by Ken willoughby
(dallas, iowa)
The Hobart 210 has voltage adjustments from 1-7. What does each number represent in volts?
I just looked at the chart in the owners manual and it appears the range is about 13-27 volts
hobart 210 onwers manual
the # 1 voltage click being 13 volts and 7 being about 27.
something like this.
1----13 volts
2---16
3----18
4----20
5-----22
6-----25
7 ------27 volts
by Bob
(Lucerne, CA)
Workbench Bed
This WORKBENCH Bed is comfortable. The bed sits low on the frame for the proper height and the perimeter placement of the equipment provides for a nice flat area to lay out your work.
How much time is allowed for a 2" tube test with a .625 wall thickness? I was usually given a 4 hr. time limit to complete the test.
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Time limits are not in the welding code or standard.
that is something imposed by the testing facility or contractor, or test supervisor.
It makes sense to have some type of time limit.
but I have not found that it is consistent from one test shop to another....even on the same exact test.
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by J. Russell
(Iowa)
I'm having difficulty qualifying a procedure using GMAW-RMD (Miller short circuit process - not the problem) followed by filling the joint with GMAW-Pulse (the problem).
Here are the finer details:
1. 18"OD pipe, 3/4"thick, steel SA106 B
2. ER70S-6 filler
3. qualified to ASME Section IX
4. V-groove
5. Miller Axcess 450 power source
6. mechanized process
7. single pass GMAW-RMD root (great)
8. fill/cover passes using GMAW-P (fails radiograph)
Our company requires radiograph examination of all of our qualifications and of course we're having a hard time getting our GMAW-P passes to pass radiograph. We get lines of lack-of-fusion mostly on the side walls but also sometimes in the middle between passes as well. I've attempted oscillation to make our bead profile flatter (so we don't get harsh valleys in the weld) and attempting some dramatic torch angles to keep us ahead of our puddle but with no avail.
Any suggestions?
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My first impression is that you should position the torch at a position where the welding is slightly uphill...like 11 o clock with a 90 degree torch angle ...or slight push angle...as well as torch oscillation to flatten the bead profile.
by Reginald King
(Pasadena, Texas )
I am currently wanting trim my budget and start bending my own my weld test plate. AWS D1.1 and ASME Section IX QW-466.1 addresses the construction of the test jig. These two codes only specify the test plate thickness for 3/8" with outer elongation percentage and material stress values as governing factors for the required inside radius of bend. AWS sets plunger diameter to 2 inches for 50 to 90 ksi for P1 materials. SA516-70 is the material I will use but AWS fig. 4.17 speaks only of 3/8 wall. My test consists of 3/4" wall. If I use the stress value apparently used in AWS fig.4.17 (15.798%)to derive the required inside diameter for bend, I come up with 3-3/4" diameter for 3/4" plate. I can eliminate the problem by cutting my test plate to 3/8" thin strip and do side bends vs root and face bends. I would like to know if anyone out there encountered this particular situation. Verify for me what would be the minimum bend radius for P1-SA516-70ksi on 3/4" thick plate for guided bend test? Inform me where I could find literature that discusses this particular situation. thanks
How much land would be required to weld 8 inch diameter sch,40 pipe open butt?
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Depends on a lot of things.
for tig welding root pass, no land is required.
for stick uphill 6010 electrode, 3/32--1/8" with a 3/32--1/8" gap.
for downhill root with 6010 or 7010, 1/16"--3/32" gap and land works depending on welder preference and procedure.
i was wondering what your opinion was on the best all around tig welder for the money. my typical applications would be 3/8 or less metal thickness on aluminum and carbon steel.
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for the money? if you have adequate power (100 amp service) a used miller syncrowave 250 is still one of the best all round tig welders.
if you dont have that much power you might only be able wire a 30 amp plug.
I have an everlast powertig 250ex that cost less than a used syncrowave 250 that has done me a good job for the last year or so.
I cant full endorse them,, but for the money, its a good machine.
the only issue is when they break, it might take a while to get it fixed.
by Jeremie
(Florida)
I moved to Florida from Michigan and I lost my welders certificate, How do I go about getting a replacement?
--------------------------------------------------
I would suggest calling your previous employer.
going forward, I would suggest every time you take a test, ask for copies of the certs.
it is so much easier to get copies of certs while you are still employed by the company where you certified.
we have to build a box out of 3" thick steel but not sure what rod we should use, could you help? another thing is what kind of bevel should be done on the steel.
----------------------------------------------------
Probably the biggest diameter 7018 stick you can handle for the position.
If the welds can be done flat or horizontal, a 3/16" rod will put down a lot of metal.
bevels should be adequate to allow for complete penetration if that is what the print or application calls for .
usually around s 45-60 degree included angle.
if you are welding to a spec, like AWS D1.1, the joint specs can be located there.
by Tristan McNabb
(Des Moines NM)
im a 16 yr old student in high school and i would like to be able to get the highest welding certification in high schoold without going outside of my highschool. do you have any suggestions.
---------------------------------------------------
I doubt you will get a valid certification within your school...unless your school is a certified AWS accredited test facility.
But if your high school offers any type of certification tests, get all you can.
Any piece of paper you can get that records a welding test might help you get your foot in the door later on.
You will probably need to further your welding training at a local tech school or at a training center like Tulsa welding school, hobart, or lincoln.
Everywhere you go for the rest of your welding training time and also career, I would advise you to ask for the documentation every time you take a test.
i just tap my rod lightly on something...im NOT working on...till i see metal from the rod.
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"Sign up for weekly videos. just enter your email in the form "part 2 of fabricating 10 carts with a stronghand welding table 
tig welder demo July 6, 2011...Miller Diversion vs Everlast 185 micro
tig welder demo..
how to tig weld overhead video May 9, 2011...tig welding overhead is mostly a matter of figuring out how to be comfortable and how to hold the torch.
walking the cup or using a tig finger both work...
