Questions About Metal Thickness

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Steggy
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Re: Questions About Metal Thickness

Post by Steggy »

SteveHGraham wrote:The welder is a Lincoln 180c. I'm really tempted to try an AlphaTIG TIG/stick machine one of these days. The reviews are surprisingly good.
TIG is unnecessary extravagance for most hobby welding. Unless you are looking to produce welds that will pass X-ray and notch tests my opinion is you are wasting money on a TIG unit. I do virtually all my welding with my MIG machine and that includes stainless, as well as structural stuff in which weld fracture under load is not an option.
Last edited by Steggy on Sun Nov 06, 2016 2:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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warmstrong1955
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Re: Questions About Metal Thickness

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A 'real' welder. :)
You should be good to go if you use flux core.

Bill
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warmstrong1955
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Re: Questions About Metal Thickness

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BigDumbDinosaur wrote: TIG is unnecessary extravagance for hobby welding. Unless you are looking to produce welds that will pass X-ray and notch tests my opinion is you are wasting money on a TIG unit. I do virtually all my welding with my MIG machine and that includes stainless, as well as structural stuff in which weld fracture under load is not an option.
That depends on what you want to weld......
TIG is handy. Just fixed a couple of broken louvers on so a heat vent. Could have done it with oxy/acetylene, but wouldn't have been so pretty.
Broken & cracked aluminum fender on the trailer....TIG'd it. (AC is a must)
Cracked aluminum tube on a hydraulic power pack....TIG'd.
I do a lot of stainless....and most is .060" and less. I just bought a small plasma cutter for making odd shapes in sheet metal for miscellaneous repairs.
I can MIG .060 parts OK, but below that, TIG is much easier.

Unnecessary to some.....not to me.....

:)

Never been around that Alpha machine, so I can't help you there.

Bill
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SteveHGraham
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Re: Questions About Metal Thickness

Post by SteveHGraham »

What about welding stamped rifle receivers? I know I'm a bad welder, but I can't see myself doing an acceptable job with MIG.
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SteveHGraham
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Re: Questions About Metal Thickness

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I forgot to comment on this phrase: "unnecessary extravagance."

You DO know where you are, right? :P
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warmstrong1955
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Re: Questions About Metal Thickness

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unnecessary extravagance: Something that someone else thinks you don't need.

(From Funk & Wagnell's)

:lol:
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Steggy
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Re: Questions About Metal Thickness

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warmstrong1955 wrote:
BigDumbDinosaur wrote: TIG is unnecessary extravagance for hobby welding. Unless you are looking to produce welds that will pass X-ray and notch tests my opinion is you are wasting money on a TIG unit. I do virtually all my welding with my MIG machine and that includes stainless, as well as structural stuff in which weld fracture under load is not an option.
That depends on what you want to weld......
My post was supposed to say "most hobby welding." Somehow "most" didn't get typed. I'm mostly blind in the left eye, so I'll mostly blame my failing vision for the missing word. :D
I can MIG .060 parts OK, but below that, TIG is much easier.
I've gone as low as 22 gauge with MIG, using 0.023 inch wire and 75/25 at 10 SCFH. I can stitch 24 gauge, but it is tricky, and since my vision started going south, I probably wouldn't be able to manage that anymore.
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Steggy
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Re: Questions About Metal Thickness

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warmstrong1955 wrote:unnecessary extravagance: Something that someone else thinks you don't need.

(From Funk & Wagnell's)

:lol:
Bill
Or something you don't need but want. :shock:
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Re: Questions About Metal Thickness

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SteveHGraham wrote:I forgot to comment on this phrase: "unnecessary extravagance."

You DO know where you are, right? :P
Yep! I also know what can be created with basic tools and a lot of patience. It has a 94 inch wheelbase, weighs 2100 pounds, has 800 horsepower, can do 8 second, 160 MPH quarter miles, and is mothballed in my shop next to my locomotive. :D No TIG welders were harmed during its construction. :lol:
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warmstrong1955
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Re: Questions About Metal Thickness

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BigDumbDinosaur wrote: I've gone as low as 22 gauge with MIG, using 0.023 inch wire and 75/25 at 10 SCFH. I can stitch 24 gauge, but it is tricky, and since my vision started going south, I probably wouldn't be able to manage that anymore.
Advantage.....TIG.
I have a problem when I first start an arc, on being able to focus on the puddle. Automatic hood helped with that a bunch, but with a TIG, I can just lay off the throttle for a few seconds, til I can see what I am supposed to be lookin' at!
With a MIG, or stick, and that delay in my relay, it's easy to have a bead heading to Oklahoma....instead of where it supposed to be headin'.

:)
Bill
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Steggy
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Re: Questions About Metal Thickness

Post by Steggy »

warmstrong1955 wrote:
BigDumbDinosaur wrote: I've gone as low as 22 gauge with MIG, using 0.023 inch wire and 75/25 at 10 SCFH. I can stitch 24 gauge, but it is tricky, and since my vision started going south, I probably wouldn't be able to manage that anymore.
Advantage.....TIG.
I have a problem when I first start an arc, on being able to focus on the puddle. Automatic hood helped with that a bunch, but with a TIG, I can just lay off the throttle for a few seconds, til I can see what I am supposed to be lookin' at!
With a MIG, or stick, and that delay in my relay, it's easy to have a bead heading to Oklahoma....instead of where it supposed to be headin'.

:)
Bill
A properly set up MIG machine will strike a steady arc immediately when the key is squeezed. I've noted with some of the cheap machines that the arc strikes a fraction of a second before the gas flow commences, causing a stuttering arc. The machine I have has a 0.1 second delay from when the key is squeezed until voltage is applied to the wire and feed starts. However, the gas valve opens immediately when the welder is keyed, so the fusion zone is already shielded when the wire makes contact with the workpiece.

Don't get me wrong about TIG. There are certain kinds of jobs where that process is most appropriate, for example, welding industrial superheater piping. I suppose if I had a TIG setup I'd use it for something. However, I don't and have never felt I was lacking in any way.

As for automatic helmets, I'm old school and continue to use a flip-down unit. I've been welding since 1961, way before automatic helmets existed, so nodding my head as I strike an arc is second nature. Also, new technology isn't necessarily better than old technology, and I am not will to trust what's left of my eyesight to something that has an inherent failure mode.
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warmstrong1955
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Re: Questions About Metal Thickness

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BigDumbDinosaur wrote: Yep! I also know what can be created with basic tools and a lot of patience. It has a 94 inch wheelbase, weighs 2100 pounds, has 800 horsepower, can do 8 second, 160 MPH quarter miles, and is mothballed in my shop next to my locomotive. :D No TIG welders were harmed during its construction. :lol:
A friend of mine use to weld parts & pieces for Hank Arnold back in the 60's. Some stainless, a lot of aluminum, and she heli-arc'd 'em all for him.
He built a sprint car named Twister. Quite a famous name around Tucson & Phoenix.

:)
Bill
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