What Machine Setting To Use.

    This is a great subject as most welders come with a basic sheet or sticker with a guide to Amp/voltage settings and in the case of MIG wire speed.

    For my old Lincoln 140C it had said sticker on the inside of the feed wire door and in some cases it came in handy but, many time as I got more familiar with the welder this "sheet" fell by the way side as I found most of the setting were to high for my eventual welding style.

   I weld slow so, I tend to adjust my machine accordingly. Lower amps/wire feed for TIG and MIG however, this is not the case for ARC (SMAW). With ARC welding I have found that following the guidelines at least for me, give me better results than trying to go slower and lower, I am usually within 10 amps of the suggested setting for the situation + - 5-10 amps or so.

   Some welders may be very fast and need higher settings than what I use, the need to know how to adjust your machine is as important as welding it's self . On the job you may not be using the same machine from day to day so the ability to compensate with the settings becomes a necessary skill, no two machine weld exactly alike even if they are New from the box same machines they will weld, in some cases very differently. 

 I found this topic on the most recent post at welding tips and tricks  and after going to the post and reading for a while I felt the need to share. The need to learn how to make a sound weld should always be a welders priority before making it pretty, which should happen in time if you stick with welding long enough to develop your own signature.

That being said-

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY WELDING !!!