Welders Battling Heat & Equipment Issues

“Hey everyone. Just looking for some advice. I’m looking to get myself a tig/stick welder. I’ve pretty much narrowed it down to either the Eastwood tig 220 ac/dc or the Arccaptain TIG200P ac/dc. Both have mixed reviews. Arccaptain with the lack of customer service/support and Eastwood with people saying it’s just a rebadged unit. Both of these units hit my budget limit. Yes, I’ve looked into primeweld tig 225x. Unfortunately $100-$200 (add ons, shipping and such) over what I can drop. Any help wo”

“hey fellow welders and fitters, i’ve been doing this for about 3 years since the day i graduated high school, almost everyday i come home with a new burn because i do a lot of out position and gouging in shitty spots, i dont mind being burnt but i do mind looking a crackhead with scars all over my legs and arms, yes i wear proper clothing and no i will not wear a full leather body suit…ill still find a way to get burnt, but i don’t do proper aftercare other than cleaning it if it looks like it n”

“Hey guys, I've been running a robot welder for around 6 months now, about 5 years of welding experience total. Sometimes I have an issue with this machine that I just cannot figure out, and no one else here can either, not even the company we bought the robot from. I'll do my best to explain. Sometimes, seemingly at random (I have not yet found a pattern), when it starts a weld, there'll be this horrible screeching sound, a much brighter than usual arc, and then it stops after just a”

“Hey everyone, I'm a first-year welding student and this was only my second day actually welding in college. I know these welds aren't great 😂, but I'm looking for some honest, constructive advice on how I can improve. I'm especially struggling with puddle control and feeding the filler rod consistently. My bead width and travel seem to change quite a bit, and sometimes I feel like I'm either getting too much or not enough heat into the puddle. What should I be focusing on wh”

“I started college a few weeks ago for auto, but I have a welding class as part of it, it's been pretty good so far, the teacher is good The only problem is they ran out of new metal to practice on after the first week, now we just have a pile of rusty, welded, scrap metal to pick through They have a plasma cutter, a torch, and 1 grinder, for about 12 people to use, so it takes awhile to actually get any metal to weld Gotta find something that's half decent, cut it, and then grind enough”

“https://preview.redd.it/cj73eorbtdrh1.png?width=785&format=png&auto=webp&s=8ae5b27ea3e002f5447f0e984357c7af6e4310a7 I've read that this machine burn out frequently the contact tips, in my experience, I can say that this is true. submitted by /u/Delirium222 [link] [comments]”

“Started welding school recently. It's been going ok, but the most recent weld is driving me insane. GMAW Short Circuit DCEP 75AR/25CO2 20-30CFH 1G Open Root V-Groove Butt Joint 60 Bevel no landing 1/4" mild steel 3/32" gap 0.35 wire push angle straight stringer root pass weave cover pass using tabs. It's a bit of word vomit but damn near anything you might need to know is in there. They're really strict about these settings. They tell us to set up at 360-380A and 21-22V. I”

“So the first few are AWFUL let's be so fr rn, my speciality is TIG/MIG welding so for college we have to learn how to stick weld. Keep in mind, we don't do stick welding at ALL in my company or it's extremely rare so even though I've been welding for over a year now I hadn't a mf clue what to do. There's definitely improvement but I wanna hear from the professionals if there's anything I can do better! (Please be nice gang I've only been at it 2 weeks😭) sub”

“Running 7018 at 115 amps looking for any advice on my beads or how to fight the curve my arm tries to go at when welding in longer runs submitted by /u/Key-Interaction1707 [link] [comments]”

“I got thumb to weld on our backhoe. What’s a good rod for this application. I’m looking at a Lincoln e7018 h4r 5/32. I don’t normally weld metal this thick so I’m asking questions. A lot of it will be vertical submitted by /u/wesmanh [link] [comments]”

“I’m a first year apprentice and started doing tig welding a couple days ago on mild steel and my foreman said I should try stainless If anyone has any advice on what I can work on / tips I really don’t know what makes a good or bad tig weld especially on stainless I was messing around with some of settings so that’s why some beads look different Please explain / give advice like I’m 5 LOL submitted by /u/KondyCa [link] [comments]”

