Mig Speed Woes

[pdwiley]

Originally Posted by Katoh

The biggest hassle with the spool gun is finding the spools, and expensive to-boot. I'm thinking I might buy a 6kg roll and make a unit were I can just re-roll the used spools. I look at it like this, If you run out of line on your fishing reel you don't buy another reel, do you? The only thing is I would either have to guide the vire with a cloth or gloves so not to contaminate it.

Friend of mine does that and says it works fine. He uses a lathe on slow speed to spin the small spool and guides the wire using a stick with a hole in it. This for flux cored wire.

While I do have a spool gun I prefer to use the gun that gets fed from the 15kg wire spool but my MIG only weighs 40 kg with its wire spool and I lift it on the gantry if I have to. Different story with the big old transformer units.

PDW

[Katoh]

PDW

Friend of mine does that and says it works fine. He uses a lathe on slow speed to spin the small spool and guides the wire using a stick with a hole in it. This for flux cored wire.

Great Idea, love the stick part keep the hands and contaminates off the wire. I have a spare lathe could be just the ticket.
Don't think Ill be lifting that old mig must weigh 60kg empty, plus my project is outside, no gantries to hang off.
Thanks

[pdwiley]

You're welding aluminium IIRC. I'd probably use a piece of UHMW (white plastic breadboard) as the wire guide.

Put a brake on the big spool so it can't overrun. A spring bearing on the side of the spool is probably enough.

I built my workshop first, then the gantry setup, then the steel grid base and only after all that I started on the boat.

PDW

Originally Posted by Katoh

PDW
Great Idea, love the stick part keep the hands and contaminates off the wire. I have a spare lathe could be just the ticket.
Thanks