How to MIG weld Carbon Steel

First thing you need is a MIG welding machine

Learn how to set the voltage and wire speed on a mig welder

primeweld mig 180 wire speed thumb

Horizontal corner and uphill mig welding

primeweld mig180 settings techniques yt thumb
WTT-Banner-first-order10-percent-2025

IF you watch all the mig videos above, you will be well on your way to learning how to mig weld

IF you want to learn how to mig weld carbon steel, you are going to need some basic equipment.

For starters you will need:

Basic Safety information ( here is a free safety download from the american welding society)

  • mig welding machine
  • cylinder of mig gas ...either C25 argon/co2 mix or pure Co2  (75/25 argon/co2 is the most popular and most versatile)
  • regulator/flowmeter
  • ER70S-6 mig wire 
  • Welding helmet 
  • Gloves
  • Other basic safety equipment like safety glasses, ear plugs, long sleeve welding shirt, etc.
  • grinder for cleaning thick mill scale prior to welding  
tig kits banner 1

The first step in learning how to mig weld carbon steel is knowing what carbon steel is.

Most of the steel we see every day is low carbon steel and can readily be welded.

But there are other grades of steel like coil springs or leaf springs on cars that are made from high carbon steel and shouldn't be welded.

No need to go much deeper than that here but if you want to learn more about metals and how to weld them, here is a page on that.

A frequently asked question is "what is a good mig welder to buy?"

Since you need a good mig welder in order to learn how to mig weld, here are a few good options for beginners.

Miller makes really good machines and the one I have enjoyed the most is the multimatic 220 ac dc (that also is a good tig welder.). its pricey for a beginner but a great machine.

The Lincoln 210 mp is also a nice welder for beginners and it also stick welds and does scratch start tig. The latest version of the 210mp is the 215mpi. I have not had a chance to try the 215mpi yet but I really like my 210mp.

The machine that has really impressed me lately is the PrimeWeld mig180.

The mig 180 is very affordable and would make a great entry level mig welder for anyone learning how to mig weld.

I will be trying out a few other more powerful primeweld machines soon but the mig 180 is the most affordable and has been working great. ( I have mostly used in on 115volt so far using a 20 amp circuit).

If you are serious about learning how to mig weld, I have a whole series of MIG basics videos for you here

learn more about the MIG 180 at weldmonger.com

primeweld mig180
primeweld mig 180 stuff

You might like these

  •  

    115v Mig Settings

    115v Mig Settings - there's wire speed & voltage but make sure you have a good ground too

  •  

    How to Mig Weld Overhead

    Mig Welding Overhead - Short Video cuts thru the Crap and shows How to Mig Weld Overhead

  • This Video on Mig Welding Basics shows how to set up a mig welder along with arc shots of what incorrect settings look like

    Mig Welding Basics

    This Video on Mig Welding Basics shows how to set up a mig welder along with arc shots of what incorrect settings look like

WTT-Banner-first-order10-percent-2025

Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how...

Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?

  1. Click on the HTML link code below.
  2. Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.
var l = window.location.href, d = document; document.write('<form action="#"><div style="text-align:center"><textarea cols="50" rows="2" onclick="this.select();"><a href="'+l+'">'+d.title+'</a></textarea></div></form>');