I'm using a Hobart 140 that i bought used, and I think i'm setting up my wire spool improperly. Now for the 2nd time on this spool, the wire has tied itself into a knot beside the spool. What am i doing wrong? It also seems that the wingnut holding the spool on has loosened itself as the roll turns. Is that supposed to happen?
I think fishermen call that backlash. It's unspooling too freely. You need the nut to remain snug. My machines use a nylon locking wingnut that doesn't loosen off.
It should feed from the bottom side of the roll, so that it makes a relatively straight line over to the rollers that feed it into the liner. If you have it feeding from the top of the roll (appears likely from the first pic) it'll rotate backwards and loosen the nut.
Pull off 18" off the new spool and put tape around or something; then put it on the axle with the nut so tight it doesn't move.
Feed the 18" through the correct size rollers (they're reversible). Take the slack out, remove the tape and loosen the nut- a little.
Before feeding wire up the handle, hit the cut end with emery so the gas you send all gets there.
In reply to Cousin_Eddie (Forum Supporter) :
That might be the ticket. I bet the nylon will let the roll spin without unscrewing the nut
The axle nut on the spool should be loose enough to allow the spool to spin freely. The wire will be held in tension on the spool by the drive roll tension. I would suggest looking at your drive rollers and drive roll spring tension. I'm wondering if you don't have your drive roll tension too tight; if it's too high and you run into an arc failure (tight tip, sticky liner, bad ground) and the feed rollers are engaging against a stationary wire, that force has to go somewhere and will usually manifest itself as a bird's nest. You want to set your feed tension so that when the wire encounters an obstacle the drive roll will slip rather than trying to feed more.
The general method for this is to feed the wire into your hand (while wearing a glove). If the wire hits your hand and continues to feed and push, your tension is too high. Turn your tension down until the drive rollers slip when the wire encounters an obstacle, and adjust to your welding style from there.
In reply to Kendall Frederick :
I actually did have it feeding from the bottom. I think really the problem is my wingnut loosening itself while in use and getting rid of all the tension
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