Welding Tips and Tricks

Hey gang,
New guy here. I've got a simple Lincoln MIG box than I run on 110V and I'm hoping to start doing a little bit of my own fabrication for my hobby cars: 1969 Datsun 510 (need to fab a supercharger bracket, amongst other things) and a 1984 Cadillac Limo (various rusted body panel repairs)

I just ordered the new 2018 AHP 200x and plan to run off of 110V as well.

I'll take a look at the post archive before I start asking really dumb questions, but in general I need to make some decisions on the following (I don't' expect answers here):

Gas cups/ gas lens upgrades needed?
Tungsten size selection
Gas cylinders/ Argon/He, or straight Argon.
TIG finger ?

Figure I'll buy what I can here to support the site!

I look forward to learning the craft.
-Cory

Here is a PDF file I just found.

http://www.ckworldwide.com/technical_specs.pdf


Here are some of my favorite links that I have used.

Tungsten Electrodes Review---->>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzEuV83UGMY

TIG Welding Tips - 3 Tips that Matter Most---->>>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNAAhwieNhU

TIG Welding Basics Overview---->>>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0oiq7B ... cP-7xibubS

How to Tig Weld Steel - a Tig Welding Skill Drill---->>>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzIF0H02fBw

Learn how to tig weld better & faster - by learning how to feed that tig rod---->>>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rVqWeS4rbA

Tig Welding Steel and Controlling Heat Input---->>>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmVCLi6cxok

TIG Welding Rod Rack, Pulse Settings, Speed Tacking and more---->>>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FppoWj8MyfE

TIG Welding Rods, Tig Rod Storage, and Arc Shots---->>>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhCc_ALFhXM

Tig Welding with ER70S-2 vs ER70S-6---->>>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QmO-LXJ1j0

Thank-You Jody Collier!!! I'm just joined your Patron only feed to show my support for All the great videos you have produced!!!

https://www.patreon.com/posts/welding-tips-and-7130640

Thanks Again Jody!!!

My 255EX arrives today going to practices all weekend!!!

Datsun510 wrote: Gas cups/ gas lens upgrades needed? a stubby 3/32 lens, #8 cup is very versatile. You might get both ceramic (pink) and a Pyrex (clear)
Tungsten size selection 3/32 lanthanated tungsten
Gas cylinders/ Argon/He, or straight Argon. 100% Argon. Skip the helium unless you're welding Aluminum. If you do ally, you'll need 220v in a hurry.
TIG finger ? Oven mitt? Same principle. Comfort and safety are self-answering questions

Your MIG box would actually be a safer bet for tacking up body panels than learning to TIG tack those. In both circumstances, your metal must be shiny bright and clean (both sides when dealing with thin stuff). The TIG will be great for brackets and such, but MIG for tack, move, tack can't be beat. One-handed operation, enough metal to prevent burn through, and solid penetration. Run your standard 75/25 mix and you're off to the races. I like 0.023/0.024 wire for this type of work.

When you fab up your brackets, tack both ends to help prevent distortion. And clamp if at all possible the "base" piece. Watch your heat input so you don't end up with a taco. And let things cool down before you go nuts with your beads. Mild steel, ER70S-2 and a 3/32 setup and you can weld just about anything for your car.

Welcome to the forum, Cory.

Thanks for the kind welcome, I'll take a look at all the links. Looking forward to sharing some first beads!

cj737 wrote:

Datsun510 wrote: Gas cups/ gas lens upgrades needed? a stubby 3/32 lens, #8 cup is very versatile. You might get both ceramic (pink) and a Pyrex (clear)
Tungsten size selection 3/32 lanthanated tungsten
Gas cylinders/ Argon/He, or straight Argon. 100% Argon. Skip the helium unless you're welding Aluminum. If you do ally, you'll need 220v in a hurry.
TIG finger ? Oven mitt? Same principle. Comfort and safety are self-answering questions

Your MIG box would actually be a safer bet for tacking up body panels than learning to TIG tack those. In both circumstances, your metal must be shiny bright and clean (both sides when dealing with thin stuff). The TIG will be great for brackets and such, but MIG for tack, move, tack can't be beat. One-handed operation, enough metal to prevent burn through, and solid penetration. Run your standard 75/25 mix and you're off to the races. I like 0.023/0.024 wire for this type of work.

When you fab up your brackets, tack both ends to help prevent distortion. And clamp if at all possible the "base" piece. Watch your heat input so you don't end up with a taco. And let things cool down before you go nuts with your beads. Mild steel, ER70S-2 and a 3/32 setup and you can weld just about anything for your car.

Thanks for the overall advice especially regarding tacking with MIG. I'll have to see what wire is in my Lincoln, it came with two spools when I bought it used (one flux core and one non-flux core), I've been running practice beads with the non flux (with 75/25), so I'll post some of those beads for feedback sometime soon!