Welders, welding, and stuff

[Stairgod]

I am not a welder by any means, but have been welding for 30 years on and off. I have had a Lincoln SP-100 that has been perfect for over 25 years. I do not hesitate to weld up to 1/4" material with it.
Last year I bit the bullet and got the Vulcan ProTig 200. Damn good machine for the price. I know of a few guys running the new Titanium MIGs from HF. Haven't run one yet.
I would not hesitate to buy anything from Everlast, and in retrospect probably should have gotten one of their TIG machines.
Three friends of mine recently got Everlast MIGs and I haven't heard anything bad from them. @Steele-taco @Redmann

 

[Stale-taco]

I got an everlast mig 200e a few months ago. I have only ran about 10# of wire. No problems so far. My welding experience consists of about 10# of wire, so don’t listen to anything I say.

Seems like a decent machine for the price.

https://www.everlastgenerators.com/product/mig/power-i-mig-200e

I will say I think this is my favorite truck mod though.

 

[4WALKER]

only got one in before running out of wire... had to bridge that gap the asshat left with a piece of 1/4" scrap I had in the toolbox. So pissed but it is what it is. Gonna get another spool on Monday. Got everything else prepped and chopped off some bed mounts that are not needed anymore.

 

[Redmann]

I got an everlast mig 200e a few months ago. I have only ran about 10# of wire. No problems so far. My welding experience consists of about 10# of wire, so don’t listen to anything I say.

Seems like a decent machine for the price.

https://www.everlastgenerators.com/product/mig/power-i-mig-200e

I will say I think this is my favorite truck mod though.

I definitely like what you've done so far!

As @Stairgod said, I got one of those everlast machines. I've hardly used it. It's my first welder and I'm pretty new to the whole thing. I enjoy it a lot though. Just not enough time in my days to play around.

 

[eimkeith]

As mentioned before never breath the smoke that comes off a weld. Also never prep your metal with brake cleaner as it will create a gas that will really mess up your lungs permanently.

It's basically Mustard Gas, no? (phosgene)

 

[eimkeith]

I would never even consider using any chemical to clean material before welding, just a good ole grinder

sometimes you have to, in my experience (I weld a lot of sheet metal; can't always get the tools in where I need them, I use paint remover & solvent in those instances)

 

[eimkeith]

Also on the safety side, always be super careful with galvanized metals. Don’t unless you have to weld or cut with torches. The gas/smoke is cyninide laced and will fuck you up forever. If ya have to , be outside and wear a resperator/mask.

the old timers used to say to drink a glass of milk after welding stainless - might be wive's tales (probably)

 

[Stale-taco]

Any precautions with welding grade 8 nuts and bolts or any zinc coated fasteners?

 

[97t4r81]

Probably not gonna help ya live longer, but shouldn’t be to bad because the surface area is small and whatever fumes you make will quickly dissipate.

 

[Stairgod]

Any precautions with welding grade 8 nuts and bolts or any zinc coated fasteners?

You gonna die.

Gotta strip that shit if using TIG. Shit pops and fizzes and fucks the tungsten.

 

[AssBurns]

Any precautions with welding grade 8 nuts and bolts or any zinc coated fasteners?

Keep your face away from the fumes is all I can suggest. That's all I do, plus make sure you got good ventilation. That shit pops like a mofo, and doesn't cool fast, so when it lands on your ass it burns like a motherfucker!

 

[cynicalrider]

check this out

https://www.brewracingframes.com/safety-alert-brake-cleaner--phosgene-gas.html

On a scale from 1-10 how dead am I? Admittedly, super fucking noob welder. I cleaned both my LCA's and UCA gussets with brake clean before I welded them. (About 30 mins before) As far as I could tell, the chemicals were dry on what I was welding, but now I'm freaking out. Hopefully I got lucky and will have no lasting affects. I did not feel any of the symptoms that guy mentioned though.

