Can't weld upside down.

[Landy-Novice]

been set a job and done alll the welding on the bench that i can but as soon as it comes to welding upside down, it wont have it. it just jumps on to the shroud.

on the bench, absolutely fine.

but upside down, this happens instatnly. i clear it out and it does straight away.

i tried increasing and lowering amps, gas and wire speed but still didnt work. in the mask i see the weld just runs down the wire and then welds itself to the shroud.

any ideas?

thanks.

[Tanuki]

More Amps, more wire-feed.... bits of 'spelter' dropping back into the shroud can cause a flashover between the wire and the shroud.

[Lewis]

Clean your work peice

But most of all get some tip dip or spray the inside of the shroud and the tip with anti-spatter spray, trust me it'll revolutionise your upside down welding

[steve b]

.....I'd recommend the opposite - sorry

slower and less current would mean a smaller weld but big hot welds overhead take a lot of practice , if required a double weld could be

run , otherwise your welding looks good oh and clean metal makes the world of difference too

cheers

Steveb ......and where's the welding smiley when you need it ?

edit to say crossed your post Lewis , anti spatter spray/dip is good too but that is wire globule running back to the tip

the main thing is practice LN

[Bowie69]

Oh, and tip the torch to one side, stops a lot of the spatter just falling in, I turn the gas up and move the torch a little further away.

Oh, and CLEAN the workpiece! There should be NO rust visible if you really want a good weld, and a dirty workpiece = lots of spatter.

[Eightpot]

I normally try to angle the torch so it's not totally upside down, and only weld in short pulses - stopping just before the molten metal starts to flow back, not moving the torch from the job between pulses and using the gas to cool it down a little before the next burst

[Bull Bar Cowboy]

No ............ make one continuous pass ............. keep the torch moving all the time as if you are stiching .............. take the advice of turning down both current & wire speed (but only by about 10%) ............... wear gloves and lay out of the way of falling molten metal ................ if you really want a challenge then try unside down stick welding !

[GBMUD]

Lots of contradicting advice here then, are you any wiser than when you asked? I suppose you could try each suggestion in turn... I am struggling for something contradictory to advise, have you thought of turning the workpiece over?

Chris

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

Make sure the parts being welded are as clean as possible and the gap sensible !

Turn the gas up slightly, ....turn the heat and wire speed down a bit, this will help to stop the weld puddle from coming crashing down

Hold your gun at an angle so that it is not pointing straight up, make sure you can see what you are doing

and keep the torch shroud clean as it will fill up with debris far quicker - and your weklding will suffer

If it starts to all fall out speed up movment, or stop and let it cool, but short stitch welds may look pretty but not as strong as a good single pass

[steve b]

edit to ref the missing f quote

@ GBmud ......well I weld for a living every day ........take it or leave it ...........its free advice and backed up with decades of experience

Steveb

[pete3000]

I found upside down, especially on thin metal (1.6mm LDV) to keep amps roughly the same, up wire speed a bit, and increase the distance between torch and workpiece by 5-10mm as you said has a tendency to drip back down wire.

Increasing the torch angle helps so if it does drip it wont go straight into torch. Keep your clothing/body/extremities clear though, and wear ear defs or plugs (don't ask).

For thicker metal i would probably up the wire speed and the amps as well as increasing the distance to the workpiece to get some penetration. I try to end up with the difficult upside down joints done on the bench so I can weld top down or vertical on the vehicle.

In either case if it looks to be getting a bit hot then stop and do small bursts.

[GBMUD]

@ GBmud ......well I weld for a living every day ........take it or leave it ...........its free advice and backed up with decades of experience

Steveb

Not suggesting that yours or anyone else's advice is incorrect or incomplete, just commenting on the wealth of differing opinions.

Chris

[Landy-Novice]

cheers everyone for your advice! job been put off for a while so never got to practise above ideas^^. but some more pic of my welding. 6mm plate.

[smallfry]

I find taking time to get as (relatively) comfortable as you can helps a lot too, as well as positioning youself so you can see properly, and that your movement (and the torch) is not restricted as much as possible.

In short, take your time. No good welding at arms length with a wobble on !