Yep I was getting crappy welds with the 7018 topper, then I started drying/warming the rods up in the oven I have in the shop. Much better welds.

Great stuff, thanks for the advice, hobart rods are easy to get close to my house, . I will try to pick up some lincolns next time I am at the weld supply house .
Nice job on the tractor , that is the kind of stuff I want to be able to do. I may try to stretch a truck frame in the not so distant future .
I bet I have that same Snap on 110v rig as you Porchdog. It is a great little welder ,and works well for what I need it for. I was trying to do some heavier welding on my last dump truck with it, and just could seem to get enough penetration, (probably mostly operator error ) . But what I am doing now, needs to be super strong .
Ill post up some pics of my welds later tonight. I would love some critique .

The way to go! Tough to explain to the missus, but works a charm. Learnt that in heavy industry where each welder had a heatbox for their rods.

I believe there is a welding process for every occasion. My go-to for material up to 5mm is my mig, but anything thicker and one of my stick welders come out. My light duty machine is a 200A dc machine, but if I really go big I fall back onto a really heavy duty AC macihine. It is an old school machine without digital gauges, so I have no idea of the actual amps, but at full tilt it draws 20A @ 220V. Have welded some serious beads with that!8

Less used these days is my oxy-acethylene setup, and I have little opportunity to use my TIG in anger, but even they still have their use from time to time.

I have an old 220 Lincoln stick welder with a rounded top. That sucker is HEAVY. I had a buddy that was a welder for a while show me some setup and basics. I have stuck a few thinks together but I am just a total rookie. One of my friends is a full time professional welder with a nice shop and he is so busy he works 7 days a week for weeks at a time. He really needs an assistant but he is too busy to stop to look into hiring one.

When I have something that needs welding I have him work it in between his real work. It looks like a robot did it when he is done. I guess 8 to 12 hours a day for 20+ years is enough practice for him.

I really want to learn to tig also. I have a buddy, who just went to You Tube U, and taught himself over the last few years , really impressive looking welds . I can see this becoming a great new skill to learn. Ive been looking for something new to do .

I love my plasma but the oxy/propane is still needed to heat things up. I converted to propane years ago when I got my MIG, not as hot as acetylene but it does the job I need at a way cheaper cost.
My little MIG is great, I use argomix and it's given me years of faithful service, but has it's limitations.
I love my Everlast 256SI welds just about anything except heavy alunimum castings.

This was one of my first projects with its TIG, a puke tank for my 914

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.p...post&id=608364

I've got a long way to go, but I think I am getting it . I had a particularly hard time making the first pass on these round tubes.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1513998782.jpg
I am just going to leave the welder out, and practice a little bit every day.
Nice job on that tank Mark!. Im going to try to get a grip on stick first, then will take a stab at Tig .

I received a Lincoln AC225 for Christmas. I plan on hauling it up the the old family "Country Place" to use it there. I do most of my big projects there. I will have to run a new electrical circuit to the shop to handle the power input. It has been about 30 years since I did any stick welding so hope I can pick it up again real quick. I learned in college when I took a course call Materials and Processes at the College of Technology at the University of Houston. We were taught to first be relatively competent at stick before they exposed us to MIG and TIG.

Stick welding is used extensively in the pipe industry.. Think infrastructure.. Sticks benfits are the ability to do this outdoors and more portable then MIG.. Outdoors with MIG is a challenge as the wind can blow the shielding gasses away..

I can confirm as I have taught welding for 17 years at a tech college that stick is not stronger then MIG .. Both are typically equal strength depending on electrodes and filler metals selection..

When you look at local manufacturers they MIG everything becuase of speed and controlled environment.. With the pipe industry they MIG if they can to save time but will be dependent on indoors or outdoors..

I agree Ben, but manufacturers are using 3 phase 600v water cooled machines with unlimited duty cycles, a little beyond the average gearhead or farm owner. In heavy industry with a controlled environment MIG is the big winner. Most small users can't justify a $10K machine that takes another $10K in wiring to hook it up.

My statement that stick is stronger is only meant from the home shop/farm POV with a limited budget.

Speaking of wiring, my TIG/stick the wiring to get it to center of shop, overhead drop cable connection and 50' 4/3 extension would have cost me more than the machine. Luckily I can do the work myself, but it's something you have to figure in if you plan to buy a welder.

From a home stand point MiG is a winner hands down..

That said in our life time stick will be near a thing of the past. Current market for filler metals is 85-90%(fluctuates) MIG wire( includes metal core, flux core, etc)

The last 10-15% is TIG and stick ..



Also keep in mind I am geared towards industry in my comments as that is what we train for..

Not a bad start at all, given how hard sick welding is to learn!

Check out this guy on Youtube. He did a couple of really nice instructionals on stick welding a while ago, and has a very nice way about explaining how to get it right.