Pick your material and thickness below for wire size, voltage, wire speed, and gas - the same lookup that's built into the app. Works for mild steel, stainless, and aluminum.
Starting points for short-circuit transfer on a standard wire-feed MIG. Always fine-tune on scrap before running the joint - your machine, stickout, and travel speed all shift these numbers.
.023" and .030" wire for sheet metal under 1/8", .030"-.035" for 1/8"-1/4" steel, .035"-.045" for anything thicker. Thinner wire on thick steel just means you're feeding forever to get enough fill.
Voltage controls arc length and bead width. Once that sounds right - a steady "frying bacon" crackle, not popping or buzzing - adjust wire speed (amperage) until penetration looks right on a test piece.
75/25 argon-CO2 is the all-around choice for mild steel. Straight CO2 runs hotter and cheaper with more spatter. Tri-mix or 98/2 argon-O2 for stainless. 100% argon for aluminum with spray transfer.
Keep stickout around 3/8" to 1/2". Drag the gun slightly (10-15° push angle) for cleaner sheet metal welds, or push it for deeper penetration on thicker material.
This page covers the basics for steel, stainless, and aluminum. The app's full MIG settings tool covers every material and thickness combination Pocket Welder Helper tracks, plus your machine logbook so you can save what worked last time.