Anything welding

Things fail it happens !! Sometimes a connection is not latched correctly .Summer Help !!

Boards fail , cold solder joints

Anyone not looking into a Warranty Service is some what Foolish just getting into the game.

 

Of course, Miller is a great brand, but,... here it comes...

Just food for thought, you could get a decent 180-220 amp MIG or TIG welder and a 60amp plasma cutter, and still have change for some metal, for that kind of money. If you are hobby only, the number of hours actually burning wire will be minimal. A high dollar machine may be overkill.

While I have a Hobart (bought many years ago), Harbor Freight has really improved their offerings for under $1000. They likely offer an extended warranty for purchase, since that is something you are wanting.

It'll be a good time no matter which welder you buy. Welding is addictive.

 

Oh, sure. Bring commen sense into the conversation.

Fuck it!

It's basically what I did 25 years ago. I made lots of money working out of my grandma's garage.

It only took 1 welding job and the word spread. I was busy every night doing random jobs.

 

Practicing vertical welds last night ... I went from bottom up. This is definitely tougher than my more comfortable left to right. I have many more practice sessions to go for this one haha.

I did have a really hard time seeing last night. QUESTIONS: how many hours behind the helmet until you replace the lenses? Is poor visibility a tell-tell sign to swap? I have some replacements that came with mine but haven't changed anything yet. I kept moving around trying to get better / different light and I just couldn't get a good look last night. I am using this yes welder helmet:

$72 YESWELDER Large Viewing True Color Solar Powered Auto Darkening Welding Helmet with SIDE VIEW, 4 Arc Sensor Wide Shade 4/5-9/9-13 Welder Mask for TIG MIG ARC Grinding Plasma LYG-Q800D

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PLZ8M33



and I managed to weld the seams of some frame outriggers that will be used for a 63 swap hopefully in Q1 2022:

 

I've honestly never welded a single joint uphill aside from a couple practice runs. Realized how terrible it was to fight gravity and just run them downhill. From what I understand, you get more heat and better penetration going uphill because you're going slower but that's more applicable to welding dump trucks together, not anything as thin as 1/4" and thinner which is most of what these trucks see.

As far as the hood, I just go off of how dirty the lens is. If I notice it's dirty and scratched and I'm also having a harder time seeing, I'll replace it. Good lighting is key too, some people even throw a small light on their hood itself.

 

At the risk of getting banned, I'm gonna post a porn pic:



Amazon Warehouse score for $64. Plastic sleeve had been cut but there were no witness marks indicating it had been mounted or used.

Edit: and, I had a $40 Christmas gift card from work. So, $24 dollar blade.

 

Nice blade

 

Yeah, it's what I have on my saw now. Of course, they never last as long as I'd like, but I'm gonna mount this and maybe see if I can sharpen the old one. I figure if I ruin it, at least I tried. I might try a chain saw file on it unless someone on here chimes in with another method.

 

I wonder if there is any where to send them out for sharpening, I thinks its cost effective for the good quality, high tooth blades

 

I buy all sorts of stuff through Amazon warehouse. 9/10 times the item is brand new and the box had just been opened. It's saved me hundreds of dollars.

 

Keep welding up rather than down. It’s good practice and gives better penetration/strength. Especially with stick welding it’ll help to keep out slag inclusions, but with all processes you’ll move slower fighting gravity than welding down with it and end up with a better weld in most cases. It’s not too hard after a day or two of it and it’s nice to know how rather than not.

 

Have you watched Jody's (weldingtipsandtricks.com) videos on vertical welding? He has some good tips on tip motion, heat settings, root downhill, then fill passes uphill, etc.

 

Have you watched Jody's (weldingtipsandtricks.com) videos on vertical welding? He has some good tips on tip motion, heat settings, root downhill, then fill passes uphill, etc.[/QUOTE]
Jody has the best you tube channel, really well produced with great content! I've watched alot of his

 

Assuming those are carbide teeth on the blade, you need to be very careful sharpening it. Carbide is very brittle, and can chip. Also, IIRC, the dust/filings are poisonous.

I send my woodworking blades to Forrest for sharpening. I don't know if they do metal blades, but you could check. Otherwise, I'm sure you could find a shop to sharpen your blade. Although, at $24 replacement, it might not be worth it.

 

You’re spending too much time in the middle and not enough on the sides (or going far enough in most cases). You’ll find a nice example on Jody’s mig series for vertical up, down, and overhead.

Listen to the guys who mentioned Jody at welding tips and tricks. Watch his whole mig series.

https://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/mig-welding-videos.html

Another trick I picked up from him is using this or any other plastic polish and polishing up the outer lens on the outside (obviously) but the inside of the outer lens too if you’ve got grinding dust etc. in there. Just dab some on a microfiber rag and hand polish / buff. Makes a huge difference.

Meguiar's G18116 Clear Coat Safe Polishing Compound - 16 Oz Bottle

https://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-Cle...t=&hvlocphy=9031006&hvtargid=pla-521422142786

I use a cheap-o HF hood and while I’d like a nicer one and believe that it would help in certain out of position welds, I’ve just found the lighting that works for me and used a mechanic magnet light and made sure I could always see the puddle and never guess until absolutely necessary. It takes a couple tries to figure out where that is going to be or how you need to move your body to keep sight of the puddle the whole time or as long as possible. Do a couple dry runs before sparking the electrode complete with manipulating the imaginary puddle so you know for sure that you have line of sight. And get you’re head close to the puddle. Some guys can weld at arm’s length but I believe they started out being close to the puddle and just got muscle memory over time allowing them to move further away from the puddle.

It’s good to practice up and down as there are times where either is going to suit your application. Welding up is good of course, but where you’re doing both sides of a gusset you don’t need that much penetration as much as one side of a more critical joint that is only held on one side, down is fine.

Think I went down on the other vertical side and up on the closest side (HF hood used here with a nicely polished lens). You can see I should have turned the wire feed speed down on the top after keeping it where it was for the bottom and sides as it looks like I rushed getting done and had excess weld. Machine Hobart 140, full power, 55 wfs.

 

Welding came in clutch today. The my sisters car key/fob thing fell apart and we got a new case for it, but the little screw that holds the key in was seized into it's threads. Tried vice grips on it, and it sheared off. Welded a little nut on there and it came right out!

Gonna clean it up a bit, and it should be good as new

 

@rnish if you get a $10 coupon for allowing Eastwood to spam your email, they have their 140 Mig machine for $429 free shipping right now. Best deal on a budget welder.

My friend who’s a much better welder than me and I built all of my truck (relocated coilover mount for 10” coilovers and secondaries, spring under etc.) with my Hobart 140 on 110 volt. If you can get 220 at your place and have the cash get a machine that can do both or just 220, but it’s not absolutely necessary.

 

Changing your cover plate really depends on Arc time some jobs I changed the front over every Morning having my first Work Cup of Coffee.

Because the loss of vision is so slow you really don`t notice till it is really bad.

With Vertical up welding the joint design and type of joint really comes into play . many years ago in school we started on Tee joints which to me are about the easiest.

Then learning Stick Welding first was to me much easier.

 

A different hood definitely helped me see better, especially in low light.

Maybe lighting up your work area is in order for you.

 

I have not. I have had to lay a lot of verticals stick stringers (7018) though ha.

[EDIT: FWIW, stringers are stronger than weaving but weaving sure is faster and looks better ha]

If something is really thin and I’m MIG welding I’ll weld down to avoid blowing through it.

Other than that, pretty much always up.