Finished the wiring changes in the shop yesterday to accommodate the
new welder . Today I used it to repair a part for the wood stove . It's immediately apparent this machine is much more powerful than the Weldpak
100 . Even on the lowest power setting it was hard to not burn holes .
Well , that stove part is a bit eroded from many years use and it was
never very thick - it's a pivoting smoke flap at the top of the door .
On 12/31/2022 10:25 PM, Snag wrote:
Finished the wiring changes in the shop yesterday to accommodate
the new welder . Today I used it to repair a part for the wood stove .
It's immediately apparent this machine is much more powerful than the
Weldpak 100 . Even on the lowest power setting it was hard to not burn
holes . Well , that stove part is a bit eroded from many years use and
it was never very thick - it's a pivoting smoke flap at the top of the
door .
Good job. Always great to get a job done with the machine you have, and there is a great deal of satisfaction to confirming your new machine is better than your old one.
I've mentioned this many times, but I've done it many times. On thin
stock burning flux core, I've had very good luck "stacking tacks." I
need a fast welding hood to do it, but it works. Establish a visible
bead, and let go of the trigger. As the red glow almost disappears
stack another one.
Its stronger than you think. This is probably my personal best test of time. In my 2007 Silverado (purchased used at the end of 2007) I
repaired the hole from a gooseneck hitch using pieces of pickup bed
retrieved from a hitch installation company. After 15 years there is no signs of weld failure. The truck was used as my personal contracting service vehicle from 2007 thru 2012, and has seen a fair amount of use
as a personal "beater" work truck until present.
I have heard that starts and stops are the place most likely to crack. Stacking tacks is all starts and stops. The thing is it was the only
way I was able to make some of these types of repairs over the years
within my skill level and the limits of my equipment at any particular time. In theory I could do it with the AHP Alpha-TIG201XD tig welder as
a continuous weld, but I hardly ever use the TIG, just because I always
need to get the weld done now rather than build my TIG skills.
Anyway, I've kept an eye on my "stacked tacks" welds over the years, and
so far I have not had a weld failure.
Funny part? Last year I put rails in the bed of that truck for.... a removable gooseneck hitch plate. LOL.
I actually went with rails (bolted through to brackets below the bed) so
I could swap between a gooseneck and a 5th wheel. I did consider
cutting the hole back out and putting in an under mount gooseneck, but ultimately I thought rails would be better. I have since used both
hitch types.
Anyway, a lot of people put down flux core, but I've found the stuff to
be the Crescent wrench of welding. Not always the best, but it gets the
job done, and sometimes it is the best, because it gets the job done. I
can weld outdoors on a breezy day. I can weld overhead. I can carry a suitcase with fluxcore a lot easier than a suitcase with a gas bottle.
They can be used for tacking up assemblies in place to make sure of
dimension and fitment before unbolting it and dragging it to the back of
the shop for weld out. Okay, I have 75' of heavy 220V extension cord
now so I can roll the big welder out front, but for years I didn't.
The biggest thing I dislike about Flux core is its a bit dirty. Its
sooty and seems to create a few more stickier BBs.
On 1/1/2023 12:51 PM, Bob La Londe wrote:
On 12/31/2022 10:25 PM, Snag wrote:
Finished the wiring changes in the shop yesterday to accommodate
the new welder . Today I used it to repair a part for the wood stove
. It's immediately apparent this machine is much more powerful than
the Weldpak 100 . Even on the lowest power setting it was hard to not
burn holes . Well , that stove part is a bit eroded from many years
use and it was never very thick - it's a pivoting smoke flap at the
top of the door .
Good job. Always great to get a job done with the machine you have,
and there is a great deal of satisfaction to confirming your new
machine is better than your old one.
I've mentioned this many times, but I've done it many times. On thin
stock burning flux core, I've had very good luck "stacking tacks." I
need a fast welding hood to do it, but it works. Establish a visible
bead, and let go of the trigger. As the red glow almost disappears
stack another one.
Its stronger than you think. This is probably my personal best test
of time. In my 2007 Silverado (purchased used at the end of 2007) I
repaired the hole from a gooseneck hitch using pieces of pickup bed
retrieved from a hitch installation company. After 15 years there is
no signs of weld failure. The truck was used as my personal
contracting service vehicle from 2007 thru 2012, and has seen a fair
amount of use as a personal "beater" work truck until present.
I have heard that starts and stops are the place most likely to crack.
Stacking tacks is all starts and stops. The thing is it was the only
way I was able to make some of these types of repairs over the years
within my skill level and the limits of my equipment at any particular
time. In theory I could do it with the AHP Alpha-TIG201XD tig welder
as a continuous weld, but I hardly ever use the TIG, just because I
always need to get the weld done now rather than build my TIG skills.
