I still do some times. I first learned with torches,didnt have the money for a mig. I welded for many years using moms old coathangers from the cleaners & got real good with it. Ive done floors ,trunks, & even quarter on a 68 dart convert. That one came out so good I just primed the car black & left the welds exposed! Nobody thought a 19 yr old kid could do that! It takes alot of patience ,time & a bucket of water with a sponge . Now I have a mig I use everyday ,so gas welding isnt done nearly as much anymore.
welding with tig welding rods for gas is not a good thing to do,tig rods have addatives, if these were correct for gas thay would not make rods specifacally for gas welding. The coat hangers may be made of anything perhaps poor quality material so I would not use these either. The welding method I have taught as a lecturer at college for more than twenty years is the traditional coachbuilding method.(see previous photo). It causes very little distortion, it is easy to learn and finishing the joint is relatively easy. Here is a repair done using this method Lots of posts on here but very few photos?. Show your results so others can see. David
Who here still gas welds? Still after all theses years. My dad claimed I was eight years old when I started Oxygen Acetylene welding back in 1953. They rebuilt airplanes and the way of fabricating and rebuilding air frames was with an O/A welder. Thinking back when you have the equipment and your dad is encouraging you as a young guy to practice your welding skills. That's what you do. My dad also had a manufacturing company building tow trucks. By the time I was in High School I could pass the FAA test for air frame welding, or stick weld good enough to work on the assembly line with the men if I wanted to. I got paid the same rate as the men when I worked part time building tow trucks. No hand outs in my family. My dad didn't beleave in an allowance. You had to work for everything of go without. I was going to be an Engineer so never took any of the Trade coursed that where offered at school. Why bother when your dad and uncles had forgotten more than the trade instructor in school would ever know. My buddy's and I all where Hot Rod nuts, even though I was into experimental planes. One time, one of my friends who wasn't very good at O/A welding was taking one of the shop courses. All the students had the same project. It was a small item that had to be cut, fit, and welded with the O/A welder. We came up with the idea that I would make the same item in my dads shop. When I was finished with it my friend smuggled it into the shop class and placed it on one of the tables when no one was looking. It blew the shop teachers mind. No one new where it came from, or what student made it. At that time I had around seven or eight years of experience welding almost every day. For this project I spent extra time concentrating on every bead. The instructor never found out who made the project piece. I was told that for years he used the mystery piece as the example that all the students had to make. It's been almost sixty years and I still use my Oxygen/Acetylene welder. Around twenty five years ago I purchased a Dillon welding torch. It's called a Henrob 2000 today. Over the years when I was heavily involved in one design project of another and no need to do any welding I would pull out the O/A welder every three to six months just to practice and keep my skills up to date. Not one of my Engineering buddy's over the years could weld, never mind Oxygen Acetylene weld. It's always been funny when I was involved in a high end Engineering project and could go out on the floor and fabricate a prototype part. One time I headed up an Engineering team of fifteen and no progress was being made on a project. So I brought in my work cloths, and welding helmet. I walked out on the floor and spent a few hours fabricating a few pieces to complete the project. I'm also mig qualified, and the guys on the floor where amazed. Needless to say they where inspecting the welds expecting some kind of chicken shit bloop. When I was finished they invited me out for beers after work. I took the parts in for final approval from the design board, and at the same time I let five of the Engineers go. I retired five years ago and work in my shop almost every. Just recently when fabricating my T Bucket gas tank I used the Dillon. Today I'm half blind and need glasses to see the weld puddle. I shake some, and the welds aren't what they once where, but still it's a great feeling knowing I can still do it. I know my time will come when Ill have to put the torch down for the last time just like my dad had to thirty years ago. Until then Ill keep playing and building. Thanks for reading, Johnny Sweet
It' s all been said in the posts here, but this "Nobody" will speak up anyway. I always O/A weld sheet metal, I would love to have a tig in my arsenal, but the $2500. is somewhat of a deterent. Most of my work is older cars with metal fab and sheet metal repair. O/A is so controlable and workable. I believe everyone should learn to torch weld first to learn the principles of metal expansion and contraction. I also just love the sound of metal as it melts! I have a mig and it does have it's place,newer cars with HSS is a good example. My favorite mig weld is a button weld. Thicker metal is also appropriate for a mig,eg 1/4" and up.
I work at a truck dealership and weld exhaust with the torch. I'm the only one that does it and I swear they think I can walk on water too!! It really makes you wonder where all of the craftsmen went. Neat story Johnny!!
Jeff, many people are not prepared to put in the time effort and money needed to learn skills. I spent a total of three years full time and one year part time at college to learn my skills, no small investment in time or money- or effort for that matter. Its easier to learn things now with the information age but some still will not invest anything of themselves to learn skills. Fortunately there are some who will. David
I have never done it myself. I always mig. But i knew a guy...gene pierce in south bend that done chops, channel's, section's. All with a torch & coat hanger. He done the best metalwork i have ever seen.and made it look easy!!!
My Dad taught me back when I was 9 years old. I never really got good at it then, but it was a good start. I was lucky enough to have a very talanted father that liked having me in the shop and took time to teach me. I only wish I would have been a better listener.
