Ssr xf250

[Derekon2s]

Thanks for the info/tips guys! I consider myself to be a fairly good welder, but have always welded steel. I come from a collision repair background, which is normally much thinner material than most people are used to welding on. I'd love to get a TIG and learn to do that, as well as get better at fabricating things.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by Derekon2s

Thanks for the info/tips guys! I consider myself to be a fairly good welder, but have always welded steel. I come from a collision repair background, which is normally much thinner material than most people are used to welding on. I'd love to get a TIG and learn to do that, as well as get better at fabricating things.

Once upon a time, in my younger days, I trained and got certified in welding and then worked at a place that built and repaired semi trailer platforms, flatbeds, etc. Most of my welding experience is actually with aluminum via TIG or MIG spool gun. Then I worked a side gig where I did work assembling medical and food grade tables and counters, and got to learn stainless steel welding a little bit.

In fact, in all of my time welding, I have barely touched mild steel. As a result, I am far more capable welding the materials that most people shy away from, and find myself struggling to dial in the stuff that most people do in their sleep.

[Derekon2s]

Do you find that MIG on steel/stainless is just as good of a weld, if less sexy?

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by Derekon2s

Do you find that MIG on steel/stainless is just as good of a weld, if less sexy?

Yep, it's just as good. It's all in the technique as to how good it looks. Even a mig weld on stainless can look quite good, just takes practice.

[Weldangrind]

Originally Posted by Derekon2s

Do you find that MIG on steel/stainless is just as good of a weld, if less sexy?

Not necessarily just as good; that depends on the application. If it's a critical joint, I'd choose TIG because of the heat and voltage control at your foot. If it's not critical, good technique with a MIG can look just about as pretty and still be reliable and strong.

It's the same with any material. For example, I'd sooner TIG weld a steering neck onto a steel motorcycle frame. I know I could MIG weld it, but I'd feel a lot better about TIG. I have no problem MIG welding a subframe, gussets, tabs or brackets onto a motorcycle.

[Derekon2s]

I'm pretty confident in my abilities to steel with MIG - as i've done lots of body/patch panels, as well as structural welding on vehicle unibodies and frames. So long as you understand good weld penetration and not to over penetrate/saturate with heat. That being said, I do want to learn TIG pretty bad. Do you guys have your own home TIG setups?

[Weldangrind]

Not me. My buddy (forum member AtomicWedgie) has an awesome liquid-cooled Lincoln with the pulser option. I'm not likely to ever buy a TIG with access to equipment like that.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by Derekon2s

Do you guys have your own home TIG setups?

I actually just sold mine. It wasn't anything overly special and I hadn't touched it in 6 years and the money was needed elsewhere. I kept my Mig setup, complete with a spool gun for aluminum, because for around the home it comes in far more useful. For me, TIG was always my go-to for thin methals because of that greater level of control. Where MIG really shines over TIG, for me, is when you start getting into 11ga. or thicker materials. TIG welding 1/4"+ materials is where it starts requiring things like water cooled torches and very heavy duty gloves.

With lots of practice you can actually lay down very good welds on thin metal with MIG. It just requires a lot more technique on the users part since there is no arc control like with a TIG. I have a friend that can weld exhaust tubing using long bead runs with a MIG welder and it comes out looking amazing, but even he admits that he blew through a lot of tubing before he got the technique down.

[Derekon2s]

Megadan,

Yea I saw the thread about your hawk getting stolen - that's ridiculous. I'm "glad" security was doing their job.. Has your new one showed up yet? I'd think it'd be there by now.

I can weld 16 -18 gauge metal no problem on my MIG, even thinner, but definitely have to be careful. I welded my buddies gas tank on his old Honda CB. I blew through in a few spots, but was able to fix it. That old metal is thinnnnnn. I almost never weld anything thicker than 1/4". Frames and floor pans are the heaviest I generally go and is nowhere near that thick.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by Derekon2s

Megadan,

Yea I saw the thread about your hawk getting stolen - that's ridiculous. I'm "glad" security was doing their job.. Has your new one showed up yet? I'd think it'd be there by now.

I can weld 16 -18 gauge metal no problem on my MIG, even thinner, but definitely have to be careful. I welded my buddies gas tank on his old Honda CB. I blew through in a few spots, but was able to fix it. That old metal is thinnnnnn. I almost never weld anything thicker than 1/4". Frames and floor pans are the heaviest I generally go and is nowhere near that thick.

