Do you want to learn how to mig weld overhead just as good as you can when the piece in laying in front of you on a bench? Of course you do or you wouldn’t be reading this.
Here’s how. (these mig welding tips only apply to 1/8″ and thicker steel)
- Don’t fear the heat
- KYSS…keep your stickout short
- Watch the angle of the dangle
- CCC…clean, clean, clean
What do I mean by don’t fear the heat? When you are a noob, you tend to think that in order to keep the weld from drooping and hanging down like a bad case of hemorrhoids, you need to turn down the voltage and wire speed. WRONG. You need to mig weld overhead just as hot as you when the weld is in the flat position right in front of you. BUT, in order to make this work, you need to…
KYSS. Keep Your Stickout Short. Too long a stickout (the amount of wire sticking out between the copper contact tip and the arc) will soften the arc and not let the beads flatten out.
Whereas using the same heat you would weld for flat position welding along with keeping your stickout short (1/2″ or less) will cause the bead to punch in and the arc force will help the bead flatten out and not sag.
Watch the angle of the dangle too. The angle of the mig gun that is. Too much angle either way is bad, 90 degrees is good and a slight drag angle is probable best for penetration but lets be real…sometimes you have to push the puddle. Just don’t get crazy with that angle whether you push or pull the mig gun.
Lastly, all the good mig welding techniques in the world wont help much if you welding on dirty, rusty, or oily metal. Use a grinder, a carbide burr, a wire brush, or whatever it takes to Clean, Clean, Clean. The metal does not have to be perfectly clean, but better too clean than too dirty.