“There's this guy at my work that loves to open the door next to me at work that usually has heavy wind everyday and says "im hot", today I yelled at him to keep the door shut because it's ruining the welds. And this idiot says to me "turn up your gas". That really pissed me off because he has zero fucking room to tell anyone how to weld considering just the other day he told me he didnt know what the gas did and I had to explain it to him. Keep in mind he claims to ha”

“Today is my 3rd day TIG welding magnesium. Practicing the damn day away... But with this, I'm wondering if anyone has any tips, advice, or sage wisdom for welding magnesium that will need to pass xray? Or anything in general for success with passing xray tests? submitted by /u/liminal-webs [link] [comments]”

“Like how did become a combo welder from stick to tig then to AC tig aluminum? Or from stick to stainless stick, to flux, to ss flux? Or get into mig aluminum? submitted by /u/QuincyTucker [link] [comments]”

“My beloved welder Hi, I'm very green to welding and occasionally dabble in spot welding but I'd like to dip my toes into it more and actually fabricate. I now own a VI-253 running C25 alongside .045" harris wire that was generously gifted to me to replace my $50 amazon stick welder. Originally had problems with getting it to run since I had no idea what was going on compared to my little amazon shitbox, had to fix the ground and replace the control cable plus a blown fuse, works per”

“Hey all. Union pipe welder here. Got a job working in a fab shop working MIG/FCAW all day. I have a Tefuawae adjustable shade lens and it’s pretty good, but I want to know if anyone’s got better recommendations. List your favorite auto darkening lenses! I want to know what the best one is because I’m making good money and working non-stop with no end in sight. Might as well invest in my gear. submitted by /u/Valuable-Meet5727 [link] [comments]”

“While I worked in a welding shop in my youth I was never train. Decent at stick and MIG. I've been using my MIG for decades. I just wanted to try some TIG before I leave this earth. I see on Ali Express various kits. I don't want to waste money on things that are better suited for people doing heavy/big stuff. I want to get good at small scale welding. submitted by /u/so_magpie [link] [comments]”

“This is a lot more difficult than I imagined. 😂 seems almost impossible. My class is only once a week on Saturday’s, I want to buy a stick welder to practice in between classes. Any recommendations? submitted by /u/claymatthewsband [link] [comments]”

“Experienced welder 30+ years submitted by /u/Jaded_Strength_7989 [link] [comments]”

“Can we discuss? I need your advice. I recently watched a YouTube video of a machine scanning and welding in realtime and got me thinking how much time left we have as welders before this become standard. As things keep getting automated, do you recommend sheet metal work or pipe fitter work?, Those are my options for union here in California. What’s the future of the trade? What will the robots/AI won’t be able to do that we can? submitted by /u/Blue_jay_cool [link] [comments]”

“I started school yesterday and this is my second time welding. I’ve been really anxious I’m not doing well considering I’ve never done ANYTHING related to welding prior to this. Is this okay-ish for a beginner? . Any tips/criticism/advice would be appreciated! submitted by /u/TooSexyToLive [link] [comments]”

“Looking to get a welder again after not burning metal for at least 15 years. Learned stick in high school and did a lot of body work with Lincoln weldpak 110 flux core after high school. Never did mig or tig, but we’ve got a lot of projects around the ranch that a small welder would be good for and I want to build a cool truck with my son in the next couple years. I’ve got a friend willing to give me a deal on a Lincoln LE31MP that is just the machine itself and nothing else for $40. I mainly wa”

“We've got a lot of parts in grade 5 recently, so I got a tank of ultra pure argon. Shit lasts for like a week. At $300 a tank, it's killing me. How ineffectual is normal argon for shielding on titanium? Do I really need the ultra pure stuff, or can I get by on normal 99.9% argon? Everything is telling me I need it, but hoping somebody can convince me that I don't ha.​ submitted by /u/NFA-Questions [link] [comments]”

