still be hot because this machine has always been hot to me.
Now don't anybody start going on about my bump technique causing a crystaline microstructure or whatever!!
My goal here is to show what I have found using the 350-P on the low end of the chart on straight mig/no pulse on thin steel. I planned to get a roll of .023 someday and play with that but I would need different drive rolls and my results here sorta made me feel like this is maybe all I will ever need.


This was some pretty thin crap (and I do mean crap!!)

[FusionKing]

[FusionKing]

So I knocked off the "JB" with my Gerber.... easily a 1/4" gap and I'm guessing 24 gauge?









and barely hit it with the wire wheel



as you can see I had welded on the other side before I remembered to take pics

[FusionKing]

so I welded a bit up the hill forehand and stopped and shot this pic...





and changed positions, and rolled on down the hill backhanded




altogether happy as a pig in slop with a sloppy mig weld on a piece of trash!!
Mainly because my 400 amp monster can do small stuff like a little machine if I need to.

[FusionKing]

OH yea..almost forgot....I looked at the chart AFTER I made those welds and realized I could have set the inductance between 20-40.
I didn't spot that before and had it set on 50.
I wish I would'a played with that...that may be the last piece of thin steel I get to weld for a year!
I just don't happen for me much.

[metal-doctor]

Nice to know you have a machine capable of that wide of heat range. That machine always made me wonder if the bottom heat range would give acceptable results or not. Now we know & thanks for that info & cograts to Miller for a fine piece of equipment. Have you done other thin material like 1\8 or 14 guage? If so where you happy with the job it did or not?

[Desertrider33]

Nice job.

The 350P does do very well on light gauge as well as heavy. I used to weld .040-.080 aluminum with the 350P when I worked at my production welding job.

[FusionKing]

Metal Doc...Yea I done a trailer tongue on my Bobcat trailer last sping and it was 1/8th.
That was with the 90/10 and .045 and it seemed fine at the time.
I'm sure the .035 and 75/25 would have been better.
I may have used pulse on that tho...I have slept since then
Seems like all the steel I work with is as crappy as the aluminum I get as well.
It does thin aluminum like a dream.

[metal-doctor]

Thanks for answering that ,Much appreciated.

[SundownIII]

Dangit FK,

How'd you know I been eyeing a MM350P to upgrade the MM251.

Now you post up photos doing low end mig and brag about how well she does aluminum. You trying to get me to spend some more money?

Seriously, nice work.

It's little stuff like that that I keep the HH187 around for. Heck, truth be known, it's probably got more time on it in the last six months than the Miller.

Later