Finally hit 100 straight frame welds without a single blowthrough

I've been working at this little shop off Route 9 in Jersey for about 3 years now, mostly doing collision work on late model sedans. Last week I had a 2018 Camry that got rear-ended pretty bad, needed a whole new quarter panel. I decided to really slow down and check my settings every single time before tacking. Usually I rush through it and get maybe 20 or 30 good welds before I mess up and burn a hole. This time I kept my gun angle steady at 45 degrees and turned my wire speed down a touch from what I normally use. After about 4 hours of work I counted 100 tacks with zero blowthroughs. Felt like I unlocked some secret level or something. Has anyone else found that just slowing down a tiny bit makes that big of a difference?

2 comments

2 Comments

hayes.joel3d ago

Boy, that right there is the truth. I had a similar breakthrough a few years back when I stopped trying to make every weld in one pass and started letting the metal cool between tacks. Slowing down your wire speed like you did is key too, it stops that hot burnthrough before it even starts.

riley_miller253d agoMost Upvoted

You ever try letting it fully cool till you can touch it between passes?