Perfect! Thanks much!

cj737 - Thanks for some solid recommendations. Aside from the one that you said NOT to use, I hadn't seen either of these options. But both look like they'll do the trick. That knotted one that you recommended to not use - ouch! Man, that would scratch the hell out of aluminum! Ever tried brass by t...

I'm looking for a way to clean up my aluminum welds without marring the weld itself or the surrounding material. I currently use a stainless wire wheel on an angle grinder but this tends to be too abrasive. I just want, in a way, to "polish up"my weld without actually making it gleam. Flap...

Great. Do I need to neutralize the metal prior to welding with baking soda or some such?

So I did a little test with plain old white vinegar. It takes a little time but it eats the mill scale right off. Funny, when I MIG (or flux-core) weld, I can just ignore it. TIG welding is another story. Every time I miss some or forget to get rid of it, my weld flares up green, ruins my tungsten, ...

And welcome to the forum! It's a terrific resource for learning welders and welders who want to improve their skills.

It doesn't LOOK like cast iron to me. But you never know. Did you clean the daylights out of it? No residue? No left over paint? Wipe it with acetone? Your welding with DC negative, right? Not AC. I'm not an expert on grinding colors but the sparks coming off the metal when you grind it are an indic...

Arno, Thanks. Ever tried plain old white vinegar? Fumes and all that from acid will probably freak my co-workers out so looking for something a little less potent.

Anyone know of a chemical way to get rid of mill scale? Meaning, other than using a flap disc or wire wheel?

Perfect!

Sorry, didn't notice you had both responded.

I too doubt that it's real beeswax. Partially because acetone doesn't touch it.

On the high sulphur content oil, any chance you can post a link? Sounds promising.

THKS.

tweake and cj737, thanks for that. Glad to know I'm not the only one suffering from potentially inferior gas lenses. My workable setup, btw, is a 26 torch, 3/32" stubby gas lens, No. 9 quartz nozzle (yep - it's definitely a No. 9) with a 3/32 LaYZr tungsten. The gas-saver kits sound interesting...

Has anyone noticed varying degrees of gas coverage with different brands of gas lenses? I switch between two brands myself and I have found that one of these delivers far better argon coverage than the other. The one that's not so good requires me to limit my tungsten stick-out to about 1/4" wh...

Thanks to both of you for that. It hadn't occurred to me that cutting/drilling oils/fluids could even vary with the metal being used. There you go. Learn something new every day. I'll go with acetone. It probably doesn't dissolve beeswax-based cutting oil but I'll just change to something that aceto...

Can anyone recommend a welding-friendly cutting lube? I'm using something called Lubri-Cut, only problem is washing the stuff off before I weld. Seeing as it's wax-based, it doesn't just wash away with water or alcohol. I do a lot of cutting and shaping and drilling on some of my pieces before I wel...

Good. That's what I thought you'd say. I just need to keep calm and wait it out. And, like you said, pile up a bunch of work to systematically just work through.

I've posted recently regarding welding SS rod and tubing, both welding and flame straightening. I've looked up some other videos on the latter. Big question: is there any liability in quenching with cold water hot SS (or mild steel or aluminum for that matter) immediately following welding or flame ...

Good. I'll post my results. I must say it's quite satisfying to be able to perfectly straighten deformed metal.

I'm welding 72" x 6" frames from 0.375" stainless steel tubing with a 0.035" wall thickness. If you can imagine a trombone - the part that slides back and forth - this is what my pieces look like. They're lighting diffusion frames for the film industry. These SS tubing frames wel...

Thanks VERY much for the feedback. Yes - one of my pet peeves is that I can't just weld. It's two or three dabs and then reposition. Couple that with my inherent lack of patience and it's quite trying. It would be terrific if I had the equipment to fit these things up and reposition them perfectly b...

I'm going to try the Jazzy 10 (just ordered one). Can you take a look at these pix and give me some pointers? The middle one is rod to rod. The others are rod to tubing. I don't think I'm doing awfully and the welds are holding but man, this takes too long! THKS! Jon [attachment=0]DSC00010.JPG[/atta...

I'm welding 3/8" SS tubing, 0.035" wall with a stubby gas lens set up, #8 Furick glass cup, 18CFH AR. I'm wondering if I should be using a bigger cup but am concerned it would just get in the way in these tight, tight corners. I think I'd need to much stick-out. But I'm finding that the mo...

That helps. Thanks very much. You're right - 5356 @ 3/32" is what I have to hand. But I also have plenty of 4043 @ 1/16" so I'll just stick with that. With my machine set at 185 amps, I'm not close to full penetration on this 1/8" wall material interestingly enough but my welds are ho...

Today I'm welding 1" square aluminum tubing. 6061, 1/8" wall. I'm welding a bunch of rectangles that are about 18" x 8". So my main members are 18" and the intersecting members are 6". I'll get some pictures but in the meantime, hopefully this paints a picture. I'm tack...

Got it. Very interesting. Makes perfect sense.