My experience with MIG is that if you have 4 metal dining chairs to repair, you perfect your technique by the time you get the 4th one done and never have to weld that type and style of metal ever again. So the next time the MIG gets dug out, you're back to learning from scratch again!
You’re not wrong, but once you’re doing it everyday for 4 or 5 years, you get it first try. Then there’s aluminum mig, you get good at that right before you loose the work.
I started with TIG and I think I'll stick with it. I was thinking of getting a MIG but not after reading this comment lol!! Sounds like a pita and looks rough and like you say won't be any good until the last weld. Plus it's a CNC machine frame I'm building.
@@danriches7328 TIG is king, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to be a well rounded welder and get either a mig or a stick welder. They're different animals
Tony - WOW, you're REALLY getting into the spirit of RUclips! Heavy Metal music, sparks flying, everything! You're going to gain a completely new audience! Seriously, you did an excellent job of covering pulsed MIG welding, a subject that few people have delved into. And you ALWAYS find ways to make it in-depth, and entertaining!
I love that I can watch this channel, without actually planning to ever do any of the making seen in these videos or applying the info you provide. As a non machinist or maker, I find myself extremely entertained by your videos
I start the same, then by the end of the video I'm looking up how much a MIG welder costs and then realizing I don't have a proper place to weld in, putting off my welding ambitions indefinitely (i.e. until the next TOT video).
@@tziirkq Same. Between TOT and the old AvE, I ended up picking up a little Lincoln MIG welder. Totally useful in my IT job. OK, maybe when I get enough time to get out in the shop.
I can't wait for rest of my tools to get this smart. My hammer is in its 3rd year of community college and if I'm honest..the spend is largely wasted to building social skills. Sure its cooler at parties now, but on the job a palm sized rock with zero credits to its name is more than its equal.
Old Tony! I've been welding professionally for 20 years, pulse mig for at least 7 of those. You have grasped the science and nuance of a seasoned veteran. Even simplified the explanation of a couple questions I get asked occasionally. Welds look really good too! Strong work Buddy 💪
Awesome Tony! I pulse Mig for a living and once you get it dialed in, it's practically spatter free, i use normal short work gloves when doing it. A tip i can give you is keep the nozzle further away from the work piece, use a pushing motion and set your voltage on the - Side for most joints, i usually run mine between -1.5 to -.05. Another cool thing if you're machine can do it, is to set your starting current about 10-20% higher, this will make starts alot smoother and spatter free. Take care baby!
I think the 1/8" thickness isn't a great example of the benefits of pulse MIG. It's more when you get into the 1/4"+ range that you start to see the benefits where you get the cleanliness of spray transfer with the position welding capability of something like an E71-T1 wire.
6061 That particular machine (at least from my experience) welds much nicer on the low end ( thin material ) with 030 compared to 023. Why ? I think it has to do with the 023 wire being really soft compared to the 030 wire being much stiffer and feeding smoother and more consistent …. That compared with the ST arc function ( or the part of that function that is very similar to millers RMD function) just works sooo much better and smoother with 030 than it ever has with 023 for me …. And dozens of autobody shops i did training …
@@lunchboxproductions1183 I remember using a pulsed MIG on thin stuff with good results. I surely did not know the best way to set it up, but it seemed to allow for more base metal cooling and I wasn't as concerned about burn-through.
alright then, I think, me being a professional metalworker, I should give you some advise: first of all, please leave the old ways of welding and with them the wire feed. One doesn't discuss welding power in wire feed, we use Amps. In the top left corner of your welder I see the Amps, it's at 104 at 6:35. With your tube cross section (I guess it's about 3mm or about an eighth") you could go up to 120 if you wanted to. Don't try messing with the arc correction too much, with pulse welding it is usually fine at +-0. Now to torch position and speed: You always want to push, never drag. Or in other words, your torch and the surface you're welding to will always make a acutely angled triangle(viewed from the side). The point of the triangle should always point in the direction you're welding. not much, maybe 80°-85° between the work and the torch. your distance from workpiece to mig tip should be chose in a way that you can still barely see the end of the wire before it is melting. not too close nor too far. speed is quite a tricky one, with pulse welding you don't have much of a variation window to produce nice looking and strong welds. You have to be quite quick. You mentioned you still heard spattering sounds, that's not neccessarily a bad thing, you should move a tiny bit faster than spattersoundslow. getting a spatternoise every few millimeters or so is ideal. not so fast that you don't hear any, not so slow that you don't hear nothing else. I hope you can see and distinguish your weld puddle. You want your puddle to be closed in front of the arc. The arc should touch the puddle, not the work. If your puddle is only very tightly closed before the arc that's perfect. If it is far in front: correct your speed, speed up. If your arc rides on the work and the puddle is barely keeping up: correct your speed, slow down. I hope this helps and is understandable, I am no native speaker. If you want further help I'll try and provide some if you ask. Have a nice weekend :)
@@ThisOldTony when welding you shouldn't worry about the video. You can film the weld afterwards, but first priority is that you see the weld well. You have to adjust your speed while seeing it. The video is, as hard as it must be to hear being a youtuber, not the priority while doing work.
@@malteser0212 Pulling creates deeper penetration, pushing a more flat one, none is necesarly better then the other, just a case of choosing the best for the aplication, and for what he is doing pretty sure that's more then strongh enough, won't really matter
I was going to work today. But then I saw a 28min ToT video dropped and I put that silly notion aside. I hot-swapped into my ToT-Shirt merch, and got comfy. And as soon as you mentioned morning beer, I felt emboldened and reached for the shop mini-fridge. Thank you Tony, for being the Dad I Never Had.
Thank you, Tony. I had just the other day finished binge watching all your videos and my life felt so empty. Your return is very timely and has quite possibly saved me from doing some work.
It’s amazing to me how you can continue to create so much variety and keep such a consistent format! Love the entertainment and the education! Thank you, ToT.
Old Tony, i know were my mig pliers went now. They are laying on your bench. Then again they may be hiding out under all the junk laying on my welding table. One day, maybe one day i will get my table cleaned and recover my pliers. You havent lost your charm. Keep on bringing the content as only This old Tony can.
Nice video as usual, Tony. As a scientist /engineer wearing dirty lab coats all day I would like to humbly add my few cents. The way I usually set voltage correction for pulsed is to set it a bit low, and increase until I stop having short-circuits. You are right when you said the arc is not supposed to be so low in pulsed (you need time and space for the droplets do fall down towards the molten pool). If you go too long your arc will be unstable. The power supply gives you the chance to correct because it does not know how long your cables are, or your contact tip to plate distance. This will also matter, and for different distances you may have to change your voltage settings. But once you find a good distance and speed, you try to dial the best voltage (low arc but not low enough for short-circuiting). The voltage is not something to play around, it is more to find the ideal one. The sound will be not that classic frying bacon from short arc but a rather smooth sound. I would love to be able to share some of the data and videos I make in the lab. You can see all of these effects. You got it perfect with the gas mixture, I would never go for more than 15% CO2 in pulsed. And also very important tips on wire feeding (roller tension right, straight torch). Fume extraction is always good to have, keep your lungs safe :)
I have the HTP Pro pulse 220 , I have mine it since last September. I works quite well especially on pulse. I use the 90/10 mix and mostly 0.30 wire but you can use 0.35 wire for pulse if you increase voltage 2-3 volts. HTP said that me when I asked as 0.30 wire is not always what you need. It works just fiddle with it . What I found was that you do need 1/2 Inch work to tip distance, if you change your contact to work distance you may have to change the voltage trim. I also got the #26 mig torch with 8 ft. whip and Teflon liner. You need this to weld aluminum plus the special tips. Buy a bunch of the 0.40 tips.Use a 1 inch tip to work length, sometimes even more .I found a shorter arc length the best, then no burn back, set your trim for no burn back. I have a 1.5 second taper down for ending the weld. Set the wire tension really light, like 1 or less. Start off with 5356 wire to learn the pulse then go to 4043 and try double pulse, MiG like tip they say. Good luck, hope to see a new video of you and this welder soon.
