300A should be plenty and with room to grow. Checkout Magswitch if you haven't already. They have a few in their product line that serve both as a magnetic ground and as a magnetic fixturing tool. Little more bang for the buck with that added versatility since these things aren't cheap. https://mags...

TIG buttons seem great and I've wanted to try one myself. However, don't discount the power of a regular torch switch running 2T and using the up/down slope to control the amperage. It takes a bit of practice, but you will soon be able to make some great welds using that method, even on thin tubing....

You will of course need to upgrade your electrical service to support higher amperage. There's no words that can be said on this forum that can solve your problem in any other way. Best case scenario, you will trip the breaker when your welder exceeds the current draw for that circuit. Worst case sc...

The Everlast 210EXT? The main difference between that one and the CK you mention is digital vs. analog. I mostly prefer analog myself, but I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority on that. Second difference is price. The CK is quite a bit higher (and they've marked them down quite a bit over the past cou...

Hate to be a Debbie Downer, but sometimes injecting some reality is a good thing. The repair welding you're talking about is advanced TIG welding. You mentioned that you have zero TIG experience and very limited MIG experience, so this repair is likely well out of your scope for the near term. You c...

Now I just want to know how "making dough" made it's way into the translation twice. That's interesting.

I'm no scientist, but I believe the color is directly related to the thickness of the oxide layer that is formed (in our case as welders, due to a combination of heat and shielding gas as CJ mentioned). The different thicknesses of that oxide layer will refract the light differently depending on the...

Looks like that model doesn't even offer up/down slope options for 2T. Unless I'm missing something...only took a quick glance at it. That's a real shame if it gives you zero options for controlling amperage during the weld. Even without a pedal, some pretty nice welds can be made using only 2T slop...

For most tubing assemblies, especially ones the size of roll cages, the needed strength is in the tubing itself and the design of the assembly. When over stressed, the tubing runs will buckle and fail long before the welds fail...even if the welds are just barely adequate. That's the nature of struc...

Your question is super vague. Maybe provide a little more context, and perhaps some specifics of what you're trying to do, and I'm sure you'll get lots of great input from the people here.

I think I need to make one out of longer pipes so I can really lock it down good in the vise and beat it until it tears at the haz. Hopefully :roll: The welds in the very first pic you posted would have the same results as the welds in the last pic you posted ;) A lot of good discussion here. And t...

FWIW, I avoid fusion tacks on AL at all costs. Really only use it as a last resort when there is no way to properly hold/clamp the pieces together and I need to hold them with one hand...and even then I will still attempt to feed rod with that same hand sometimes if practical. The fusion tacks on AL...

There often really is no right or wrong answer regarding filler rod size. I've found that given any material type/thickness/shape/joint configuration, etc., experienced welders will use different rod sizes from each other, but the outcome is always the same: a satisfactory weld. Or at least that sho...

Don't overthink it. We used to call that "nuking it out" in the navy. You're doing all the right things for good welds on chromoly. Go beat those test pieces with a sledge hammer and you'll see that those welds will be the last thing to fail. The pieces will actually be completely unrecogn...

Keep in mind also that your heat control will be just a bit easier when you are welding on longer lengths of tube for the actual job. Those test pieces have you artificially welding somewhat close to edges and there the heat will buildup with no place else to go. And if we all tried to make all of o...

I'm using 1/16" er70s rod. 3/32 2% lanthanated tip. Its shiny until I get about 75 to 80% of the way around the tube then it starts to turn light grey. When I dab the rod should I feed in more than just touching the puddle? Yup, just push a bit more rod in with each dab. And there's nothing wr...

First rule of fight club: Don’t clean your welds before taking pics if you want accurate advice and critiques of them. Those welds look ok to me from the pics. I can tell you’re running hot, which is a good thing for chromoly. As long as you have good penetration throughout, there is nothing wrong w...

Hot short cracking with 4043 is common. Its a base metal dilution issue. I am not smart enough to explain it, maybe someone else here can pick up the ball. I am sure you can Google it. I don't personally consider it to be common when welding 6061. I think it's more the rare exception when proper te...

Good quality hoods and being able to see clearly are key. I usually run my shade at 9 or 10, and will only occasionally go up to 11 or 12 when running really hot. My rule of thumb for the shade: so long as you are not seeing spots after the weld when you lift the hood, then the shade is high enough.

Looks like a knock off.

And I'll never understand why manufacturers put knobs on the outside of the helmets. Those product designers obviously don't spend much time welding inside of structures.

Also try using some AL chill bars if it is thin SS. Not always practical in real-world applications, but it helps the learning experience. Eventually you will be able to do it without the chill bars once you understand the effect of heat input and how to mitigate it.

I'd hit it with a rosebud for as long as you can. Get it as close as possible to straight carbon. Still not ideal at all, but better than all the organic muck in there otherwise. I've had success doing that on large mower deck repairs that had muck on the underside in areas that were inaccessible to...

I use a Hobart cheater in my viking when needed. Fits just fine and works just fine. Don't have it with me now, but I think the model # is 770277 from a quick online search.

I haven't yet seen Jody's induction welding video. Guess I'll have to search for that one...

I clean it both before and after brushing. No sense in brushing contaminates right into the material from the start. Brush lightly in only one direction with a fresh brush (nice sharp bristles) for several strokes, and be sure to blow away the oxide dust that you will see accumulating every few stro...