I just got off the phone with the delivery driver. It will be here in 2 hours.

Most of my recent welding at home has been patch panels on vehicles - spot welding, or 1/4-3/8 plate for things like axle brackets and such. The spool gun is really handy for doing thicker aluminum plate. I haven't used it recently, but I have made a few tables and even an intake manifold with it. I am not very good with thin stuff on my MIG, mostly because at that point I would use my TIG welder, but I can improve with practice. I do know that if I can back the weld with a heat sink (I have a bunch of copper blocks I use) I have much better success lol.

[Derekon2s]

So i wonder if i can do aluminum if i have a spool gun? Or if i'd just be better of getting a TIG at the point? Do you have to change your setups on a TIG to go from Steel/stainless/aluminum? Sorry, i know nothing about welding it seems if it isn't MIG on steel. lol I have one of the 110v Lincoln MIG units.

CONGRATS!!!

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by Derekon2s

So i wonder if i can do aluminum if i have a spool gun? Or if i'd just be better of getting a TIG at the point? Do you have to change your setups on a TIG to go from Steel/stainless/aluminum? Sorry, i know nothing about welding it seems if it isn't MIG on steel. lol I have one of the 110v Lincoln MIG units.

CONGRATS!!!

For TIG welding aluminum, you need a TIG welder with AC capability. The alternation between positive and negative wave cycles provides material cleaning (positive) and penetration (negative) during the arc process. Beyond that, the appropriate tungsten electrode and tip shape are important as well, and a push technique is ideal in order to provide the most protection to the puddle with the shielding gas. A foot pedal is also very important for the best control over the arc temp, because as you weld aluminum and it gets hot, it requires a lot less arc power to achieve the same penetration. This is the hardest part of welding aluminum to really get down.

For MIG you do have to change the polarity of the welder when going to Aluminum. Aluminum mig welding is Spray Arc Transfer GMAW, meaning that the molten electrode metal is literally spray deposited to the work piece through the Arc. It requires a push style welding technique just like TIG welding. The most difficult aspect of MIG welding aluminum is that unlike TIG, you have no real control over the arc like a TIG foot pedal. This means that you have to practice greater gun control, and learn how to speed up with the weld, or pre-heat the material. Unlike welding steel, MIG welding aluminum is a very fast bead run in comparison and takes some getting used to. This is why MIG is much better when dealing with thicker aluminum. You will rarely get a pretty looking bead, so if you want pretty, this isn't the best method lol.

[Weldangrind]

Originally Posted by Derekon2s

Sorry, i know nothing about welding it seems if it isn't MIG on steel. lol I have one of the 110v Lincoln MIG units.

I mostly weld mild steel with a MIG as well; it's my happy place. I routinely weld 16 gauge (even today), which is made much easier with infinite voltage control. I suspect that your Lincoln gives you five voltage settings, whereas an infinite control gives you the ability to land between numbers, which is especially helpful when welding dissimilar thicknesses together. In my case, the credit goes to the machine, not the operator.

Haynes makes an excellent welding manual. I encourage you to buy and read it. Believe it or not, it's not terribly dry reading, and it covers all of the processes. I read it from cover to cover.

[dh]

This looks to be good quality stuff. If not for the air injection port, would welding really be necessary? I thought lextek offered some slip on mufflers for this kit. I'm still rocking the HF 90 amp wire welder so no stainless steel welding for me.

I can't believe how enormous the weld was in that stock header pipe! I will definitely be removing mine to see if I can clean it up a little.

[Derekon2s]

If i bought a Lextek muffler, i wouldn't have to, but they're super expensive. I could make a block off plate for the air injection, but i'd rather cut it off and weld it shut. That's what i did on the stock pipe. Yea, if i weren't replacing the stock pipe, I'd definitely be grinding that hideous "weld" out. You can't really call that monstrosity a weld. lol

I added that welding book to my amazon wishlist - so i'll buy it at some point. Do you think that'd help me learn to TIG? The guy i'm taking my exhaust to tonight is welding it for me - He said he'd be happy to show me some stuff.

I also picked up this 83 FJ60 recently. Gonna definitely be working on my fabrication and welding skills.