Yeah even at the end I think he was still too close. Granted they're way more expensive, but the Lincoln pulse mig machines we use at work will crackle a bit at the start and end of a weld, but I've laid a 20 foot weld with no spatter, just the hum and the hint of a sizzle sound.
profesional german metalworker here .. i love the 3M Speedglas with Adflo (Respirator-sys) .. fresh filterd Air under the Helmet without a Mask .. but you have to be carefull with eating beans because the Air-intake is right at your Butt .. the 9100 FX Air Helmet is also great for grinding
@@zacharytuttle5618 justify is easy .. very very easy .. its your health .. how much money is your health worth? .. and what's the cost to fix your lungs if its even posible?
I used to do production Mig welding in a factory, we always used tip dip (A gel like substance) to keep the tip clean of spatter, and to keep spatter away from the rest of your work piece, we used sacrificial pieces of thin steel to catch all of it, not perfect, but saved some hassle.
Just 30 seconds into the video and I am once again jealous of this mans' talent. If he didn't seem so damn likeable and had such cool things to share and teach I would not waste any more time watching him.
Hard wire welding is awesome. There is regular short circuit welding, and spray arc welding. Short arc the wire actually comes in contact with the material, then heats up and leaves a blob of molten metal and typically uses 75% argon/25% carbon dioxide. The Co2 makes the arc hotter, and the argon focuses the arc. Spray Arc atomizes the wire before it reaches the puddle, and never comes in contact with the base material like Short Arc does. Spray arc needs 20% or less Co2 to initiate the spray. The higher the Argon, the more focused the spray, and the deeper the penetration. Ground location isn't too important with Short Arc, but with Spray the arc tends to pull toward the ground. Short Arc can be used in any position. Spray is only really viable in flat and horizontal position, Pulsed Spray can weld in all positions with the correct settings.
You've reminded me of the terror I felt when I started as a factory welder. They handed me a welder, I asked for the settings and whatnot, they said 0.045 wire, 700in/m, 19V. I asked if I could change anything, and my supervisor said "I can turn the voltage up if you want" 😭😭 spray transfer makes a way bigger difference at 700 ipm, but it's just so much for 1/8 thickness
Luckily I had taken welding and millwright classes in high school so I knew what I needed to know to get it done but my first job as a welder was rebuilding locomotives. The lead man there was a dick and made sure to turn all the dials on every welder all the way to the left every night before we left. So every morning you had to set the machine up. And of course each welder ran different so until I figured out my preferred setting on each one and for whatever job I was doing that day it would ruin my morning messing with those rigs knowing that there was absolutely no reason to have to do that every day. Guy just hated his life I guess and wanted us to hate him. I forgot to mention none of the welder's digital displays worked so you were guessing to say the least.
@@jesseshort8 that sounds like torture! I made doors in a ROC factory (think mega-dumpster!) and of course all they ever wanted was faster, so you had to glue these sheets together as fast as possible, and every turd burgling sociopath on first shift made 1/2 their target every day, with twice the people, and they'd set all the machines to 200-300IPM, sometimes only before they leave. We'd use them at 700-900IPM and set them back to 600 if we knew the guy on the other shift liked it like that. It just ground my gears that our shift made twice the cans they did with half the people, in the middle of the night, and they couldn't be bothered to do things like clean up the station or stock parts, and especially they loved to ruin our settings. What is it with people and messing with settings?!
@@jimdarhower4945 True that! The difference in deposition rate at 900ipm between short arc and spray transfer is literally night and day. I mean short arc at 900ipm is basically a spatter spray!
I'm at 6:40 and I just figured out what you're trying to do - I've only known this as pulsed SPRAY TRANSFER. Spray transfer is the type of mig welding where you lose the frying bacon sound of short circuit and get into the beautiful hiss of smooth spray transfer. It IS a very hot process though, so props on you for trying on tubing like that. But the pulsed version can weld outside of flat, and I'm sure could be used on tubing with some skill and practice. You need more voltage and wire speed though, as well as pure argon, no c25 for spray. Now to finish watching and see where this gets to. I have faith in you, Tony. 😀
I'm using pulse mig daily and I'd say that it makes less spatter than that Italian machine. Keep voltage regulated a bit to negative side and leave more cap between material and torch. On clean run there should be no spatter noise, only pulse sound. And double pulse - even more cleaner. Great video, thanks!
Yes there shouldn't be any crackling sound only the buzz of the pulse. If its crackling your trim is too low or your nozzle is too close to the puddle which tickles it and pisses it off lol!
yep, it should buzz like spray transfer does at optimal settings, though it can also handle spatter. The puddle should look liquid like Spray but stray in place. thats why we use Pulse, simply because it gets the penetration of Spray, with being able to weld every position. It's very neat.
Out of the billions of YT videos I probably watched since 2005 when YT was born. There are probably less than 5 channels I watch every single of minute of. Keep up the great content. I have been looking at these but I think I will stick with non-smart ones. Video Notes: first of video bangs tip on surface says keep your tip clean. End of video says don't do that, it breaks stuff. We've all been there :) and as for not wearing your gear. You get eyeball sunburn enough times or have one of those hot boogers land on your hand a few times and you will learn that as well.
At about 15:00, the angling of the stick of plasma cutter is exactly the same principle of angled armor on a tank. Vertical sides are easier to penetrate than angled. The front glacis on a tank is very steeply angled and presents a much thicker material to the RPG, HEAT, or sabot round.
Hi Tony, lately in pursue of greater precision i bought myself a new(old) bulgarian c11mb lathe and i would like to thank you Tony for draging me into this hobby, now i will look for some kind of small Fräsmaschine i watched Schaublin 13 video many times already but unfortunetly, swiss stuff is a bit expensive here, i will have to satisfy myself with something soviet probably. Anyway thank you for video, it makes a good day an even better day.
I use the same machine on aluminum everyday, it handles it absolutely amazing, with the 7ft 26 series whip and gun it’s awesome, no spool gun, just load the wire, change the setting and gas and start pushing, double pulse sounds a little funny, but puts out clean shiny puddles!
As a seasoned aluminium welder, pls tell us how important is cleaning away the oxide cos I heard some pros don't clean. And it's not because they use AC Tig which can clean. I mean just pulse Mig. And what about preheating. Can you preheat with a electric heat gun ?
@@jlcdrivewayramps7343 I clean my base metal the same as if I was tig welding it, with a stainless brush, file and then acetone or alcohol. I have ran a few beads on some unprepared “dirty” aluminum and it did really well, other than the puddle not looking as good afterwords, yes you can pre-heat with an electric heat gun, although a rosebud works a lot better, I have generally only needed a pre-heat on over .250 thick material, and if you don’t have a way to pre-heat, just bevel and multi-pass it.
Hey Tony long time fan here I'm 21 and from Germany, I just wanted to let you know that your videos are fantastic and I just wanted to thank you for helping me get my dream job and getting me through my apprecieship and beating all my exams in welding and machining. I now work for a company that builds filling machines for pharma industry😅. thanks for teaching all this precious knowledge ☺️.
Magnetic grounding terminals are glorious for jumping around on work (when it’s not good stainless or named Al). Thank you as always, -CY Castor Love those grinder boogers and mid-forearm sunburn!
As a hazard freight gasless user we got 2 settings. High/low, and wire speed. Steel is so forgiving and a grinder covers all sins. Your fancy machine gives less splatter though, I'll give you that for sure.
Love the intro 🤣 for your peace of mind vertical down welds on thin gage steel are perfectly acceptable. It's only on the thicker stuff where you'll get into trouble. Thanks for another great video!
They are used on plenty of structural applications too. The welder and procedure both need to be qualified but it works well. Especially for an open root and cap. It is not un common to do a downhill open root with 6010, short circuit or RMD Mig and then fill uphill with FCAW, 7018, or Mig. Then do a downhill cap like the root. This way the root is easy to complete with no grapes, you fill with less passes and less cleaning between, then you can cap nice and flat.
