Welding With DW: Setting A Base

One of the most important things about TIG welding (I think I say that a lot – there must be a lot of important things!) is keeping things steady.  I’ve shot a video on keeping the filler steady so it doesn’t get bumped into the tungsten and mess everything up, and now here’s a video on using your hand as a sort of tripod to control your torch.

I’ve used the writing analogy before, but here’s another one: think about shooting a rifle.  You don’t get a steady shot by holding the gun with both hands on the stock – the muzzle would be waving around and there would be almost no way to prevent some movement.  The best way to steady a rifle is to have some kind of support as close to the end of the muzzle as possible while still being able to fine tune your aim.  Think of a welding torch in the same way – support the torch as close to the cup as possible without burning yourself.  Of course, there will be compromises like visibility and pain.  But to produce a good weld, you may feel the heat once in a while :)

Welding With DW: steady that rod

This is a short little video on keeping things steady when you’re tig welding… specifically the filler rod.  A new rod is 3′ long and quite floppy when you’re holding it at one end, so I thought this little tip may help at least someone keep that filler rod steady.

Welding With DW: Over My Figurative Shoulder

Part 1: Introduction

The idea to shoot some informative welding videos has been brewing for a long time, and when Pikesan asked if I’d be interested in doing something with MyRideisMe.com, that was the final straw!  Although it’s taken almost a pair of years to finally have something to show, I think you’ll enjoy and hopefully benefit from the series.

After I started the Welder Series parts assembly videos on YouTube, people began emailing to ask why I weld the way I do, and to please offer some tips.  I was flattered that people were even watching the videos, let alone asking me for welding tips!  From the beginning, they were never intended to be welding tutorials – I was just putting parts together!

Basically, in these videos, I’ll be bringing you into the Welder Series shop and blabbing away about welding.  The videos  will be loosely broken down into categories based on whatever aspect of welding I feel like talking about at the time.  I might even slip in some general shop tips once in a while…

What I won’t do is tell you what type of gas to use for which grade of steel, recommend what tungsten to use, what heat setting to run for different material thickness, etc.  I’m not a welding supplies salesman… I’m sure he’d be happy to answer those questions for you.

In this video, I focus on different ways to hold a tig torch.  Notice I didn’t say “the best way”… the best way will be the most comfortable for you.

Thanks for watching!  If you have any suggestions on aspects of welding that you’d like to see me blab about, please send me an email: dw@welderseries.com.

DW Horton
Welder Series Inc.

MyRideisMe.com Member Freebies! Welding Helmet

Member Benefits

If you don’t like free stuff. Stop reading now.

I’ve posted some how-to articles from the Lincoln Electric website in the past and since then have kept in touch with the well known welding brand. Lincoln even included at tiny MyRideisMe.com back in 1997 in their iWeld newsletter when we barely had any content.  (Sure wish they’d do that again!)

So now, Lincoln has asked MyRideisMe.com to make sure these brand new Viking welding helmets go to deserving members. So how do you get one? (If you don’t want one, this might not be the right website for you!)

How to WIN one of these welding helmets:

• Members Only. If you haven’t signed up, click here to sign up now
  • Members must have an avatar in their garage. (it’s easy, just click on it!)
• Maybe that’s enough rules.

Write a welding tip and leave it as a comment below.  My Ride is Me is a community. Car people, in my experience are a friendly bunch and willing to lend a hand. Do that now and get some new gear!

Ideas for Welding Tips:

• Tips or tricks you’ve learned
• Fables: Stuff you’ve heard that you know isn’t true about welding
• Welding horror stories (stuff to avoid)
• Your welding project, especially your hot rod, custom car or race car
• Not an expert welder (me either!) or just got a welder?
  • Tell us how you picked your welder
  • How will you learn to weld
  • Show us why you bought a welder… What will you use it for?
• Surprise us!

I guess you could say, write something about welding that’ll help another member and you’ve entered to win the helmet.  Any kind of welding is OK too… MIG, TIG or gas or whatever you’re good at, write it down.

Advice to win:

• Write a little and take a picture. Make it easy on yourself!
• Include a picture or pictures. Did I say to include a picture?
• Easy to understand is KEY. Bullets and lists are easy to read and retain.
• Use your own words. If I copy a phrase from your story and paste it into Google, I shouldn’t find an exact match.

When: The first of the 3 helmets (your choice of the 3 above) will go out the 1st week of April 2010. Submit your article as a comment below this story. Or, you can email it to admin at myrideisme.com (replace the at with “@”) no later than March 26th.

Some time in March, we’ll let you know how to win the other 2 helmets and probably the Optima battery we’ll give away EVERY MONTH starting in March.  Have you signed up yet?

Any questions? Post them here! (you don’t have to be a member to leave a comment)

What type of grinding disc should I use?

Sometimes the alternative is way more appealing… for me, grinding welds is about as pleasant as plucking leg hairs one by one, or trying to unfold Saran wrap after it has clung to itself. Grinding is dusty, loud, and unpleasant. I’d much rather spend time learning to weld better so I didn’t have to grind than taking the time grinding. It’s true, a nicely finished mig weld is a thing of beauty, but if you can reduce the amount of time you have to spend finished that weld, you’ll be further ahead.

I’ll list a few of the discs I’ve used in the past, as well as their advantages and disadvantages.

This is a hard disc on steroids. The disc is formed with little mountains all over the surface which prevent it from loading up too quickly. It’s also a bit more aggressive because the mountains are almost like little teeth, cutting into the material. This disc will remove material quickly, but it’s not very good at fine finishing. Around the perimeter, a harder material has been added which is almost like a cutting disc. An advantage is the convex face (it looks kind of like a contact lens…) because it means you can pinpoint the area you want to grind by rolling the disc left to right and forwards to backwards.

Here is a 7″ Scotchbrite type pad. It attaches to a Velcro backing disc. It is not for removing material – it will take off slight imperfections, but where it shines is smoothing transitions and taking out grinding scars. One disadvantage is the load-up time – it can get clogged rather quickly depending on the material you’re using it on. Every garage should have these. They’re available in many many sizes, from little 2″ discs for your angle grinder right up to these 7″ pizzas.

A flat hard disc is probably a common fixture in a lot of garages. Personally, I only use these if they’re sitting nearby and I feel sorry for them. They aren’t for fine sanding… it’s difficult to not leave grinding scars or to grind a flat surface, because the disc itself is flat. One advantage is their load-up rate – usually they will go quite a while without requiring a change due to cloggage.

The sun shines bright on the last disc in the list. These are called “flap discs”, and that’s a pretty accurate description. There are a bunch of sandpaper strips bonded together, overlapping each other. Advantages include, but are not limited to, the ability to fine grind with a 7″ disc (yes, it will!), the ability to hog away material quickly, and the longevity factor. As you grind, the exposed edges of the paper are gradually removed, uncovering more fresh sand paper. A disadvantage could be the price, but for a disc that lasts so long and is so versatile, I think it’s worth it. Kind of like buying a cheap step-drill… it will last for a few holes and then you’ll chuck it. In the garbage I mean… not the drill. Buy a quality step drill and it will be around for a long time.

If you have any comments about grinding or what disc you like, please add it!

For more tech tips, please visit www.welderseries.com.

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