Welding Tips and Tricks

Using a Hobart 180 Handler, C25, .030 solid wire. I'm trying to lap weld 2.6mm sheet steel and this welder does not have a recommended setting for this thickness. It only gives settings for 1.6mm and the next step up for 3.2mm.

How can I use one of these settings to get a quality weld?

My thought process is to use the 1.6mm setting and have a slightly slower travel speed and a lightly slower wire feed. On the 3.2mm setting is to use a slightly faster travel speed with a very slightly longer stick out. I'm probably way off base with these thoughts so I'm asking for some advice. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

I’d probably opt for lower settings and slower speeds and take my time. If you go with 3.2 you’ll be racing to keep from blowing out the material and potentially get a poor weld as a result.

If you can read the puddle, using lower settings shouldn’t cause as much issue. Or you could try higher heat and slower wire setting on some scrap pieces to see what mixture gets you where you want to be.

Split the difference then adjust as needed

Would going with the lower settings on thicker metal be affected positively by preheating the workpiece?

A preheat seldom hurts on aluminum or mild steel. I’d avoid it with stainless or other exotic alloys.