Love my Henrob...Have Tig, Mig and Arc, I can weld pop cans with NO distorion http://www.cobratorches.com/ Weld like a TIG and Cut like a PLASMA?
I just fixed a couple very tiny stress cracks on 32 Ford firewall feet, where most of them have cracked. I knew mig was not a good idea because it would be hard to get the heat "up" quick enough in such as short weld, so I gas welded them. That works great because those areas are so hard to get at to grind, you can almost get it good enough with gas, without any grinding,,,just a small die grinder bit.
I have been looking at learning how to gas and stick weld before I spoil myself with a MIG. I've been looking through the Smith torch outfits and wonder will I be ok with a medium duty set, or should I just spend the extra money for heavy duty? Or are both of these overkill?
Yes there is a reason nobody "gas" welds any more. The reason is skill or lack of it. Practice, practice, practice. Don't be afraid to melt the metal, it has to melt to be welded. Yes you will get frustrated, because you will burn through in places to start with. Once you have the welding skills, start hammer welding. You won't ever regret it. Once I used to reccomend a class at a Vocational or Trade school to learn this, but now days too many of the instructors either can't do it or don't want to go to the trouble to teach you.
I bought my very small Smiths set new in 71. Still have it, and it can do everything I have ever needed, including dropping axles and steering arms, with the optional rosebud tip. Lightweight is important when doing intricate welding with small tips IMO Arc welding is getting to be a forgotten thing on cars, but I sure do miss it at times. I learned MIG before Arc, if you can believe that.
I weld with both oxygen/acetylene & mig, each has it's own place. Haven't had the opportunity to try tig out. There is more skill involved with the oa, but once you learn, the results are great.
I sill love the gas! .. welding sheet metal, Alum, brazing, silver soldering and my favorite cutting....
I have a harris combo torch setup I use. Most of my welding is done with a hobart mig, but gas is much easier, in my opinion, to get a good finish on sheet metal. It is just slower if you are not very experienced- which I am not. My tig welding experience really helps me out, though. I like tig the best, but my budget won't support buying a good tig set-up right now.
You gotta learn gas welding... It's kinda like a gateway drug to TIG. Just lately I have been going back gas though for sheet metal and teaching myself aluminum via gas weld as well. Seems to be a much more workable bead and hammer welding is alot of fun once you get down how much to hammer. Also, exhaust welds seem to like the sofness better too. I bought my gas rig from SEARS in downtown ST.Paul MN. in April of 1981. Still use it damn near everyday! The MIG still does all my chassis welds though.
Watching the guy building Norley frames on Cafe Racer using gas and bronze really put the itch in me to start learning.
I totally agree with you! Here in Washington I go to school for welding. The first welding in class we were ever allowed to do was gas, not only to teach the basics but to teach puddle control. My instructors reasoning for this was very simple, you have to know how to control the puddle, the rod, and the equipment so that you actually have an understanding how a weld is produced. It hasn't failed me so far and gettin it just right is a challenge but far more rewarding than just pulling a trigger. Welding is a skill that with decent equipment can produce amazing results, whether it be oxy or any other procedure. Get weldin' and don't look back.
Working on old, not new, sheet metal I use gas or tig, mostly gas. Anything over 1/8 inch I use Mig or Arc.
back may moons ago when i went to welding school it was for two years, the first 8 months was all gas, welding, soldering, brazing and cutting, we also didn't use grinders, everything was cleaned up with a file.
I learned to gas weld in higth school metal shop, when schools still had this class. I couldn't get along with out my welder. I use the stick welder for heavy welding. maybe someone can explain why this happens. I just get a good puddle going, and all of a sudden the torch will pop and blow a hole in what I was welding. This doesn't happen with a hotter flame. This is something new. Drives me nuts, and makes me use words I haven't used since my Navy days. Stan
I still gas weld, wish I had a nicer torch, but I mostly tig. I dont like mig welders they just make stuff hard to work with.
I was a welder for 39 years counting my five years aprentice. I learned with a torch and still like the control when doing exhaust. I tig just about everything.
I built this in 52, all the welds were with gas and coat hangers. Thats all we had and didn't know any better but it was fun. I'm still using gas to bulid my 37 Dodge truck but only bough some welding rods. 16 gage tie wire works good too as some one stated.
Once you get good at oxy-acy welding, you'll wonder why so many guys mig everything. Mig is great in a production environment, 'cuz that is what it was invented for. I know, I know, it also is very handy if you only have one hand or arm, but for most of us, oxy-acy fills the bill for at least 75% of what we do. Learn it, you won't regret it. Control, grasshopper, control.
I like gas welding and have been doing it for a long time. However, in all honesty, it's often more convenient (and cheaper) to grab my MIG for a lot of the welding I do. It's also easier to MIG thin sheet metal than it is to gas weld it.
And if it "POPS", take the time to look around and see where the hot sparks went........they can fly a long way........remember , rags,cloths, and uph. will smolder for a long time before blazing up.......don't ask me how I know..
Koz & Dyce, That is some very pretty work by each of you! I'm going to dig out my torch and give it a try. It's been about 25 years since I used it for anything other than burning. You guys made me remember how much I liked to gas weld before I got my mig.
I think gas welding is becoming as lost art and should be used as much as possible. As a full time Auto body tech new vehicle manufactures don't allow gas welding but I learned many years ago and still use it when possible. I agree MIG welds are much harder and almost cannot be metal finished.
Get some clean mild steel sheet rems from a fab. shop 16,14,18 Gage and just practice "pushing the puddle" no filler rod just yet.Keep practicing and you will learn heat control and speed. When you get a nice bead down with just heat ,lay two pieces together flat with a 1/32" gap and run in some filler rod as you go weld for an inch or two and let it cool for a bit. You will soon learn about the effects of heating and shrinkage as you go. What is it you say , the gap dissapeared and even overlaped the sheets ? Ah Ha ,the dreaded shrink! Why do guys hammer weld ? Give it a try.
I gas welded for about 15 years doing exhaust work , i thought it was the only way it should de done until i finnally got a miller wire welder , i wouldent trade it for nothing now ,its faster, stronger, and you dont have near the heat...
I teach welding classes, and the first part of gas welding is controlling the heat and running puddles. I still do it a lot, but prefer tig.
Is the puddle easier to see then with MIG? I have a acetilene (sp?) setup I used for my wishbones. Is the flame hot enough to practice with that? Is there a special lense reqiured with gas? Ive only done MIG and I just cant see the puddle sometimes. I think I`m doing well only to find I wandered off. If I can use gas welding without and tint involved and only need safty glasses and or a face shield I would be a happy camper! Mark
i use the green tint for gas welding.If you have vision issues they make readers as well You really need to see what your doing to have any success.Gas welding was the first thing they taught us in metal shop.Had to pass the bend before break test before we moved on to anything else.