If you are having wire feed consistency issues try a Teflon liner. They are most often used with Ali' or Stainless wire but work really well for steel also. Only real downside is they don't last as long as the normal steel ones but that won't be an issue in a home shop. Also get yourself some Nozzle Dip and dip your torch once every 2-3 hours. Doing so will greatly reduce the spatter build up within the nozzle (especially the tapered type you are using) and I personally think it helps lubricate the contact tip a little also. Lastly I suspect your wire feed tension is a little low, try another half turn or so. The feed rollers will out last you regardless as they are normally hardened. The main thing to be wary of with feed tension is that there is not so much that the wire 'bids nests' in the feeder if it jams at the tip due to excessive burn back etc. One more quick trick that helps to keel dust and grit out of the feeder and liner is to thread the wire though a foam ear plug before it goes into the feed assemble, works like a 'way wiper' for your welding wire. Love your work. Cheers from NZ.
Tony Tony Tony.. you are the best medicine for when I feel down and out. You have a knack of getting your point accross that enthrawls everyone into you videos. Please keep up the good work and get well soon.
I'm about to do some mig welding for the first time in two years and this video pops up. Thanks for getting me thinking about this before I have the welder in hand
Never, okay, not real often, have I sat glued to the screen while watching a video about something I care so little about. Well done!! That view out of the welder at your hands and camera, the music, the llamas mating? All amazing. I salute you good sir.
Hey, ToT, i'm curious about your table. It's a part of the family by now, appearing in nearly every video. I wonder if you could show us your setup and how you use your bench. Perhaps in your next installment in august.
Much like your significant other, playing with a welder's knobs if the best part of getting to know new equipment. Delicate, precise knob manipulation. You heard it here first. 😎
Awesome video, thank You Tony! As a MIG welder i can say that longer distance from torch to material gives good looking weld, but less penetrated. When You see that weld is going too hot, You can go faster or just add a distance from tip to material. Short distance gives also more splatter inside torch and shorter life of cooper tip. "Pushing" torch (7:07) gives wide and less penetrated weld. "Pulling" (0:48) gives narrow and deeper melted weld. Holding torch in right angle to material gives someting inbetween. Usually about 10-15 degrees from right angle is optimal. Too sharp torch angle gives much splatter, but sometimes gives posibility of welding thin material with high current.
They do make anti-spatter sprays that are meant for HUGE stick weld jobs (talking half inch electrodes here) and they also work for the sane-person-sized MIG welds.
I've seen some artist metal workers cover the piece in soot from a torch running with a bad oxygen mix. Michael Cthulhu, the giant sword maker, he does something like this.
@@snaplash - Fireball Tools did some tests and found some sprays that didn't need to be cleaned. However they didn't work very well as anti-splatter either. You have to clean your work before painting, so really it's no big deal.
Love your sense of humor! While not pulsed like your HTP, my 30yr old Lincoln SP-250 has full computer control and an LCD screen providing all of those options (e.g. Process, Wire, Gas, thickness) along with manual overrides. I find spatter to be more of a function of CO2 percentage. Straight CO2 spatters like crazy but also provides deep penetration. Straight Argon doesn't spatter much but also doesn't penetrate either. 80-20 Ar-CO2 mix is all I use for steel and if I don't want spatter to stick I spray the weld area with WD40 as a spatter guard. Yeah, now there is an oily film to clean, but a solvent wipe is easier then a chisel and grinder. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. The gun liner, especially if it is a polymer type, can wear out and cause the wire to stutter. My OE liner was teflon and after a while it made getting a smooth weld on thick steel impossible. I replaced it with a coiled metal liner and now my MIG acts like a hot-melt glue gun for steel.
I don't want to expand much has I don't work with Mig/Mag in over a decade, the liner thing, teflon liners are for use with aluminium and if you are welding aluminium you must use it, aluminium sticks to the metal coil ones, like it happened to you if used with steel wire it get's destroyed easily
@@Nuno.A I bought my SP 250 used and it was from a shop that did aluminum work. That explains why it had a Teflon liner then. Thanks, I never knew that.
Every time I watch a bunch of your old videos, you upload a new one within a day, so here I am letting you know I've done that. Hope I didn't jynx the pattern by talking about it.
Just run the weld straight down and focus on getting the timing down. It might take a few tries but will leave a much stronger smooth weld. Jagged edges on a weld weaken the structure too because they give a sharper point to bend or break at.
YES Stick out for pulse welding is so important, through the whole video in my head I was saying longer stick out! 3/4" to 1" stick out. Most people over compensate because they are used to the short circuit so shoot for 1" or even further. I should sound like a nice hum no crackling. For aluminum watch your gun angle as well. Awesome video though, glad you are enjoying the machine!
I remember reading a scientific journal article on cracking in axle housings caused by the manufacturer using pulse MIG. The varying penetrating was causing stress. They went back to spray transfer CV. Pulse MIG is great on aluminium vertical up, I wouldn't use it on steel.
Absolutely love the videos Tony. I've been subscribed for about 4 years now an you never fail to have me laughing my ass off. Love the sense of humor. Thats prolly why I've watched ever one prolly a dozen times. But you rock an hope you feel better man an take care.
OMIG! Thanks for the wake up Tony, I've been living under a rock. I think my stick welder has seen this well, it's out the back packing up it's stuff. :)
Hi, I have barely any welding experience aside a course+exam I attended to in UK in '16. That was about aluminium, and it was aimed at car body shops to get certified for the big T electric car manufacturer. It was based on Fronius welders, synergy, pulse, and all the B&W. I never welded steel with that, I recall on AL it was all about amps, frequency was much lower, down to 40Hz for very thin coupons, and 4 stage trigger was a very interesting feature, although strange to weld without keeping a button pushed. You chose general piece thickness, then you could tamper with the finer settings to best suite your ”hand”. I remember also the symmetry of alternating current would play a role. Welded coupons were selected or discarded based on length of bead (neither too long or too short) height, regularity, no overpenetration (no bubbles on the other side), then cut, the central inch bathed in acid to highlight penetration, then the trainer would examine them with fancy microscope with reference ruler to see % (minimum = 20% pen) Either way, I qualified despite all expectations, and even before deadline, and that has left me the idea that nowadays these modern machines are very, very easy to get up and running, and get used to, allowing even inexperienced people like me to get decent results. Of course, from decent to ”work of art” the distance is still challenging, but structurally-wise, I have no complaints. Thank you for reminding me nice stuff, TOT, your content is always great to look at! Cheers from Italy!
Always good to see a new tot video on my feed, i don't mess with any of this (welding (i just weld eletronics), cnc, lathe, etc.) but i enjoy the heck out of these videos. Thank you Tony
Great Video Sir! A bunch of good information in here to share with new welders that is shared in an honest easy to relate way. I show all of my new techs your videos if they want to start get a foundation to build their skills on.
On the subject of fumes, just get a bigger shop. That way the accumulation of crud in the air is slower and less noticeable. Well, until the end of the day when you’re blowing weld bead out of your nose.
I have the biggest welding shop in the world. Most people call it "outdoors", but then again, most people wouldn't call that a "shop" either. Say, isn't that the purpose of a shop, to concentrate the fumes to lethal levels while you work?
You don't fool me TOT. You sure have a production team. 3 or 4 truly talented writers. A camera, sound and light crew. And of course a big Post production editing team behind the channel. Came on
I'm patiently waiting for the invention of the "spray-on" weld, you know, from a can... Like hairspray, so I can make steel projects like my late father ( welder on the Gateway Arch) and my brother (this man can weld water), who calls me the wood whisperer, because I can't weld but I'm good with toothpicks ? Lol
Pappy Weasel, sorry to tell you ….you are late to the party. Spray welding ( mostly for shaft overlays, build up or hard surfacing was invented decades ago ….
Yes, butt,... Is it like Hairspray...hmm? Meaning it's a product rather than a method or technique that takes many hours of apprenticeship exercising, late night cramming in last minute test welds so you can get a good coupon? hey look, a squirrel! I feel so misunderstood sometimes 😃
@@thomasa5619 I can as well. Yes ago when I was an apprentice (before I understood patience) I couldn't get anything to look good without tooling the whole joint with a wet finger, I had to use that technique in secret though, the owner of the company I have to get it perfect right out of the tube, he was oddly similar to the last part of the human body spent fuel touches when it leaves the building. Isn't vulcanization just about the best thing since the blimp? Man, what a Goodyear!