“I’ve just started learning to TIG weld on carbon pipe. Could someone offer advice on what angle I sharpen my tungsten too? I have a tungsten sharpener that’s able to sharpen to 60/30/20/ 15 degrees. The other thing is do I have it sharp to a needle point or do I put a flat on the end and how big should it be? I’m using 2.4mm blue tungsten from 100-145 amps for root out to cap. I included a picture to show where I’m at with my welding too. Any advice on that would be greatly appreciated. Thank yo”

“Aluminum is kinda strange as someone who's only welded steel and inconel submitted by /u/sebby_stentor [link] [comments]”

“Aluminum is kinda strange as someone who's only welded steel and inconel submitted by /u/sebby_stentor [link] [comments]”

“I am just about to finish my four-year college program for Welding to get my certifications in all basic welds, including MIG TIG STICK and automated. In all positions as well. There are two main ideas that I have, but I’m not sure how hard it is to get into them or whether the money will be worth it for all the work to get to them. I don’t wanna be stuck in a fabrication shop for the next 40 years of my life, but I also want to be able to make enough money that I can support myself my wife and”

“Hello everyone, I just started tig at my school after learning stick and mig, and honestly, it's pretty difficult, I rab about a dozen welds today on 3/32 in steel using a 3/32 tungsten. Just praticed fusion tig today, dident add any filler. This is what was probally my best weld today, the rest were either very inconsistent or had porosity everywhere. This one's not very even but it was my first weld using tig. Any tips would be great submitted by /u/Huge-Guarantee-1665 [lin”

“Hey everyone, I'm a very new welder, I have a mig available. I am also a fire fighter and I'm looking to make some sturdy door chalks. I have tried to weld a nail to a piece of angled steel with no success. Any advice is greatly appreciated. I'm not sure if I'm not getting a good ground or if I need to adjust the settings on the welder for higher feed / volts. *its dirty in the picture because its sat for a while now, was clean when I tried, last photo is of what I'm trying t”

“I just learnt how to stick weld at school, and I want ways to get better because I want to weld as an adult. All stick welding tips are very appreciated. submitted by /u/EndAnxious9846 [link] [comments]”

“I just learnt how to stick weld at school, and I want ways to get better because I want to weld as an adult. All stick welding tips are very appreciated. submitted by /u/EndAnxious9846 [link] [comments]”

“I had a theory that my welder was running hot, so today I did some testing. I have a Titanium 200 multi process for home projects running off 230v (I know, the pinnacle of excellence). I was doing some practice beads with some 1/8 7018 DCEP set to around 100 amps on flat 1/4 plate. My Klein clamp meter was set up on my lead cable (measuring my amps DC) and it was reading 170amps max. I don’t think this machine doesn’t have hot start. I changed ground locations, used more than one rod and I still”

“I was wondering i do a little stick at work and was wondering if is it worth it to get a inverter generator+ mig welder to run dual shield flux core for practice or should I save up and get a welder generator with a wirefreder? I only plan to weld with it once a week. And is this the same for if you have a 200 amp stick welder and try to run inverter generator+stick welder+ Lincoln or miller wire feeder= inconsistent weld results right? A non inverter is too loud because I'm about 15 ft away”

“Good Afternoon, I’m having issues dialling in my welder (Everlast Cyclone 312i) I’m trying to weld together a bumper kit that’s made of 1/4” 5052 Aluminum. I’m running 100% argon at 40 CFH, 5356 .045 wire. I’m new to welding aluminum, but I was having decent luck practicing on some scrap 1/4” at 22.5 V and 365 IPM. The power set mode on the Everlast puts the setting at 23.5V and 381 IPM but that seems to be too hot for my application. Just looking for some general guidance before I completely bu”

“Guys and gals, I need some help from someone who isn’t a welding fool like myself. One of our welders is going thru an extraordinary (in my eyes) amount of nozzles for one of our larger MiG welders. These are aftermarket (CM Industries) 5818C nozzles. If welding for a few total hours of continuous MiG a day, any idea on how long one of these nozzles should last? I’m probably leaving out important info… but I don’t know what I don’t know. Any questions please let me know. Thanks, submitted”

