Welding Tips and Tricks

Hello everybody. Great forum you have here. A bit about myself. Spent 8 years in the army as a mechanic and "retired" After that spent time going from job to job. Always wanted to run my own shop so last year I did. Started out as a general automotive repair shop but quickly was steered towards performance cars. I did not realize how much of a demand there is for fabrication work. I did spend years on and off teaching my self how to tig weld. Last year bought a Syncrowave 250 and just recently ordered in a Dynasty 280 DX. Im a mechanic that knows hoe to weld. I have never reseived any formal training so any and all input is helpful. Here is a bit of what i do.

Welcome to the forum.

Welcome,
Skylineauto,
It seems you have a solid basis in TIG welding. We'll be happy to contribute anything we can.

Nice work!

Steve S

Welcome skyline!

Not perfect, but not F***in' bad! Pretty good for a self taught mechanic, I would say! You are building complex and difficult assemblies; as opposed to the production line stuff most TIG welders in my area see. Take your time with it, don't rush and look for consistency; consistency within each stringer and from stringer to stringer. You will only get better from here!
Gary

My biggest fear is having welds crack and fail on exhaust systems. I hear the arguments about the thermo expansion of stainless vs steel when it comes to higher heat. Most people would say use steel because it's more forgiving. Most times I run the welder a little hot to get more penitration.

Skylineauto wrote:My biggest fear is having welds crack and fail on exhaust systems. I hear the arguments about the thermo expansion of stainless vs steel when it comes to higher heat. Most people would say use steel because it's more forgiving. Most times I run the welder a little hot to get more penitration.

One of my teachers and mentors at school is a big proponent of steel exhausts purely for the thermal expansion aspects. In his line of work (dirt car) most people would trash the headers before they ever rusted out

Skylineauto wrote:My biggest fear is having welds crack and fail on exhaust systems. I hear the arguments about the thermo expansion of stainless vs steel when it comes to higher heat. Most people would say use steel because it's more forgiving. Most times I run the welder a little hot to get more penitration.

Be careful excess heat when it comes to stainless!