In critical welding applications - oil and gas pipelines for instance or structural welds - no matter how good the weld they are dressed (ground) to ensure that there are no stress raisers. There have been multiple heavy crane sheave failures on fabricated not cast sheaves due to weld stress on older non dressed welds. Subsea pipelines which by their very nature are not accessible are checked even when machine welded and then cleaned up to remove any areas which may lead to problems later on. In other words there is no such thing as a perfect weld that is so clean it can be left un ground on modern high end applications.
This is not true at all if you're implying the entire weld is "dressed". The only thing that gets ground on oil pipeline welds are the wagon tracks in the root pass and maybe to touch up the start/stop on the cap.
Yeah, a high crown weld needs to be dressed not to make a stress riser. That's how you do it. And by the way, who are these guys who always pick up on the topic of pipes and critical joints, stress members where people will die if the welder even blinks while welding? It's bad engineering if only a 100% perfect weld will keep it intact. 99,9% of what people use MIG/MAG for is fabrication. You rarely have to weld the entire structure to ascertain it's rigidity. Few short welds would be enough. Seriously, try checking welded structures and you rarely see full welds all around the profile. You're just wasting money on gas, wire and electricity doing so
@@valkman761 Agreed. You should see some of the old pipeline welds I inspect 😳. Keep in mind it was the 50's when they were welded. They have a concave cap, un ground stop/starts, arc strikes all over and even the odd pore. When we do an integrity dig they get a sleeve 99% of the time. But in all these years they have held up fine. No way in hell they would be acceptable today to any CSA, ASME or API code.
I've been working for more than 10 years in the space and defense industry and I've yet to see a ground weld (unless its for a tolerance fit on a bearing surface, and it is done after passing all verifications). They are all TIG welded and are thoroughly inspected to ensure consistent penetration and limited HAZ. Only cleaning done is to remove the oxydation layer with a wire brush or scotch brite (depending on material) and final cleaning with MEK.
"If I've got my Lathe settings right, we live in an age where welding is a thing." Damn, I almost had to spin up my own, manual Lathe (by spinning myself in place) to go back to a time when this was a current running joke.
3 years ago the guys at Saginaw welding supply introduced me to this kind of machine... 4 years ago I bought the previous Hot Ticket 180 Dual by Lincoln... and the spool gun soon to follow, to do that Al-You- Lini-mum! My old Champbell husfeld was good at Aluminum welding like pushing wet rope up hill on a stairway! And once upon a time in “The Big Army” in the Fulda Gap I used a Spool gun that had a Rheostat trigger with a hook loop that controlled the wire feed speed... the more you squeeze the faster the wire came out... After a long while of goober and grind, I found the tape trick and some consistency in my welds. As the spools ran out fast I had some rolls of 11# spools of .035 Aluminum wire to put on to 1# spools to weld the Aluminum (that was a Royal pain in my 3rd point of contact...) Our BMO (Battalion Motor Officer) motor pool Chief, A CW4 (Chief Warrent Officer (AKA GOD of the motor pool) asked me why I had Electrical tape around the middle finger of my welding glove... that, was to not squeeze the trigger to far... As I was getting the corner of a 113A2 armored personnel carrier’s fender reconstruction done. It was torn up by the steel tracks rotating up from another track parked too close and then turning away too soon in our over crowded motor pool parking lot. After about 22 pounds of aluminum wire it was as good if not better than new considering that it was a solid fender corner compared to 3/4” plates of aluminum welded together. And you couldn’t even tell it had been in an accident and it was close to being scraped because of the cost of sending it back over seas to get repaired at Depot. I learned welding in Middle school metals class them machine shop and welding classes in High School. Along with Vocational Auto 1-2&3, Independant study welding was my senior year extra class I helped the instructor with the introduction to metals first year students I had already take Metals technology 1&2 ( yes in High School) machining CNC was off sight and I didn’t want to go there. So I was an industrial technology geek! I even taught my Heavy construction equipment repairer course, instructors stick welding after classes before they covered it for the rest of my class at the time, in Ft Leonard-Wood MO. Had the Honor Grad position with the highest End of Cycle Test Score, and the Highest overall class test scores in the history of the course up to that time. But I missed all the Honors and accolades because I was shipped out to Airborne school, two days before graduation! It took 36 hours to go by Bus from Ft Lenard-Wood MO. To Ft Benning GA. Now I’m Retired and with 4 MOS’s (Military Occupational Specialties) I’ve had enough education for 2 BS degrees and I’ve got zero. But Army Continuing Education Service’s counted me as having 236 Credit hours... ( Some College) I believe that you can love and fully understand this...
My experience with MIG is that if you have 4 metal dining chairs to repair, you perfect your technique by the time you get the 4th one done and never have to weld that type and style of metal ever again. So the next time the MIG gets dug out, you're back to learning from scratch again!
You’re not wrong, but once you’re doing it everyday for 4 or 5 years, you get it first try. Then there’s aluminum mig, you get good at that right before you loose the work.
You should write a book! This is exactly right.
Yup lol. Sounds about right to me.
I started with TIG and I think I'll stick with it. I was thinking of getting a MIG but not after reading this comment lol!! Sounds like a pita and looks rough and like you say won't be any good until the last weld. Plus it's a CNC machine frame I'm building.
@@danriches7328 TIG is king, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to be a well rounded welder and get either a mig or a stick welder. They're different animals
Tony - WOW, you're REALLY getting into the spirit of RUclips! Heavy Metal music, sparks flying, everything! You're going to gain a completely new audience!
Seriously, you did an excellent job of covering pulsed MIG welding, a subject that few people have delved into. And you ALWAYS find ways to make it in-depth, and entertaining!
I know, cool
Still no match to that Ron Corvel...Covell...Cosomething guy. THAT guy is awesome!
Coming next: mig welder VS hydraulic press!
Tony knows the difference between Metal and Hard Rock! 😂
I was going to make a "he has spoken" joke ;)
Wow!!!! The ToT has graced us with a ~30 minute video!!! We are truly blessed on this day!!! (Thanks Tony)
Praise be!
Or as I sometimes call it... lazy editing. ;)
@@ThisOldTony But, it was good.
@@ThisOldTony there certainly were enough butts in this one 😂
@@jonmccormick6805 Very very good!
I love that I can watch this channel, without actually planning to ever do any of the making seen in these videos or applying the info you provide. As a non machinist or maker, I find myself extremely entertained by your videos
thanks JSA!
Tony is what inspired me to become a welder. Now I'm not only a welder, I'm also an UMEPLOYED welder, so things are looking pretty good.
nice pulsing!
I start the same, then by the end of the video I'm looking up how much a MIG welder costs and then realizing I don't have a proper place to weld in, putting off my welding ambitions indefinitely (i.e. until the next TOT video).
@@tziirkq Same. Between TOT and the old AvE, I ended up picking up a little Lincoln MIG welder. Totally useful in my IT job. OK, maybe when I get enough time to get out in the shop.
I can't wait for rest of my tools to get this smart. My hammer is in its 3rd year of community college and if I'm honest..the spend is largely wasted to building social skills. Sure its cooler at parties now, but on the job a palm sized rock with zero credits to its name is more than its equal.
This comment is composed with the ideal tone, energy, and depth of Tony himself.
This is so relevant and such a keen observation it's funny... and sad.
LOL & sad-LOL at the same time.
I literally read that with Tony's voice in my head.
Yeah but just think of how much better you will pound when your hammer gets it's liberal arts degree...
Your flaming bandsaw is the funniest thing I've seen in a long time
Hey what are you doing here? Go and make videos, jk.
Love your channel man
Flamesaw
Would love to see another video but mostly just hoping that TOT and his loved ones are well.
Old Tony! I've been welding professionally for 20 years, pulse mig for at least 7 of those. You have grasped the science and nuance of a seasoned veteran. Even simplified the explanation of a couple questions I get asked occasionally. Welds look really good too! Strong work Buddy 💪
I had to pause the video after that intro to wipe the tears from my eyes. It was just so.... beautiful.
Every now-and-then it hits me: I haven't seen a TOT in a while. I'm sure it'll be any day now. Hope all is well!
