I heard that in grade school!!!!!Yes, I showed mine.
My new welder...
- Thread starter bobs409
- Start date
The video's I watched say to cut the tip off when it gets dipped to avoid leaving any contamination or transferring it to the grinding wheel. Don't shoot the messenger, just what I've been told.
Also, I've given up on the cut off wheels, they work great at first but soon they just get smooth on the edge and stop cutting. I started putting the tungsten in my vice and snapping the tip off. So far, so good.
I heard that in grade school!!!!!
Please stop doing that. At your age, you could get arrested!
Yes, I showed mine.
Well I don't want to brag but my torch is a #26. One of the larger variety.
Well, I've only got a 17. 
And with a stubby gas lense kit, I can cut off the contaminated end and resharpen(this is a regular thing for me) to use up most of the tungsten.
And with a stubby gas lense kit, I can cut off the contaminated end and resharpen(this is a regular thing for me) to use up most of the tungsten.
I'm moving up in the world. Got me a 49 piece China made (probably all made there) stubby gas lens kit. Even has (6) #10 clear cups!
Shipped all mix up in the bag but I sorted it all out and all looks good. Probably the same thing you can buy for a LOT more elsewhere.
Got all this for a whopping $27.34 plus tax.
Shipped all mix up in the bag but I sorted it all out and all looks good. Probably the same thing you can buy for a LOT more elsewhere.
Got all this for a whopping $27.34 plus tax.
That is one heck of a set Bob. If I may ask, where did you find it?
If you can't pull off a weld with that, your not worth your salt.
You may.
I got it on ebay:https://www.ebay.com/itm/49pcs-TIG-...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
It's official. Harbor Freight has been purchased, one item at a time. It is under new ownership and hence forth will be called Bob Freight.
Well Bob what's your perfessional opinion on your Everlast so far? I bought the 255 EXT a couple of years back I unboxed it and haven't used it yet, it was kind of a last minute tax write off.
Mark
So far, so AWESOME! No complaints yet other than the loud fan but I think many have it that way. So you've been holding out on us! Get that damn thing plugged in and run some beads!
I've been practicing Tig welding almost every day and was finding myself getting frustrated sometimes. Some days I felt like I was getting somewhere but then there would be a day like yesterday where I was not happy withe my progress. So you sit there and try to figure out what you did wrong but when your new, it's not so easy.
Today I improved BIG time! Last night I was watching some welding video's (big surprise huh?) and a guy was welding a new eyebrow into a 55 Chevy fender. I noticed how s-l-o-w he was going which really surprised me on sheet metal. I was under the impression you got in there, got the bead done and get out quickly. That's what was messing me up.
So I researched travel speeds with Tig welding and some more videos and today I decided to test out my new found knowledge. WOW! What a difference!
One of my problems was inconsistency. One weld would look good, the next not so good. Thick beads, thin beads, tall beads, skipping beads (the worst!) From there it got worse when it came to lap welds and inside corners. I find those the hardest. Well I did... I did some kick ass beads on both today. My welds are more consistent in width and height too.
The trick (for me anyway) is to slow down! Wait for that puddle to build and stay there until it does. Then you can start to feed the filler rod and begin to move. Move at an even rate as best as you can and WATCH that puddle closely! Don't move ahead of it. I put in the magnifying lens in and that's a big help. I can really see things now. Another important thing is to keep as tight of an arc as possible. The closer you get, the better things go. (until you dip a tungsten which I'm not too bad about)
The biggest pain so far isn't sharpening tungstens but preparing metal to weld for practice. It doesn't take long to burn through it. It does however take a lot of time cutting and fitting, removing mill scale, cleaning and positioning the pieces to weld. I've been doing mostly inside corners and lap joints.
I'm really stoked about my practicing with 18 gauge sheet metal. When you get that one down, you're ready for patch panels!!! I'm almost there!
I couldn't find any .045 filler rods around here so I bought some .045 mig wire. It works great! I had to buy a 10 pound roll so I see a lot of patch work in my future. It was only $9.98 too!
