Mig Welding Thin Square Tubing

Subscribe to my channel for more weekly videos.

Follow Welding Tips & Tricks on social media to see what I’m up to:

Join the discussion with thousands of welders at the Welding Tips & Tricks forum
In this video I used the Lincoln Powermig 210mp along with .025" er70s-6 wire.
The recommended settings for 16 ga were 17 volts and 240ipm but I went a bit hotter with 18 volts and 305 ipm.

[EnsignRho]

I thought myself a pretty good welder, better than most, back in my 20s. An older guy at our company named Peanut was welding thin large diameter tubing with 3/32" 6010. He was running a particular amperage and I thought I could turn it up about 7 amps and make a better weld. He said, "Sure. Go for it, " and handed me the stinger without hesitation. I setup the machine, got in position, and did my best for about 8" or so, but knew it wasn't working, and I wasn't going to be able to do any better, and was actually doing a little worse with the higher heat. I finished it up, we both looked at it as I said, "Here ya go, Peanut." He turned the machine back down and said, "Thank you, Rick."

Will never forget that slice of humble pie, nor Peanut's cool, calm, and confident demeanor in giving young cocky me an opportunity to embarrass myself in front of an old welding sage. :-) Learned an important lesson that day. It's stuck with me.

[promodsteve]

Nothing better than sittin on the couch with a cold one and learning. Love it.

[Newfive]

Don't care what trolls say or others... I am welder by trade and business... I enjoy watching and even catch few things here and there.. refresher is always good... isn't that why we all take a shower???

[andrewjackson]

I learn something new everytime I watch your videos. Often I watch a video twice and still learn something new the second time. Time to get out the everlast welder and try out what I've learned from you.

[mechpatt]

The Michelangelo of MIG!
Thanks for the videos, learn something every time!

[CGT]

This week, my brother and I built 150' of iron fence with 2x2 posts and rails, 1/8" for posts and 13ga rails. Pickets were probably 16ga, 3/4". We had plenty of these joints to weld. For the vertical down, there was a decent gap between the parts and I angled the gun so that the tip was almost up and then used an in and out motion into the puddle as I moved down. It made for nice looking beads that were flat across the face. Penetration was plenty for what it is and I focused the arc on the outer corner of the 1/8" material to not blow through the thinner rails. The miller 211 inverter worked great on 1/8" autoset. I wish it had voltage and wire scales instead of meaningless numbers on dials. The autoset works very well and is fast to change settings when doing different types of joints. My brother liked the 211 so much, he is going to sell his 252 and get the 215 as he needs something more portable and able to run from a generator. At least the 215 has volt and wire speed readouts, which will be great for him as he knows the numbers from the 252. Great video!

[TheDoofConquers]

Just started a new job where they were willing to take on beginner welders. The only experience I have is from trade school a couple years back. I found it funny that you made a video on square tubing and talked about redirecting heat so you don't blow a hole in the edge. I cannot count how many times I made a hole and had to have help "patching" a hole. But I aim to get the hang of it. It's a tough job being a fabricator/welder.

[guzzifabrication]

Thanks again Jody! a video on understanding the relationship of wire speed/amperage and how to really fine tune the two, would really unlock a lot of doors. Thanks again

[Tinwoodie]

Thanks for the video Jody, you really helped me out as I just bought a used Lincoln 180C for similar projects. This has saved me a ton of time trying to dial it in! And a big THANK YOU for all the work you have put into making such great videos, always interesting and easy to understand. It's almost like your standing next to a guy politely telling him what he's doing wrong. Your'e the man!

[billdlv]

Nice Jody, having the smaller wire is super versatile, I've found having the 0.035" it's really hard to weld the thin stuff. But the 0.025" you can crank up in a pinch and weld thicker metal.

[bjaminf]

I know this is old, but thank you so much for these videos!

[benjaminmoore]

Greatest welding videos on the Internet. Please do some videos with pulse mig. Bob is doing some pulse mig videos with an everlast welder. I'd like your views on pulse mig too.

[robingibson]

Thank you so much for time and patience, Excellent instruction!!!! I always learning something from you.

[mikedimaio]

Great tips and am always amazed at your photography.

[fetalmistake]

i like how scientists always assume something and if you tell them otherwise they explain it in super technical terms but tbh i like your approach. If it works it works and dont let anybody tell you different!

[ChrisB]

I sure wish I was younger with a steady hand, and had your skills Jody. :)

[neilwilson]

i just started mig welding ...have to weld up 1.6mm gal steel for patio dog work machine in running .8 wire would you advise dropping down to .6mm?
could you please do a demo using .8 and show what you would do different....cheers neil ....love your work!

[djmkrr]

I never thought about it until now - the idea that the thicker side will indeed take the heat better than the edge there. That's something I should be thinking about more often.

[ianjoubert]

Thank you for doing thin wall tubing Jody! Please do some more!

[plantcitychuck]

Nice beads.i used to arc weld but never had a chance to mig.it wasnt widely used out in the field.probably more of a shop application.always wanted to try it