Miller welding helmet May 6, 2011...A review on my Miller Digital Elite
a pretty good helmet but not perfect...
mig welding overhead May 3, 2011...Mig welding overhead
Mig machine settings and techniques for overhead welding..
how to mig weld video April 22, 2011...mig welding is probably the easiest way to get started welding
bare wire mig with .023" wire is best for auto body work...
Welding Ground Tip March 29, 2011...Sometimes a normal ground clamp does not cut it. Parts do not always have a good place to attach a ground clamp and sometimes you need to protect the part from arc strikes
this quick welding video shows a 2 minute tip for getting a good ground on anything....
Aluminum Properties and how to weld March 22, 2011...There are a few things you need to know about all aluminum welding ... aluminum is hot short..that means it cracks easily at certain temperature ranges. That is why tack welds done with no filler dont work.
Click the picture or link about to see this welding video and tips for tig welding aluminum.
metals and how to weld nickel March 9 2011....nickel alloys like inonel, hastelloy, nichrome V, and waspalloy do not need as much heat and have a sluggish puddle.
click the pic or link to see the welding video on nickel alloys.
properties of stainless and how to purge March 2 2011....one of the properties of stainless is that it will sugar if not purged on the back side and that looks like Fido's ass.
This short video on the oxidation properties of stainless shows how to purge and weld.
Arc Welding Project Feb 23 2011....Old school stick welding for when you have to weld over crap
Sometimes good enough is good enough...and sometimes you cant clean the metal or it just aint worth it
brazing copper to steel silver brazing steel or stainless steel to copper with stay silv white flux
properties of stainless and how to weld it properties of stainless steels...best practices for welding stainless to keep it from rusting
metals and how to weld them properties of metals
welding certification test practice practicing for a welding certification test...part 2
tig welding test tips for tig welding practice
tig welding techniques tips for tig welding lap joints and butt joints
tig welding razor blades tips for welding razor blades and why you should sharpen your tungsten like a freaking needle
tig welding techniques for pipe welding root pass and fill passes without walking the cup.
mig welding techniques 2 mig welding techniques for mig welding uphill. Sliced and diced into cross sections for metallographic testing for penetration.
tig welding aluminum coke cans
Miller Dynasty 200dx and Everlast powertig 250ex go head to head welding coke cans.
how to mig using spray transfer check out the difference between short arc and spray....pushing vs pulling using mig also and welding test cross section results
cutting metal using a tig torch like a plasma cutterA tig torch will cut sheet metal, but only good in a pinch, a plasma cutter is much better.
mig welding downhill root pass and uphill weave beadA little known practice weld that prepares a welder for open butt V groove welds without breaking the bank
welding stainless steel outside cornersA tip for making a chill block fixture that really helps on outside corner joints....like when you are building a tank or box.
Innovative Tig Torches from WeldTec as seen at Fabtech 2010 a 320 amp small water cooled torch and also a small air cooled torch with a nimble whip...what?
Innovative Pipe vise and pipe clamps this is one "cool as balls" tripod vise
Homemade Tig welder - Rectifier turns buzz box into tig welder
Tips for welding stainless steel tubing for boat rails
Millers new wireless foot pedal for tig welders
how to tig welding with the laywire techniqueLaywire means leaving the wire in the puddle. Pipe welders and boilermakers do it all the time.
Welding Rods for Dissimilar Metals Sometimes you dont know the exact metal you are welding but it damn sure needs welding right now...
pulse tig parameters
High speed pulse vs slow speed pulse tig explained
welding 303 stainless
how to weld 303 stainless steel with an everlast powertig 250ex and make strong welds that will hold grandma over the grand canyon
arc welding machine combo welder
Stick ARc welding with the EVerlast Powerpro 256 arc welding machine slash tig welder, slash plasma cutter
plasma cutter review
The Everlast PowerPro 256 is an ac/dc tig welder, stick welder, and plasma cutter...and its far from average.
tig welder review
an arc start issue is fixed after talking with tech support at Everlast
lincoln mig welding school
Awesome article about the one week Mig welding school Lincoln offers in Cleveland OH
modular fixturing
Modular fixturing comes in so handy for short production runs of welded fabricated parts.
multiprocess welder
welding steel with the everlast powerpro 256 multiprocess tig stick plasma cutter.
welding table video
stronghand tools mac daddy precision welding table
precision welding table
precision welding table from stronghand tools
tig welding brass
how to tig weld brass using aluminum bronze filler metal and pulse tig.
aluminum weld repair
an aluminum weld repair on a motorcycle bracket.
metal fabrication table
putting together the stronghand tools buildpro precision welding table
portable welding table and a bigger precision fixturing table
starting the build on a bunch of sewer crawlers using the portable welding table
2% lanthanated electrodes comparision test
Why is 2% lanthanated the best all around tungsten electrode?
tig welding accessories organizer on the cheap
Cheap way to organize your tig welding accessorizes like cups, collets, collet bodies, electrodes, etc.
