It seems that every couple of weeks, there is a thread about buying or leasing welding gas cylinders. As with most forums there are as many opinions are there are people on the forum. Much like the question which welding process is best, there is no single right answer to this question. The bottom l...

Yep, It was schmutz on the back side. I was practicing on 18-20 gauge sheet. Specifically, there was some pitting on the back side of the scrap I was using for practice. After cleaning the back side of the material with a flap disk followed by acetone wipe the sparklers are gone. Thanks again. David

Interesting, I never realized that some places might not sell acetone.

Not sure if if makes any difference but I just checked the medicine cabinet. The key ingredient in our bottle of nail polish remover is ethyl acetate rather than acetone.

Dave

Thanks to everyone for all the feedback and suggestions. I also come from a music background. For me personally, the biggest change came when I started switching hands. I run a bead with my dominate hand and then switch to my weak hand. For some reason things just started to click. I try to divide m...

Last week, I got a box of ER70S-2 filler rod to see how it would work. So for the last couple of days, I have been switching back and forth just to see the differences. I am mostly practicing butt joints and lap joints on thin sheet. The machine is set for 50 Amps. DC. 1/16 filler and 1/16 thoriated...

Will the etch process Jody describes work on notched joins in round tube? Every time I have seen Jody do it he makes the cut on a right angle to the weld joint.

I have looked at a few of my lap joint on flat stock and it was humbling... yet informative.

David

Something I just learned the hard way.... If you are working with small diameter, thin wall tubing, purchase a small torch with lightweight flexible cable. Not having to man handle the heavy stiff cable that came with my entry level machine makes wrist rotations much more precise. And I also ordered...

Excellent summary as always. I am trying to separate my learning into four different areas: 1. Understand my materials and how they behave as heat and filler are added. 2. Understanding my machine setup like amperage, argon flow rate, and electrode selection and preparation. 3. Puddle management. Ho...

Thanks that helps. This evening's session was butt joints in 16 gauge steel with a .030 gap at 50 amps with 1/16 electrode and 1/16 filler. I prepped, tacked, and ran about 24 x 4 inch joints before I was ready to take a break. I'll probably head back out one more session and work on butt joints wit...

Another possibly dumb question.... How long can you new welders practice before you lose focus? After a couple of weeks, I try to time my practice session to use up about one filler rod before taking a break. Any longer than that, and my attention starts to wander and I get sloppy. How long do other...

Another vote in support of your videos. For some reason, my local technical college decided that all industrial classes would require full time enrolment. That makes it kind of hard for someone like me who wants to attend a class or two to improve a skill or learn something new. These videos are inv...

I got the mini grinder this afternoon. The grinder itself seems like it will do the job. I clamped it to the back of the workbench so that it is out of the way... but still handy enough that I can do a quick clean up each time I dip. As Poland308 mentioned, the wheel is so soft that it is nearly wor...

[quote]I have bought something very similar to sharpen tungstens.
At my level it is the most used piece of equipment when I tig.[/quote]

Sounds like we are in the same position. I sharpen a lot of tungstens:)

David

I came across this mini grinder at Harbor Freight http://www.harborfreight.com/3-inch-mini-tool-grinder-polisher-94071.html . I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts about how suitable it would be for sharpening tungstens. I currently use an angle grinder + cordless drill. I thought that for 20 b...

wow! Another drill I came up with to prepare for welding thin walled tubing is criss-cross beads on 16 gauge sheet. I take a piece of 3 inch by 3 inch 16 gauge scrape and run beads without filler every 1/2 inch. Then I rotate the piece 90 degrees and run the beads again avery 1/2 inch. This forces m...

I am looking for ways to practice on small diameter round tubing. One drill I have been trying is running parallel beads around a piece of round tubing. Currently I do 3-4 short beads that go about 45 deg around the tube before dunking the tube and repositioning. It is the best drill I have come up ...

I work with small round tube. Mostly 1 inch OD with a thickness between 0.080 and 0.120 both steel and aluminum. I have had pretty good luck with the good old pad of beads. Currently my problem (ok, biggest problem :) is keeping both hands in position as I rotate around the tube. I was wondering if ...

There seem to be several different model numbers for the Miller TIG gloves. Miller carries them as 263XXX while Amazon carries them as 249XXX.

Thanks, I'll check some of those suggestion out tomorrow when the stores open. Most of my current work is in the 50 to 70 amp range. The rigger gloves, tillmans, and millers should all work well in that range.

I was wondering if any of you old timers have some recommendations for a newcomer on gloves to use while tig welding. Each evening for the past couple of weeks I have been practicing with my feed hand while watching TV. Surprisingly, I can now get the end of the rod to go where I want it to most of ...

After about two weeks of use, I have to say that the Air filtration system makes spending time in the work shop more enjoyable.

Even more importantly, I don't drag dust and fumes in with me when I go back in the house... which make time spend in the house more enjoyable as well

David

Another weird question from a new welder. How close do you hold your head to your work when welding? I just noticed that I have been holding my head between 6 and 12 inches from my work! When I make a bead I am trying to watch both (a)where I am going via scribed lines, edges of the joint, or the ed...

Glad to hear my meager knowledge is helping someone. My first filter lasted just under 18 hours. Every corner had ten years of accumulated dirt and dust. When I went to bed I left the unit running on high. The moving air was enough to dislodge some of that gunk and pull it onto the filter. Tonight I...

FexEx must have been on fire. My Air Filtration System arrived today. I did a couple of quick tests. I just set the unit on a 3 foot high table about 8 feet from the work piece. Using the angle grinder to cut 1/4 flat stock it sucked in all the dust immediately when set to high speed. When set at a ...

Thanks, I ordered one. I'll let you know how it works.

As for outside ventilation, I will crack windows at opposite sides of the garage to get a slight cross breeze. As I get more involved in metalwork I can install a move sophisticated system.

Thanks
David