“I'm looking for an auto-darkening welding helmet under $100 for my collision repair welding class. I just MIG welded for the very first time and I cant really see with the standard helmets we have in class. I love and cherish my eyes so I wanted to know what are some reputable brands for that price rang if any? submitted by /u/PVRELLI [link] [comments]”

“Hi fellow welders. Newbie here with a question. I have an old welding machine, probably 30-40 years old. So, I've set everything up and am trying to start welding, but I'm having trouble striking the arc. When I touch the metal with electrode, it often doesn't spark/start welding immediately. I have to touch the metal several times, sometimes in different spots, before I finally get an arc. Obviously, this makes it difficult to make clean, consistent joints. I'd like the arc to s”

“Of course! But definitely watch some mig welding videos first. At least 3 different people. For learn anything, I personally always recommend watching at least 3 different people. Just in case someone doesn't know what they're talking about or not as good a teacher or confusing.”

“So I have been welding for 6 years and i’ve tried lots of things cause I just want to learn it all. I did exotic metal repair for a while, structural welding, sheet metal fab stuff for chicken plants, my fab and pipe fitting skills are strong, and I got into pipe welding last year. i’ve passed my 6g certs for pipe and i’m moving later this year and looking for jobs in my new area. I took a pipe test for a company and did really well but I also took a test for an aerospace company and bc of my ex”

“Personally I’ve ran MiG, spray MiG, spray aluminum, tig aluminum and stainless, I’ve tiged copper and carbon steel. Personally to me the hardest process to get a hang of has been spray MiG on carbon steel, 95/5 gas .045. Everybody at work is talking about” I wanna learn to tig weld” I think tig welding is easy and fun I’ve never really ran much pipe 🤷‍♂️. But there’s no slag with tig some clean stainless parts and a nice tungsten I can weld stainless all day long. Same with aluminum. subm”

“i’m trying to get my overhead welding CERT. I’ve been doing university of YouTube out of my garage. Overhead has been so hard!!! This is 1/4” steel. 1/8th 7018 rod, 93 amps i’m getting frustrated because I feel that the top plate keeps getting undercut. i’ve finally gotten away from my welds being drippy. I feel that I need to get more consistent with my traveling speed. Maybe that will help. But can somebody help me a little bit I feel like I’m stagnant submitted by /u/queerharveyba”

“Hey y’all , I'm a female welder/fabricator considering applying for a Maintenance Shop Welder role at one of the major recycling companies down here in Texas. I have a trade background in chassis fab and multi-process welding (mostly MIG and TIG). I’m pretty young and just starting out but I have good foundational skills. For anyone who's worked in heavy waste fleet or container repair shops: 1.How is the day-to-day management dynamic? 2.Are 1st shifts usually pretty consistent (Mon-Fri)”

“I usually disconnect the battery but occasionally I’ll use a surge protector if I need to just weld something up quick like a stud pull through or something.”

“Hey everyone, Looking for some advice on my TIG (GTAW / 141) lap joints. I’m trying to dial in my settings and technique, but something clearly feels off (mostly gray appearance, uneven toes, and crater holes). My setup & parameters: Material: Mild steel lap joint, 4mm (~5/32" / ~0.160") Tungsten: 2.4 mm (3/32") Filler rod: 2.4 mm (3/32") Amperage: ~160A on the wider passes, ~150A on the narrower ones I'm noticing that the welds are coming out pretty dull and gray rat”

Welding.