different types of welding rods for stick welding
differences in 6010, 6011, 7018, and 7024
types of welding - tig, mig, stick
tig mig and stick welding overview ...what each one is good for
aluminum tig fingertip control for amperage
tig fingertip controls for overhead tig welding aluminum
tig welding aluminum using helium and argon mix
using an argon helium mix for thick aluminum increases penetration and helps a lot...makes it weld better and faster
welding positioners
recommendations for a welding positioner...what to look for in an affordable welding turntable
tig wire feeder
a tig wire feeder saves time and wire on some jobs
miller passport welder
miller passport mig welder uses small paintball co2 cylinders for portability and has a great arc with co2
sheet metal fabrication a trick for tack welding
this trick for tack welding saves lots of time
aluminum tig welding project
aluminum tote tray project using the tack welding tip
everlast tig welder settings part 1
part 1 of a series on what all those freakin knobs are for
everlast tig welder settings part 2
part 2 of a series on what all those freakin knobs are for
everlast tig welder settings part 3
part 3 of a series on what all those freakin knobs are for
everlast tig welder settings part 4
part 4 of a series on what all those freakin knobs are for
everlast tig welder settings part 5
part 5 of a series on what all those freakin knobs are for
everlast tig welder settings part 6
part 6 of a series on what all those freakin knobs are for leave welding video archives and learn more about the 2010 youtube welding DVD set 
by Noel
(New Zealand)
I am repair welding a brass spindle from a separator used for tallow in a rendering department of a freezing works. I have tried Tig, Gas and bronze electrodes. Heated the job in a gas fired oven -none of the welds will stick and are full of holes. I have 35 years experience and am a tradesman - but this has me stumped?? My boss is driving me crazy (not a welder). Any ideas would be appreciated.
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the zinc in the brass will outgas and leave pits.
silver brazing with flox or gas welding with flux might be the ticket.
i have had some limited success using tig with pulse but always some porosity due to the zinc.
by Nicky
(Alberta)
How do u know that xray knows how to call Slag or undercut on B31.3 severe cyclic?
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you never really know if the x ray tech is adequately trained and experienced.
Thats why a lot of folks are of the opinion that x ray techs and other ndt inspectors should be welders or at least have a certain amount of practical welding experience.
Otherwise, the x ray tech might be using a standard chart for common welding defects.
I have seen inspectors label a slag inclusion on a titanium tig weld .040" thick single pass test weld.
turned out there was a big chart in the inspection room with all the common weld defects and the inspector , who had zero welding experience was just matching up negatives the best he could.
by Nick
Call one of their marine offices and get signed up, they will always keep you busy! Structural Welders, Pipe welders, ship fitters, pipe fitters...
posted 9-5-11
"Oh No...He looks like one of those guys... "A while back I made a video showing how to remove a pressed in pin using a slide hammer puller.
A machinist buddy of mine mis-located a steel pin in an aluminum part and needed it removed.
He tried to drill it out but the pin became too hard to drill and so he brought it to me to remove by welding.
The dowel pin was drilled down about 3/8" deep and was kind of hard to get to...but using a gas lens setup and a sharp electrode, it was really pretty easy.
The heat from welding usually helps shrink the pin a little and when you use a slide hammer with vise grips clamped to the mushroom head you weld on the pin, it cannot help but surrender.
This is an extremely handy tool.
It works better than the slide hammer pullers that are made to work with stud welders that have the small wheel cam lock device.
For this little project, I bought some Stanley locking pliers with curved jaws that grip better for this purpose than the old school vise grips I have on my old puller.
The curved jaws will grip a stud, or a welded head on a pin with ease.
Here are 3 main points for making your own slide hammer:
? If you can , get a slide hammer puller with the stud puller attachment ....its easier to cut and weld, and you can remove it if you ever need to.
? mark the angle on the stud puller attachment so that the jaws on the vise grip pliers are very closely aligned with the puller.
(if its not aligned, it will torque and might snap the pin, stud, nail, or whatever you are trying to pull)
? When you are finished making your puller, make sure to do your impression of Al Pacino in Scarface...."Say hello to my little friend!"
finished with the slide hammer page ? see past videos here
I want to weld some lightweight metal fence brackets at right angles. Is a 115 volt tig welder available from Harbor Freight up to the job?
----------------------------------------------------
A 115v tig welder from harbor freight can probably handle the job .
most 115 volt tig welders can go up to 90-100 amps with no problems as long as you are not running off a long extension cord.
It might be slower than mig but it should be able to do the job
by Rob
(Moose Jaw, Canada)
Where I work, we run a lot of downhand welds... more so than vertical up welds. Never on anything thicker tank gauge, unless it has a wicked gap or requires more than 3 fill passes (3/8'' wall plates gapped about 3/8''). On gauge it works well because you can catch the edges and watch it burn in real nice, without warping the material. On the heavier stuff though, don't even bother... I've actually gotten a scraper behind a downhand pass and peeled it out of there. Like you said, the weld puddle gets out of hand and kind of 'floats' away from the penetration point.
by Dave Selover
(Sacramento, CA)
I personally wear earplugs welding any position. I am still able to hear and adjust welder for proper amp range. I think it gives you more confidence when welding overhead or vertical. It speeds up production time when you need to use a grinder. My friend lost his hearing in his left ear while welding overhead on a exhaust system. Welding slag dropped right into his ear canal. Safety speeds up production in any shop and possibly lowers your insurance rates. SAFETY=MORE MONEY.
DAVE SELOVER SEPT. 2011
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I agree on the ear plugs. I have experienced a ball of fire in my ear once or twice and know I have lost some hearing over the years.
I also try to wear earplugs whenever I need them and when mig or stick welding to keep the fire out.
Hi Jody, man great job on the site and everything. My question is how to best focous the arc at the bottom of a drilled hole in aluminum? The idea is to build it up to re-tap threads in it for a bolt. I was using a 2%thoriated tungsten on pulse I can't remember what freq now, but it was very hard to get a puddle at the bottom of the hole.
Regards Dave Reid.
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Dave,
a 2oo F preheat and a helium mix of up to 80 percent helium helps more than any setting.
i know what you are talking about. I once watched someone trying to get filler wire down in the bottom of a threaded hole with a skinny long tig cup.
he could fit the wire in, so he would puddle, stop, drop in bits of snipped wire, puddle again, and so on.
it was a slow go.
( ... having trouble viewing this video? click here to view it at Welding-TV.com. )
A TIG finger works for Migging Too
I lucked up and got a gravy job the other day so I took the chance to shoot video on welding techniques using both mig and stick.