If Tony really wanted to impress us with his joining of this newfangled 'steel', he would use mortise and tennon joints.
I would watch that... Twice
I live near Ironbridge (where the world's first metal bridge still stands) and that has cast iron dovetail joints.
@@kempshott That's an amazing piece of engineering. Knew a guy years ago with a metal workshop that was within spitting distance of the bridge.
@@kempshott I've driven through Ironbridge I don't even know how many times. I'm from the Saulter!
@@kempshott Cast iron dovetail joints, that's insane.
Awesome Tony! I pulse Mig for a living and once you get it dialed in, it's practically spatter free, i use normal short work gloves when doing it. A tip i can give you is keep the nozzle further away from the work piece, use a pushing motion and set your voltage on the - Side for most joints, i usually run mine between -1.5 to -.05. Another cool thing if you're machine can do it, is to set your starting current about 10-20% higher, this will make starts alot smoother and spatter free. Take care baby!
I'm glad Tony has still got a Pulse 😁
As an experiment, put it in manual mode and try .023" wire. I bet you can get every bit as clean of welds with the same minimal spatter.
I was thinking the same.
I think the 1/8" thickness isn't a great example of the benefits of pulse MIG. It's more when you get into the 1/4"+ range that you start to see the benefits where you get the cleanliness of spray transfer with the position welding capability of something like an E71-T1 wire.
6061 That particular machine (at least from my experience) welds much nicer on the low end ( thin material ) with 030 compared to 023.
Why ? I think it has to do with the 023 wire being really soft compared to the 030 wire being much stiffer and feeding smoother and more consistent …. That compared with the ST arc function ( or the part of that function that is very similar to millers RMD function) just works sooo much better and smoother with 030 than it ever has with 023 for me …. And dozens of autobody shops i did training …
@@lunchboxproductions1183 I remember using a pulsed MIG on thin stuff with good results. I surely did not know the best way to set it up, but it seemed to allow for more base metal cooling and I wasn't as concerned about burn-through.
Love your videos too bro!
A 30 minute ToT video just landed when I sent my wife and a kid to play outside. Awesome!:)
We miss and love you Tony!!!
The sparks off the surface grinder in the intro nearly did me in
alright then, I think, me being a professional metalworker, I should give you some advise:
first of all, please leave the old ways of welding and with them the wire feed. One doesn't discuss welding power in wire feed, we use Amps.
In the top left corner of your welder I see the Amps, it's at 104 at 6:35. With your tube cross section (I guess it's about 3mm or about an eighth") you could go up to 120 if you wanted to. Don't try messing with the arc correction too much, with pulse welding it is usually fine at +-0. Now to torch position and speed:
You always want to push, never drag. Or in other words, your torch and the surface you're welding to will always make a acutely angled triangle(viewed from the side). The point of the triangle should always point in the direction you're welding. not much, maybe 80°-85° between the work and the torch. your distance from workpiece to mig tip should be chose in a way that you can still barely see the end of the wire before it is melting. not too close nor too far. speed is quite a tricky one, with pulse welding you don't have much of a variation window to produce nice looking and strong welds. You have to be quite quick. You mentioned you still heard spattering sounds, that's not neccessarily a bad thing, you should move a tiny bit faster than spattersoundslow. getting a spatternoise every few millimeters or so is ideal. not so fast that you don't hear any, not so slow that you don't hear nothing else.
I hope you can see and distinguish your weld puddle. You want your puddle to be closed in front of the arc. The arc should touch the puddle, not the work. If your puddle is only very tightly closed before the arc that's perfect. If it is far in front: correct your speed, speed up. If your arc rides on the work and the puddle is barely keeping up: correct your speed, slow down.
I hope this helps and is understandable, I am no native speaker. If you want further help I'll try and provide some if you ask.
Have a nice weekend :)
👍
All excellent advice I'll try. Only problem: pushing a weld makes it difficult to film. :)
@@ThisOldTony when welding you shouldn't worry about the video. You can film the weld afterwards, but first priority is that you see the weld well. You have to adjust your speed while seeing it.
The video is, as hard as it must be to hear being a youtuber, not the priority while doing work.
@@malteser0212 Pulling creates deeper penetration, pushing a more flat one, none is necesarly better then the other, just a case of choosing the best for the aplication, and for what he is doing pretty sure that's more then strongh enough, won't really matter
On thin steel, it's perfectly acceptable to drag a downhill weld. Never say "always"
ToT, love your vids always puts me in a good mood when I see a release. I'm stoked you are back. I don't even do any of this stuff.
I was going to work today. But then I saw a 28min ToT video dropped and I put that silly notion aside.
I hot-swapped into my ToT-Shirt merch, and got comfy.
And as soon as you mentioned morning beer, I felt emboldened and reached for the shop mini-fridge.
Thank you Tony, for being the Dad I Never Had.
Thank you, Tony. I had just the other day finished binge watching all your videos and my life felt so empty. Your return is very timely and has quite possibly saved me from doing some work.
I sure do miss the times when you posted your great and fun and witty videos more often.
It’s amazing to me how you can continue to create so much variety and keep such a consistent format! Love the entertainment and the education! Thank you, ToT.
Old Tony, i know were my mig pliers went now. They are laying on your bench. Then again they may be hiding out under all the junk laying on my welding table. One day, maybe one day i will get my table cleaned and recover my pliers. You havent lost your charm. Keep on bringing the content as only This old Tony can.
Nice video as usual, Tony. As a scientist /engineer wearing dirty lab coats all day I would like to humbly add my few cents.
The way I usually set voltage correction for pulsed is to set it a bit low, and increase until I stop having short-circuits. You are right when you said the arc is not supposed to be so low in pulsed (you need time and space for the droplets do fall down towards the molten pool). If you go too long your arc will be unstable.
The power supply gives you the chance to correct because it does not know how long your cables are, or your contact tip to plate distance. This will also matter, and for different distances you may have to change your voltage settings. But once you find a good distance and speed, you try to dial the best voltage (low arc but not low enough for short-circuiting). The voltage is not something to play around, it is more to find the ideal one. The sound will be not that classic frying bacon from short arc but a rather smooth sound.
I would love to be able to share some of the data and videos I make in the lab. You can see all of these effects.
You got it perfect with the gas mixture, I would never go for more than 15% CO2 in pulsed. And also very important tips on wire feeding (roller tension right, straight torch).
Fume extraction is always good to have, keep your lungs safe :)
I have the HTP Pro pulse 220 , I have mine it since last September. I works quite well especially on pulse. I use the 90/10 mix and mostly 0.30 wire but you can use 0.35 wire for pulse if you increase voltage 2-3 volts. HTP said that me when I asked as 0.30 wire is not always what you need. It works just fiddle with it . What I found was that you do need 1/2
Inch work to tip distance, if you change your contact to work distance you may have to change the voltage trim. I also got the #26 mig torch with 8 ft. whip and Teflon liner. You need this to weld aluminum plus the special tips. Buy a bunch of the 0.40 tips.Use a 1 inch tip to work length, sometimes even more .I found a shorter arc length the best, then no burn back, set your trim for no burn back. I have a 1.5 second taper down for ending the weld. Set the wire tension really light, like 1 or less. Start off with 5356 wire to learn the pulse then go to 4043 and try double pulse, MiG like tip they say. Good luck, hope to see a new video of you and this welder soon.
Thanks for the tips Bruce... I'm still learning my 220MTS, but what I've done with it, I'm loving it!
Bruce, wow! Couldn’t have said it any better😂
Yeah even at the end I think he was still too close. Granted they're way more expensive, but the Lincoln pulse mig machines we use at work will crackle a bit at the start and end of a weld, but I've laid a 20 foot weld with no spatter, just the hum and the hint of a sizzle sound.
What a great video! I have been welding over 30 years, This old dog learned some new good tips that will make me a better welder.
Thanks Tony
profesional german metalworker here .. i love the 3M Speedglas with Adflo (Respirator-sys) .. fresh filterd Air under the Helmet without a Mask .. but you have to be carefull with eating beans because the Air-intake is right at your Butt .. the 9100 FX Air Helmet is also great for grinding
😂
Activated charcoal layer on the filters, and don't worry about that...
