Welding Tips and Tricks

G'day All!

My name is Adam but my mates call me Flo.

I consider myself a beginner welder with the extent of my welding experience a small amount of stick and TIG welding completed as part of my trade apprenticeship over 20 years ago.

I don't have a welder currently but have been doing lots of research to try and decide what I want to spend my money on. I'll be asking for some opinions in due course.

This website is a great resource and Jody's videos are very helpful and easy to watch.

Anyway I'm sure I'll ask some dumb questions so please forgive me in advance!

Cheers!

Flo

Welcome to the forum Flo.

Cheers Mike!

Welcome, Flo!

I suspect there's an interesting story behind that nickname.

I'll withhold any suggestions on machines, as there are many members here from your part of the planet who can advice on service availability, access to consumables, etc. (Hell, even the brand names differ for identical machines... Aussie independent spirit, I suppose?)

Steve S

Hi Steve,

I wish I had an interesting story to share about my nickname but in reality my surname is Florence. We Aussies are a lazy bunch and if we can shorten something then we do.. hence Flo. That, and my mates probably think I'm a big girl! Haha!!

But I'm really cool with it and people generally tend to remember interesting names, so, when as a hirsute male I tell people to call me Flo you can see the cogs ticking over in their heads! Some reactions are priceless!

Cheers,

Flo

Hey Flo.

Definitely keep watching Jody's videos. Never stop. Personally, they gave me an amazing head start, particularly in aluminium welding. I knew what to watch for and what to expect before I ever lit up.

All the best. But beware, this thing starts as a door into 'practical solutions' and becomes a very addictive hobby! ( And expensive. Ahem.)


Kym

Wow!

It's extremely rare for me to see the word "hirsute" use correctly in a sentence in everyday conversation.

Steve S

Hi Kym,

Yes Jody's videos are very informative and easy to watch and I have watched a good deal of them many times!

And there's nothing wrong with a little addiction is there??

Flo

Otto Nobedder wrote:Wow!

It's extremely rare for me to see the word "hirsute" use correctly in a sentence in everyday conversation.

Haha!! In reality it's probably rare to see that word used at all!

Flo

OzFlo wrote:

Otto Nobedder wrote:Wow!

It's extremely rare for me to see the word "hirsute" use correctly in a sentence in everyday conversation.

Haha!! In reality it's probably rare to see that word used at all!

Flo

I wonder how many people reading this thread have now looked it up?



Steve S

Only those seeking edification, Steve.


Kym

Now I have to look up hirsute and edification, These words are quite the perplexing conundrum to me.

I just bought my first TIG a couple weeks ago. I was after one of the more "economical" ones, either red or green but not one of those cheapo ebay specials. Green was out of stock and no idea when they'd have more so I checked out the red ones. Saved some money too, performance and features are identical. I'm very happy with it and it works as I expect it to however I have nothing to compare it to.

Stockist is up the coast so I had to buy without trying it out, (don't think they have demo's anyway) or seeing it other than reviews from various Aussie forums. If you are thinking along the lines of a machine in this price bracket you can demo the green ones in Botany if they get any more stock in or else you're welcome to have a test run on mine, just shoot us a pm if you want more info re model/price specifics of the ones I've been looking at.

MosquitoMoto wrote: But beware, this thing starts as a door into 'practical solutions' and becomes a very addictive hobby! ( And expensive. Ahem.)
Kym

Welcome to the Forum ! ...and yeah , ya start to collect all the little "doo dads"

What flavour red? Token tools?

weldin mike 27 wrote:What flavour red? Token tools?

And if so, which one? If it's the MetalMaster 215 Elite, you have yourself an awesome little machine. I'm loving mine.


Kym

MosquitoMoto wrote:

weldin mike 27 wrote:What flavour red? Token tools?

And if so, which one? If it's the MetalMaster 215 Elite, you have yourself an awesome little machine. I'm loving mine.


Kym

I got the Alupulse 210 PRO. I think the 215 Elite is the multiprocess? I already have a 275 BOC Mig with remote I bought used (older Kemppi machine) and Smootharc 185 stick and an Everlast 50 plasma so pretty covered for the other processes. I gotta say though the Alupulse is like TIG for dummies.