“S I'm finishing a 6 week welding course. Just the basics, submitted a 3G plate for MIG, and may get TIG based on how the next few days go. Anyway, I want to keep up with what I learned and decided I wanted anAC/DC TIG and stick machine. I think I've settled on the eastwood TIG 220, do you guys have any experience with it or have any other suggestions? Also, I was a little bummed to see it doesn't come with the stick holder attachment, is anyone familiar with the machine and know what”

“I am a welding student at a local community college. Gotta long way to go but definitely have made some improvements along the way. Had to grind down a bit at the top for height requirements. Working on getting my 3g cert. submitted by /u/SquanchyRanchito [link] [comments]”

“Pretty new to welding but now I’m the welding the guy in the shop. These welds are not structural. What can I focus on to improve? submitted by /u/Specialist-Height363 [link] [comments]”

“I make driveshafts for race cars for strange engineering and am learning how to tig weld different size weights onto .83 chrome-moly seamless tubing atm, first welding job out of school and the dude teaching me is a master tig welder. He makes it look so damn easy though! Its tough, you dont want to put too much heat into the tubing because things will warp. But if you dig into the weight too much it will mess things up. Its not easy! But im loving it, Thought i would share my journey, im loving”

“I am a machinist, and last time i really welded was 2 years ago, all plates were same thickness, and i had access to a 3000€ MIG. Now things are different. I dont have my own welder, My friend has some kind of budget fluxcore welder he's used for welding cars. I need to weld a stainless steel triclamp ferrule to a stainless steel lid, the lid is approx 0.5mm thick and the wall thickness of the triclamp ferrule is 2mm. I have designed this so that there wont be much stress on the joint, mainl”

“I’m going into welding school to hopefully make it a career. Previously I did safety watch often in my last job and was very good with PPE and making sure any safety equipment was in good working order but I’m not the most muscular person out there. What tips would you have if my goal is to be the best welder I can be? submitted by /u/BusydaydreamerA137 [link] [comments]”

“The first two pictures show my welds when I started learning about a week ago. The third picture was taken yesterday, and the last picture was taken today. I'm paying attention to the weld pool, arc length, and amperage. Today, the slag actually detached on its own several times. I started with the small, newer Kraft&Dele welder, but it seemed a bit underpowered and as if the amperage display wasn't accurate. Then I switched to the older pink welder shown in the picture, and my welds”

“hii so pictures attached. I started a community college course for welding (mig) last week. 3 nights a week, about 3 hours per night. We actually got into the booth Friday, and today is day 2. I’ll attach chronological pictures starting with the very first sheet, onto the end of day 2. I am still super new to all of this, I’m a smart guy but I’ll be the first to admit that I only get better if I Ask For Help and admit when I’m Confused or Unsure. So, I know its steel plates we’re practicing on.”

“Hey everyone. I ended up investing some money in a 20ft section of 16 gauge stainless. I’ve cut most of it into 1inch sections which I’ve now been butt welding. Previously I was doing butt and lap joints on flat plate coupons. I’ve changed my cup to a size 8 furick clear Pyrex because I was having issues with coverage using a 16 cup (the tank might be the root cause but it’ll be replaced next week. Possibly low pressure?) Still running a 1/16 grey tungsten sharpened to a needle point. I dropped”

“Hey, I tried welding for the first time with mig, without gas with a spool meant for without gas. I tried setting power on 2, and 3, it goes up to 4. Tried increasing spool speed at end. It just splatter everywhere. Any help is really appreciated. I really want to get this working :) submitted by /u/Karvemn [link] [comments]”

“I’m doing a scheduled 80 2inch 6g test and it sounds fairly easy 6018 up hill root pass then 7018 uphill hot pass and the 2 uphill caps but I’m struggling so much at the bottom of the coupon and getting a consistent flow it just seems to always get stuck any tips?? submitted by /u/Ok_Unit_9673 [link] [comments]”

“100% self taught. Probably less that 200 hours of TIG welding lifetime. submitted by /u/WalkerPizzaSaurus [link] [comments]”

“I see so many classes and not sure which one is the one I should pick that shows me how to NOT burn my hands off or how to weld perfectly. submitted by /u/Substantial_Cake359 [link] [comments]”

“So today I got my first gas tank for mig, and I'm running 25/75 mix (75% argon, C25), with 0.35 solid wire, about 135 wire speed. Everything is going good. However, my welds are quite skinny and tall, and I was wondering how to make them a bit flatter and wider. (Ignore the stick welds in the pics) submitted by /u/Enough-Ad4731 [link] [comments]”