Article/Blogs

In the last couple of blogs we dealt with cutting equipment that you will likely need to set up shop. However there are some things that are difficult to cut no matter what equipment you have. One such item is cutting expanded metal. Another one is its cousin, perforated metal. Both require patience and just the right piece of equipment to cut.

The old saying is if you aren't a good welder, you better be a good grinder, is unfortunately true. But it also applies to a good welder. Grinding and cutting are inherent in welding and there is simply no way around it. If you have a welder, you will need a hand held portable grinder. A grinder is needed for cleaning up the weld area before and after the weld. The design of the grinder also allows for interchangeable disks and accessories. It can also be used to wire brush mill scale, spatter and paint away. One primary use is for joint preparation.

If you heat it, it will warp. Keep that in mind. Almost any form of welding will result in some distortion or stress imparted to the metal. Many people are unaware that a single pass weld that is “hot and heavy” typically will cause the metal to draw up considerably toward the welded side. Welding tubing, particularly thin gauge material is particularly susceptible to drawing and bowing. When metal is heated during welding, several physical changes occur.

One of the most fascinating forms of welding that the casual welder has never seen is the submerged arc welding (SAW) process. Although most any body can be trained to run a SAW welder, it is an elite few who have the joy of being able to do so. It too has been around for a long time as well, as far back as WW II or earlier. submerged arc welding uses special machinery, much of which is electronically controlled these days to produce a weld. But it is not unlike MIG welding in the fact it uses a continuous wire electrode.

Resistance welding (RW) has been around for a long time. Resistance welding is performed by using heat, pressure and low voltage current. Two pieces of metal are pressed together firmly together with two high pressure cylinders with electrodes attached to the ends. The parts are heated until they are soft and pliable, but not quite molten. The pressure forces them together, and no actual melting of the metal has to take place. This is not unlike old fashioned forge welding where two pieces were heated red hot, then hammered (forced) together.

Everyone knows that there are three basic forms of welding accessible to most general welders, professional and hobbyists alike. They are TIG (GTAW), MIG (GMAW) and Stick (SMAW). However there are other forms of welding that are used every day throughout the industry, but you probably never heard of them. Let’s look at a few of the most interesting ones. One of the ones that you may have seen and didn't know about is Thermite Welding. If you've ever seen one of the “Terminator” movies or series, thermite is what they used to dispose of the “bodies” of the terminators.

We’ve touched on this subject before, but I think it’s worthwhile to revisit this topic. One category of phone calls I get from customers are a result of simply not developing a working relationship with their local welding store. Many people opt to purchase their welding supplies from auto parts stores, and home hardware box stores. This is a terrible mistake. The knowledge that many of these store employees have is very limited, and usually geared toward getting you to walk out of the store with whatever they have in stock.

So, you want to be a welder? I know that sounds like a cliché start to a “how-to” manual on welding. It is a valid question, though, because you really need to make a serious skill assessment of other existing skills. If you don’t it may be something of a short lived fantasy. Welding is more than a hobby that increases your cool factor with friends. Welding involves many other pre-programmed knowledge and skills. Let’s look at a couple. A true welder needs to know more than basic math.

Across the industry, MIG welders have any number of ways for adjusting MIG wire speed. The most common, cheaper MIGs used fixed taps, that offer preset MIG wire speed adjustment and voltage. More advanced MIGS offer infinite adjustment, but they may actually read in amps, inches per minute, meters per minute on the display or have no display at all. However, the problem that most people face, is adjusting wire speed accurately and repeatedly.

MIG welding is often one of the first welding disciplines that most people encounter these days. When they first try their hand at it, people usually are content to run a weld on a piece of metal flat on a table. This is often referred to as the down hand weld or “officially” as a flat weld. This is easy and works well to train basic techniques. But when the basics skill set has been developed, it is time to move on to other positions such as horizontal welding, vertical welding and overhead welding.