There's a real good reason you don't see any commercially made aluminum ladders where the strength members are butt welded together like that. Just sayin'

For sure there's great benefit in using helicoils to strengthen the threads in some of the softer and/or more brittle metals like AL or some cast iron, but I'm not sure how useful they would be in the higher-grade steels. I don't think I've noticed them being used in that application, but perhaps th...

I'd try a helicoil insert on that before I would think about welding it. Might even be able to get away with a rivet nut depending if the diameters match up etc. if space allows I would install a stud with red loctite after the repair so that the aluminum doesn't take the abuse as much during re as...

I'd try a helicoil insert on that before I would think about welding it. Might even be able to get away with a rivet nut depending if the diameters match up etc. if space allows I would install a stud with red loctite after the repair so that the aluminum doesn't take the abuse as much during re as...

My shop build lessons learned: Give yourself lots of 120v outlets and break them up to only 2 or 3 drops max per circuit. 20 amp wiring and breakers is ideal. Even put some drops at a few places on the ceiling. Also give yourself more than enough 220v drops for equipment around the shop, even if you...

Your welds are on par for day 1...heck, even week 1 for a lot of folks. 1. You're saturating the part with heat. Work on your heat control. Form a puddle within 1-2 seconds. Dab-Move-Dab-Move. Should be about 1 second per dab cycle. Try to do it faster and more precisely each time as you practice. S...

You brushed the weld before taking the picture. Hard to tell what's going on when people do that. We are fellow welders giving advice, not the customer....so no need to hide the flaws when you are seeking advice on how to get rid of them. The black spots are oxide deposits that, in your case, are fl...

The heat will always win. There are things to help you in the battle, such as heavy duty fixturing and opposing the stress as both you and Coldman mentioned. But these things only help...they won't lead to perfection. Welding is an imperfect form of joinery. You won't ever get close to machining-lev...

Definitely have those threads milled out if you have easy access to such. They look quite crusty. Milling fresh surfaces will absolutely make your job easier. I weld a lot of 4130, but I don't weld much 4140 at all, so I'll leave the other questions up to more knowledgeable folks.

Does a gas line not suffer the same effects as a compressed air line? I remember reading a article a while back talking about CFH and PSI drop across long section of compressed air piping. They mainly referenced elbows/bends being the largest cause of drop if I'm remembering it right. I figured it ...

You mentioned that your pea shooter tester was a CK. If the flow meter/regulator you are using is the one that came with your Everlast machine, then it is likely a piece of junk. I would trust the CK part over a no-name part every single time.

Too much heat into the part. There's a very real downside to those little coupons that people sell on the internet....they saturate with heat incredibly quickly, especially SS.

Increase your travel speed and get bigger coupons.

And practice, practice, practice.

Aluminum makes a nice welding surface, but it will scratch and gouge very easily so use care slamming pieces around or dragging heavy steel across it. My thoughts exactly. Only major downside of AL is the gouging and scratching. It can also occasionally be more convenient to have the steel surface ...

I, too, would not be worried at all about corrosion. And you really shouldn't even see any corrosion form unless you have the table in a particularly moist environment, and even then, a tiny bit of surface corrosion at those mating surfaces isn't gonna hurt a thing at all. And FWIW, I would also ele...

If you only plan to have one machine, then I definitely recommend getting AC/DC. Even if you don't plan on welding aluminum, the jobs will come up, so it's best to have the AC capability if you can afford it. IMO, DC-only TIG machines are really only practical as additions to shops that already have...

I second Metal Supermarkets. I have used them several times for small order stock since I have one locally, only about an hour drive away. For the store I use here in the DC area, I have noticed a price difference between ordering online, or just calling them to order. Calling is often cheaper price...

It's getting scary how many welders are defaulting to fusion passes these days regardless of material, joint type, or application. I guess it's just too easy to run pulse fusion passes to make a pretty weld. Pretty until it cracks that is... But the welder will have gotten the pic of that pretty wel...

I've never used solder wick outside of electronics work, but I can't see any reason that it wouldn't work the exact same for cleanup on joints like that. Just use the biggest wick you can find (#6 is the largest I have ever seen), use lots of flux, and don't scorch the wick with the torch as you are...

Your original issue could also have been caused by any sort of a slight breeze near your welding area. TIG can be particularly fussy with this, even to the point where a machine's fans can interfere with the weld even if the machine is several feet away from the weld area. Looks like you got it sort...

I've been running two of the CK20 flex heads for going on two years now. I love them and have experienced no issues, changes, or degradation in performance. The heads flex the same today as when they were bought new. If it is slightly looser, it's not enough that I can tell...meaning it's in no way ...

A clogged up diffuser could certainly interfere with the flow of the shielding gas. Definitely worth cleaning or replacing it. I replace my gas lenses every few months or so for this exact reason.

No pics. No condition/ownership description. No location. No asking price.

No, I'm not interested in that...

Wow. I've seen a lot of lazy ads, but this one takes the cake

It's sort of the old "crawl--walk--run" analogy. It's a good idea to develop the basic skills first and then progress from there. It will help you enormously if you spend maybe a few weeks learning basic puddle/heat/arc control with stick before moving on to TIG. You certainly don't need t...

Well, while you're dealing with that...my truck won't start. Should I change the battery?


Details, man....