Arc blow is not a myth. Far from it. Back in my shipyard days I saw joints so magnetized that you could fill them with
MT powder and not a spec fall out. Only guaranteed sure fire way to defeat magnetism is to heat the metal above 1550F.

Welcome to "The Hood"!

That machine has more than enough "ass" to handle what you are talking about doing. I have the 200DX (no dual voltage) and have no trouble with aluminum in the sizes you've mentioned. At 20A you should have no problem lighting up, circling the torch around to let the cleaning action "...

Back in my shipyard days we pounded literally tons of 11018 and 8018 They didn't even allow 7018 through the gate. We were welding mostly HY-80 11018 always seemed to run real smooth and it was clean, strong and looked top notch. Minimal spatter too so clean up was pretty easy. A lot of the stuff we...

I piped the shop with 3/4" PEX water tubing. The fittings are all held to the tubing with crimp rings Copper is fine but the PEX tubing was a significant savings to my wallet. I also fashioned a drier out of a 3/4" whole house water filter housing. You can buy desiccant by the pound but ca...

Last time I was up that way it looked more like the land of old men holding hands! LOL!

Seriously, I love the NC mountains. A great place to tear through the twisties on two wheels!

Spark on man, spark on!

Feel free to post up some pics of them that beads!

Welcome to "The Hood" Tom!

Welcome to "The Hood"!

What part of NC are you in?
I'm down in the "Sand". The land of golf balls and sand spurs.

Ayelet

This is a forum that helps others but many are cautious with new people here.
Many times we get trolls with ulterior motives so forgive these guys for not being all warm and fuzzy.
Oh, welcome to "the hood"

I third that. LOL! For me I always found overhead worked best with my rod at about a 5 degree push angle and keep the tip of the rod pushed in tight. Almost feels like you are forcing the rod tip into the puddle. I always went for a tight, long stringer bead. Hanging around in one spot too long and ...

As long as it High , do you self a fever for all 301,302 304 304l, 316,316l use 316l rod fuck the rest, just have one :) Do you eat with that mouth too? :oops: I'm a firm believer in having as many different fillers as possible. Many times the customer will have a specific procedure in mind and req...

Steve, most forklifts get broken due to a loose nut behind the steering wheel. Just for example a 5000 lb forklift is built to be able to safely lift and carry 5000 lbs on a pallet with the load evenly distributed on the forks with the max load as close to the carriage as possible. Now when some hot...

Welcome to "The Hood" Perry. Nothing beats seat time for learning tig. Grab some aluminum and work with that. Master aluminum and carbon and stainless will be a snap. A steady hand makes for a better looking bead so don't be afraid to prop. Oh, and, get a tig finger! ( shameless plug )

Welcome to "the hood"! :mrgreen: Remember, there are no dumb questions. Only dummies who are too afraid to ask questions. We have a great bunch here. All help and no attitudes! So, ask away. Sorry about your dad man. It always hurts to lose a loved one. We'll help hone your skills and make...

This could be a good candidate for silicon bronze mig.

http://store.cyberweld.com/haersibrmigw ... 7AodSUkA3w

Is this a cash "no tax, no tracks" job or will you be receiving a 1099 at the end of the year? If it's a taxable job you are getting hosed. Factor in your expenses and added taxes and you are not making squat. If you are supplying the consumables, the utilities and also paying the taxes th...

Sorry to be the language nazi.... Leading is "soldering," not welding. That said, there's no reason it can't be done with a TIG system. Personally, I'd think the heat would be locally high, so one would heat the metal well ahead of the intended joint. I've never tried it. Even silver-braz...

I've had a 200DX for about 2 years now. Mine arrived in one piece in spite of the package being beat to shit. They use UPS and I've never had good luck with them. A friend of mine's kid worked at the local depot and he admitted that the guys have contests to see who can throw packages the farthest. ...

Nickel 99 is a great choice if available but the 309 is a fair substitute. Believe it or not low hydrogen rods like 7018 has been used by many guys with success. Personally I would preheat it thoroughly, weld it and post heat it with a long cool down. Got another wood stove near by? I'd set the part...

Autogenous welding of aluminum is not recommended because of hot short cracking. Not that it can't be done but it usually has a cracking problem. Stacking dimes is all about how you move the torch and dip the wire. Try to "jump forward" with the torch a little faster then dip to fill the p...

The insurance liability nightmare alone should scare you away from an in shop repair on lift forks! I spent too many years in a Naval shipyard and we always sent forks out to be repaired even though we had the right equipment to properly test them. That said I did get to read the procedures for the ...

I use them all the time. Much better than wearing glasses IMHO.
Glasses tend to fog up on me where the cheaters don't.
A real benefit to old, tired eyeballs!

Sam, An old friend of mine lost his leg jut below the left knee. He rigged a clutch lever in his old truck that was knee operated. You got in and it folded down from the dash and it sat outside of his left knee. He kept his prosthetic foot planted flat on the floorboard and would just swing his knee...

I usually boil my aluminum engine components in a wash tub. With enough water to totally submerse the parts I add a box of washing soda and a bottle of Eagle 1 aluminum wheel cleaner. It gets boiled for about an hour. Then from the bottom of the tub I slowly flood it with fresh water. The gunk just ...

He did sort of look like the guy on the right! http://c3e308.medialib.glogster.com/media/e3/e3efefa850ef4f22a32f362bd75494fdfb988f91f65082d251713c39d16977e1/popcorn-225x300.jpg I think the guy on the right is "Popcorn" Sutton, who committed suicide after the BATF decided to press charges ...