Welders and Welding

[gmwillys]

The TIG does shine when it comes to tacking two different thicknesses together. The pinpoint accuracy of the tungsten electrode does make a world of difference. Oxy acetylene was how we learned how to weld in school. The classroom only had one MIG, and one TIG machine. You had to be a real teacher's pet to even get close to either. After the Oxy, we could then hop on the old Lincoln AC/DC tombstones. The only caveat was that all stick welding has to be done over head. The old crusty drill sergeant shop teacher didn't allow beanies or gloves because only girls wear gloves and bonnets, (coming from a guy who cut off four fingers in a radial arm safe) so overhead was fun to master welding through the pain of burns. To this day, I only use one glove as a heat shield and helps to slide better on the metal as a brace. I've fixed tons of copper radiators by brazing holes shut when I ran a lot of derby cars. Aluminum is no sweat either, except for the heat dissipates so much quicker than with any other materials.

[bmorgil]

I purchased a small Miller TIG machine a while back for my son. He was welding up a lot of exhaust systems. The TIG puts down the best welds with the best results no doubt, hands down. It is also the most expensive, and hardest to master. I was never able to master it. You can do anything with a TIG. I did learn that to do Aluminum, it takes a LOT of heat. The small machine I have will only weld thin Aluminum.

I do use the Lincoln Hobby MIG a lot. It is a nice little machine if you just need to weld up some thin steel, or even do a little bigger job if you spend a little time with it. It is small, goes anyplace there is a 110V power source.

[51 CJ3]

All we had was a stick welder when I took high school shop. College introduced me to oxy for welding but I dropped the course. Not a wire feed welder in sight back there. I don’t even remember seeing them in the text book. It had been more than 20 years since I tried welding when I bought the Syncrowave and my buddy introduced me to his Hobart.

I haven’t figured out stainless. About halfway there with aluminum. I don’t move fast enough to weld thin material with the tig. Practice would help a lot but it seems like the only time I power up a welder is when I actually need to use one. OJT at its best!

[bmorgil]

.... Practice would help a lot but it seems like the only time I power up a welder is when I actually need to use one. OJT at its best!

Man you hit it right there Jeff! It is practice, success and failure, that really makes you good at it. I also always seem to be practicing on the job! Unless you do it for a living, it is hard to get the practice in. Especially with all the different weld combinations you run into. I am so happy when it sticks together and resembles a weld.

[gmwillys]

As an experiment, I found that you can weld stainless steel pipe to mild steel. The weld isn't pretty, but it held up to the abuse.

[bmorgil]

Classic gm. Just plain classic! Lets go get that trophy.

[Catlewis]

I never had any problems welding stainless (possibly never ran into an alloy that creates problems)??? The most sporadic success rate and disappointment experiences I've had when welding all occurred when attempting to weld cast iron. I think success or failure has a lot to do with the quality of the cast iron. For example an several occasions people have brought me cast iron kettles to repair. These are usually turn of the century kettles that were once used domestically as a 'butchering kettle", and then later converted to a flower pot which included drilling holes into the bottom of the kettle. People are now trying to save these old iron pots and the "go to repair" is welding the holes shut. I'm finding a dramatic variance in cast iron. Some weld like steel, some weld like holding a bic lighter up to a styrene cup, they just melt. Most common success combination is preheating and using a nickel rod.

[51 CJ3]

The alloy of the stainless makes a huge difference. So does the cleanliness of the metal. I was practicing on stainless hose clamps before trying to tig weld a stainless exhaust. The exhaust broke again the first time the engine ran. I gave up and paid $800 for a new part. I found out later that the stainless in the clamps isn’t considered weldable and repairing a used stainless exhaust also requires shielding gas inside the tube.

[56willys]

Throwing something into the mix here. Does anyone have experience brazing a radiator? The top bracket broke of my radiator. It has been that way since day one and has never leaked so the rad
is okay, just needs reattached. I already got some fluxed brazing rod and map gas. Just looking for pointers, the more advice now the lower the chance of burning through. I'm not in a huge hurry to get this done. Since my jeep isn't drivable, just figured ya'll are already discussing welding stuff. Hopefully I can get some tips. Thanks guys!

[bmorgil]

56', radiators are soldered. You should use a 50/50 acid core solder. The brass/copper is so thin on a radiator, you will blow right through if you use too much temperature. Brazing will need too much heat. Solder is the "hot" ticket to prevent burn through and melt down. The top strap can be attached with Silver Solder for extra strength. That takes a little more heat and you need to be careful of the brass tank. Unless there is a lot of stress on the strap, I would use the 50/50 acid core solder.