Those hoods are amazing. Wish I could justify the purchase. My old employer had them.
@@zacharytuttle5618 justify is easy .. very very easy .. its your health .. how much money is your health worth? .. and what's the cost to fix your lungs if its even posible?
Well well. I have been welding stuff (unprofessionally) for 60 yrs and did not know MIG could be that clean!! Tony scores again!
I used to do production Mig welding in a factory, we always used tip dip (A gel like substance) to keep the tip clean of spatter, and to keep spatter away from the rest of your work piece, we used sacrificial pieces of thin steel to catch all of it, not perfect, but saved some hassle.
Just 30 seconds into the video and I am once again jealous of this mans' talent. If he didn't seem so damn likeable and had such cool things to share and teach I would not waste any more time watching him.
Hard wire welding is awesome. There is regular short circuit welding, and spray arc welding. Short arc the wire actually comes in contact with the material, then heats up and leaves a blob of molten metal and typically uses 75% argon/25% carbon dioxide. The Co2 makes the arc hotter, and the argon focuses the arc. Spray Arc atomizes the wire before it reaches the puddle, and never comes in contact with the base material like Short Arc does. Spray arc needs 20% or less Co2 to initiate the spray. The higher the Argon, the more focused the spray, and the deeper the penetration. Ground location isn't too important with Short Arc, but with Spray the arc tends to pull toward the ground. Short Arc can be used in any position. Spray is only really viable in flat and horizontal position, Pulsed Spray can weld in all positions with the correct settings.
Wonderful to have your unusual sense of humor back among us. Oh, and your content isn't bad either.
This was brilliant and timely as I'm also transitioning from TIG to MIG for some projects! I always learn something new here, thanks ToT!
Tony, I honestly find your content more entertaining than most of the stuff coming out of Hollywood.
You've reminded me of the terror I felt when I started as a factory welder. They handed me a welder, I asked for the settings and whatnot, they said 0.045 wire, 700in/m, 19V. I asked if I could change anything, and my supervisor said "I can turn the voltage up if you want" 😭😭 spray transfer makes a way bigger difference at 700 ipm, but it's just so much for 1/8 thickness
Luckily I had taken welding and millwright classes in high school so I knew what I needed to know to get it done but my first job as a welder was rebuilding locomotives. The lead man there was a dick and made sure to turn all the dials on every welder all the way to the left every night before we left. So every morning you had to set the machine up. And of course each welder ran different so until I figured out my preferred setting on each one and for whatever job I was doing that day it would ruin my morning messing with those rigs knowing that there was absolutely no reason to have to do that every day. Guy just hated his life I guess and wanted us to hate him. I forgot to mention none of the welder's digital displays worked so you were guessing to say the least.
@@jesseshort8 that sounds like torture! I made doors in a ROC factory (think mega-dumpster!) and of course all they ever wanted was faster, so you had to glue these sheets together as fast as possible, and every turd burgling sociopath on first shift made 1/2 their target every day, with twice the people, and they'd set all the machines to 200-300IPM, sometimes only before they leave. We'd use them at 700-900IPM and set them back to 600 if we knew the guy on the other shift liked it like that. It just ground my gears that our shift made twice the cans they did with half the people, in the middle of the night, and they couldn't be bothered to do things like clean up the station or stock parts, and especially they loved to ruin our settings. What is it with people and messing with settings?!
That was solid advice from your supervisor 😂
@@jimdarhower4945 True that! The difference in deposition rate at 900ipm between short arc and spray transfer is literally night and day. I mean short arc at 900ipm is basically a spatter spray!
I'm at 6:40 and I just figured out what you're trying to do - I've only known this as pulsed SPRAY TRANSFER. Spray transfer is the type of mig welding where you lose the frying bacon sound of short circuit and get into the beautiful hiss of smooth spray transfer. It IS a very hot process though, so props on you for trying on tubing like that. But the pulsed version can weld outside of flat, and I'm sure could be used on tubing with some skill and practice. You need more voltage and wire speed though, as well as pure argon, no c25 for spray.
Now to finish watching and see where this gets to. I have faith in you, Tony. 😀
I'm using pulse mig daily and I'd say that it makes less spatter than that Italian machine. Keep voltage regulated a bit to negative side and leave more cap between material and torch. On clean run there should be no spatter noise, only pulse sound. And double pulse - even more cleaner. Great video, thanks!
Yes there shouldn't be any crackling sound only the buzz of the pulse. If its crackling your trim is too low or your nozzle is too close to the puddle which tickles it and pisses it off lol!
yep, it should buzz like spray transfer does at optimal settings, though it can also handle spatter.
The puddle should look liquid like Spray but stray in place. thats why we use Pulse, simply because it gets the penetration of Spray, with being able to weld every position. It's very neat.
Out of the billions of YT videos I probably watched since 2005 when YT was born. There are probably less than 5 channels I watch every single of minute of. Keep up the great content. I have been looking at these but I think I will stick with non-smart ones.
Video Notes: first of video bangs tip on surface says keep your tip clean. End of video says don't do that, it breaks stuff. We've all been there :) and as for not wearing your gear. You get eyeball sunburn enough times or have one of those hot boogers land on your hand a few times and you will learn that as well.
At about 15:00, the angling of the stick of plasma cutter is exactly the same principle of angled armor on a tank. Vertical sides are easier to penetrate than angled. The front glacis on a tank is very steeply angled and presents a much thicker material to the RPG, HEAT, or sabot round.
Hi Tony, lately in pursue of greater precision i bought myself a new(old) bulgarian c11mb lathe and i would like to thank you Tony for draging me into this hobby, now i will look for some kind of small Fräsmaschine i watched Schaublin 13 video many times already but unfortunetly, swiss stuff is a bit expensive here, i will have to satisfy myself with something soviet probably. Anyway thank you for video, it makes a good day an even better day.
I use the same machine on aluminum everyday, it handles it absolutely amazing, with the 7ft 26 series whip and gun it’s awesome, no spool gun, just load the wire, change the setting and gas and start pushing, double pulse sounds a little funny, but puts out clean shiny puddles!
looking forward to trying it!
As a seasoned aluminium welder, pls tell us how important is cleaning away the oxide cos I heard some pros don't clean. And it's not because they use AC Tig which can clean. I mean just pulse Mig.
And what about preheating. Can you preheat with a electric heat gun ?
@@jlcdrivewayramps7343 I clean my base metal the same as if I was tig welding it, with a stainless brush, file and then acetone or alcohol.
I have ran a few beads on some unprepared “dirty” aluminum and it did really well, other than the puddle not looking as good afterwords, yes you can pre-heat with an electric heat gun, although a rosebud works a lot better, I have generally only needed a pre-heat on over .250 thick material, and if you don’t have a way to pre-heat, just bevel and multi-pass it.
@@Jordan-9093 thank you. Very clear answer.
Hey Tony long time fan here I'm 21 and from Germany, I just wanted to let you know that your videos are fantastic and I just wanted to thank you for helping me get my dream job and getting me through my apprecieship and beating all my exams in welding and machining. I now work for a company that builds filling machines for pharma industry😅. thanks for teaching all this precious knowledge ☺️.
THE MAN IS BACK.
My exact statement I came here to make lol
@@jeremycable51 second
HE’S BACK IN BLACK
Thankful
Do you blow smoke
Adam Savage mentioned at a recent con that he loves your content. And so do I! Thanks for what you do ToT!
Also he mentioned that he would love to learn TIG. Collab perhaps??
Magnetic grounding terminals are glorious for jumping around on work (when it’s not good stainless or named Al).
Thank you as always,
-CY Castor
Love those grinder boogers and mid-forearm sunburn!
I love the tig torch chilling in the background of shots like a jealous ex
As a hazard freight gasless user we got 2 settings. High/low, and wire speed. Steel is so forgiving and a grinder covers all sins. Your fancy machine gives less splatter though, I'll give you that for sure.
just graduated from welding welding school this morning and seeing this video pop-up was like a gift from god.
Love the intro 🤣 for your peace of mind vertical down welds on thin gage steel are perfectly acceptable. It's only on the thicker stuff where you'll get into trouble.