The job was as simple as pie. Welding 2" round stock into 1" thick A36 hot rolled steel.
About 8 plates , 2 pins each, welded both sides for a total of 32 welds.
These parts were going to be dipped in a black oxide coating tank when done so the hot rolled mill scale needed to be removed so the black oxide coating could do its magic.
That is why the parts are clean and shiny in the video.
Its not often, you get to weld parts that are already cleaned, and tack welded.
Hey that brings me to a good tip....
I discovered a wheel for a grinder that removes hot rolled mill scale without loading up.
If you have ever used a sanding disc to clean hot rolled down to shiny bright metal, you know how quickly the sanding disc quits sanding . That oxidized mill scale is really hard to remove.
A grinding wheel works but sometimes the finish is just too rough.
The wheel I discovered, or rather that my machinist buddy discovered. is made by Norton. Its one of the "Rapid Strip" line.
Its blue and coarse and looks a bit like scotch brite except that its much tougher.
The part number on the packaging is
OKI-NRT 07660704015 T27 4.5X5/8-11T Rapid Strip Coarse
Just google it and you will find what I am talking about.
(this just in on July 1, 2011...one viewer emailed to say his experience with the norton wheels were very disappointing on hot rolled steel. They worked great for me on my application but I guess not all hot rolled steel is the same. So keep that in mind. if you are going to try them out, you might want to only buy one first to see how it works )
I am including a photo of the package so you can make sure to get the same thing if you need to. The Rapid Strip wheel worked great for removing the hot rolled coating and lasted much longer than sanding discs....and left a really smooth finish too.
OK, back to this weeks video and differences in mig/arc welding techniques Since I already had a stick welder hooked up with some 1/8" 7018 stick electrode on hand, I decided to weld a few welds with stick before swapping over to mig. It gives me more to write about and makes for a more interesting video. I think.
To me , this was definitely a mig job.
... but its good to keep in practice with the old stick ... besides any mig is likely to be out of commission mid job...then what? you just stick weld, that's what.
133 amps was the setting on the machine but it seemed more like about 120 amps. At times, I thought about 5-10 more amps would have made the weld a little smoother but I also think that was mostly because it was hard to maintain a really good rod angle.
In the video, I try to demonstrate a way of holding the rod in the electrode holder that works good for going around round parts like this. It works for me, it might work for you to so you might give it a go.
I only stick welded a few welds before moving on to mig.
The mig nozzle was sure packed with spatter but since I did this job at someone elses shop, I made sure to bring a leatherman tool with me. A leatherman tool is a welders best friend. Not only is it good for snipping wire but can be used like mig pliers for cleaning a nozzle.
Once the nozzle was cleaned and adjusted for stickout, I made several dry runs with the mig gun to find a way to reach all the way around the part without stopping.
Honestly, I think it was easier to make it all the way around with the stick because mig is faster and its hard to change hand positions fast enough to keep up the travel speed.
Almost the same welding techniques can be used for a job like this no matter whether stick or mig.
Very small cursive e's will work on both processes.
A 7018 also works fine with just a smooth drag, but for me, some slight motion like small cursive e's hides my shakiness.
The cursive e welding technique has always worked for me for mig welding in most situations. I use it all the time.
exit welding techniques and See the Tig Finger
We have a customer that wants us to TIG weld two dissimilar alloys. The first alloy is Bronze 4640 (Nickel, Aluminum, Bronze)and the second alloy is UNS C10100 (Copper). We will also be using the UNS C10100 as filler material. We have done trials with a Miller Maxstar 200SD welder, AC voltage, 100% argon, and 2% thoriated electrodes. We have experienced a large amount of porosity and lack of fusion between the two alloys. Can you offer any suggestions to help? I have heard that DC voltage may work better. How about throwing in some Helium?
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Are you sure you used AC current? a miller maxstar is a DC machine. maybe you meant miller dynasty 200sd.
in any case, dc current will penetrate more. and yes helium would help tremendously. Either uhp pure helium, or a mix of about 80 percent helium, and 20 argon.
also a preheat of around 200-300f would help with better fusion as well as less porosity
by Ron Robinson
(Gastonia, N.C. 28054)
To sharpen tungsten electrodes, I purchased an inexpensive bench grinder and a 1/4" reversible electric drill with a keyless chuck.
Turn grinder on, chuck up a tungsten and grind lengthwise,reverse drill & unchuck. I can prepare at least 12 on both ends in less than 5 minutes. Saves a lot of time going back and forth to grinder especially if you are on production or working out in the field.
Grinder is for tungstons only.
Tip from old RON--Have a nice day.
Welding Videos will continue to be available here for free, but now you can also download them for cheap and watch them anywhere....and it will help me pay some bills too.
Click here to see the new Video Download page
This video is about organizing your metalworking hand tools, plasma cutting, some old school stick welding, and an explanation of the back step welding technique that helps avoid distortion.
A while back I posted a video showing a dead simple way to make a do-it-yourself portable bandsaw stand.
A reader emailed me some pics of one he had built and I thought it was about the simplest and easiest to build plan I had ever seen for a portaband stand so I thought I would send it out to everyone.
Later , forum member Kiwimike on my welding forum even made a portable bandsaw stand using a cheap harbor freight portable bandsaw.
you can see his plans here at ... DIY portable bandsaw stand
I got quite a few comments telling me there was a very well made portaband stand available at a website called swagoffroad.com...
so I checked it out.
I wound up contacting Troy at Swagoffroad.com about doing a video on some of his stuff ....and that brings me to the main topic of this video.
Swag Off Road mostly focuses on aftermarket accessories for off road enthusiasts but they also offer some very cool and innovative welding tools.
