Welding/Fab General Discussion

How do you folks keep keep welding spatter from sticking to your welding tables? After it sticks, what is the best way to remove it?

Someone please explain the difference between penetration and fusion in welding. Many times I hear "good penetration" but not so often the term fusion of the welded metals.

When you refurbish or sharpen tig electrodes, does it matter which way they are sharpened, or with different size grits? I mean it is easy to put the electrode on the guard and 90* to the direction of the grinder and spin the electrode. This gives you a series of concentric rings around the taper. The other way is to hold the electrode long ways or parallel to the motion of the grinder so it makes long scratches along the taper. Which is best and why? And does sharpening with a fine grit preform better than sharpening with a course grit?

This tractor part came in today with a giant cut out where the crack used to be. The part houses the steering box plus is the tank for the radiator and it froze. The guy ground it all the way thru and was going to braze it then he changed his mind. Neverless it was a large gouge. I gave it a few test tacks with some machinable cast rod and it looked like it was going to be ok so i proceded to connect the dots. Then i ground it all out and put some longer beads on it grinding between the beads as i went. I sprayed some pentrating suff on it and didn't see any cracks...Bob

has anyone here had any experience welding or brazing this stuff?

Hi y`all, I thought I`d show off my hobart ad hood ! me and my cousin painted it , then put stickers on it! It works well. I`d like to see pics. of y`all`s hoods to!

Here's some of my stick welds. E6010 in the horizontal position: E7018 in the horizontal position: Please, any constructive criticism? :confused: Lets see everyone's stick welds and give/get any and all advise on them.

IF your electric welder is tethered too far away from the electrical outlet, which is better: to insert a properly sized extension cord between the wall outlet and the electrical input to the welder, to purchase an additional set of leads to extend the reach of the welding cables? If this is the choice, can you use the same size leads as an extension? Or do you need to purchase heavier cables to carry the longer distance and do the heavier cables need to be in line first coming off the welder or can they be last in line just before the grounding clamp and stinger?

On Friday, I took a welding test where I had to weld TIG, MIG, Stick, and lay-out for Oxy/Fuel cutting according to the blueprints to try and qualify in my class to go to a "Skills USA" welding competition. "Skills USA" is where the top 2 qualifiers of each vocational school in the country compete in welding (or whatever their trade is) to see who ranks the top in the nation. I ranked number one in my class. I'm not sure when, but I go with a bunch of other students to a community college (I think LOL) to take a written test about welding and to make welds in the following (I'm almost positive, but not sure) areas: TIG- "Tee" & lap joints in the horizontal position…

Here is a good place to get those special parts for projects...Bob King Architectural Metals

What is the weldability of lead? I know you can't use the SMAW or the GMAW process, but I wonder if you are able to use the GTAW process. I do also happen to know the dangers of the fumes that come off lead when brought up to extreme heat, but this only holds true if you get the piece hot enough for the material to vaporize. Maybe on a very low current. Does it weld on AC,DC+, or DC-?? Any answers? -Hillbilly

When welding pipe, how do you fix the grounding clamp to the pipe? The "other" end is 20 feet or more away, and the pipe is round with nothing to clamp "to".

People here wanted to see some of my welds. Well, I think that we ALL should so our welds. So, here are some of my TIG welds. I can do better, but here are these pics for now. What's everyone think? :confused:

Just a quick pic of it, i havn't had much time to play with it yet as iv been trying to figure out issues with my power hammer. But I can tell im gonna !love! MIG welding so much more than stick.

Since I am going to school for welding, I want to learn all that I can. So, lets discuss the proper procedure for welding titanium according to AWS code. Has anyone ever done this?? I am trying to get into a welding college (Hobart) and there, they have a special titanium welding class/course. I just figured on getting another thread in welding started and I KNOW there's some welders in here. So, LET'S HERE IT!! P.S: Does anyone work with titanium in knife making/decorative use etc.?? If so, lets see pictures. Does anybody have the atmospheric chamber (bought or homer-made) for welding titanium at home?? Lets get this goin.....:D

Hi. I just bought a welder on craigslist for a very reasonable price. It was not advertised as a TIG welder, but it came with an HF box, a TIG torch, thoriated 1/16" tungstens, and a reg/flowmeter. Unfortunately, it only produces AC. Can this machine be used to weld steel? I looked at the Miller guidelines, and it said that 1/16" thoriated 2% can be used from 60-120 amps on AC, nearly as much as for DCEN. I tried putting down some beads on sheet metal with some filler rod. Looked like decent fusion/penetration, even though I was welding in the wrong direction (away from filler). Now that I read the Miller site, it is clear that a push technique has to be used. …

Wondering if anyone here has ever done any Atomic Hydrogen Welding?

Recently I had feed problems with my Miller 250. The nearly empty roll of copper coated wire had slight surface rust. A new roll of wire cured the problem. But the question is: Is there anything that could be sprayed on the new roll to avoid a repeat and loss of a new #33 roll of wire? Would WD40 ruin the weld or foul the liner? I've never had this problem before but about a month ago I had wet the dirt floor for compaction and I believe the added moisture was the cause. The dirt is still releasing moisture. Thanks .. Matt

A guy is selling an Old Time Century Welder for $40. He said it is a 200 with a dryer outlet plug on it and that it will do 1/2" to 3/4" no problem. Good deal? Sounds like one. What should I look for in a demo of it etc..... Thanks guys. -Dan

Other than Silverflow...does anyone know of a brazing rod for copper that stays copper in color? I do a lot of boxes and need to keep my corners in cahoots with the rest of the piece. Your ideas are greatly appreciated :)

Hey, Im about to get a Lincoln tombstone arc welder and I was wondering how you determine what amperage to set it on depending in the steel and thickness. Charts or links would be great, Thanks!:)

I have a set of oxy/acetylene torches, and it has been ages since I used gas to weld, highschool 15+ years ago. I can stick things together, but nothing that can withstand worrying them apart (bend back and forth). I get tons of slag build up too. I've tried knocking back the oxy. for a more gas rich flame but that doesn't seem to help either, thinking that I was oxydizing the iron before it had a chance to mix (heh, forge welding seems a lot easier at this point). I've also tried a hotter flame as well. This is for the tree/bed project so forge welding the branches is not a practicle option. Any pointers for welding with torches?

Hello Below is Ed's reply to my inquiries regarding MIG, TIG and plasma cutter. I thought I would start a new thread, because now following his advices I might begin with an O/A torch. In Taiwan I have had a short introduction to the basics on using an O/A torch, I cut a piece of railtrack with it. Now, rather than asking my wife to ask her friend's husband to lend me his torch, if I want to acquire one what should I look for? In Taiwan most brands are imported from Japan. I have checked some auctions also from the US, and there seem to be a quite popular "Victor" brand, so much so that it is being copied. Does anyone knows if a kit (torch, regulator,...) from the…