I’ve been welding for over 90% of my life. My Grandpa Lanning taught me as a kid and I’ve been welding ever since. When I learned there were no diagrams or charts or anything like that, other than what came on or in the welder lid that gave you an idea of where your settings should be based on material. And that was only after I started MIG welding which was more than a decade after I first learned on an ARC stick welder. I learned from my Grandpa who always taught me to listen to the sound of the welding and also to pay attention to the shape of the bead. Those tips still work, but nowadays there are a lot fancier machines, a lot more information, and YouTube to help you learn anything you could possibly want.

That’s great for new welders, because you can not only be told what is right but also get to see it in practice.

In this video you are going to learn how Wire Speed and Voltage work together to create a weld size and shape that is appropriate for they type of welding you are doing, and more specifically the direction and orientation of the weld. This is especially important when starting out, because the wrong settings can make it more difficult to actually make a solid weld and also will make them not look as nice which is discouraging when you are first getting started. For a veteran, you might adjust your technique a bit when hopping from one orientation to the next in order to make the weld pretty, but beginners aren’t going to have that ability and it can be frustrating.

So use the advice in this video to do some of your own testing and let us know what you think.

Video Description:

I’ve been asked a number of times to try and do a quick video on setting up a welder for a beginner. This is how to set the wire speed (amperage) to match your desired voltage setting (heat).

This is done with a gas for Short Circuit welding (your local supply store will help you with getting the correct gas). This is the “normal” welding technique for all position welding. Down hill welding is only performed (some exceptions apply) via short circuit welding.