Thanks for another great video!
They are used on plenty of structural applications too. The welder and procedure both need to be qualified but it works well. Especially for an open root and cap. It is not un common to do a downhill open root with 6010, short circuit or RMD Mig and then fill uphill with FCAW, 7018, or Mig. Then do a downhill cap like the root. This way the root is easy to complete with no grapes, you fill with less passes and less cleaning between, then you can cap nice and flat.
What a delight to listen to somebody that knows how to speak in ENGLISH and Stefan is a close 2nd.
If you are having wire feed consistency issues try a Teflon liner. They are most often used with Ali' or Stainless wire but work really well for steel also. Only real downside is they don't last as long as the normal steel ones but that won't be an issue in a home shop. Also get yourself some Nozzle Dip and dip your torch once every 2-3 hours. Doing so will greatly reduce the spatter build up within the nozzle (especially the tapered type you are using) and I personally think it helps lubricate the contact tip a little also. Lastly I suspect your wire feed tension is a little low, try another half turn or so. The feed rollers will out last you regardless as they are normally hardened. The main thing to be wary of with feed tension is that there is not so much that the wire 'bids nests' in the feeder if it jams at the tip due to excessive burn back etc. One more quick trick that helps to keel dust and grit out of the feeder and liner is to thread the wire though a foam ear plug before it goes into the feed assemble, works like a 'way wiper' for your welding wire. Love your work. Cheers from NZ.
Tony Tony Tony.. you are the best medicine for when I feel down and out. You have a knack of getting your point accross that enthrawls everyone into you videos. Please keep up the good work and get well soon.
And I'm sitting here, still processing the "Turn a CUBE on a LATHE" on the last video!
YAAAY 😄😄😄😄 Tony you always make my day when I see you in my sub box
@Don't Read My Profile Photo Delete your account
I'm about to do some mig welding for the first time in two years and this video pops up. Thanks for getting me thinking about this before I have the welder in hand
Hope you and the family are doing well Tony, glad to see you back
Thanks FirstName, right back atcha
Never, okay, not real often, have I sat glued to the screen while watching a video about something I care so little about. Well done!! That view out of the welder at your hands and camera, the music, the llamas mating? All amazing. I salute you good sir.
Hey, ToT, i'm curious about your table.
It's a part of the family by now, appearing in nearly every video.
I wonder if you could show us your setup and how you use your bench.
Perhaps in your next installment in august.
20 +year welder here , ya nailed it Tony even simplified it for everyone very very well. Nice
Nothing makes me stop doing what I was doing quicker than a this old tony video
Much like your significant other, playing with a welder's knobs if the best part of getting to know new equipment. Delicate, precise knob manipulation.
You heard it here first. 😎
coming up on three months since this video getting a lil worried, you ok Tony?
Awesome video, thank You Tony! As a MIG welder i can say that longer distance from torch to material gives good looking weld, but less penetrated. When You see that weld is going too hot, You can go faster or just add a distance from tip to material. Short distance gives also more splatter inside torch and shorter life of cooper tip. "Pushing" torch (7:07) gives wide and less penetrated weld. "Pulling" (0:48) gives narrow and deeper melted weld. Holding torch in right angle to material gives someting inbetween. Usually about 10-15 degrees from right angle is optimal. Too sharp torch angle gives much splatter, but sometimes gives posibility of welding thin material with high current.
They do make anti-spatter sprays that are meant for HUGE stick weld jobs (talking half inch electrodes here) and they also work for the sane-person-sized MIG welds.
I've seen some artist metal workers cover the piece in soot from a torch running with a bad oxygen mix. Michael Cthulhu, the giant sword maker, he does something like this.
@@snaplash - Fireball Tools did some tests and found some sprays that didn't need to be cleaned. However they didn't work very well as anti-splatter either. You have to clean your work before painting, so really it's no big deal.
Love your sense of humor! While not pulsed like your HTP, my 30yr old Lincoln SP-250 has full computer control and an LCD screen providing all of those options (e.g. Process, Wire, Gas, thickness) along with manual overrides. I find spatter to be more of a function of CO2 percentage. Straight CO2 spatters like crazy but also provides deep penetration. Straight Argon doesn't spatter much but also doesn't penetrate either. 80-20 Ar-CO2 mix is all I use for steel and if I don't want spatter to stick I spray the weld area with WD40 as a spatter guard. Yeah, now there is an oily film to clean, but a solvent wipe is easier then a chisel and grinder. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. The gun liner, especially if it is a polymer type, can wear out and cause the wire to stutter. My OE liner was teflon and after a while it made getting a smooth weld on thick steel impossible. I replaced it with a coiled metal liner and now my MIG acts like a hot-melt glue gun for steel.
I don't want to expand much has I don't work with Mig/Mag in over a decade, the liner thing, teflon liners are for use with aluminium and if you are welding aluminium you must use it, aluminium sticks to the metal coil ones, like it happened to you if used with steel wire it get's destroyed easily
@@Nuno.A I bought my SP 250 used and it was from a shop that did aluminum work. That explains why it had a Teflon liner then. Thanks, I never knew that.
You could make 10 videos a day and it still wouldn't be nearly enough. We love your work
tOt not-to-subtlety taking the piss out of most yt welding channels, with some hard rock welding montage. 😁😁 Love ya.
Every time I watch a bunch of your old videos, you upload a new one within a day, so here I am letting you know I've done that. Hope I didn't jynx the pattern by talking about it.
yeah You did it
@@juanitoalkachofa lol dangit!
@@juanitoalkachofa I was off by about a week, but it still worked. New Vid Now! 😁
Wow hey, this video dropped just as I was about to start a weekend welding project! How apropos!
TOT! Where are you? We miss you!
Finally. I've been watching and waiting lifetimes for a ToT Mig video. I had almost accepted that he was another one of those Tig snobs....
Just run the weld straight down and focus on getting the timing down. It might take a few tries but will leave a much stronger smooth weld. Jagged edges on a weld weaken the structure too because they give a sharper point to bend or break at.
YES Stick out for pulse welding is so important, through the whole video in my head I was saying longer stick out! 3/4" to 1" stick out. Most people over compensate because they are used to the short circuit so shoot for 1" or even further. I should sound like a nice hum no crackling. For aluminum watch your gun angle as well. Awesome video though, glad you are enjoying the machine!
I remember reading a scientific journal article on cracking in axle housings caused by the manufacturer using pulse MIG. The varying penetrating was causing stress. They went back to spray transfer CV.
Pulse MIG is great on aluminium vertical up, I wouldn't use it on steel.
interesting!
Just watched again. Loved it all over again. Spanks for posting.
TOT, its been over a couple months since last video. I need a TOT laughter recharge please.
Absolutely love the videos Tony. I've been subscribed for about 4 years now an you never fail to have me laughing my ass off. Love the sense of humor. Thats prolly why I've watched ever one prolly a dozen times. But you rock an hope you feel better man an take care.
😭😭Missing you TOT.... hope all is well your way.
OMIG! Thanks for the wake up Tony, I've been living under a rock. I think my stick welder has seen this well, it's out the back packing up it's stuff. :)
Hi, I have barely any welding experience aside a course+exam I attended to in UK in '16.
That was about aluminium, and it was aimed at car body shops to get certified for the big T electric car manufacturer.
It was based on Fronius welders, synergy, pulse, and all the B&W. I never welded steel with that, I recall on AL it was all about amps, frequency was much lower, down to 40Hz for very thin coupons, and 4 stage trigger was a very interesting feature, although strange to weld without keeping a button pushed.
You chose general piece thickness, then you could tamper with the finer settings to best suite your ”hand”.
I remember also the symmetry of alternating current would play a role.
Welded coupons were selected or discarded based on length of bead (neither too long or too short) height, regularity, no overpenetration (no bubbles on the other side), then cut, the central inch bathed in acid to highlight penetration, then the trainer would examine them with fancy microscope with reference ruler to see % (minimum = 20% pen)
Either way, I qualified despite all expectations, and even before deadline, and that has left me the idea that nowadays these modern machines are very, very easy to get up and running, and get used to, allowing even inexperienced people like me to get decent results.
