Get your foot off the darn welding cable! When you’re welding, though, it can be easy to find your foot on the cable without thinking about it.
That’s not the only problem, though. Looking down at Kevin’s feet you’ll notice a loop in the cable. That’s one of the big problems with MIG welding: you wind up a coil in the wire.
Then you’re wondering, “Why is my weld a little bit shorter? Why is my welder popping a little?” Why is my MIG welder spitting a little bit?”
When MIG welding, you want to make sure your welder cable is as straight as possible. That’s going to make everything flow better and allow the wire to move better through the cable.
A long cable is a good thing, but it can be a drawback, too. With his work, Kevin wants to get away from his welder to work on something big, walking around it and welding without having to tow the machine with him. It also gets him away from the front of the machine to give it more cooling power.
Shorter cables are great for working on a workbench, but then you have the welder noise in your ear all the time. So it’s kind of a double-edged sword.
So if you’re having a problem with your MIG welds, look down – it’s probably right at your feet.
Before you start welding, look around. Make sure your ground is out of the way, and check your cables. Run that welder cable for your MIG gun behind you where you’re not stepping on it, or push it out in front of you, perhaps underneath your workbench.
Kevin hopes these tips help you make the best MIG welds possible. He’s ready to go back to work, but you might want to hang around for another moment to see him don his safety gear thoughtfully ….