Anything welding

I had a kid come up and ask me how to use a pipe wrap once. He went from helper to fitter to welder real quick. I made sure if it.

But I agree. There's a dangerous curve coming up we're old dogs like you guys are checking out and more young guys need to talk less, kiss more ass, and realized you need to barter labor and good work in exchange for tips and tricks of the trade.

 

I seem t have good luck welding tube. For me, if the one metal is thicker than the other, it helps the most.

 

Speaking of pipe wrap, I need to replace mine.

Dark or white?

 

@koditten How do you decide your settings with multiple thicknesses?

 

Trial and error mostly.

A test, surface weld on the thicker iron 1st. If I like what I see, then I'll "wash" the weld puddle over the thinner tubing. This tube was actually exhaust pipe. I had a the local muffler shop bend the hoops. I had no idea if I was going to be able to weld it at the time. It actually came out quite nice.

 

Dark. Is that even a question? Haha

 

By ear.

 

Y’all are awesome.

 

My first thought was adjust welding technique to how the machine is set.

Thinking of those days before remotes when it could have taken 20 minutes or longer to get to the truck

Kinda like dealing with arc blow I just adjust to what needs done comes from practice and lots of mistakes in your learning days

 

@DoorDing I just bought a Vipercut 30 plasma cuter and have been thrilled with it. Time will tell its long term reliability.

Most people say Hypertherm is the brand to go for and everything else is not quite a hypertherm.

With that said, there are a few budget and entry level cutters that I found in my research.
- vipercut
- eastwood
- lotus

I think the generally agreement is that they're a little risky (will they just randomly die?) compared to a hypertherm, but they're cheaper

I have VERY little experience with plasma cutters, but I'm glad to have my vipercut

http://www.gamblegarage.com and http://www.georgesplasmacuttershop.com were friendly and helpful!

 

Any used Hypertherms in your area? Definitely the recommended brand if you can afford one.

Ive got the Lotos lpt5000d and its done just fine for what it is. Its cut 1/4"...not the fastest but it does it. Can get it pretty cheap on sale.

A budget might help Economically for me was the lotos 5000 but looks like you might be willing to spend more

 

I have a Klutch 375i from Northern Tool that has been great for me. It was about $600 and I think it has been replaced by a newer version. Had great reviews and had been great for me for 3 years. They also have good customer service when you call up northern tool and need anything

 

Hypertherm #1

It seems the majority of Chinese units either work fine or fail the first use

The best thing looking at budget China built ones is ask many warranty questions .

So many times the unit has to be shipped to the importer where they say End user damage for 2/3 of the new price we will send you a reconditioned unit

Out of warranty makes a nice paper weight

The problem I have is as of yet we can`t get parts or tech support for any of these offshore built machines.

New to plasma Keep your Air dry ! Moisture and 40to 50,000 degree temperature don`t mix well

 

@DoorDing both those guys I linked are on weldingweb.com They were super helpful. I bought my vipercut from gamble and a pack of consumables from george. George is very knowledgable, I think he just runs a plasma repair shop. He knows the ins and outs of most of the machines.

lots of talk on plasmas at www.weldingweb.com

 

Just picked up a Hobart Handler 140 for my first welder. I took a class at the beginning of the year at the local community college and got my welding certificate. Now it's time to put that little bit of training to use! Also time to buy a budget chop saw...

 

I only have a little $90 shitty Amazon flux welder, but damn this thing has already paid for itself with the random uses I find for it as well as doing cmc’s for people. Can’t wait to pick up a gas capable machine and and actually learn what I’m doing.





Oh yeah and I built these half doors with it as well! So much fun.

 

...you mean budget bandsaw...

 

People just seem to love Chop Saws till they need to use one for a day

 

My exact feeling on carbonarc'n

 

Please do yourself a favor sit down and read the owners manual!!

The number of people that buy a new machine and bring it in when it is doing just what it should be and on the other hand others put up with problems from new to it is out of warranty

I have never heard of any compressor problems since the 30 air is made for using where no shop air is available I have only seen a couple since they came out