Welding - general

[dware]

Hi guys...
From another forum (IH8MUD.com)
"Hobart and Miller share parentage now. The Hobarts are more of a "consumer" product and uses some cost saving pieces to make the lower price. Lot's of people say that they "love" their Hobarts even while it's in the shop being fixed."

It used to be I would have recommended acetylene torches as the first purchase, since you could weld, cut, braze, and just heat . It also gave you good torch handling and puddle manipulation skills that translated into other types of welding..(for me, TIG welds that don't look like a stack of dimes....). Now days, a good MIG "glue gun" is probably the best choice, but I'd stay with a good brand, as nothing is more frustrating than a poor running wire welder. I would go with the model that supports a wire gun for aluminum, you can add it later and it's the easiest way to join AL..

As far as auto-darkening hoods, I'd stay with a name brand (I've got a first generation Speedglas that my wife bought for me in '87 and a Miller Elite). If you do much welding, I'd be leery of the inexpensive ones (I know this is not a popular opinion, but I've "flashed" my eyes and the burn hurts - beside, anyone checked on the price of an eye transplant??). BTW - if I had my choice I'd have the Miller hood, but with Jackson head gear, the miller doesn't fit my fat head too well when the nice foam pad is on the band..

Hi Dennis!! Good reading your reminisces.. you too Ken.

When I started welding I used an American Optical gold lens , still have one . I remember when they still welded boiler tubes with oxy - acetylene .I bought my first auto darkening I tested all and Jackson lens was the clearest but the hood was a non functional piece of junk . Welded boiler tubes with it for years . Later picked up a Miller in a steal deal for a Miller Maxstar 150 with gas tank and flow meter. If I weld today it is with the Miller and a Miller welder. You get what you pay for .

 

[Oak]

I use a Hazard Freight helmet as show here. So far it works great (3+ years) unless you forget you have it set on "grind mode"....ouch!
https://www.harborfreight.com/weldi...safe-auto-darkening-welding-helmet-63749.html

Here is a good coupon that never expires for Vulcan products there. Take a pic of it with your phone and they will scan it at check-out.

I know a lot of guys & gals on here are fond of their pretty blue or red welders but I purchased an awesome TIG machine about a year ago and it is awesome. I used it to repair the broken ears on my 2072's rear. This company has the best customer service I have ever seen and their 3 year warranty even covers return shipping if needed. Does anyone else here own any PrimeWeld equipment?

https://primeweld.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQ...g38nDIKFyrPw6Mq5Z3-4hQZYyacJwQdYaAou7EALw_wcB

 

[dware]

All welding processes have their issues . TIG is the hottest in terms of heat imparted to the base metal and the metal MUST be free of rust or you will have a porosity. Stick is the next hottest and Mig is the coldest in terns heat imparted to the base metal . If you have a thin piece and do not have a Mig gun I would find some 6010 1/16" and run as cold as you can . Never had much faith in 6011 or 6013 .

 

[edanielson]

I have another option. I run a HTP welder sold by USA weld its a welder built in eastern Europe. Its built so you can replace parts if anything doesnt work. The only time I had a issue they troubleshot with me via the phone and my replacement part was here in 2 days everything is modular so replacement was easy. Just try paying to get your other brands welder fixed. My mig is a 240 amp machine that is my fab machine running .030 wire I also own a Lincoln weldpak 125 that I run .025 wire for sheet metal. USA weld is a major builder of replacement guns for almost any welder. USA weld is in the Chicago area. I have owned my welder for around 20 years.

 

[Greg Riutzel]

dad used to braze my exhaust back together when I was a teenager

That brought back a memory. Not too long ago my 1960 Ford truck's exhaust broke right at the flange for the mount to the manifold. The shop I used to go to closed and besides a long drive to another I wasn't sure I wanted to spend on someone who wanted a to do a complete system. Got the flange off, some prep and cleaning let me match up the pipe ridges in a jig and there was a enough parent metal to work with. In the end I had a great smooth even patterned bead. Fitment was a spot on bolt up like factory. Gas welding gives you a bit of time and heat control depending on tip angle I don't get with electric. Later on, I don't remember if it was the Ford or the International, an exhaust manifold crack was brazed and saved that one with no more noisy leaks. Some questioned a braze on an exhaust manifold, but it can be stronger than a weld and if it gets hot enough to weaken a braze, then there is other problems going on. I haven't bought a welder yet though an outlet for one is in the shop. It's just to date I've had more use for oxyacetylene.

