It can definitely be done. Just wire in a momentary on/off switch that matches what a regular torch switch rating would be to your machine. You can probably find one on Mouser ot DigiKey for under $10. Though why not just use a torch switch? Seems like that'e be easier than having another foot pedal...

I've got some 4130 coming to practice on so I'll go the single pass route. There's been an ongoing argument for years over single or multipass on 4130 cages in offroading. Seems the general consensus, at least since 2009, has been a quick root pass with no filler to fuse the joint then a second pass...

Well damn, I always thought once you got up to .120 wall preheat was needed. ER70 is what I'll be using. 2 pass TIG for the most part. MIG for some reason gives me migranes so I never go that route. I was looking into ER80 but from what I've been reading, ER70 has a little more flexibility to it, wh...

I know acetylene would be ideal, but I'm living in an apartment complex and it's a bit off limits. Never gotten into heavy wall 4130 before so preheat used to never be a worry. I know it will likely take way longer to get up to the 300*F preheat I'm after, but would the prolonged heating cause any i...

It's always a good idea to grind out the bad and fill in with new good. Could be grime, more cracking thats not visible, or other bad stuff in there.

Typically it's from the Nickel content. I believe most stainless steels are usually 10-14% nickel. Nickel likes to cool really quick and thats where the warpage usually comes from. We run into it all the time in jewelry with high nickel gold alloys. I don't have much experience in welding stainless ...

The halogen light definitely does work too. I used to do that when I started out on stick and only had an overhead 40w bulb in the garage.

Went down to 78ish amps, and got maybe 80% penetration. Even 90 amps today was blowing holes in everything instantly. Going to try mote heat and more speed again tonight on some larger pieces.

4043 is very prone to become grainy when cooled. It looks pretty normal for crappy 4043. You really need to crank your amps up to weld ally. 1/8” ally I weld with my box set st 170 and then pedal off. 80 is too cold to get it done correctly. That’s why the interior of the plate is super hot but the...

I know there was hardly any penetration. Was just giving it a try seeing if I was running too hot and slow but wasn't the case Edit: At the 80-90 EP I was having massive issues with the tungsten melting, cup exploding, and not even getting a puddle going on 1/16" at 160amps. Still not too sure ...

Normal? Thats weird, lol. The burn through issue was actually me having the machine set wrong. I thought I was adjusting EN but was actually adjusting EP, so I was up around 80 to 90EP. Silved the unstable arc, slow puddle, and and tungsten issues. I'll give more amps a try later. I thought Inwas ru...

Only thing I can think of thats causing this is poor filler metal. This started happening last night and again this afternoon. Cleaning action in front of the puddle looks great and the puddle is nice and shiney and fluid, but it cools weird on the surface. Filler was wiped with acetone and base met...

Try using a scribe and tracing your drawn out design to get a sharp edge. I always found that helped get a reflection to follow designs in low light situations.

If you're just stick welding it should be fine. I've been on job sites where grinders were not allowed and we weldes through so much worse stuff than Pam without ever having an issue. The Pam will likely vaporize anywhere near the weld puddle anyway long before it can contaminate anything.

Think I got it. Machine set to more amperage than needed. Full pedal, puddle starts, add dab of filler, back off to welding amps, and go. Turns out my issue was bad grounding. Was having a hell of a time getting anything going on the first practice pad. Peppering, no puddle starting, melted tungsten...

Jody's rule of getting a puddle going in a few seconds and then getting going is what you should aim for. On most alu pieces this means mashing the pedal down quickly :) For the most part thats what I was aiming for. I'll see what happens tonight now that I had some time to sleep on it. I'm just co...

Looks like you got an SL2-35M instead of an SL2-35. Look at this page http://www.ckworldwide.com/dinse-gas-cooled.html I've got a 210EXT as well, but I got my torches from Everlast. I did make up an extension for the ground and had no problem with the connectors for that. He said it's blocked off a...

More questions, though now Aluminum. Too lazy to cut up steel tonight. :lol: I've only ever welded Aluminum once before so it's foreign to me. Man is it hard to get a puddle started. My hood doesn't seem to do well with aluminum so the few stops and starts were me being flashed. Anyway, so I was mes...

Acid washes work, but neutralizing and clean up afterwards is another mess. Clay and white vinegar! Works just as well as the acid and only a slightly smelly cleanup. Build a dam around the edge of the table and just dump some white vinegar in. Leave it over night, then just pull the clay off, let ...

Acid washes work, but neutralizing and clean up afterwards is another mess. Clay and white vinegar! Works just as well as the acid and only a slightly smelly cleanup. Build a dam around the edge of the table and just dump some white vinegar in. Leave it over night, then just pull the clay off, let ...

We'll see about that, lol. Hopefully I can get a job welding again to get more practice time in...at least something other than some ghetto ass structural stuff. Last job I got left me at the job site with only 50ft of ground cable because he thought all the tag anchors were connected inside the con...

Ran some more practice plates while waiting for some milscale to pickle off of some other cut up plates. More heat and going twice as fast definitely helps. Torch arm and feed arm got hung up on the edge of my table a few times. The last T joint I finally ran a bead without any bobbles.

I usually do quench. The bucket was right next to me the whole time too. I'm not the smartest sometimes.

About right there in the middle I realized, more heat and more speed! (then it all kinda just turned into one blob down the rest of the plate. Decided to just go one after another after another and didn't even realize the plate was glowing bright ass red) I was so focused on rythem that I realized I...

Is there a certain numbers of posts that have to be met by a poster before we can post pictures? The up load icon is not showing up when I post. I have searched the How to use the forum and only see that a file size max of 256kb. Joe I'm using the forums on my phone so it may be different, but it's...