Intro into Brazing

[WranglerX]

I do have a hobart mig welder. I've just never welded anything thin and not sure how low I can crank it down to do an ok job.

Ummmm....

Welding Tips and Tricks - TIG, MIG, Stick and a pantload of other info

Down and Dirty Welding tips and tricks , No PhD's allowed

weldingtipsandtricks.com

 

[WranglerX]

I am currently running .030 flux in my welder but I do have gas hook up capabilities. Will gas MIG work better on thinner material than flux?

With .023 solid wire and C25 gas you can weld thin materials well... Technique is to do a tack weld about every inch or so along seam, then come back and add new tack weld next to existing one, do this repeatedly till you have full/complete weld along seam....

Welding Tips and Tricks - TIG, MIG, Stick and a pantload of other info

Down and Dirty Welding tips and tricks , No PhD's allowed

weldingtipsandtricks.com

 

[5030]

I am currently running .030 flux in my welder but I do have gas hook up capabilities. Will gas MIG work better on thinner material than flux?

IMO, flu core wire is just an excuse for not having the required practical and taught experience. Flux core wire is just as messy as stick welding. There are some instances where flux core wire is preferred like when hard surfacing for instance. To answer your question, inert gas MIG is better on thin materials so long as pre prep is done properly and 75-25 or tri mix is good. I tend to use tri mix all the time.

MIG really don't lend itself to weld thin materials unless you have the necessary experience before hand. When it comes to thin, I always use pulsed TIG because you can keep electrode (tungsten) amperage very low so no burn through. MIG has it's place in production welding or fitting up parts in an expeditious amount of time. I use it when I fabricate and fit up multiple assemblies that are properly prepped of course.

 

[5030]

TIG welding is a whole different ballgame and not something the average home-farm welder needs to get into. Unlike the video, I prefer ceramic cups over clear Pyrex because you can 'walk' a ceramic cupm you cannot walk a pyrex cup and when welding aluminum (TIG) a water cooles torch is required because of the high amperage necessary. I use a Series 2 CK Worldwide water cooled flex head torch and an Everlast water cooler with special solution in the lines. It's imperative that the cooling solution is non conductive. I get all my tungsten from Tungsten Specialty and again, no clear cups. The upfront cost of TIG welding is pretty high I might add from the machine to the torch to the consumables, it all costs some serious jack.

 

[51allis]

I am currently running .030 flux in my welder but I do have gas hook up capabilities. Will gas MIG work better on thinner material than flux?

yes because you can use .023 solid wire with C25 and it does body panels and many other thin metals just fine. Remember with gas and solid wire, DO NOT do the previous tip I gave you about wire stand out, that only applies to flux core because the farther away you hold the torch with GAS/solid wire there won't be enough shielding the wire, with flux core no gas. But usually with gas and solid you can weld thinner materials than flux core.

 

[51allis]

IMO, flu core wire is just an excuse for not having the required practical and taught experience. Flux core wire is just as messy as stick welding. There are some instances where flux core wire is preferred like when hard surfacing for instance. To answer your question, inert gas MIG is better on thin materials so long as pre prep is done properly and 75-25 or tri mix is good. I tend to use tri mix all the time.

MIG really don't lend itself to weld thin materials unless you have the necessary experience before hand. When it comes to thin, I always use pulsed TIG because you can keep electrode (tungsten) amperage very low so no burn through. MIG has it's place in production welding or fitting up parts in an expeditious amount of time. I use it when I fabricate and fit up multiple assemblies that are properly prepped of course.

To each his own I suppose but to say that a person doesn't have enough experience etc. or that flux core and rod are messy makes you look like a welding snob. Funny that you preach teaching and education but yet you discount older methods that work just fine. Stick has been around and is till used for many many applications. Flux core is still used in industrial applications as well along with gas for double shielding.

 

[5030]

To each his own I suppose but to say that a person doesn't have enough experience etc. or that flux core and rod are messy makes you look like a welding snob. Funny that you preach teaching and education but yet you discount older methods that work just fine. Stick has been around and is till used for many many applications. Flux core is still used in industrial applications as well along with gas for double shielding.

Well, I do it for a living, not a hobby. Never said that FC was not for industrial applications. It is, especially where speed and production is a requirement. Having said that, most industrial applications will be solid core and shielding gas simply because flux core wire is inherently more expensive and post cleanup is much greater (spatter).

I still weld SMAW with my Lincoln engine drive in the field because it works, not that it's the preferred method. Been burning rod for at least 35 years, maybe longer.

Like I said and maintain... Take a welding course and get the hands on experience. Knowledge is and will always be the best teacher.

 

[sunandsand]

Take a course at your local community college . . . often they are cheap or even free!

Soldering is easy for me, I can solder a tissue to a steel beam, but welding was another story.

I used to be the world's worst welder (and had a certificate to prove it), but took a couple of courses, total cost wasn't $150, and while I am by no means "good" at it I can at least make stuff stick together. Practice, practice, practice.

Dear Bride (tm) subscribes to a number of veddy fawncy home design magazines, and some of the very, very expensive "objects d' art" are actually pretty simple, basic metalwork and welding, that kind of thing.

I've already duplicated an elegant marble-faced clock which retails for $800+, I did it for about $20, and they can't be told apart (maybe I'm in the wrong business?).

Some of the lighting fixtures and furniture are next . . .

Best Regards,
Mike/Florida

 

[the old grind]

I am currently running .030 flux in my welder but I do have gas hook up capabilities. Will gas MIG work better on thinner material than flux?

KISS method:

Practice stitching with FC & any $99 HFT/other wire welder. Somewhere between 1 & 2 sec of trigger time like tacking up for a big job. Chip flux often to see f you're getting a good 'spot' each time.

Filling in vs running a long bead, like when the muffler broke off on my old NH 1520, takes time but gets 'er done. Thin stuff is about all I welded for ten years & I gotta be proof that little to no skill is required.

btw, for brazing I'll use OA or a carbon arc torch. In the past, it was called hard-soldering in some trades. Prep is the same for anything & HFT sand blaster with hopper on gun gets where grinder can't reach.

 

[part-time-Farmer-NC]

I didn't know this thread existed. I mainly use my Oxy-acetylene kit for cutting or heating metals with a Rosebud. Now that I have a Plasma cutter, I cut more with it. I have a gate that is made out of Aluminum, and a buddy of mine who teaches welding fixed a crack with a tig, but it didn't hold, so another buddy told me to try and braise it, so I just started looking into it. I haven't braised in over 30 years and don't remember any of it so will be watching some videos. I use a heavy-duty Victor-style torch set. Does anyone know what Braising tip size is needed for Aluminum? I have none...thx

I have used the aluminum brazing type rods before with decent success. That was a couple of decades ago. But I did see on youtube a few months ago where some dude was testing the tensile strength of it against other stuff. It held up pretty well. I'd overfill it a little then sand it down.