 

[cynicalrider]

Anywho, if I'm fucked I might as well post the welds from this weekend. I am very new to welding, borrowed my buddies MIG to do this stuff.

I dialed in the welder:

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

I practiced some vert down, and vert up.

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Then did my LCA's.

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

UCA gussets were hot garbage:

Vert up:

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Vert down:

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

And coil top plate gusset:

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

It all looks good under primer though.

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

 

[AssBurns]

Anywho, if I'm fucked I might as well post the welds from this weekend. I am very new to welding, borrowed my buddies MIG to do this stuff.

I dialed in the welder:

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

I practiced some vert down, and vert up.

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Then did my LCA's.

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

UCA gussets were hot garbage:

Vert up:

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Vert down:

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

And coil top plate gusset:

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

It all looks good under primer though.

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Looks good for being a newb. Looks like you just need a little more practice to get the consistency down. Might want to slow down and burn into the edges a little bit morethough.

 

[Slim-Whitey]

a scale from 1-10 how dead am I?

If you didn't weld over liquid brake clean while using argon gas, you're fine.

Without argon, you can make chlorine gas (been there, done that), and believe me, you know. You think you're going to die when you take a breath of that shit in. Lungs tighten up, eyes water, vicious coughing.

Get a low profile respirator, with a 2097 organic filter.

Source: my wife's uncle is a mine safety officer. Dude rattled that shit off like it was nothing.

 

[Rockdawg84]

If you didn't weld over liquid brake clean while using argon gas, you're fine.

Without argon, you can make chlorine gas (been there, done that), and believe me, you know. You think you're going to die when you take a breath of that shit in. Lungs tighten up, eyes water, vicious coughing.

Get a low profile respirator, with a 2097 organic filter.

Source: my wife's uncle is a mine safety officer. Dude rattled that shit off like it was nothing.

exactly

 

[cynicalrider]

Looks good for being a newb. Looks like you just need a little more practice to get the consistency down. Might want to slow down and burn into the edges a little bit morethough.

Yeah most definitely on consistency. In the first pic I still had wire speed on autoset, once I went full manual and dialed heat and wire speed in I have a much better, flatter bead. At least on the LCA's anyway. The UCA's I took what I could get based on the tight space I was working in. I'm stoked to keep practicing and getting more consistent. Been eyeing those Titanium 170's but it will need to wait till after I finish doing the floors on the house.

If you didn't weld over liquid brake clean while using argon gas, you're fine.

Without argon, you can make chlorine gas (been there, done that), and believe me, you know. You think you're going to die when you take a breath of that shit in. Lungs tighten up, eyes water, vicious coughing.

Get a low profile respirator, with a 2097 organic filter.

Source: my wife's uncle is a mine safety officer. Dude rattled that shit off like it was nothing.

Yeah I think I didn't hit any liquid for sure. Also past the 48 hour symptom period. Glad I got lucky this time.

 

[Slim-Whitey]

Making phosgene isn't as likely as a guy thinks, and you're far more likely to light the brake clean on fire than making the gas. It also needs to be able to hang in the air and be absorbed in a high enough concentration. Good ventilation and a respirator will fix the vast majority of that.

 

[Subway4x4]

Cyberweld:

Hobart Handler 210 amp MIG welder is now only $839, PLUS $150 Mfg rebate AND free Hobart Endeavor Helmet! https://cyberweld.attn.tv/l/N-e/YZwSb

I love my Hobart Handler 210 MVP. Just received the SpoolRunner gun. Now to learn to weld...

 

[Subway4x4]

Anywho, if I'm fucked I might as well post the welds from this weekend. I am very new to welding, borrowed my buddies MIG to do this stuff.

I dialed in the welder:

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

I practiced some vert down, and vert up.

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Then did my LCA's.

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

UCA gussets were hot garbage:

Vert up:

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Vert down:

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

And coil top plate gusset:

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

It all looks good under primer though.

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Holy moly. Your welds look great Mike!