Anything welding

Made some upper arms for my 2500hd today

 

If you don’t mind me asking, are you a welder by trade or did you just perfect your hobby? Your work you’ve posted is amazing! I’m always impressed when people like you show your work.

 

Not a welder by trade, self taught... honestly it’s all the machine. I know lots of guys say the cheaper machines are good but once you buy a real welder it completely changes the game.

 

The miller 252 is next level...

 

Ending up anchoring big Bertha to the wall and got a 25’ gas lead. Welder barely ever moves so this made the most sense to me.

 

So how is the miller 252 different than other machines like the Hobart 190 that I use? I had a miller auto set 220v machine several years ago and sold it. I never noticed the Miller 220v (210 I believe?) machine welding better (or worse) than my Hobart 190. I assumed the more expensive machines were most adjustable like continuous adjustability versus a click on 4 and 5 for example, and a higher output to weld thicker metals on a single pass. Even my miller 210 I used to have had continuous adjustment. When I practiced a lot on a specific thickness and type of joint that I was welding I did pretty good but still not as good as your welds.

 

I like it. You’re really motivating me to make a fab table. I have a cheapo kobalt bench next to my rollaway for now and have been wanting to build a more robust table.

 

Dude, this table is seriously a game changer. I don’t know how I survived without it beforehand. It makes my life so much easier.

 

The 252 allows for infinite wire and heat adjustment. It also allows you to really turn the wire speed down so you have much better control. They also have hot start which allows the puddle to get started quicker and much smoother.
I have used a ton of different machines over the years and this one takes the cake by a long shot.

 

I bet! I’ve had ideas in my head for a while for a welding table. Heck, I’ve had ideas to outfit my whole garage for a long time. A part of the problem is that I have worked in some really nice hangars when I was bending wrenches and have been spoiled with all the goodies that come with a nice hangar. Not so much tools but just setup... fab table, hard air lines going throughout the perimeter of the shop with air chucks at every station and corner of the shop, power outlets everywhere, lighting, etc...

I do think that the fab table is a good start. I need to run a dedicated 220 outlet in my garage first. I’ve been running a 4 pin to 3 pin adapter and an extension cord from the laundry room for recent projects. Luckily the laundry room is right next to the garage but running a cord through is really annoying.

 

The hot start would be nice, I used to just put the wire about 1/2” beyond where I would start the bead then pull back while pulling the trigger to preheat the metal before really starting my welds. I only needed to do this for the thicker stuff though.

 

Been practicing TIG as much as possible lately

 

move never even looked at the extra setting menu on my 252. I figured it was just pulse and maybe a post flow. Hot start sounds cool. Can you imagine what the 255 welds like. I’m on my second 252 it’s definetly my favorite machine out of all the ones I’ve owned.

 

309 stainless. Got 16-20 of these things to knock out at work. Forgot how long stainless stick takes lol. 2 layer requirement so 3/32 root and 1/8 cap.

 

I was thinking about you the other day and if you’d found work yet. Not sure what reminded me of that, but glad you found something.

 

Yes sir. Been here 6 months as of June 20th. Did ask for a raise as I have taken more qual’s and am the highest qual’d welder in the shop now. So we will see how that goes. If the money doesn’t show that my extra efforts were worth it then I might start looking for a higher paying shipyard or work my way into a nuke plant or power plant of some sort like I’m used to. This navy shipyard stuff is fun but it’s not the quality of life and work as I was hoping it would be.

 

Shock relocate today. Plasma cutter helped greatly to cut off the brunt of the shock mounts.

 

Nice work. Do you square off the frame to get the 10 degrees

 

If you turn the plasma all the way down you can burn the weld out and then there is almost zero grinding to do. It’s like welding in reverse. Like I said with some practice you will barely have to grind.

 

A drag tip helps also