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Stick welding 11-29-2012 22:19:01 96.53.210.246 Report to Moderator

First thing to check is the roll of wire itself. If it's not wound properly or has come loose on the spool it will not feed properly. DON'T lube the wire spool spindle!!! The wire has to have some drag so the remaining wire doesn't start unspooling as soon as you stop welding. If the wire has become loose on the spool, it's a good possibility the whole spool will be useless for welding unless you cut off the loose wire while keeping the remaining wire tight. You may be able to adjust the brake for the spool and I've also seen it where the brake would tighten as the spool turned. You could also have a section of deformed wire on the spool from when it was made. I've seen that before too. Try a new contact tip first. 60 pounds of .023 MIG wire is 519,120 inches of wire. That's a little bit more than light use so you may need a new liner. I wouldn't use wire lube but you can get pre-lubed pads that have a very, very small amount of lube on them. Also don't over tighten the drive rolls as it will deform the wire and cause it to get hung up in the liner or contact tip. It will also cause the wire to flake off more little bits of copper that can plug the liner. [Reply]   [No Email]