Here are the main three that caught my eye:
The Clutter Catcher from Swag off road
The Portable Bandsaw Stand from SWAG offroad
Plasma Circle Cutter
I am not the neatest guy in the world. In fact, I do some of my best work in the middle of a mess. Its not intentional, It just happens. I have to stop work sometimes just to put some things away because it gets out of hand.
Who better than a messy guy like me to show how well the "Clutter Catcher" works. So I figured I would make a video like the one at SWAG but with a few welding tips and tricks added in.
I got out 2 angle grinders, 1 air motor drill, 2 air grinders, many vise grips type clamps, a combination square, 3 sharpies, wire brush, grinding wheels, mig pliers, big freakin hammer, adjustable wrench, 2 third hand tools, and several other metalworking tools.
When its all laid out on the table , it looks like there is no way it will all fit in the Clutter Catcher....
But it does.
This thing is Awesome.
As I continued to work showing some outside corner joint welding on 16ga hot rolled steel, I found that I could find my tools fast... and get to them quickly and easily.
I just clamped my clutter catcher on the end of my Stronghand welding table with clamps until I decide where to mount it permanently.
A plasma cutter is a very useful tool.It cant take the place of a sheet metal shear but it can come pretty close.
For cutting sheet metal with a plasma cutter, less than 40 amps is needed and at that amperage, the torch tip can be rested directly on the metal being cut which allows for dragging the torch against a straight edge.
The idea is simple. Figure out the dimension between the center of the torch and the edge, and clamp a straight edge that distance off where the cut should be made.
Its easy once you figure out the optimum amperage setting, travel speed, etc.
Plasma cuts are cleaner than oxyfuel cuts on sheet metal and it doesnt even matter what kind of metal you are cutting.
Of course, the dross needs to be ground off before welding, but that only takes a few minutes.
Did you know that you can get 1/16" stick welding rods that will let you weld thin sheet metal with a stick welder?its true.
1/16" is pretty small. The rods feel like tiny sparklers.
but they run good.
these little 6013 welding rods run good downhill because the puddle is so small.
Normally, a 6013 welding rod is too slaggy to run downhill...the slag runs ahead of the puddle and causes all kinds of problems.
Keep in mind, 1/16" 6013 rods make a puddle that is only about 1/8" wide.
So if you have some thin stuff to weld and dont have a light duty mig with .023" bare wire and gas shielding, your stick welder might just do the job as long as you have some tiny little 1/16" rods.
What is the backstep welding technique?basically, its welding in a certain direction, but the weld progression is in the other direction.
It limits distortion.
The backstep welding technique is best shown in a video so watch that sucker.
If you are looking for a holder for your metalworking hand tools, I cant think of a better tool than the "Clutter Catcher" from Swagoffroad.com.running a lincoln power mig 350. the wire is 0.045 Mil spec 70S2 hardwire. the gun is a magnum 400. shielding gas is 98%argon with 2%Oxygen at 42cfh. I'm trying to run a testing coupon of 3/8" thickness with a 30 degree bevel (60 degree total for both sides) with a 1/8" root gap. using 1/4" backing plate. I have the machine on setting "21" for 0.045 argon mix welding. the procedure per the PQR says that I should be using 3/4" plate with the same bevel and a 3/16" root gap running 27 volts and 300 amps. Cannot seem to get it to work what so ever. I've already tried 4 tests and each one has linear cracks down both sides of the root which carry thru the entire weld sequence. I've tried preheating the plates and postheating the plates. I've tried a ton of different amperages and wire speeds to no avail. it seems like the spray just wants to suck into the sides instead of getting down into the root on my initial pass.
Does anybody know exactly what settings or parameters I should be running for these conditions? I've always run fluxcored wire at my old job and this spray arc hardwire mig is really pissing me off. also, any idea why i keep getting cracks/porosity? it's carbon steel so I cannot understand why this is so difficult especially running in the flat position! I've run fluxcore 0.045 vertical up tests that were over an inch thick and a foot long with absolutely no problems and they passed RT, PT, and VT testing so I can weld believe it or not this is just a totally new procedure for me. any advice or suggestions are much appreciated because my boss is about to kick me out the door even tho he's told me to use 3 different shielding gases already so he has no clue.
Yahoo/answers doesn't really have a category for this so if anybody knows where I can find the info that'd be great too.
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my gut tells me you are experiencing center line cracking from excess heat input and fast travel speed creating an alignment of solidification grain boundaries down the center line of each bead.
i would recommend using the bottom end voltage settings to achieve spray to decrease heat input..and cheat toward the high side on wire speed to prevent the cracking.
by mike
(warner robins, ga, usa)
laid a bead with one of the combo units tig torch at fabtech in atlanta last year. ran great! for a low duty cycle air cooled combo.
A friend of mine recently had a set of stainless turbo headers built for his car by a local fab shop. After only a few hours of use we noticed that almost all of the welds had a crack right down the center. After closer inspection it looks like they pulsed over the original welds to make them look cleaner. The welds look pretty good and I am just puzzled on why they cracked in the first place. Was it the pass on top that did it? improper back purging? to much heat? wrong filler? wrong type of stainless for the heating and cooling of an exhaust manifold? I'm fairly new to tig and am trying to educate myself as much as possible. Your site has been by far the best one i have come across so far and i greatly appreciate you taking the time to share your all of your knowledge on here. You kick ass!
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the cracking could be caused by all kinds of different things.
using 303 free machining stainless.
excessive stress
inadequate filler and cross sectional thickness of welds.
if the cracks appeared that quickly, it is possible they already existed and that is why they were welded over.
that seems most likely. cracks welded over by washing leaves a cosmetic weld pass that is very thin.
the crack underneath propagates quickly.
When I run uphill on the outside corner on the box its like im too hot and i gouges out the metal it under cuts it real bad I've always welded stick and im having trouble figuring flux core out.any help would be appreciated.