Today I improved BIG time! Last night I was watching some welding video's (big surprise huh?) and a guy was welding a new eyebrow into a 55 Chevy fender. I noticed how s-l-o-w he was going which really surprised me on sheet metal. I was under the impression you got in there, got the bead done and get out quickly. That's what was messing me up.
So I researched travel speeds with Tig welding and some more videos and today I decided to test out my new found knowledge. WOW! What a difference!
One of my problems was inconsistency. One weld would look good, the next not so good. Thick beads, thin beads, tall beads, skipping beads (the worst!) From there it got worse when it came to lap welds and inside corners. I find those the hardest. Well I did... I did some kick ass beads on both today. My welds are more consistent in width and height too.
The trick (for me anyway) is to slow down! Wait for that puddle to build and stay there until it does. Then you can start to feed the filler rod and begin to move. Move at an even rate as best as you can and WATCH that puddle closely! Don't move ahead of it. I put in the magnifying lens in and that's a big help. I can really see things now. Another important thing is to keep as tight of an arc as possible. The closer you get, the better things go. (until you dip a tungsten which I'm not too bad about)
The biggest pain so far isn't sharpening tungstens but preparing metal to weld for practice. It doesn't take long to burn through it. It does however take a lot of time cutting and fitting, removing mill scale, cleaning and positioning the pieces to weld. I've been doing mostly inside corners and lap joints.
I'm really stoked about my practicing with 18 gauge sheet metal. When you get that one down, you're ready for patch panels!!! I'm almost there!
I couldn't find any .045 filler rods around here so I bought some .045 mig wire. It works great! I had to buy a 10 pound roll so I see a lot of patch work in my future.
It was only $9.98 too!Yeah I'm not much of a welder because I don't do enough welding to improve but where I really have trouble is I have a hard time seeing. I bought a Miller welding mask that I really like but the only way you can add a magnifier is to use the provided lens frames which look like frames on your reading glasses but every place I go like Walmart and Sam's club want me to get a prescription from a Optometrist before they will install simple reading lenses in the frames so that has been my stumbling block with that. I knew that Tig welding was going to be a challenge for me but like I said it was a last minute buy and a tax write off. Another place I have trouble is my garage isn't heated and if I forget to take the wire out of my Miller 251 the wire will rust on me and I've wasted a lot of wire by forgetting to remove the wire.
Mark
Mark
For sale: Everlast 255. New in box...
One thing is for sure, you have to have a strong interest to learn Tig! Even then it's rough.I burned some rod today! Just got back in from another session. I can't believe the difference that a day makes. I can't prep metal fast enough to feed my learning desire.
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wristpin
Well Known Member
When sharpening tip get it as needle sharp as you possibly can. To finish sharpening i use a belt sander with fine grit and point the tip toward the belt as it comes toward me rolling the tungsten in my fingers and lifting it off the sandpaper so it doesnt overheat.
Once the arc is established look for that blue dot in your puddle. Have fun tigging.
Once the arc is established look for that blue dot in your puddle. Have fun tigging.
Here's a tip for anyone still practicing that is having trouble seeing the puddle. Skip the thin materials and go right to 1/4" steel plate. By using the thicker metal, you can use larger tungsten and larger filler rod making the puddle and bead much larger, therefore easier to see. It will be much easier to do thinner stuff later once you have the basics down.
Best to have a big enough piece so you can run beads all over it. You can even dunk it in water now and then to cool it. It's going into the scrap bin when your done anyway.
Best to have a big enough piece so you can run beads all over it. You can even dunk it in water now and then to cool it. It's going into the scrap bin when your done anyway.
Take your tig and a generator down to the mall and practice on all the metal in the parking lot the 4-wheelers won't mind their a generous forgiving bunch....not. Why it was just today I was cutting a corner in the Dog and trying to get through the light before it turned red and this Blozo in a Chevy pickup had half his truck past the white line at the light so I usually try to cut those real close and I must have succeeded cause he layed on the horn and I probably got flipped off too but it could have also been because he thought I was trying to screw him on the light but anyway it was all worth it and it makes my day if I get to screw over one of these cretons.
Mark
Mark