Welders, welding, and stuff

[FreshSeaBass]

View attachment 26687
The TIG got a new baby brother today

I have the MIG and have run it since the month they released it. Pretty surreal to get that quality for $549 when I picked it up. How are you liking the Protig? Is it AC/DC?... I'm looking to get an AC/DC machine this year.

 

[Stairgod]

I have the MIG and have run it since the month they released it. Pretty surreal to get that quality for $549 when I picked it up. How are you liking the Protig? Is it AC/DC?... I'm looking to get an AC/DC machine this year.

Doing some ally with it right now. I have limited experience with other machines, but I am still liking this machine a few years later. Minor gripes like pre/post flow isn't adjustable, Ac freq is only 50-150, and amperage is limited when stick welding with cellulose rod. Overall it has done everything I have asked of it, and I have used all of its features.
I probably should have went up to an Everlast with a few more amps and the ability to run a water cooled torch, but it is a solid machine, and I highly recommend it for the money.

 

[Stairgod]

Pure sex on staino

 

[Chris In Milwaukee]

View attachment 34787
Pure sex on staino

Ooooooooo....

 

[Thesandaddict]

Been practicing my MIG on some fillet welds and started to play with TIG today. My tube still needs work,, especially going from. 25 to .095 and .120. Think I may just sell the Lincoln MIG and get a water cooled TIG. So much nicer to weld....cleaner, quieter, and looks better.

 

[Dan H]

I had to weld a bracket at work the other day.

Machine: Miller Trailblazer 325 w Robin gas engine
Rod: 7018 1/8th" @120 amps
Bracket

Looks like shit but painted yellow and stuck up under a railcar going 70mph down a track, nobody is going to see it. It is not a critical part.

 

[not_nick]

Been practicing my MIG on some fillet welds and started to play with TIG today. My tube still needs work,, especially going from. 25 to .095 and .120. Think I may just sell the Lincoln MIG and get a water cooled TIG. So much nicer to weld....cleaner, quieter, and looks better.

I'm in the same boat; tig fits my pace and attitude well so i stick to it. Won't even touch mig or stick even just for kicks while hanging with friends idk why just not for me. An HTP water cooled machine is the dream for me rn
Those welds look real nice

 

[Stairgod]

I'm in the same boat; tig fits my pace and attitude well so i stick to it. Won't even touch mig or stick even just for kicks while hanging with friends idk why just not for me. An HTP water cooled machine is the dream for me rn
Those welds look real nice

MIG and stick can both teach you things. If TIG feels natural to you, push your boundaries and learn the other two. Learning other processes will make you better at TIG.
After 20+ years of experience with stick and MIG I finally jumped into TIG. Put in a few hundred hours with it and when I went back to MIG for a project I was amazed at how much better I was.
Don't be a TIG snob. All processes are an art into themselves.
There is an old(maybe not so old) adage about an operator working with a shovel for a week. It gave him a new appreciation for his craft.

 

[not_nick]

MIG and stick can both teach you things. If TIG feels natural to you, push your boundaries and learn the other two. Learning other processes will make you better at TIG.
After 20+ years of experience with stick and MIG I finally jumped into TIG. Put in a few hundred hours with it and when I went back to MIG for a project I was amazed at how much better I was.
Don't be a TIG snob. All processes are an art into themselves.
There is an old(maybe not so old) adage about an operator working with a shovel for a week. It gave him a new appreciation for his craft.

i don't mean to act like i'm standing on a podium about it. It definitely has it's problems and drawbacks. But thanks i'll take that into consideration. Always appreciate your advice

 

[Stairgod]

i don't mean to act like i'm standing on a podium about it. It definitely has it's problems and drawbacks. But thanks i'll take that into consideration. Always appreciate your advice

Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love TIG. Quick switchover between different materials, the amount of control is crazy. I can definitely appreciate the strengths of TIG. My first attempts at MIG ally with a spool gun made me appreciate TIG that much more. But the biggest thing is versatility. I strongly believe that a solid foundation in all aspects of welding can give you the best insight into one particular process.

 

[Stairgod]

Funny story and a lesson to be learned.
Received a call from my 30yo nephew who has limited welding experience. Works as a repair mechanic for a sausage factory(the jokes write themselves apparently). Needing to make a repair to a non-magnetic stainless of unknown composition. Due to being a sterile environment I figured it to be 316. His only access was to 312 .030 wire. But the company had no gas. Fast forward to the next day and he had tri mix 90% helium/7.5% argon/2.5% CO2. He can't run a decent bead. Miller 140 amp machine. Arc voltage at max. WFS at 70% ish. For the life of me can't figure out why it isn't running well. Fast forward to my lunch break when the light bulb goes off. Machine polarity? Yup. Was stinger negative. Last guy to use the machine was running flux core.

Never forget the basics.

 

[honda250xtitan]

Thoughts? My go to is c shaped. I tried to just straight push and pull. It seems to stack up more like that though. Specs are posted. Maybe it was a little cold I didn’t measure the material

trying to get back into the groove before I install the marlin crawler gussets

 

[Stairgod]

I like that one the best, although the weld profile is a bit too concave. A touch more wfs with that same manipulation would be damn near perfect.
The weld to the immediate right isn't too bad though. Edges wetted in nice but just a tad too convex.

 

[Stairgod]

Thoughts? My go to is c shaped. I tried to just straight push and pull. It seems to stack up more like that though. Specs are posted. Maybe it was a little cold I didn’t measure the material

trying to get back into the groove before I install the marlin crawler gussets

You doing the alignment tab gussets? I had planned on just making my own, but they look decent and they are cheaper than my time trying to make them would be.

 

[honda250xtitan]

You doing the alignment tab gussets? I had planned on just making my own, but they look decent and they are cheaper than my time trying to make them would be.

Yup they got shipped the other day. One eccentric washer is facing down though so I’ll need to re align before welding that plate on

 

[Airdog]

Yup they got shipped the other day. One eccentric washer is facing down though so I’ll need to re align before welding that plate on

Pretty sure you should weld on those gussets with all the cam tab eccentrics at the 0 (nominal) position.....then go get an alignment
Or are you using them in conjunction with TC cam tabs?

 

[honda250xtitan]

Pretty sure you should weld on those gussets with all the cam tab eccentrics at the 0 (nominal) position.....then go get an alignment
Or are you using them in conjunction with TC cam tabs?

so will the shop be able to get a good alignment? I feel like I’m losing half of the available adjustment by taking away the bottom portion?

 

[Stairgod]

so will the shop be able to get a good alignment? I feel like I’m losing half of the available adjustment by taking away the bottom portion?

They should not interfere with the alignment cams at all. The only encroachment area is if the tab is down, and it should never be down. That just shows that the alignment tech was either lazy or ignorant. It makes no difference to the alignment, but the cam hangs below the bracket that way, and is in harm's way of anything on the trail that might come into contact with it. I would reorient that one tab to the same relative position but with the tab facing up. The notch appears to be in the 7 o'clock position based on that pic. Put the notch in the 11 o'clock position and your alignment should be damn near the same . Then weld the gussets on.

 

[Stairgod]

Apparently I needed to turn my head a bit. Looks more like 6 o'clock. So go for 12 and you should be gtg

 

[honda250xtitan]

Awesome. All I know is the eccentric washer moves the arms in and out by pressing on the tabs. So I guess reversing the orientation should give the same result but without hanging low?