Thanks CJ. Is the arc length primarily decided by how far your nozzle tip is from the welding surface? Most of the time, I felt that I had it about as close as it could possibly be. I will try some subsequent runs of bead with slower travel speed. I am still not getting a good look at the puddle as ...

IMG_4881.JPG Hello everyone, I'm running my first practice beads on 3/8" by 3" hot rolled steel bar. After running a few of these, and trying to get the Miller 140 autoset welder dialed in (amperage and wire feed speed), I have sliced across the work so far. I was chagrined to find no evi...

Thanks all. After reading all the feedback, I actually feel almost 'high tech' in that I've ripped a sheet of ½" MDF, and tomorrow will stiffen it up with pieces of framing lumber that look to be in good shape for a true edge. The blocking idea is a good one too. I'll be able to pin down pieces...

Brilliant! Thanks a ton Steve. I was also thinking of 2 little mods to make the approach more feasible - for tack welds and shorter-duration welds, I could have a small piece of lightweight steel plate (1/8") to slide right between weld point and the board underneath - say a 3" x 3" a...

Good morning everyone, I'm curious to know if anyone has ever tried a very lightweight approach to making a 'temporary' welding surface. As I am doing my very first project, and need to get fabrication going between wet spells here in MD, I'm proposing to use a 'sacrificial' sheet of ply or OSB. I r...

Thanks CJ for the great thoughts. My design is more or less a copy of the interior railing that I photographed, but I scaled up according to instinct : The initial rail has a 1 ½ x 1" top rail. I went for 3 x 1 top rail. (14 AWG, but I wonder if I should be using a heavier wall thickness on thi...

Good morning all, I don't seem to be able to respond to posts individually, but yes, I'm originally from Melbourne - I have lived in the US (NY and MD) for almost 25 years. So far, I have bought my first 2 loads of steel from Posner Industries. I haven't had the time to explore suppliers further, bu...

Good morning everyone, Great to have just joined this forum. I have ordered materials for my first railing project, but then asked them to hold for now - I would have liked for someone to go over the materials choices before doing so. I'm going to be welding up and installing exterior railings for o...

Good morning everyone, I'm new to welding, although I have spent earlier years of my life as a Trades Assistant, working around and watching some very competent pros at their craft (and then stepping in with an angle grinder for prep and finish work on some heavy welds). Materials for my first proje...