I would say, that the jobs i liked the most had the best working conditions and pay. It makes a big difference, whether you go out for lunch at a local resturant, as opposed to eating a half frozen/half heat spoiled ham sandwich. Or whether your able to ive in a nice house, or vice versa. But the th...

It's my impression that good paying factory jobs are all but gone, a relic of the past. I can only rely on my own experience, but every job I have ever had wanted me to pass a stick test before I tested in any other process, so you might want to try to specialize in that. (Example:I have had about 1...

You really cant go wrong snipping the dirty end of off any wire you use, whether it be Tig wire, mig wire, or a stick rod. Whether or not you need to do it is qeustionable. But it is never a bad idea. I do it almost every single time. Snipping the tig wire any old way seems to work fine for me. I li...

Whats a patch panel?

Well, math that boilermakers use isnt quite the kind you find in a whole lot of textbooks....but a general knowledge of metric and standered wrench sizes, geometry, tape measure math, a good knowledge of fractions(mostkly things like 2/16 is 1/8, 2/8 is 1/4, 16/32 is 1/2 ect). Maybe one of those pip...

But anything with a carbide tip should work.

I looked long and hard, but I couldnt find the tct angle grinder blades I took of my last job(i wanted to take a pic of them).....hmmm.

I don't know where to buy them, since my employer bought them.

Sorry

Wow, I have never done or seen an open root mig keyholing joint. But I think that if you reduce you stickout as you mentioned, that that keyhole woule close up a bit. Stopping the weld while it cools may work as well, but runs down your production time. My best guess is to turn down the voltage and ...

Well buddy, This is a tough one...... I personally have found Structural steel companies( I have worked for 5 of them I think) to be the most underhanded, seedy, and dangerous companies to work for. Not one of them was better than the next. No offense, but I also work in a military area(norfolk VA) ...

Good for you steve. Happy to know you made it out in on piece.

-Rick

No, but you might have some luck in the "general"section. Honestley though, this forum and website has a smaller cult following of pro welders and hobbiest seeking and giving advice. For equipment, you might want top check a larger forum, perhaps a brand forum(like miller, lincoln, ect) or...

Well, are you getting enough gas flow to your pipe joint? When I did stainless pipe, we had a seperate line of argon(i think) going to the the inside of the pipe, blocked off with masking tape. You have to have a double purge gas flow situation with stainless roots, especially on pipes, or really an...

Whats the question?

I have bought and sold many tools on both e-bay and craigslist, and the good thing about welding machines is, they ussually last forever, so you don't have to worry about them being worn down and dameged too much.

Well I have never run 7010, but no rod should stick given enough heat. Could it be a problem with the carrying cappacity of your cables? Does it "feel" hotter when you turn the amps up?

Yes the TCT blades are great for aluminium, I have a few for my angle grinder. I don't know how much they cost, but a single blade used every day for 8 hours would last about 2 weeks. So a hobbyist would be set for a long time. Good luck! And remember to hold on tight to those things, they can take ...

I don't remember the color of the welds, but I do remember having a problem purging the pipeline, we just didnt seem to get enough gas flow from the bottles. Also, this guy took pride in "running hot and fast" so maybe there was something there. Also, the thickness of the SS was about...18...

Balling the tungsten, if you are using pure tungsten, is neccassary. If you have any doubts as to why, try and weld aluminium with a fine point. It doesnt work so well. But if you choose to use 2% Thoriated (which is a great choice) Dont even try to ball your tungsten. My opinion is that way back wh...

I love the fixtures as well. Great idea!

-Rick

Wow. The tough thing is about union hall certs is, you have to do things the way they do them, or alot of time they will kinda thumb their noses up at you. On the landings, when I was in the UA, I was taught to use a 1/16 Landing(they called it a razerblade landing), formed almost like a j-bevel, an...

I remember working a SS tig piping job a few years ago, and the welder and I were working on very thin wall SS piping, most of it between 2" and 6" in diameter. Now, every 10 welds or so, one of his joints would totally collapse like a half crushed cake can. When I asked him what he though...

I would reccomend adding filler metal. Without it, the weld will eventually fail. In fact all weld will eventually given enough time. So with that in mind, it would be ideal to add as much filler metal as is reasonable and possible in a practical way. Also, this might help a bit: http://www.weldingt...

Good luck up there

Be safe,

-Rick

JESUS! 12 dollers an hour.... any less and I'm going to mexico to look for work!

Yes most boilermaker locals are "suitcase " locals. But you have to think of this type of work as what it is. It can be Seasonal, temporary work and largely depends on the area you are in. I once worked for 6 different employers in a years. SIX! Thats why people say : "it depends"...