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MIG welders tricks: how to become a better welder and how to select the top welding equipment. Look for ways to support your hands. Having good support for your hands or arms is crucial for moving the torch with precise control. I do my best welding when the base of my hands or my wrists is supported in some way. Often you can rest your wrists on the part being welded. I keep an assortment of wood and metal blocks near my welding bench, and I often can get better support by positioning a block to rest my torch hand on. There are occasions where I rest my forearms, or even my elbows, on something for support. Many welders set up special support bars, positioned parallel to the joint being welded, and they slide their torch hand along the bar to help follow the joint with fine control. For some out-of-position work, I’ve had to rely on resting only my shoulder on something, and while not ideal, it’s better than having no support at all. Even placing my hip against something stationary can offer a bit of support, but I can’t weld very well when standing ‘free,’ with no support at all.

One of the “cardinal sins” that almost every shop commits is over-welding. This means that if the drawing calls for a 1/4″ fillet weld, most shops will put down a 5/16″ weld. The reasons? Either they don’t have a fillet gauge and are not exactly sure of the size of the weld they are producing or they put in some extra to “cover” themselves and make sure there is enough weld metal in place. But, over-welding leads to tremendous consumable waste. Let’s look again at our example. For a 1/4″ fillet weld, the typical operator will use .129 lbs. per foot of weld metal. The 5/16″ weld requires .201 lbs. per foot of weld metal – a 56 percent increase in weld volume compared to what is really needed. Plus, you must take into account the additional labor necessary to put down a larger weld. Not only is the company paying for extra, wasted consumable material, a weld with more weld metal is more likely to have warpage and distortion because of the added heat input. It is recommended that every operator be given a fillet gauge to accurately produce the weld specified – and nothing more. In addition, changes in wire diameter may be used to eliminate over-welding.

A few tips on welding equipment, MIG and TIG welders, plasma cutters. When appearance counts, TIG welding creates a high quality, clean weld that is far less likely to distort the metal by using a nonconsumable tungsten electrode. There is no need to worry about splatter because it only uses the necessary amount of filler metal needed in the welding puddle, making for the highest quality weld in every respect. However, TIG is fairly specialized and requires a good deal of training in order to master it-so make sure any TIG welder purchase is paired with a plan to take welding classes. Instead of the point and shoot simplicity of MIG welding, TIG requires the use of a foot pedal to regulate the welding process. A filler rod that is separate from the torch that must be fed in gradually. Many professional welders prefer TIG because it can weld a wide variety of metals and because of the versatility of argon gas used during TIG welding. There is no slag to block the view of the weld puddle. Argon gas can weld any metal at any thickness with TIG welding, and therefore there is no need to change the gas depending on the project.

The welding setup, welder settings, and electrode selection will impact how fast welders can work. Industrial welders invest time in planning the size and shape of their welding areas, how parts are laid out, and how they supply their shielding gas. Testing settings or an electrode on a piece of scrap metal, especially for a beginners, will save time in the long run. Learn more about setting up an efficient shop here. Welding Downhill Increases Welding Speed: While welding downhill is a faster way to weld, it’s not as strong as welding uphill. On most projects it’s not worth sacrificing strength and durability for the sake of welding speed. However, if the metal is thin enough, then welding downhill won’t make the weld weaker and may even be the correct technique for the job. Learn about uphill and downhill welding and see these diagrams of vertical and downhill welding. Discover more info on MIG welders.

And another tip is use the old school type of collet body(not gas lens) and one size smaller cup than you would use for steel that still provides good shielding. A smaller old school (not gas lens) TIG cup confines the shielding gas envelope to the puddle so that arc energy is not wasted in the form of frosty cleaning action outside the weld. A lot of Old timers use the small cups, they just don’t know why. Pay attention next time you weld aluminum and use a small cup and then turn the shielding gas flow down to around 12-15 cfh with a #6 cup and see if things don’t quiet down a bit.