Month: December 2018

What good is a review of Welding Torches or Plasma Cutters if you don’t understand why you would need either of them in the first place?

Both of these pieces of equipment serve their own individual purposes, to cut metal. Before you go out to purchase it’s important that you make careful calculations that will allow you to make the most out of the equipment of your choice. Remember, both Plasma Cutters and Welding Torches have their own unique benefits, costs, and supplemental safety equipment that come along with using them.

How to choose whether to use a plasma torch or a welding torch?

1. Do you require a tool for only cutting or do you also require a tool for brazing, heating, or welding?
2. What types of metal do you typically cut?
3. What’s the thickest metal, you ever see yourself cutting with the tool?

Video explaining difference between Oxy-Acetylene Torches and Plasma Cutters

What is a Plasma Cutter?

To answer that question, we should know a bit about the material plasma. Plasma welding is a process that uses an ionized gas (or plasma / electricity or energy in an electricity neutral gas such as compressed air). The elements mentioned in the parentheses (electricity neutr.al gas and electricity) are forced through a nozzle and electrode which makes the (at this time just gas) become imbalanced and. into plasma. 

When do you use a Plasma Cutter?

Choosing when. you use a plasma cutter (or the type of cutter you need) depends greatly on a few things such as:

• Is the metal you’re cutting thick?
• Do you need some sort of portable unit?
• Do you need your electrical current to vary?
• Will you use the plasma cutter often?

Plasma Cutters are used to cut and gouge, on average materials with a thickness of an inch.

Benefits of Plasma Cutters / Using a Plasma Cutter

All that many understand about plasma cutters is that they cut metal; many don’t know that there are also a vast number of benefits to working with a plasma cutter.

The benefits of using a plasma cutter are:

• They’re becoming more and more portable with improvements in inverter technology.
• Are very precise with their cuts and require very little clean up (little slag and narrow kerfs)
• Are versatile
• Are inexpensive in the long term
• Are relatively safe to use.
• When you use a plasma cutter under water there is very little heat exposure and very little noise.
• Plasma cutters tend to cut quickly.
• Plasma cutters can cut non-ferrous material such as cast-iron, aluminum, and stainless steel.
• Plasma cutters tend to cut faster on thinner metals.

Disdvantages of using a Table Plasma Cutter:

• The upfront investment of plasma cutters is a bit much relative to oxy-acetylene torches.
• There are safety hazards associated with using a plasma cutter (as with anything)

What is Oxy-Acetylene Welding/Cutting?

Oxy-fuel welding is a process that uses a fuel gas to cut metals. It was first used in 1903 and was done by using a welding torch. In the process the flame temperature is increased using pure Oxygen which helps the metal you’re cutting melt locally.

For Oxy-Acetylene cutting in particular the torch is used to heat the metal up to what is called it’s kindling temperature. After that, an oxygen stream is trained to the metal, which burns it into a metal oxide and flows out of the cut as slag.

Benefits of Welding Torches?

The most common type of welding torch is the acetylene torch and it uses the a combination of oxygen and gas to develop the heat that will be used to cut the metal. There are several benefits to using an oxy-acetylene welding torch but the most reasonable one is the fact that they are incredibly portable and much less expensive than other equipment that’s used for cutting metal. The portable design of welding torches makes them incredibly versatile and gives them the ability to be used on a variety of different tasks that require metal working such as pipe fitting and motorcycle building.

Differences between Oxy-Acetylene Welding Torches and Plasma Cutters

Function of Plasma Cutters and Welding Torches

If you’re planning on using a welding torch you have to make sure you’re going to have the time you need to be able to cut properly. There is also a bit of preparation that comes into play when you’re using an oxy-acetylene torch, such as the preheating of the metal. You’ll also have to make sure that of things such as:

• The gas you use (because the gas has a direct effect on the quality of the cut) is very important to pay attention to.

On the other hand, plasma cutters are able to cut through metals a bit more efficiently than welding torches do. This means the cut provided by plasma cutters is both faster and cleaner than that of a traditional welding torch. You also don’t have to worry about preheating a plasma cutter because of the hotter wave of heat that you’ll encounter when using them.

Prices of Plasma Cutters and Oxy-Acetylene Welding Torches

Depending on how active you are with your metal work, the prices of either of these tools will work fine. For example, if you tend to go through a decent amount of metal in a period then it makes sense to purchase a plasma cutter because of all of the savings you’ll receive. We don’t want to forget that with a plasma cutter you’ll be required to pay a bit more up front than you would with a torch (you would have to pay for things such as the gas). If you don’t cut as often as others a simple welding torch may be all you need to get going.

Here are the prices and relative specs of both plasma cutters and oxy-acetylene torches.

