Welding STICKY

[66Coupe352]

Anyone?

[Supe]

Anyone?

185 amps is PLENTY of output for just about anything you could possibly need to weld on a racecar.  For exhaust, headers, etc, you won't even come close to the output of that machine.

[66Coupe352]

Good stuff. Should be here next monday!
Next up is a tubing bender...or I may just use my friends one haha.

[MSM69Z28]

no expert by any means.  i would say I am decent with mild steel TIG and MIG.  Not as pretty as those stainless headers, NLR-Power and Control, but gettin' there.

i am playing with aluminum now.  in my opinion, aluminum can be easier in many ways if its very clean and your settings are just right, otherwise, it is not forgiving and really comes out like crap.  Mild especially, but stainless as well, are much more forgiving, but aluminum can really lay down the dimes when all go right. 

pic of first time practices:


after some more practice:




Thanks,

Michael

[turbo cat]

welding with socks and sandals?  This is some good info as Im going to start practicing some TIG soon

[MSM69Z28]

lol.  yea, i saw that in the picture after I posted it, and was waiting for someone to say something.  first, socks with sandals is gay, in my opinion, so it is embarrassing as it is.  it went down like this.  After I got done welding, I went in the house to do some flat bench reps with 400lbs and then quench my thirst with a jack daniels straight up, and just had a lapse in judgement when i slid some sandals on to walk out to take a quick pic.  make no mistake about it, i am a 6' foot man whore that nails a new chic every night.  anyone believe me?   

[mootang]

lol.  yea, i saw that in the picture after I posted it, and was waiting for someone to say something.  first, socks with sandals is gay, in my opinion, so it is embarrassing as it is.  it went down like this.  After I got done welding, I went in the house to do some flat bench reps with 400lbs and then quench my thirst with a jack daniels straight up, and just had a lapse in judgement when i slid some sandals on to walk out to take a quick pic.  make no mistake about it, i am a 6' foot man whore that nails a new chic every night.  anyone believe me?   

LOL

[turbo cat]

Im not buying it 

[tricked-out-toy]

Ive read through the sticky a couple times over the past 6 months or so and Id like to see some more info on mig welding aluminum. I have a Lincoln 180 with a spool gun and I tried just about everything to get it lay a decent bead. Am I doing something wrong? i tried to weld it like I would steel. sometimes ill run a bead with circle or even a weave but if I tried to do anything other than drag the puddle it would blow through the aluminum. I guess the question is when welding aluminum does it "sound" the same as steel" I can get a decent bead by using the lowest head and pretty much letting ball forum up on the end of the rud untill enough heat gets into the aluminum to puddle up. once it puddles up it pull s the ball on the end of the wire in and it starts to lay up. the probelm is it "sounds" like total shit.... im kinda at a loss.... I was hoping to be able to weld my charge piping together...

[cammerfe]

Does anyone care to make a comment regarding the use of a sewing machine foot pedal to vary power going into a Harbor Freight TIG? I raised the question back in mid-summer, since it was barely suggested in one of the posts, but have had no comment. Thanks for your time!
KS

[Boomslang]

Ive read through the sticky a couple times over the past 6 months or so and Id like to see some more info on mig welding aluminum. I have a Lincoln 180 with a spool gun and I tried just about everything to get it lay a decent bead. Am I doing something wrong? i tried to weld it like I would steel. sometimes ill run a bead with circle or even a weave but if I tried to do anything other than drag the puddle it would blow through the aluminum. I guess the question is when welding aluminum does it "sound" the same as steel" I can get a decent bead by using the lowest head and pretty much letting ball forum up on the end of the rud untill enough heat gets into the aluminum to puddle up. once it puddles up it pull s the ball on the end of the wire in and it starts to lay up. the probelm is it "sounds" like total shit.... im kinda at a loss.... I was hoping to be able to weld my charge piping together...

