Welding Tips and Tricks

exnailpounder wrote: I have a pound of 4043 that I bought from a retired boilermaker that is every bit of 20 years old and they weld better than some brand new stuff I got from the LWS. I can only assume it's because they were probably made here instead of china. My machine has auto set balance too but I run it a little bit into the penetration side and the welds always come out nice and shiny with no sand. Don't be afraid to experiment.

I reminisce about the days when any problems I had welding could always be attributed to operator trouble...........

Think cj737 was right. It was just me having a bad day. Some days I am pro, then some days I suck, and its very frustrating.

If it was easy, anybody could do it.

bosulli wrote:Think cj737 was right. It was just me having a bad day. Some days I am pro, then some days I suck, and its very frustrating.

If it was easy, anybody could do it.

Yep... That's why some people are doctors, lawyers, school teachers, and pipe fitters

Just kidding. I see those jokes and think about this forum and think- that's my true. We have math teachers, probably a doctor or two, maybe a docile, and probably a lawyer. It's impressive. It's also nice that a hobby like welding can also be a career that makes you a lot of cash as well. I would say welding is the most versatile field of interest. You learn a lot and know a lot and have a better set of skills.

Hell, my eye doctor is an accomplished welder.

The welding virus, like the Flu, does not discriminate by class, race, gender, age, etc.

Steve S

Otto Nobedder wrote:Hell, my eye doctor is an accomplished welder.

The welding virus, like the Flu, does not discriminate by class, race, gender, age, etc.

Steve S

I can weld circles around my boilermaker/welder friend. WTF Universe are we living in?

exnailpounder wrote:

Otto Nobedder wrote:Hell, my eye doctor is an accomplished welder.

The welding virus, like the Flu, does not discriminate by class, race, gender, age, etc.

Steve S

I can weld circles around my boilermaker/welder friend. WTF Universe are we living in?

If your buddy is welding boilers and piping, and is worse than you then I hope you are really damn good.

I am damned good but he only welds pipe. I almost suck at pipe because I don't weld it. I do the thnigs he doesn't. Doesn't make me better than him we do different things and I don't have some suckass inspector hanging around my neck...Oh wait..I'm married so I take that back...thank God she knows shit about welding

exnailpounder wrote:Ithank God she knows shit about welding

I tried explaining it to my wife, never worked out

[I made my last "contribution" to that conversation go away. It was over the top, even for my twisted sense of humor, and something I might not approve of if I'd seen someone else post it.]

Steve S

And, yes, Farmwelding, my mind can be a scary place...

Otto Nobedder wrote:[I made my last "contribution" to that conversation go away. It was over the top, even for my twisted sense of humor, and something I might not approve of if I'd seen someone else post it.]

Steve S

And, yes, Farmwelding, my mind can be a scary place...

I have done that before. Then quickly edited and wonder who or how many people may have seen it in the 30 seconds it was live. My brain can be a scary place too.

NEVER use sand paper to clean Aluminum. Scotch pads & acetone work best for me.

Fly

Fly wrote:NEVER use sand paper to clean Aluminum. Scotch pads & acetone work best for me.

Fly

Good advice and thanks.

So what became of this? All this talk....

Oscar wrote:So what became of this? All this talk....

The only thing I got was don't use sand paper to clean filler...the rest was just a meander through the minds

exnailpounder wrote:The only thing I got was don't use sand paper to clean filler...the rest was just a meander through the minds

And that was scary and somehow funny, all mixed together

LtBadd wrote:

exnailpounder wrote:The only thing I got was don't use sand paper to clean filler...the rest was just a meander through the minds

And that was scary and somehow funny, all mixed together

I'm on a roll here Richard...the liquor store was out of vodka this afternoon

exnailpounder wrote:

LtBadd wrote:

exnailpounder wrote:The only thing I got was don't use sand paper to clean filler...the rest was just a meander through the minds

And that was scary and somehow funny, all mixed together

I'm on a roll here Richard...the liquor store was out of vodka this afternoon

Jeff, I have to wonder how THAT happened...

Oscar wrote:So what became of this? All this talk....

Turns out the OP just had a bad day. His problem went away without doing anything. Like that Cold Fusion experiment that only worked once.

I've got 15 year old AL filler that works fine....me scotchbrite? Ya kiddin???