I have the same Lincoln 225 ac welder and ran into a similar problem with 7018's, but they were 1/8". after re-reading the box I saw they were only for DC welding, and NOT AC. After doing a little research I discovered that 7018's were historically a DC only rod. Until recently and AC version h...

One thjing. When you re-load that machine set it up with .030 wire.035 is better when you screw with 1/4" or better a lot. You'll see a difference in penetration immediately on stuff like you're messing with. certainly agree with this. I originally set my mig up for flux core welding, typicall...

Santa brought me an alpha tig this year. This is the second tig machine I've used, and the first one I've owned. The tig side seems to be just fine for my developing skills and I have tried every function in both 2t and 4t. mine is a 2016 machine with the newer torch with heavier duty hose (which is...

If I was a part of this build, I would like to have my school name on the side of that sheet. . . i.e. "Ag mechanics/welding course" or whatever it is. To achieve this, polish the center of the sheet to a mirror shine. get a large sticker of "said" school and stick it on the supe...

You can buy the board and upgrade. Or you can pulse manually. I do this all the time on aluminum. It's easiest with music on at the right tempo... I'll work the pedal like I'm tapping my foot to a song, and it works just fine (and is a lot cheaper than the upgrade board). Pink Floyd's "Wish Yo...

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the warm welcome. Thanks for the concern Braehill, tree stands are sound. I too tend to over-engineer stuff, especially if it involves supporting me 15' in the air. I purposely broke the first stand, putting 3 of my fattest buddies on it and had them bounce. It wasn't t...

For fear of "Otto Nobedder " and his "be-gone'd" threat from other posts, I thought that I should stop lurking and introduce myself. I have only posted two times on this forum, but have been watching the videos for years. Welding is mainly a hobby as I run a small farm and have t...

I would also second this idea of welding different thickness materials together. The majority of the videos I have viewed are typically running the same material coupons. It is extremely rare that I get to weld the same thickness materials, more commonly it's welding 14 gauge to 5/8". Some tips...

After doing a little more internet searching this weekend, I came across another "potential" machine that would suit my needs. My question is regarding the AHP AlphaTig ac/dc 200x. It appears that it has several of the high end features that expensive units have coming in around 8 bills. I...

Thanks for the replies fellas, and that in turn has sparked more questions. I've been poking around the internet to find a machine that might suit my needs and have found specific information hard to come by. So I again propose the same question with a few refinements: is there a machine out there t...

Hello fellow welders, been lurking on here for a while, and finally have something of substance to post and hopefully get some feed back. as the subject line states, i'm in the market for a new welder. currently I have a miller 180 auto set and the old Lincoln "tombstone" ac 225 in my shop...