No you won't be getting the "sizzling bacon" sound like steel. You could check out www.weldingweb.com for some info. I mostly tig but I've used the spool gun on Aluminum before. It'll take some practice before you get used to it but get ready to move once you get your puddle.

[gtrpwr]

Does anyone care to make a comment regarding the use of a sewing machine foot pedal to vary power going into a Harbor Freight TIG? I raised the question back in mid-summer, since it was barely suggested in one of the posts, but have had no comment. Thanks for your time!
KS

The foot pedal for amp control can be of great use if you get used to it.  You can form a puddle way quicker and tailing out is also easier.  But by no means is it necessary.
If you want to try it out by all means go for it, most people tig weld with a pedal because it gives you on the fly amp control so you can burn out tacks with ease etc.  It would take a bit of time to get your welds looking as consistent as if you ran just straight amps though.

[Ironworker]

if at all possible if you will tack it together where you will start and finish your weld makes it a lot easier to look continuous

[Ironworker]

yeah ok never mind that was for a few pages back or well alot of pages back

[cammerfe]

The foot pedal for amp control can be of great use if you get used to it.  You can form a puddle way quicker and tailing out is also easier.  But by no means is it necessary.
If you want to try it out by all means go for it, most people tig weld with a pedal because it gives you on the fly amp control so you can burn out tacks with ease etc.  It would take a bit of time to get your welds looking as consistent as if you ran just straight amps though.

Thanks much!!!
KS

[MEAN_SBC]

I haven't ever tigged much, but if you are welding 304SS header tubing together, and your joints are perfect, do you have to use filler rod????

[Mac93]

Mig welding aluminum  I have a Lincoln 175 MIG and I wanted to try some aluminum stuff with it. I know what I need to do it but my question is how does it come out looking compared to the perfect looking TIG?

[Ssmonte408]

If you have it set up right and weave it, it can turn out nice.  You won't be able to get it as small as a tig but it can look very good.   Edit:  This isn't stacked tacks, it is a continueous(sp) weld.

[MEAN_SBC]

I haven't ever tigged much, but if you are welding 304SS header tubing together, and your joints are perfect, do you have to use filler rod????

Well?? lol 

[Ssmonte408]

Yes!!  A fusion weld isn't very strong,  I would strongly suggest using filler rod.

[gtrpwr]

It depends on the joint design.  Autogenous welds(no filler) are used all the time in fabrication with good results.

If you have an edge, lap or corner joint you can employ no filler with success.  Tee and butt joints will always need filler though when tiging.
On tubing you want to use filler as it is a butt joint.  Without filler you will end up with a concave weld and more then likely some undercut on the edges. 

Run your stainless colder then mild steel but not enough that you don't get fusion.  If you run too hot on your 300ss as you will get carbide precipitation and your metal will lose all the qualities you want from it in the HAZ.

[hotrodder_101]

Alright just read this entire thread. I have a couple questions. First I want to use SS to make my headers, and some one here asked about the flux on the back side. Which is better? To bach purge with inert gas or use a flux? Also Say you are in a car welding a cage in, and you do not have the ability to use a foot pedal. Would you just run off the amperage of the welder? One last question. What about this converting a stick welder to a TIG? Does any one have a link or know some where to look for this? On my Lincoln MIG the gas goes in the back of the welder. So I was just wondering if I bought a good AC/DC stick if I could turn it into a TIG?

[Supe]

Purge is far better than solar flux.

Yes, you can run without a pedal.  The reason I don't like scratch start/lift arc is that you have no way of terminating the arc other than pulling the tungsten out of the weld pool, and you will loose gas coverage briefly as the weld is cooling.

Stick welders can be converted to TIG just by changing the leads and using a TIG torch with an integral gas valve.  Problem is, you'll have to use scratch start unless you start adding a stand alone high frequency box, at which point you're almost better off finding a new machine, especially if you want to weld aluminum.

[hotrodder_101]

Thanks Supe

[smokey1226]

i really would like to practice and get good at Tig, ^^^ those weld pictures are purrrrdy!