Here's some pics 56 olds fenders blended into a Hudson Gas welded and metal finished Truthfully I gas weld everything I can but as a rule of thumb if I can't get behind it to metal finish I'll mig or tig it. Dave Hitch
Truer words where never spoken David. I never understood why people wouldn't invest in themselves. I'm not talking about learning how to O/A weld, but any skill, trade, or degree. I'm also not talking about a useless degree in something liberal arts related, but knowledge that you can take and run with. Over my lifetime I've been involved with some truly talented people. Every time, they where always the ones that spent the time to either master a trade, or spent the time to get the best education posable. It's been written, and talked about that it takes 10,000 hours to become masterly at a skill whatever it may be. The more time an individual spends at there vocation the larger library of knowledge they acquire. Over the last forty year this line of thinking has been watered down to the point that it's undetectable in today society. Very few want to work to a masterly level. Many expect to achieve excellence with only a mediocre effort. People wonder why we as a nation are falling behind. Go out in the real world and attempt to hire the best people posable for a project. You can't find them at any price. The good to great ones are taken and all that's left are the wannabes. It's no different with management. Poor managers can't see beyond the end of there noses, and the great technicians/craftsman over time will get sick of the bull shit and move on, or they stay and work at an inferior level. It's an ever ending circle. This is the state of affairs we live in as a modern day society. Things sure have changed over my lifetime. Thanks for reading, Johnny Sweet
Practice until you go blind, then you're getting somewhere. Gas welding definitely has its place, but lots of times i braze with a tig and silicon bronze rod. Practice - practice -practice grasshopper.
Thanks David! Hey you made mention in a post about a filler rod that is specifically for gas welding? How do I get some? I want to try it! Thanks Dave Hitch FBBF
OK tig rods have additives. For welding mild steel you should use copper coated mild steel filler rods, (welding wire) I use .6mm. I am sure every welding supply place has them. Besides anything else tig rods cost more. I found it interesting the two metals you welded together are a different colour. (in the photo at least) David
Was a young gaffer when I started gas welding on the farm. Must be almost 50 years or so I've had torches. Prefer gas welding to MIG welding but since it is much slower have been doing more MIG lately. I never use coat hangers or TIG rod, always buy gas rod and brazing rod (as brazing has its proper place). Have done a lot of projects with torches and a stick welder before I got the MIG.
I gas weld everything I can. Mostly because I find it is more enjoyable, even if it is a bit slower. I know I've got some pics around here somewhere of headers and some sheet metal...
Ok I thought you guyz might have some special welding rod across the pond guess not cuz I'm using what your talking about. Not sure about the color difference but the olds fender was a harder steel than the Hudson also kinda weird. Dave Hitch FBBF
Just did some yesterday, my son watched me and said that has to be the hardest welding there is! LOL... Jim
One of the best things I have learned. 32 years ago ,I cut the roof off my 50 Merc, and I learned how to gas weld on that car. A good friend of mine taught me the basics, and I have been gas welding ever since. I have both mig and tig welders (and an old Lincoln Tombstone stick welder), and they all have certain jobs that one works better than another, but I enjoy gas welding the most. Rear fender for my COE gas welded.
I have MIG, TIG, and stick...but like what has been said, gas welding still has it's place. When I shortened the bed for my RPU, I gas welded it. The slow process was good, because the bed was beat...and I was able to shrink the panels flat as I welded. This is with no grinding... I did the same on the front panel when I sectioned out 2"... I can't metal finish like some others here, but as long as I can get to the back side...I prefer to use a torch. Neal
I think an oxy-acet torch still has a place in the fabrication world. I learned from my Dad back in the 60's and it is a skill that has helped me do fab work for over 50 years. It's true that if you are good with a torch, the transition to TIG is very easy.
Although tig and gas welding are similar and if you can do one it will be easier to learn the other I don't believe that tig is a replacement for gas welding. Both have their place tig is for brackets but gas is better for bodywork in most instances in my opinion because it is less cumbersome. For aluminium bodywork I would never use tig, the welds tend to crack. David
I'm with Baron. I've got a Miller Mig and Tig, and an old cheapo stick, which all have their 'place,' but I'm still partial to gas welding. Although on new metal fab I do use the Tig simply because it goes faster for me.
Great thread! As an old guy who learned OAW first, then stick, then MIG, now practicing TIG, I have a question. It was mentioned using MIG wire for filler in tight joint welds, but what keeps the Mig wire bead from being as hard as when it is run through the MIG welder? Or did I miss something? Thanks! BTW: David, that's one GREAT DVD!!
Our Bill aka willysbill has been gas welding his entire coe.miles and miles of rod. Is more than a labor of love check it out : http://www.ozcoetrucks.x10.mx/My.COE.Project.Page.2.html
Well it's not the wire with mig the hard weld is a result of the process. Mig gets so hot so fast then cools so fast it hardens the weld. While OAW is slow to get hot heats a bigger area and therefore is slow to cool down. The big nono is to put water or a wet rag on the weld that fast cool down hardens it. Hope that helps Dave Hitch FBBF
I still gas weld, but have to admit that I use my MIG alot when I could probably use the torch. I learned gas welding from oldtimers who knew what they were doing. When I was a young guy, I worked in a couple different exhaust shops. We almost exclusively used gas welding. Believe it or not, it was faster... less missed spots/leaks, etc...MIG was good for tacking the job in place, but almost always finished with gas. Forget you have a MIG while learning to gas weld and you will find out how to tack without it... GOOD LUCK
My father had mastered the "gas art" in his aircraft building and repair business and tried to teach me when I was young, but I wasn't interested. Now he's gone and I wish I had paid attention to all the skills he tried to pass on to me. Ahh, the wisdom of youth.
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