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Just like with stick welding, you have to set the machine to the right settings for the application.
Whatever amperage worked on the stick, would be pretty close for flux core welding.
trouble is, most mig and flux core machines dont have amperage settings...only voltage and wire speed.
one suggestion is to get the spec of the wire, like E71-t1 and go to the manufacturers web site and pull up the spec sheet with recommended settings.
here is a link to lincoln electric flux core wire spec sheet where you can get some really good settings for flux core wire.
click here for the settings
by RJ (shopdog)
(DePere, WI)
I TIG'ed some stainless salt pans for a food service company and I backed the corners with aluminum angle. Turned out real nice. Even though the job didn't require it yet,I would like to be ready to provide a nicely finished (NFS sanitary type) inside corner. I have a feeling they will be asking for it in the future. I run a Synchrowave 250 and use 2% lanthanted and 2% ceriated.
BTW smokin' site!
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you can convert your aluminum angle to backing plates by drilling a bunch of holes to provide a path for argon. and then use some tubing on the back side also with a bunch of holes drilled on the back side along with some jb weld or devcon putty.
Gday, brand new to tig welding and teaching myself, I have noticed porosity at the end of a lot of my beads. Any suggestions? I have purchased a uni-mig 180 amp DC, HF inverter, I had to sacrifice the aluminium option for my budget. Do you have any experience with this machine or have you heard any feedback about them?
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I dont have any experience with that brand.
as far as your porosity issue goes, make sure you are using er70s2 or 3 or 4 or 6 tig wire and not rg45 gas welding wire.
they look the same. but the gas welding wire does not have the ability to scavenge impurities.
also, if you are practicing on mild steel, it could be that it just gets so oxidized that porosity happens.
you may need to stop to let cool more often, and cool the metal in water, and then grind clean before restarting.
best of luck
jody
by greg
(wisconsin)
how does flux core wire welding differ from regular .045 bare wire.
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Settings and techniques differ.
There can be a lot of difference depending on welding position, thickness of metal , and whether a self shielded fire or a flux core wire that also needs gas shielding (dual shield)
Below are 2 links to Millers welding calculator for both bare wire and flux core settings.
these are good resources for a starting point.
mig bare wire settings
flux core wire settings
is mig harder or easier than stick welding?
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most people will say mig is easier.
for general non critical welding, mig is a bit easier to learn...its also easier to fail a welding certification test with mig.
the reason mig is considered easier is because the wire that feeds thru the torch eliminates the need to constantly maintain the arc length that is required with stick welding.
if you learn stick first, mig is pretty easy to learn....but it is not necessary to learn stick in order to mig weld.
What is duty cycle?
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Duty cycle is what percentage of time a welder can weld in a 10 minute period.
for example, a 30% duty cycle at 100 amps means a welding machine can weld at 100 amps for 3 minutes before needing to stop and let the welder cool down.
by Wojtech
(Cairns QLD AUS)
I am planning to fix a few bits of rust on the roof of my 4WD.
My question is what to treat that weld with before doing any painting.
I have no problems doing the welds.
Do I just use my pickling gel and a real good clean like on SSteel and a real good clean?
And also what about the inside side of the panel you can't reach to paint?
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the issue with pickling gel is it might cause rusting on bare carbon steel unless it is neutralized completely.
if it is acid based, baking soda, will neutralize it.
by Vince Bunting
(Long Beach, CA USA)
Wheel Mounting Face
Hey Jody.. .First off your site is amazing and I can't tell you how much I've learned or how many hours I've spent reading material on this site. I have an unusual aluminum wheel off a late model Mercedes. This wheel has been through the unfortunate event of almost falling off due to striped threads in the hub. The face where the wheel mounts is all banged up with some deep gouges. The only person who is willing to sell me a rim wants $4,000 for it. Soooo. . .I'm going to try and repair it. My plan is to pre-heat it in an oven to around 400 degrees and weld it with a argon/helium blend.
1st: I have no idea what type of aluminum this is. . .what filler rod would you recommend? I have to build up the face and then machine it.
2nd: Is there any advantage to blending your own argon/helium mix as you do in your shop. I have used a pre-mixed blend to great effect before but am curious if a larger helium to argon ratio would increase my penetration. I have read somewhere that automated welders sometimes use straight helium for penetration. If there is an advantage to being able to play with the ratios this job would be a good time for me to invest in a new setup.
Thank you advance for any tips that will save my butt on this and for your willingness to share your craft with others!!!
Vinny
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Vinny,
a 200 f preheat will do.
I dont mix my own helium to get a certain percentage. Sometimes I use straight helium on aluminum...its rare and the aluminum has to be ultra clean. But thats why I mix .
you could get a cylinder of 50/50 or 80% helium and be just fine.
a way to get an idea of the alloy is to puddle a small area.
if you see a green tint on clean metal, it might be an aluminum alloyed with magnesium...
more thank likely, its a silicon alloyed aluminum casting and can be welded with 4043.
How to pass a bend test on plate with a one inch gap.
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I suspect you might be referring to a plate fillet weld test with a 15/16" gap.
its a pretty hard test.
no bevels , just square cut 3/8" thick steel.
2 pieces , gapped, 15/16" with a 3/8" gap.
the first passes are required to be done in vertical and / or overhead position.
the rest of the weld can be made in any position.
In my opinion is that you increase you odds of passing by positioning the piece in the vertical position and weld uphill .
cleaning the mill scale is very important also.
the trick is to penetrate deeply in the root of each joint...so that when the backing is removed, there is clean weld metal with no slag, or any defects in the bend area.
Having trouble Viewing this aluminum Welding Video? Click here to watch it at Welding-TV.com
When you click the image below, and then add a tig finger to the shopping cart, you will see a product in your cart called "Aluminum Welding with The Tig Finger" with a price of $0.00.Thats because This Video is a free download when you buy a tig finger.
