g'day from oz

[zookjedi]

g'day i found this site like a lot of people by doing a search on mig welding looking for tips etc , i have a peerles 180amp stick welder and i just bought a 210 unimig the other week , im realy into 4x4's the more extreme side of it and am keen to learn tricks and tips to help improve my welds so when im at comps competing i wont be embarressed when people check out my mods
ive just cut the back of one of my 4x4s and have made up a tray for it (to hold my fuel cell ) and am in the process of thickening up the sills and than next week end will be exo caging it and than next year puting in bigger stronger diffs with an a frame rear end , my dad laughs and shakes his head everytime he looks at my welds (he's a pretty good welder) but hey at the moment there holding up , i just gotta learn and pratice more .

cheers Jai

 

[malcolm]

Welds that work are one thing, but it's really satisfying as you keep on practicing and get neater and neater. Takes a while, as when you get neat for one thing some other angle, thickess or configuration turns up, or you don't notice the wire feed getting worse, and things go rough again.

Best trick for neatness I've found is to get everything shiny clean with an angle grinder (the bits to weld and the earth clamp mount), hold the welder with both hands, set the amps for good penetration, then reduce the wire speed to the lowest that will give a good steady arc. On thick enough metal you should manage TIG neat.

Look forward to questions and also hearing about things that work for you.