welding tutioral

[critter]

hey all,
how about somebody doing a welding tutioral with tips for welding up frames.i know there is a bunch of newbys out there with new welders that dont have a clue so well head them in the right track.ill get the ball rolling with a couple.first make shure your metal is the exact right length,a 1/32 in. here and a 1/32 there and it wont be square.use squares, lasers,or you can use a tape measure cross corners to get it exactly square.when you weld it together spot weld every 1 1/2 in all around first but not in the same joint all at one time.the heat will warp it and it wont be square so do 1 or 2 pot welds on one corner then go to another back and forth till you have it all spotted.then go back and weld the rest.hope this helps someone.lets hear from some pf the pros out there

[Chris C]

I've found this site: http://www.hobartwelders.com/mboard/ very helpful with welding questions. Nice bunch of fellows.

[madjack]

critter. I believe that BG is doing eggzactly that with the trailer frame he is building for Julie...will probably put it in a pdf and link it at the top when he is done
madjack

[PaulC]

so do 1 or 2 pot welds

Hey Maaaan, That sounds so cooooool

[Guy]

Here is a MIG welding tutorial with web videos. A site the experts here will have to rate.[/url]

[D. Tillery]

Yeah, There is a lot of great info from the real pros, AWS certified welders, available online.

Here are the major sites I know
http://www.aws.org/
http://www.millerwelds.com/
http://www.esab.com/
http://www.lincolnelectric.com/

I am not AWS certified. Anytime I need any really technical info I search online or call someone I know who might know. I've been welding for about 20 yrs and I weld almost every day, about 300# of wire a year, plus stick, TIG and oxy/acet brazing. I'll do my best to answer any questions. If I don't know I may know where to find out. But surely there is someone around this forum w/ some AWS certs and/or more experience.

[Hardin Valley Magic]

One word of advice.... patience. Don't be in any hurry and take your sweet time. Make that tear drop time!!

[D. Tillery]

Patience is good.

Also, don't put a death grip on your gun, torch or stinger. Treat it like an instrument, not a sledgehammer. Relax and breathe (but stay out of the plume). You will be much more steady and won't wear yourself out.

Coming soon: Penetration and Undercut

PS I used a customer's Snap-On the other day which got me thinking about the "little things" I like and don't about different machines but maybe that's another thread if anyone's interested.

[toypusher]

......Also, don't put a death grip on your gun, torch or stinger. Treat it like an instrument, not a sledgehammer. Relax and breathe ......... You will be much more steady and won't wear yourself out.

Coming soon: Penetration and Undercut

PS I used a customer's Snap-On the other day ................

Take this out of context and :

[Hardin Valley Magic]

That just ain't right no matter how you look at it!!
Only the editor extrodinair woulda caught that!!

[Hardin Valley Magic]

On a more serious note. I've used several different machines since I've been welding.
What I've found is just time will help. Esp. with the cheaper welders. They all do a simaliar job just some need the extra time and steadiness.

[D. Tillery]

OK y'all are too much.

But Billie Jean King is still the spokesperson for Snap-On Tools.

Look what you've started

[D. Tillery]

Aside from how various machines perform some features, or lack thereof, can really make things easier over time, or bug the crap out of you.

On this Snap on I used

It's a little beat up but it welded great. Strong duty cycle and did not wimp out and break up on some long hot welds of several minutes straight on a OTR car trailer. But it is a 250 amp machine, bigger than most need.
The one little thing that bugged the crap out of me is that it did not have a handle on it. Rolling it around was a pain in the ass with no handle and left no good place to hang the torch hose. Hanging it on the side as shown, I found inconvenient.

What I really thought was a neat feature is the plug on the back

It allows you to just make cords how ever long you need with only one plug.

Anyway, just a couple of little things that can make a big difference over time.

I think that Century Electric makes Snap-On as well as Craftsman. The Snap-On sticker will cost you about a 30% premium, Craftsman sticker about 20%.

[Kevin A]

I have a question. A poster in another unrelated thread mentioned using argon with (I assume) his wirefeed (mig) welder. I'm using Co2 with my wirefeed. The question I have is what gas are you all using and what results are you noticing in your welds? And no methane is NOT a welding gas for any of you anticipating fart jokes....

[madjack]

...argon.....................