Anything welding

I was planning on building something like that and mounting it on the wall above the bench haha

 

The set of Raptor sliders I built for my buddy came back from Line X and I welded them on today. He was stoked and so was I with the way they turned out.

 

If your worried about strength you could put a doubler with plug weld holes that covers past the repair.

 

Maybe you got this figured out but... Volts x Amps = Watts. So, 19v @90a = 1710 watts. (A little more than your toaster) Take 1710 Watts, divide by 120v, you get... 14.25 amps. 30A circuit, if you indeed have 30A, will be plenty!

Your welder is basically a big converter (of ac to dc and from one voltage to another... and a pretty efficient one, at that) So for a rough estimate, power out is about 70-80% of power in.

I hope you get the welder - so fun.

 

Your bench is looking sweet. Don't you love how the minute there's a new flat surface in your shop it gets full of crap!? I feel like every time i turn around I discover something I inadvertently left on my welding table.

 

Thank you for that clear post.

I've been running off 30a breakers for years. I've never tripped one.

 

I know this isn’t as much about welding as it is structural but I’m building a 4x5 trailer and was hoping on of you guys could answer this. Would 2x2x3/16 steel be overkill for a expo trailer ? Or should I step down to 1/8?

 

I admittedly hadn’t pieced it all together quite like that lol, but I really appreciate the breakdown, zero worries now!

I am happy to say I have a welder on the way! I decided to go a slightly different route than the Hobart 140.. I was doing some google and YouTube studying and the “YesWelder 205DS” kept showing up, so I looked into it and ultimately decided to give it a try. It’s new, and there isn’t much in the way of longevity reports, but people seem to love it and say it’s a pretty capable machine, and the price was amazing! Brand new from their site, with a consumables kit, shipped - 344.

Spent my savings on some nice ppe and tools. Very excited to start learning this skill after years and years of saying I’ve wanted to!

 

Interested to hear what you think of that welder once you've got it in hand.

 

I won’t have much background experience to compare it to, but I’ll be sure to come back and share my thoughts from the novice viewpoint. My cousins’ husband does teach welding and is local enough, maybe I’ll take it over there and have him show me the ropes and give his thoughts for a more versed perspective.

 

If you have someone local enough that teaches welding, you may want to go pay him a visit and get a lesson or two before you invest in a welder. If I had that opportunity, I would have gotten a tig welder. They are much more universal than a mig welder but they do require more skill to use. He may be able to find you a good deal on a welder too.

 

I’m sure it’d be well worth the trip, I’ll definitely reach out to him.

This can Tig, just gotta get a torch (I think that’s the right nomenclature). I have so much to learn!

 

Speaking of tig.... my 20-year wait is finally over - i'm reunited with the world of tig. Man, have i missed it!!! First project is a new set of bed rails for a bigger RTT and decided to go for aluminum. I was mostly welding stainless back in the day.... so this will definitely be an adventure. Set about practicing this morning. Second tig bead in 20 years: (not going to show you the first - ha ha!)


I definitely have some kinks to work out:


Chopped it open and took a look:


I know i need a little more penetration. Whacking one of the uglier welds open with a hammer from the inside made it fracture, but when i hammered on another weld from the outside it just folded over without cracking... so i think i'm getting close. The horizontal weld was a fillet - the vertical one a butt weld.


ANY/all feedback/tips welcome.

 

Nice, I’d love to learn tig welding. One day I’ll get a multi purpose machine that can tig and stick weld. That is really neat to see your work cut open to see the penetration. I think I’ll follow your lead and do the same soon with some square scrap and see how good my mig welding skills are.

One question, for tig welding aluminum, do you not need to bevel the edges like you do when mig welding steel?

 

If you really want to see it, there’s a certain process you can follow and it makes it very visible. Basically cut a cross section and polish it up with something. I’ve never tried it though.

 

We finally have proof that you’ve built more than one set of sliders!

they look boss btw

 

I think so if welding thicker than 1/16”. But I’m a hack. Someone who knows what they’re doing should set us straight...

I wonder if that works with al? You can kind of see the weld metal just bare if you get the finish and light just right.

 

Hahahaha!! So now I’ve built 2 sets!!!! Woooo!!

I appreciate it man. My buddy Nic was stoked so I’m happy about them

 

Not a clue! I’d be curious as well. I’m sure there’s a process for it one way or another.

 

You can macro test pretty much any material. Just takes different chemicals generally. Nital is common for mild steel while Al uses a Hydro something mixture (stainless, copper, ect have different chemicals too). There are household chemicals that will work though. Like rust removal jelly and drano. Obviously wont be as effective/quick but still do a decent job for the people wanting to do it at home just to see