Furick cups were never made in China. They still are not. The original Miller gas lenses he contracted with Miller to make for his cups may have been, but they are no longer made by Miller and are again made in the US. The clones you buy are yet another example of intellectual property theft by the ...

Virtually every DC welding machine comes with a 17 type torch as a “standard” unless you specifically order a water cooled version (then a 20). A 17 will weld a great deal of materials and range of amperage, but it’s not well suited for >180 amps for prolonged welding. I have welded numerous 6mm alu...

What you are describing with the aluminum blocks is a lack of amperage from your machine to properly weld the thickness of those scraps. Aluminum takes way more heat to get a puddle, then you can reduce the heat while laying beads. The exterior of aluminum is covered by an oxide layer that melts aro...

Mild steel welds usually won’t be shiny because the base metal is part of the weld. Shiny only matters for stainless nd titanium. Learn to weld first, worry about appearances and Instagram beauty later. You have ample challenges to conquer with your skills before you ever consider how “pretty” your ...

Your exposure to stainless in the world is very limited. Thick stainless (Sch 10, 20 etc) and plate is very common. You assume a great deal from a limited knowledge position. Your prior statement (other thread re: oxidation ) about your welds being nearly as good as the guy from PAT is amusing. You’...

If your shop space is so small that the extra cylinder is a problem, then trade up to a 300. But if you ever run out/low and can't get more, youre stuck. With a spare cylinder, you'll likely always have enough to get through a weekend/holiday with gas when its needed. To each their own- But that sti...

You need to develop actual skills of managing heat, puddle size, and filler introduction. Pulse is very useful ONCE you learn how to crawl, then walk. Why teach someone to run on a treadmill when they can't manage a hill? You should also avoid trying to learn to weld stainless on 1mm scrap coupons. ...

I use those victor gauges on every tank I have (3 argon, 1 MiG, 1x oxy/acet) and have zero problems with them. Since you have two bottles currently, purging from the other is simple (another good reason to keep two bottles).

I don’t see how having a single larger bottle will solve your setup problems. Can you be more specific about what the actual problem is?

You should read the comments on that video. Typically people will use the proper TIG rod that already has a flux coating, use a flux paste, or simply use SMAW process if you’re using SMAW rods. It’s a hack that doesn’t make much sense to me. And it would never pass code work in sanitary pipe.

The #5 can also use a wedge collet, but that does not look like a Furick cup. Similar, but not the same.

I find it odd that you, as a new welder have such determination to ignore sound advice, and would speak so poorly of someone (Pacific Arc Tig) who has been welding for 20 years in a production environment. He clearly shows smaller cups in that video, but you seem to know everything yet can’t produce...

All of the examples in your latest picture show issues.

Maybe this video will help https://youtu.be/PE59reAtJRs?si=dn20UqUdyX0_zc60

If you weld the plates down, then you don’t have to allow much cooling between stitches. But let it cool fully before cutting the tacks loose.

It’s STILL a matter of gas coverage and cup size. You seem unwilling to use the recommended sizes and flow, so oxidation/overheating will occur no matter how fast you travel, what size filler, and how amps you use.

Until you change those variables, nothing will improve.

I too would weld in “quadrants” but I’d start in the middle with tacks, then out to the ends, tack, alternating sides and moving around. Think about the weld you just put down, where will it pull against? Weld there next to balance the stress. 180 amps seems high to me, I’d be lower and when stitchi...

One machine versus two. Welders that have built-in generators also usually produce far more available power than “portable generators”. You also have differing types of current generation within the generator market. So, not all generators can power a welder due to power draw.

Then I guess you know everything without the need to pose a question.

Plasma cutters are limited in amperage to the total thickness they can cut. It requires a lot of amps to rip through 2” thick stock. Whereas an OA setup really only needs an appropriate tip to deal with very thick material. As for shops that only have OA, perhaps they only deal with mild steel and i...

This entire years old thread is a solution in search of a problem. :roll: A single, moment of a rush of argon is completely inconsequential to welding. Anyone who doesn’t tap a pedal when first setting up, or checking for leaks after a tank swap is an alien. You can’t even begin to calculate the “lo...

I've seen those Chinese green o ring gas lenses and glass cup, what's your experience with them? Is the furrick cup much better? It's like 20 times the price. The Chinese standard cup works well so far. The Furick cups also are designed to be used with a specially manufactured gas lens that has an ...

I doubt heavily that a welder with a certification at risk would weld that. There’s too much liability in doing it. Same thing with climbing stands for deer hunters.

I run about the same DIG and the amps are pretty close (every machine, every person welds just a bit differently). It looks better, but your covering beads still look narrow on the manipulation to me. The root pass looks a bit slow in travel, but the tie-ins look way better to me. Remember, vertical...

Travel speed looks off to me. And I’d try to move a bit side-to-side to tie in the toes better ( makes a wider, less ropey bead). Your amps seem a bit high too. Try lowering to 95 and use some movement and see if a lower heat and wider travel don’t help you get what you want. You can always bump up ...

You could use 100% Argon to MIG but would have to switch to Silicon Bronze filler wire. Else, not a good choice.