Chicago Electric MIG 170 owner manual Basic Welding Technique, Stringer bead

Basic Welding Technique

1.Press (and hold) Trigger and contact area to be welded with electrode wire to ignite arc.

2.For a narrow weld, you can usually draw the wire in

a steady straight line,	stringer bead	weave bead
this is called a stringer bead.
For a wider weld, draw the wire back and forth
across the joint,
this is called a weave bead and takes
practice to perform properly.

SAFETY

3.Hold Torch in one hand and the face shield in the other. If a hands-free welding shield (not included, see #6, page 4 for guidelines) is used, then both hands can be used to control Torch.

4.Direct the welding wire straight into the joint. This gives an angle of 90° (straight up and down) for butt (end to end) welds, and an angle of 45° for fillet (T-shaped) welds.

5.The end of torch should be tilted so that wire is angled anywhere in-between straight on and 15° in the direction you are welding. The amount of tilt is called the drag angle.

6.The welding wire should extend no more than 1/2″ past the tip.

This distance is called stickout or CTWD - Contact Tip to Work Distance.

Weld Torch angles,

viewed from front of weld joint.

45° 90°

fillet weld joint butt weld joint

Drag Angle

0-15°

	Stickout
Weld	(up to 1/2″)
Direction

SETUP

BASIC WELDING

WELDING TIPS

MAINTENANCE

SKU 68885 For technical questions, please call 1-800-444-3353. Page 21