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I just don't want to wind up missing a digit or limb. I can sometimes get in a hurry to get results.
I have a Lincoln Power Mig 255. It is an little bit older of a unit I bought used a few years back. I own a 120 tank for it but lease a 300 because I was going through the 120 so fast and this way I have a back-up on hand should I run out on a Friday night like I usually do. I recently replaced the whip with a Tregaskis. I was surprised how much better the welder performed by just switching that over. Not really sure why but it just seems to run smoother.I also have a Hypotherm plasma torch. Not sure which one it is at the moment. Might be the 45 or possibly the size under that.
Our tweco whips ran around $300 FYI. I've used tregaskiss stuff & it seems as good as tweco imo. We also ran Bernard & a lot of their stuff works with Tweco, again similar quality. More tips, I always use screw on 2 piece nozzles. Do not run the push on nozzles they suck. The other thing to be careful of is that the tip should be recessed inside the end of the nozzle a good 1/8-1/4" if it is protruding past the end if the nozzle you either have a mismatched setup or in some cases you may be missing a washer that acts as a spacer for the nozzle as some setups run. If you buy junk Chinese imported wire expect poor results possibly. Granted we ran off brand wire for non air tight welds etc but if you're building pressure vessels or barges / high stress structural welds etc run the high dollar Lincoln wire. My opinion is that it's the best wire available.
I always bought the lincoln wire but am sure there are others of equal quality.
The dealer I go to has the Esab's and they come with the tweko guns. Temped if they would swap out for the 15ft gun.
Quote from: JR on August 09, 2017, 04:51:42 PMThe dealer I go to has the Esab's and they come with the tweko guns. Temped if they would swap out for the 15ft gun.we're giving away the ESAB Rebels in a big promotion here at RANDYS. Any real world experience with these things, Shawn? you've always got $0.50 to chime in...
Anyone have an argument for a mig vs a stick welder. Welding a new tongue jack on my big enclosed this past week. Yes outside. I could tell when a breeze was blowing my gas off and my weld would turn to Instant crap. Than the gas would catch up. Do you fight elements as much with a stick welder? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Quote from: Bigdave_185 on October 21, 2017, 06:36:51 PMAnyone have an argument for a mig vs a stick welder. Welding a new tongue jack on my big enclosed this past week. Yes outside. I could tell when a breeze was blowing my gas off and my weld would turn to Instant crap. Than the gas would catch up. Do you fight elements as much with a stick welder? Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkWith a mig the gas keeps the weld free of contaminations. The reason you don't weld with gas outside is well because of breezes as you found out. Its the main reason you see pipe line welders with big stick units on their flat bed trucks. Stick welders use flux on the rod to do the same thing, thus the reason you chip it off the weld when completing a stick welding pass. There are ways to protect a mig welder from a breeze when welding outside its just a big pain and stick is normally faster in the long run.
Dave did you weld that lying flat or uphill?Reason is, you use two different techniques when welding vertical with stick vs migWith a Mig you can weld going down, starting from the top. If its adjusted right, it will fill in just fineBut you start at the bottom and go up with a stick welder. Plus with a stick you go left-right-left, touching each piece as you proceed upward and pause just long enough to control the puddle. Its all about the puddle of melt with the stick and going uphill. On the welding test I took back in the day, that and overhead welding were the two big challenges.A stick in the hands of someone like Shawn is a magical thing. Mig has less finesse in my view, but it gets the job done easily and is very forgiving. Stick welding requires practice and a pretty steady hand.
Quote from: Flyin6 on October 21, 2017, 08:24:21 PMDave did you weld that lying flat or uphill?Reason is, you use two different techniques when welding vertical with stick vs migWith a Mig you can weld going down, starting from the top. If its adjusted right, it will fill in just fineBut you start at the bottom and go up with a stick welder. Plus with a stick you go left-right-left, touching each piece as you proceed upward and pause just long enough to control the puddle. Its all about the puddle of melt with the stick and going uphill. On the welding test I took back in the day, that and overhead welding were the two big challenges.A stick in the hands of someone like Shawn is a magical thing. Mig has less finesse in my view, but it gets the job done easily and is very forgiving. Stick welding requires practice and a pretty steady hand.Technically, you're not supposed to weld down with a mig either. If it's a structural weld I would advise against it. Don is correct though that there is no weld with a stick called vertical down, it doesn't exist.