Welding Tips and Tricks

We all use a lot of different welding accessories on a daily basis, some of them we couldn't do our job without and there are also lot's of accessories that aren't maybe that critical to the job, but they sure do make life a whole lot easier. My vote for the top 2 of the "nice to haves" are the 45/90 degree magnet holders and the extended range line of vise-grips.

Before I started using the angled magnets, I was always building jigs to put on uprights, trying to balance the piece and get it squared up and straight and level on both sides........what a pain in the a$$! No matter what I did I never had enough hands to hold everything in place plus the mig gun, the square would slip out, the piece would tack in crooked, I would always end up tacking it on and then trying to hammer it into square

The magnets take care of all of that now (except on aluminum, of course). They have saved me countless hours of jigging, clamping and set up


The extended range vise grips are another big time saver and they reach far more places than a C-clamp can. They are also a lot faster than continually tightening and untightening the C-clamp.

Steve ( the Don't Nobedder Steve)

Hey there,

If you've got a boss that will pay or if you're a smart operator, Check out Strong hand tools, like the stuff Jody uses,

http://www.stronghandtools.com/

They look super sweet.

Mick

I've gotten exceptional help from the simple hose clamp.

When welding vacuum-jacket piping, you have to hold two pipes to one centerline. I've often used large hose clamps and a piece of angle iron to hold the outer jacket in position while welding the inner.

Sometimes the simplest things are the best.

Good post, BTW. I hadn't given much thought to the simple things that make my job easier.

Steve