Anyway, I've kept an eye on my "stacked tacks" welds over the years,
and so far I have not had a weld failure.
Funny part? Last year I put rails in the bed of that truck for.... a
removable gooseneck hitch plate. LOL.
I actually went with rails (bolted through to brackets below the bed)
so I could swap between a gooseneck and a 5th wheel. I did consider
cutting the hole back out and putting in an under mount gooseneck, but
ultimately I thought rails would be better. I have since used both
hitch types.
Anyway, a lot of people put down flux core, but I've found the stuff
to be the Crescent wrench of welding. Not always the best, but it
gets the job done, and sometimes it is the best, because it gets the
job done. I can weld outdoors on a breezy day. I can weld overhead.
I can carry a suitcase with fluxcore a lot easier than a suitcase with
a gas bottle. They can be used for tacking up assemblies in place to
make sure of dimension and fitment before unbolting it and dragging it
to the back of the shop for weld out. Okay, I have 75' of heavy 220V
extension cord now so I can roll the big welder out front, but for
years I didn't.
The biggest thing I dislike about Flux core is its a bit dirty. Its
sooty and seems to create a few more stickier BBs.
Tack-stackin' is what worked for me on that stove repair ... I've got
2 11 pound rolls of .030 ER70S6 to try out , but I probably should
complete repairs to the plumbing (failed backup heat+3 degrees below
zero+we were out of town = a fuckin' mess) before I play around with a
new toy . Only reason I got to do this repair is because every time I
opened the stove to feed it we got smoke in the house ...
On 1/1/2023 5:02 PM, Snag wrote:
On 1/1/2023 12:51 PM, Bob La Londe wrote:
On 12/31/2022 10:25 PM, Snag wrote:
Finished the wiring changes in the shop yesterday to accommodate
the new welder . Today I used it to repair a part for the wood stove
. It's immediately apparent this machine is much more powerful than
the Weldpak 100 . Even on the lowest power setting it was hard to
not burn holes . Well , that stove part is a bit eroded from many
years use and it was never very thick - it's a pivoting smoke flap
at the top of the door .
Good job. Always great to get a job done with the machine you have,
and there is a great deal of satisfaction to confirming your new
machine is better than your old one.
I've mentioned this many times, but I've done it many times. On thin
stock burning flux core, I've had very good luck "stacking tacks." I
need a fast welding hood to do it, but it works. Establish a visible
bead, and let go of the trigger. As the red glow almost disappears
stack another one.
Its stronger than you think. This is probably my personal best test
of time. In my 2007 Silverado (purchased used at the end of 2007) I
repaired the hole from a gooseneck hitch using pieces of pickup bed
retrieved from a hitch installation company. After 15 years there is
no signs of weld failure. The truck was used as my personal
contracting service vehicle from 2007 thru 2012, and has seen a fair
amount of use as a personal "beater" work truck until present.
I have heard that starts and stops are the place most likely to
crack. Stacking tacks is all starts and stops. The thing is it was
the only way I was able to make some of these types of repairs over
the years within my skill level and the limits of my equipment at any
particular time. In theory I could do it with the AHP Alpha-TIG201XD
tig welder as a continuous weld, but I hardly ever use the TIG, just
because I always need to get the weld done now rather than build my
TIG skills.
Anyway, I've kept an eye on my "stacked tacks" welds over the years,
and so far I have not had a weld failure.
Funny part? Last year I put rails in the bed of that truck for....
a removable gooseneck hitch plate. LOL.
I actually went with rails (bolted through to brackets below the bed)
so I could swap between a gooseneck and a 5th wheel. I did consider
cutting the hole back out and putting in an under mount gooseneck,
but ultimately I thought rails would be better. I have since used
both hitch types.
Anyway, a lot of people put down flux core, but I've found the stuff
to be the Crescent wrench of welding. Not always the best, but it
gets the job done, and sometimes it is the best, because it gets the
job done. I can weld outdoors on a breezy day. I can weld overhead.
I can carry a suitcase with fluxcore a lot easier than a suitcase
with a gas bottle. They can be used for tacking up assemblies in
place to make sure of dimension and fitment before unbolting it and
dragging it to the back of the shop for weld out. Okay, I have 75'
of heavy 220V extension cord now so I can roll the big welder out
front, but for years I didn't.
The biggest thing I dislike about Flux core is its a bit dirty. Its
sooty and seems to create a few more stickier BBs.