 

[Curt Doles]

My dad used to fix up my failed exhaust systems also. I bragged that he could weld two pieces of rust together. In the 70's I had a Triumph Bonneville that developed a gas leak 50 miles from home. Stupidly I decided to just ride it home and have dad work his magic' He had a huge medat soldering iron he heated with gas welder and patched it right up. He had me fill the tank with water and drain numerous times. It was still burping some residual gas when he patched it.

My brother gave me an old Craftsman 100 amp I believe. My welding improved greatly with my first auto darkening helmet. My failures are always on thinner metal. I should get an old deck and practice on that!

 

[dware]

Have welded carbon steel, cast iron, stainless of various grades , aluminum, 9 chrome, hastaloy , titanium, plastic and glass. There is not much that you can not weld .
There are only two things that great welder can not weld , 1 - the Crack of Dawn and 2- you figure it out the other

 

[mitchel daniel]

back in the day a wire coat hanger was several methods the go to for anything mild steel welding.
cant even get them anymore?
yes brazing is an art and my men at work suffer if i ask them to do anything above 2" copper i have a group of older men that does my piping above 2" because it has to be silver brazed.
they know it and i know it but oxy acetylene is becoming another lost art.
i have torches and bottles that most dont but the idea is still strong.
not beyond teaching.
but practice is king.
if you are scared of it then practice with similar material.de
several methods for what you want.
what are your end results that you want?
what is the skillset that you are willing to learn?
i have welded pipe so much that i only weld when i have to.
not very much these days but practice is key with whatever form of metal forming you decide to use.
dont just wing it.

 

[mitchel daniel]

dware.
i have been tasked with welding the crack of dawn?
wasnt easy or fast? sure was not a mig welder or a tig.
several layers of multiple rods.
crack of dawn can be welded.

 

[Greg Riutzel]

above 2" because it has to be silver brazed.

When I was in the Navy our ship spent a lot of time in the yards for upgrades. Fire suppression went from P foam to AFFF and watching those fitters get in the tightest spaces to silver braze new connections and lay out was an art fer sure. The Navy spec'd insert rings for the fittings but still required a cap pass for a fillet. I swear everyone looked like it was done on a machine with no runs or piling. Then there was the 4 and 6" monel lines for saltwater cooling systems, brazed for strength in a combat ship. 35 years later what passes for brazing on domestic A/C equipment looks more like a class in community college. They get the job done, even last the equipment life, but the expertise isn't what it once was and sometimes the flux is still there to haunt you past warranty.

Darn good advice on practicing. I don't do near as much as I used to, so for new jobs I find scrap to practice on before the real deal.

 

[dware]

dware.
i have been tasked with welding the crack of dawn?
wasnt easy or fast? sure was not a mig welder or a tig.
several layers of multiple rods.
crack of dawn can be welded.

But it will not hold up 24 hours. LOL

 

[gary noblit]

I was much younger then but welded shut a volcano...took a lot of filler rod brought up by mule train

 

[Johnny porra]

me to, god bless them

 

[RAllison]

I’m not much of a welder but my harbor freight titanium 220 welder is great. Mig/tig/stick and is also 110/220. As stated above the harbor freight wire is not any good. One of these days I’m going to try the tig.

Jake when you do,let us know how well it tigged

 

[PACub100]

I used to Tig aluminum back in my early 20's - got really good at it.
I believe I'd probably only be able to make a puddle now...

 

[Jake Olsen]

Jake when you do,let us know how well it tigged

I will but it might be a bit. Moving my daughter and grandkids to Utah and checked on a bottle of argon. Holy cow.

 

[dware]

I will but it might be a bit. Moving my daughter and grandkids to Utah and checked on a bottle of argon. Holy cow.

$ 100 + ?

 

[dware]

Bought a 80 CF 75/25 tank partially filled for $55 last week .. Have not put a flow meter on it yet to check pressure .
A 3 year old tank.

 

[RAllison]

Bought a 80 CF 75/25 tank partially filled for $55 last week .. Have not put a flow meter on it yet to check pressure .
A 3 year old tank.

It's nuts lately. Some of the suppliers here are limiting how many that venders can receive per week.

 

[Jake Olsen]

Yes it’s a 111.00 to fill a Q bottle/tank and 98.00 a year lease or about 400 to buy the bottle because I don’t want to exchange my 75/25 or oxy/acetylene bottles.