Equipment/MIG Welder/Refresher

Please don't use this until I've had it checked by someone competent -- 21st Feb 2013 booyaa

If someone's using the laser cutter, wait until they have finished. Welder can interfere. Hopefully we can put them on separate circuits sometime :)

wear suitable clothing boots, trousers that cover boots, nothing valuable that you wouldn't want a spark to land on
clean table (thing about what might burn if the molten metal falls through)
welding curtain in place
make sure the bit of metal you're working will have good contact with earth clamp. if you have to use wet and dry sandpaper to clean the surface
turn on gas (anti clockwise) don't lock to max, you might need to turn it off quickly
turn on regulator (clockwise) don't red line
rule of thumb with gas is you want to use as little as possible, it's only being used as an envelope around the metal and flux(?) to avoid oxidiation.
turn on welder you want the dials to be on 3 of 10 on feeder, 3 of 6 on power. generally you want both of these dials to be in the middle.
go slow, look for clean greyish bloom around your work.

clean work surface will avoid shit results
have a good quality finish or at least clean (no raggy edges or warp) to avoid shit results

galvanised zinc (our planters and tubing that looks like scaffolding) and chrome are fatal over time

Anonymous