Of course, from decent to ”work of art” the distance is still challenging, but structurally-wise, I have no complaints.
Thank you for reminding me nice stuff, TOT, your content is always great to look at!
Cheers from Italy!
Always good to see a new tot video on my feed, i don't mess with any of this (welding (i just weld eletronics), cnc, lathe, etc.) but i enjoy the heck out of these videos. Thank you Tony
Great Video Sir! A bunch of good information in here to share with new welders that is shared in an honest easy to relate way. I show all of my new techs your videos if they want to start get a foundation to build their skills on.
Your comedic timing and cadence is amazing. That first few minutes had me rolling XD
6:56 *bangs nozzle on tube to dislodge junk* "Get all that junk out of there"
21:40 "Keep your nozzle clean, and don't bang it around to clean it."
Good to see whittle tony back again. I learn a lot
On the subject of fumes, just get a bigger shop. That way the accumulation of crud in the air is slower and less noticeable.
Well, until the end of the day when you’re blowing weld bead out of your nose.
I have the biggest welding shop in the world. Most people call it "outdoors", but then again, most people wouldn't call that a "shop" either. Say, isn't that the purpose of a shop, to concentrate the fumes to lethal levels while you work?
@@glenns5627 Absolutely, but you need to hit the sweetspot where the accumulation is slow enough that you don't notice it until its far, far too late.
@@forrest225 dain Bramage am mine name
You don't fool me TOT. You sure have a production team. 3 or 4 truly talented writers. A camera, sound and light crew. And of course a big Post production editing team behind the channel. Came on
I'm patiently waiting for the invention of the "spray-on" weld, you know, from a can... Like hairspray, so I can make steel projects like my late father ( welder on the Gateway Arch) and my brother (this man can weld water), who calls me the wood whisperer, because I can't weld but I'm good with toothpicks ? Lol
Well spray weld is a thing so....
Pappy Weasel, sorry to tell you ….you are late to the party. Spray welding ( mostly for shaft overlays, build up or hard surfacing was invented decades ago ….
Yes, butt,... Is it like Hairspray...hmm? Meaning it's a product rather than a method or technique that takes many hours of apprenticeship exercising, late night cramming in last minute test welds so you can get a good coupon? hey look, a squirrel! I feel so misunderstood sometimes 😃
I can recommend sikaflex
I lay sick beads with that
@@thomasa5619 I can as well. Yes ago when I was an apprentice (before I understood patience) I couldn't get anything to look good without tooling the whole joint with a wet finger, I had to use that technique in secret though, the owner of the company I have to get it perfect right out of the tube, he was oddly similar to the last part of the human body spent fuel touches when it leaves the building. Isn't vulcanization just about the best thing since the blimp? Man, what a Goodyear!
this channel is a gift to mankind 🥰🥰
Where in the hell are you?!!!! missing your videos even though I only comprehend half of them!
Thank you for this video. I came in from the shop, overwhelmed with my current project. This video gave me inspiration to get back out there.
im going through ToT withdrawl..
you ok Tony? its been a bit since this vid.
Finally, the old This Old Tony video vibes I missed for long! I hope Tony finally left every problem behind!
In critical welding applications - oil and gas pipelines for instance or structural welds - no matter how good the weld they are dressed (ground) to ensure that there are no stress raisers. There have been multiple heavy crane sheave failures on fabricated not cast sheaves due to weld stress on older non dressed welds. Subsea pipelines which by their very nature are not accessible are checked even when machine welded and then cleaned up to remove any areas which may lead to problems later on. In other words there is no such thing as a perfect weld that is so clean it can be left un ground on modern high end applications.
This is not true at all if you're implying the entire weld is "dressed". The only thing that gets ground on oil pipeline welds are the wagon tracks in the root pass and maybe to touch up the start/stop on the cap.
@Lunchbox Productions - right? That was a pretty batshit crazy thing to proclaim as absolute truth.
Yeah, a high crown weld needs to be dressed not to make a stress riser. That's how you do it. And by the way, who are these guys who always pick up on the topic of pipes and critical joints, stress members where people will die if the welder even blinks while welding? It's bad engineering if only a 100% perfect weld will keep it intact. 99,9% of what people use MIG/MAG for is fabrication. You rarely have to weld the entire structure to ascertain it's rigidity. Few short welds would be enough. Seriously, try checking welded structures and you rarely see full welds all around the profile. You're just wasting money on gas, wire and electricity doing so
@@valkman761 Agreed. You should see some of the old pipeline welds I inspect 😳. Keep in mind it was the 50's when they were welded. They have a concave cap, un ground stop/starts, arc strikes all over and even the odd pore. When we do an integrity dig they get a sleeve 99% of the time. But in all these years they have held up fine. No way in hell they would be acceptable today to any CSA, ASME or API code.
I've been working for more than 10 years in the space and defense industry and I've yet to see a ground weld (unless its for a tolerance fit on a bearing surface, and it is done after passing all verifications). They are all TIG welded and are thoroughly inspected to ensure consistent penetration and limited HAZ. Only cleaning done is to remove the oxydation layer with a wire brush or scotch brite (depending on material) and final cleaning with MEK.
those special effects on the drill sparks was spot on.
"If I've got my Lathe settings right, we live in an age where welding is a thing."
Damn, I almost had to spin up my own, manual Lathe (by spinning myself in place) to go back to a time when this was a current running joke.
In welding the current is no joke. And isn't running while welding a little ... odd?
That joke never goes away, it just lurks in the corner and waits for the unwary to wander by.
3 years ago the guys at Saginaw welding supply introduced me to this kind of machine... 4 years ago I bought the previous Hot Ticket 180 Dual by Lincoln... and the spool gun soon to follow, to do that Al-You- Lini-mum!
My old Champbell husfeld was good at Aluminum welding like pushing wet rope up hill on a stairway!
And once upon a time in “The Big Army” in the Fulda Gap I used a Spool gun that had a Rheostat trigger with a hook loop that controlled the wire feed speed... the more you squeeze the faster the wire came out... After a long while of goober and grind, I found the tape trick and some consistency in my welds. As the spools ran out fast I had some rolls of 11# spools of .035 Aluminum wire to put on to 1# spools to weld the Aluminum (that was a Royal pain in my 3rd point of contact...) Our BMO (Battalion Motor Officer) motor pool Chief, A CW4 (Chief Warrent Officer (AKA GOD of the motor pool) asked me why I had Electrical tape around the middle finger of my welding glove...
that, was to not squeeze the trigger to far...
As I was getting the corner of a 113A2 armored personnel carrier’s fender reconstruction done. It was torn up by the steel tracks rotating up from another track parked too close and then turning away too soon in our over crowded motor pool parking lot. After about 22 pounds of aluminum wire it was as good if not better than new considering that it was a solid fender corner compared to 3/4” plates of aluminum welded together.
And you couldn’t even tell it had been in an accident and it was close to being scraped because of the cost of sending it back over seas to get repaired at Depot.
I learned welding in Middle school metals class them machine shop and welding classes in High School. Along with Vocational Auto 1-2&3, Independant study welding was my senior year extra class I helped the instructor with the introduction to metals first year students I had already take Metals technology 1&2 ( yes in High School) machining CNC was off sight and I didn’t want to go there. So I was an industrial technology geek! I even taught my Heavy construction equipment repairer course, instructors stick welding after classes before they covered it for the rest of my class at the time, in Ft Leonard-Wood MO. Had the Honor Grad position with the highest End of Cycle Test Score, and the Highest overall class test scores in the history of the course up to that time. But I missed all the Honors and accolades because I was shipped out to Airborne school, two days before graduation! It took 36 hours to go by Bus from Ft Lenard-Wood MO. To Ft Benning GA. Now I’m Retired and with 4 MOS’s (Military Occupational Specialties) I’ve had enough education for 2 BS degrees and I’ve got zero. But Army Continuing Education Service’s counted me as having 236 Credit hours... ( Some College) I believe that you can love and fully understand this...
i have no other way to communicate to you. where are you at? i miss the videos!!!!. can you let us know whats going on. please
I miss these types of TOT videos....very informative a true G.O.A.T 🐐