Probably would have been better off with the multiprocess had it been around a few years ago before I got the other welders. Then again the mig has been awesome especially when I discovered what spray transfer was and that mine could do it with a bit of headroom, and on a 240v machine to boot.

Sounds great. Multi process don't do ac tig. (not the mig/stick /tags anyway)

Sent from my ZTE T83 using Tapatalk

Ah my mistake, its a AC/DC tig, stick and plasma. No mig, still for all the use my plasma gets I could have probably just got this one in the first place. I did use it a fair bit when building my welding table, but not a lot since.

Rupes wrote:

MosquitoMoto wrote:

weldin mike 27 wrote:What flavour red? Token tools?

And if so, which one? If it's the MetalMaster 215 Elite, you have yourself an awesome little machine. I'm loving mine.


Kym

I got the Alupulse 210 PRO. I think the 215 Elite is the multiprocess? I already have a 275 BOC Mig with remote I bought used (older Kemppi machine) and Smootharc 185 stick and an Everlast 50 plasma so pretty covered for the other processes. I gotta say though the Alupulse is like TIG for dummies.

Probably would have been better off with the multiprocess had it been around a few years ago before I got the other welders. Then again the mig has been awesome especially when I discovered what spray transfer was and that mine could do it with a bit of headroom, and on a 240v machine to boot.

Cool.

I have the 215. All I had was a small stick welder, and I wanted both ACDC pulse TIG as well as a plasma cutter, so very happy with the machine. Don't know if I'll ever be after a MIG, but I'd never say never!

If you're half as happy with your 210 as I am with my 215, you're gonna be stoked.


Kym

All good mate. One point, someone one here fried a plasma cutter multiple process by accidentally trying to tig while it was set to plasma. Just be wary of where the knobs are set.

Sent from my ZTE T83 using Tapatalk

weldin mike 27 wrote:All good mate. One point, someone one here fried a plasma cutter multiple process by accidentally trying to tig while it was set to plasma. Just be wary of where the knobs are set.

Sent from my ZTE T83 using Tapatalk

Good tip, although I'm pretty sure mine won't let me do that. Mind you, if anyone can stuff it up, I am that man.


Kym

You'll be right. I was surprised at the story, that it would do that much damage

Sent from my ZTE T83 using Tapatalk

Rupes wrote:I just bought my first TIG a couple weeks ago. I was after one of the more "economical" ones, either red or green but not one of those cheapo ebay specials. Green was out of stock and no idea when they'd have more so I checked out the red ones. Saved some money too, performance and features are identical. I'm very happy with it and it works as I expect it to however I have nothing to compare it to.

Stockist is up the coast so I had to buy without trying it out, (don't think they have demo's anyway) or seeing it other than reviews from various Aussie forums. If you are thinking along the lines of a machine in this price bracket you can demo the green ones in Botany if they get any more stock in or else you're welcome to have a test run on mine, just shoot us a pm if you want more info re model/price specifics of the ones I've been looking at.

Hi Rupes,

I have also been considering those two brands but I am not yet ready to buy due to lack of available funds.. having to save up is painful but it's a good lesson for my kids. Mind you I'd rather BE welding than just READING about it!

OzFlo wrote:

Rupes wrote:I just bought my first TIG a couple weeks ago. I was after one of the more "economical" ones, either red or green but not one of those cheapo ebay specials. Green was out of stock and no idea when they'd have more so I checked out the red ones. Saved some money too, performance and features are identical. I'm very happy with it and it works as I expect it to however I have nothing to compare it to.

Stockist is up the coast so I had to buy without trying it out, (don't think they have demo's anyway) or seeing it other than reviews from various Aussie forums. If you are thinking along the lines of a machine in this price bracket you can demo the green ones in Botany if they get any more stock in or else you're welcome to have a test run on mine, just shoot us a pm if you want more info re model/price specifics of the ones I've been looking at.

Hi Rupes,

I have also been considering those two brands but I am not yet ready to buy due to lack of available funds.. having to save up is painful but it's a good lesson for my kids. Mind you I'd rather BE welding than just READING about it!

I feel your pain, Flo.

I had to repair a dirt bike, advertise it and sell it to get my welder. Didn't want to sell the bike, a big KTM two stroke that I loved, but couldn't hit the family budget. And it took forever to sell! But it gave me lots of time to watch Jody's videos over and over...

Kym