Its a practice drill ...and its a way to get better at tig welding aluminum as well as steel...by welding a bunch of aluminum beads on a single piece of aluminum.
Will welding aluminum will improve your overall tig welding technique? ...even on stainless steel and carbon steel?
I Say it definitely will.
I am sure I will get a few emails disagreeing with me on that, but I dont care.
Aluminum pretty much exaggerates everything that happens when tig welding steel. Arc length and angle have more effect than on steel, touching the electrode to the puddle makes a lot more difference than on steel, varying amperage using the foot pedal is harder, the puddle characteristics change more quickly due to conductivity, even gas flow rates require more care.
In short, after mastering aluminum welding, steel becomes easier.
Tig welding aluminum is harder to learn than steel for most people so I dont advise doing this drill unless you have at least a few hours of arc time under your belt.But just as soon as you can lay down a good bead on steel, you are ready for this drill.
Here is the drill...
Using a piece of 1/8" thick aluminum about 3" by 8" give or take.
This is a way to get lots of arc time without being distracted by grinding, sanding, brushing , etc.
For the sake of this drill, only a wipe down with acetone or alcohol along with a quick wire brushing using a stainless steel brush is needed.
In fact, if the piece is fairly clean, you can just start welding without any prep at all.
So here is what you need for the drill...
1. a piece of .125" thick aluminum , 3003, 6061, 5052, 2024, or pretty much any grade....even grades not recommended for welding work ok for this practice drill.
2. some 1/16" and 3/32" aluminum filler rod.
3. a #5 or #6 tig cup and 12-15 cfh of argon flow, and a 3/32" 2% thoriated electrode
try all kinds of different techniques....
short arc, long arc, tapered electrode, rounded electrode, make tight ripples by adding filler rod frequently , make a loose rippled stack of dimes bead by spacing the ripples about 1/8", try different torch angles, try small rods and big rods, stack beads on top of beads, weld backwards, weld forwards, try some weave beads, try pulsing with the foot pedal, try using the pulse function and dial in some good settings for future use.
Another thing to do is pay close attention to how the bead looks when the piece of aluminum gets too hot.
When the bead starts to look grainy, it means the solidification rate is too slow ...if the ripples begin to disappear, thats also an indicator that it is time to let the thing cool before welding more.
A small piece of aluminum like this heats up quickly. After one bead, the whole thing is pretty warm.
There is no time spent cleaning beads and while welding bead after bead is good for getting practice, its not good practice if it welds like solder.
You have to stop and let cool. In fact, its good to have a bucket of water next to your welding table and just give the piece a quick dunk every few beads, leaving it warm to the touch so water evaporates quickly for welding.
here are some more tips for doing this aluminum welding drill...
? weld around the very edge first using the 1/16" rod.
? change hands and weld left handed often.
? try different electrode prep,...use a tapered electrode vs a rounded point
? experiment with tig settings. like ac balance and frequency
? experiment with pulse settings or even pulse manually with the foot pedal
? let cool or dunk in water every 3 or 4 beads.
? try welding backwards to build up beads on top of other beads
? Get a TIG Finger.
When you click the image below, and then add a tig finger to the shopping cart, you will see a product in your cart called "Aluminum Welding with The Tig Finger" with a price of $0.00.Thats because its a free download when you buy a tig finger.
Learn More about the TIG Finger here
by Landon Russell
(Jonesboro, Arkansas, USA)
I have a 110 welder from harbor freight and im wanting to weld some 16 gauge steel plate. What wire speed and high or low heat?
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every welder is slightly different but you have to start somewhere and the miller weld calculator is usually a good starting point for flux core welding.
here is a good link for you to figure out flux core settings.
its a good starting point....
click here for settings
Tig Welding Steel and fabricating small parts
Whether you are fabricating something big that takes up the whole table, or just fixturing small parts together, modular fixturing helps.
I just tig welded 4 small steel parts on my StrongHand table...and I was reminded again, just how much I like it.
In fact, there are only 2 things I dont like about it...
1. Sometimes things fall thru the slots.
2. the rubber o rings on the fixture bolts are starting to split...I need to get some new ones
The steel parts I tig welded for this job are for the commercial aircraft industry and are built per the drawing so I needed to make sure everything is straight, plumb, and dead nuts. Otherwise the parts wont work, or they might get rejected and that would mean rework.
I am doing this welding job for a friends machine shop... and my job is just to put the parts together like a puzzle and weld them.
I like doing work for machine shops because usually the metal is clean and ready to weld.
I show up when its ready to weld or have the parts dropped off at my garage shop, weld them up, and deliver them...or have them picked up.
gravy.
But these parts are hot rolled steel and tig welding steel with mill scale on it sucks. It has to be ground off or it will be ugly...like the part in the video that I forgot to clean.
When hot rolled steel is ground clean, it welds great... just like cold rolled. But when it is not cleaned, it is like welding in a bowl of cornflakes.
I had some foot pedal issues on my tig welding machine( like it was broke) so I had no choice bit to use the torch switch. I prefer a foot pedal, but with upslope and downslope controls, and even a 4t function if I choose it, I still have a lot of control. about 130 amps was about right. ...here are the basic machine settings.
125-135 amps
3/32" 2% lanthanated electrode 2.4mm
er70s2 1/16" filler wire 1.6mm
#5 cup
10 cfh argon
When I pulse ...like when the weld is close to an edge, I increase the amperage while arcing on a piece of scrap until I get the same readout of around 130 amps of output.
Tig Welding Steel...Learn more about the Tig Finger Heat Shield in the video i havent welded with .052 wire in 11 years.i have forgotten what the settings are for 3g & 4g. i'm guessing around 30 volts and 355 wire feed.am i in the ballpark?