Tack-stackin' is what worked for me on that stove repair ... I've
got 2 11 pound rolls of .030 ER70S6 to try out , but I probably should
complete repairs to the plumbing (failed backup heat+3 degrees below
zero+we were out of town = a fuckin' mess) before I play around with a
new toy . Only reason I got to do this repair is because every time I
opened the stove to feed it we got smoke in the house ...
I really like running ER70S6 with C25 (75/25) when I can weld horizontal indoors on the welding table. Once you get it dialed in and get
yourself in the zone it burns some of the prettiest welds. It welds so
nice that if you have a big weldment tacked up and ready you don't want
to stop until you hit the duty cycle of the machine. I might enjoy that more than most because of how much longer it took me to get there.
On 1/2/2023 1:15 PM, Bob La Londe wrote:
On 1/1/2023 5:02 PM, Snag wrote:
On 1/1/2023 12:51 PM, Bob La Londe wrote:
On 12/31/2022 10:25 PM, Snag wrote:
Finished the wiring changes in the shop yesterday to accommodate >>>>> the new welder . Today I used it to repair a part for the wood
stove . It's immediately apparent this machine is much more
powerful than the Weldpak 100 . Even on the lowest power setting it
was hard to not burn holes . Well , that stove part is a bit eroded
from many years use and it was never very thick - it's a pivoting
smoke flap at the top of the door .
Good job. Always great to get a job done with the machine you have,
and there is a great deal of satisfaction to confirming your new
machine is better than your old one.
I've mentioned this many times, but I've done it many times. On
thin stock burning flux core, I've had very good luck "stacking
tacks." I need a fast welding hood to do it, but it works.
Establish a visible bead, and let go of the trigger. As the red
glow almost disappears stack another one.
Its stronger than you think. This is probably my personal best test
of time. In my 2007 Silverado (purchased used at the end of 2007) I
repaired the hole from a gooseneck hitch using pieces of pickup bed
retrieved from a hitch installation company. After 15 years there
is no signs of weld failure. The truck was used as my personal
contracting service vehicle from 2007 thru 2012, and has seen a fair
amount of use as a personal "beater" work truck until present.
I have heard that starts and stops are the place most likely to
crack. Stacking tacks is all starts and stops. The thing is it was
the only way I was able to make some of these types of repairs over
the years within my skill level and the limits of my equipment at
any particular time. In theory I could do it with the AHP
Alpha-TIG201XD tig welder as a continuous weld, but I hardly ever
use the TIG, just because I always need to get the weld done now
rather than build my TIG skills.
Anyway, I've kept an eye on my "stacked tacks" welds over the years,
and so far I have not had a weld failure.
Funny part? Last year I put rails in the bed of that truck for....
a removable gooseneck hitch plate. LOL.
I actually went with rails (bolted through to brackets below the
bed) so I could swap between a gooseneck and a 5th wheel. I did
consider cutting the hole back out and putting in an under mount
gooseneck, but ultimately I thought rails would be better. I have
since used both hitch types.
Anyway, a lot of people put down flux core, but I've found the stuff
to be the Crescent wrench of welding. Not always the best, but it
gets the job done, and sometimes it is the best, because it gets the
job done. I can weld outdoors on a breezy day. I can weld
overhead. I can carry a suitcase with fluxcore a lot easier than a
suitcase with a gas bottle. They can be used for tacking up
assemblies in place to make sure of dimension and fitment before
unbolting it and dragging it to the back of the shop for weld out.
Okay, I have 75' of heavy 220V extension cord now so I can roll the
big welder out front, but for years I didn't.
The biggest thing I dislike about Flux core is its a bit dirty. Its
sooty and seems to create a few more stickier BBs.
Tack-stackin' is what worked for me on that stove repair ... I've
got 2 11 pound rolls of .030 ER70S6 to try out , but I probably
should complete repairs to the plumbing (failed backup heat+3 degrees
below zero+we were out of town = a fuckin' mess) before I play around
with a new toy . Only reason I got to do this repair is because every
time I opened the stove to feed it we got smoke in the house ...
I really like running ER70S6 with C25 (75/25) when I can weld
horizontal indoors on the welding table. Once you get it dialed in
and get yourself in the zone it burns some of the prettiest welds. It
welds so nice that if you have a big weldment tacked up and ready you
don't want to stop until you hit the duty cycle of the machine. I
might enjoy that more than most because of how much longer it took me
to get there.
Got the last of the busted pipes fixed today ... now all we need is a
new toilet . Tomorrow if all goes well I'll pick up a used one from the
local recycle center . That'll give me a little breathing room for other stuff .
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