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It has been a long time for me too...
here are 2 links that I hope will help you figure out a good starting point.
first is the miller welding weld calculator.
it does not list .052 but I think you can still get some good info.
http://www.millerwelds.com/resources/calculators/mig_flux_amperage_calculator.php" target="_blank">miller flux core settings Help
second is a lincoln pdf page.
http://www.lincolnelectric.com/assets/en_US/Products/Consumable_Flux-CoredWires-Self-Shielded-Innershield-InnershieldNR-152/c32400.pdf" target="_blank">lincoln flux core settings
by Mike
(New Hampshire)
If you are qualified to weld aluminum under ASME IX are you also qualified under AWS D1.2
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Mike,
I am not 100 % sure.
I know that I have worked jobs where i qualified to weld steel under ASME IX and was considered qualified to AWS D1.1
It might be up to the responsible engineering authority to make the call.
anyone else want to chime in?
by Zhenom
(India)
What is the size(s) of the plate coupon used for weld procedure qualification. Is a single plate 6 inches by 3 inches - making the coupon about 6 in by 6 inch?
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Standard plate sizes for AWS welding performance qualification tests are usually 7 inches for 3/8" thick plates but for thicker plates and for procedure qualification they are often longer to provide for more test specimens like tensile specimens or metallograhic testing.
by Dan
(Pennsylvania)
I bought this welder a few weeks ago the first one I took back because the entire welder was very dented and bent when I took it out of the box. Exchanged it and bought 220 plug hooked it all up and there was no wire feed. Took that one back as well exchanged it now I am in the same boat with the third one. This is making me think I am doing something wrong. I have power to the unit but the motor to feed the wire doesn't even hum. The fan runs and that is about it. I checked the fuse and inner connections and everything seems fine. Anyone have any ideas.
by FRASER WARD
(SCOTLAND)
AFTER WATCHING YOUR VIDEO POST AN SEEING THE RESULTS OF YOUR TESTING I AM HAPPY IN THE FACT THAT I HAVE BEEN TRAINED PROPERLY IN MIG PROCESSES.LETS FACE IT WE ALL THINK WE CAN WELD BETTER THAN THE NEXT GUY.TRUTH IS MOST WELDERS DONT GET TO SEE THE RESULTS OF THEIR WELDS,THEY LOOK AT THE WELD SECONDS AFTER COMPLETION AN ASSUME ITS PERFECT.A DOWNHILL VERT OR WASH DOWN WELD AS I LIKE TO CALL IT CAN BE PERFECTED TO THE POINT WHERE IT LOOKS CONVEX BORDERLINE UNDERCUT AN TO THE NAKED EYE PRETTY DAMM GOOD,WHERE AS UPWARD VERTS LOOK LIKE THE WELD IS JUST LAYING ON THE SURFACE OF THE STEEL NOT AT ALL PENETRATED.I ONCE HEARD A WELDER COMMENT ON A WELD AN SAY THAT LOOKS LIKE DEAD MANS DICK,THIS TERM OF PHRASE ALTHOUGH WEIRD DID MAKE SENSE TO ME AS I COULD SEE WHAT HE WAS GETTING AT.AN LETS FACE IT WHAT PEOPLE DO IN THEIR SPARE TIME IS THEIR OWN BUSINESS LOL,HOWEVER A WELD NOT PENETRATED OR THE MIG PLANT NOT SET PROPERLY WILL PRODUCE A POOR LINE OF MOULTEN METAL USELESS TO ANY STEEL SURFACE.ANYWAYS WHEN I WELD UPWARDS WITH THE MIG I ALWAYS THINK OF THIS TERM OF PHRASE DUE TO THE WELD NOT LOOKING TOO GOOD,BUT I ALSO KNOW THROUGH HEAVY WORK IN QUARRYING, UPWARD VERTS ARE STRONGER THAN DOWNWARD,AN SO WHAT IT DOSENT LOOK GOOD,ONLY FOOLS WHO DONT KNOW ANY BETTER JUDGE WELDS ON HOW THEY LOOK.THE TECHNIQUE YOU USE IN THE VIDEO IS FAMILIAR TO ME, BASICALLY THROUGH TRIAL AN ERROR I ALSO SEEM TO WEAVE IN THE SAME MOTION DUE TO IT PROVIDING THE BEST RESULTS, AN AS FOR THE CRITICS I FIND HANDING THEM THE TORCH USUALLY SHUTS THEM UP.
Hi!
I need some help on how to purge furnace pipe for welding with TIG. Never done it and the situation is this;
Metal:CR 2.5%, MO 1%.
There is no open pipe end to insert a purge tube or any sort of dam. The only opening will be the weld joint.
Questions:
1-How do I purge it?
2-Does a ball of rice paper at each side of the weld joint be enough to contain the gas confined to the welding area?
Thanking you for your prompt answer.
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one idea would be to use purge paper a few inches on each side of the weld joint and then insert a small diameter copper tube until the very last inch of root before removing it. would be best inserted in bottom.
purge paper is water soluble and water soluble tape is also available to make a purge dam.
also that alloy is sometimes tig welded without using a purge. I am sure it will go better with a purge but the need for it depends on code requirements.
by tim
(alabama)
my miller 210 arks when touched to the metal before I pull the trigger.
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I have a millermatic 250 that does that also.
but it is only a spark. It seems like some kind of capacitor discharge. It sparks once .
anyone else having this issue?
by david allen alders
(portland oregon)
i would like to obtain a copy of my awsd1.1 certification my name is david allen alders i used to work at west coast wire and steel
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if you tested at an AWS accredited test facility, and were listed on the national welders data base, then the AWS should be able to provide you with a copy.
But, if you were tested to AWS D1.1 standards by the company you worked for, you will probably need to contact that company and they may or may not comply with your request.
good luck,