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*note: don’t compare each price side by side – this is just to give you an idea of the costs of each piece of equipment. And the number of products was chosen so you could have a broader view of the price of each product.

Here are other prices (and our shameless plug of a review) for the best plasma cutters on the market today

How to cut with an Oxy-Acetylene welding torch

In conclusion, there are quite a few benefits to using either of these tools. The trick is to find the piece of equipment that will work for you both today and tomorrow. And as always, let us know if you have any questions.

A typical question that we get when it comes to welding mild steel is whether or not it can actually be welded. The short answer to that question would have to be, yes. It can be welded.

There are 2 basic types of wire that one can use to weld mild steel. On the one hand, we have ER70S – 3, an AWS classification. This type of wire is mainly used for all-purpose welding. The thickness of the welding wire that you decide to use will really depend on the type of material that you’re welding. A good, kind of neutral material to use would likely be a .03-inch diameter wire – it would be great for welding metals of a wide range of thickness and purpose.

Below are the welding wires to be reviewed

Product Name	Customer Reviews	Editor Rating
Hobart ER70S-6 Mild Steel MIG Welding Wire	Read Customer Reviews	4.2 /5 Stars
INEFIL ER70S-6 Mild Steel MIG Welding Wire	Read Customer Reviews	4.6 / 5 Stars
Blue Demon ER70S6 Mild Steel MIG Welding Wire	Read Customer Reviews	4.0 /5 Stars
Forney ER70S-6 Mild Steel MIG Welding Wire	Read Customer Reviews	4.5 /5 Stars

Welding Wire Reviews

Hobart ER70S-6 Mild Steel MIG Welding Wire

• Wire Diameter size 0.023 or 0.030 or 0.035 inch
• Weight Available in 2 lb. spool or 10 lb. spool
• Shielding Gas: 80% Argon 20% CO2 or can be used with C25 or 100% CO2 shielding gas
• Welding Positions: An all position wire that supports single and multi pass welding

INEFIL ER70S-6 Mild Steel MIG Welding Wire

• Wire Diameter size 0.024 or 0.030 or 0.035
• Available sizes: 2 and 10 lb spool
• Shielding Gas: C25, or 100% CO2
• Welding Positions: An all position wire that supports single or multi pass

Blue Demon ER70S6 Mild Steel MIG Welding Wire

• Wire Diameter Sizes: 0.023, 0.030, 0.035
• Weight Available: 2lb spool or 11 lb. spool
• Although the spool size says 11 lb. it will fit in a welder that can take 10 lb. spools. Check spool diameters size.
• Shielding Gas: C25,
• Welding Positions: F, V, OH H – Flat, Vertical, Overhead, Horizontal

Forney ER70S-6 Mild Steel MIG Welding Wire

• Wire Diameter Sizes: 0.024 or 0.030 or 0.035
• Weight Available: 2 lb. spool or 10 lb. spool
• Shielding Gas: C25 or 100% CO2
• Welding Positions: an all position wire that supports single and multi pass welding

How do you know if you’re welding mild steel?

For all intents and purposes mild steel can simply be regarded as steel with a very low amount of carbon in it’s makeup. It’s a very simple material to form and is also very common when it comes to MIG welding.

How do you choose a brand for welding wire?

The first thing to make sure of when you first start even considering purchasing welding wire is the quality that you want. If you want a high quality welding wire then you will likely require wire that meets the AWS standard for welding wire.

The AWS standard requires that wires meet a certain level of thickness and have a certain degree of tensile strength.

Where do you store welding wire?

Again, if you think it’s a good idea to buy welding wire then you likely understand that you will need a place to store it.

The most important thing to keep in mind when you’re looking for a place to store your welding wire is that it’s protected from the harmful material in the atmosphere. Keep your wire out of damp environments as this will cause it to oxidize and likely be rendered unusable over time.

The reason that you want to make sure your wire is protected is because it will likely not be possible for it to work correctly if it’s faulty and installed back into your welder. Faulty or rusted wire will likely lead to welding failure in the future.

How do you choose the right size for your welding wire?

There are really only 3 things that you want to make sure you pay attention to when sizing your wire.

1. You want to pay attention to is the size welding wire that your machine can take.
2. You want to make sure the wire is the right wire for your machine. Don’t buy flux core wire if you’re using a MIG welder.
3. Make sure that the wire you use has a thickness that is proportionate to the material that you’ll be welding. If you’re welding a thinner metal, then you likely want to make sure that you use a thinner wire. Vis Versa for thicker metals.

Video credits to D.I.Y. Auto School. It talks about choosing a wire for MIG Welding. 

Many think that the most important part of the welding process is the actual welder. We’re sorry to tell you this but, it’s not. The accessories that you have are a key part of keeping you in the game when it comes to welding – we just tend not to think about this important fact. Why do we say this? Have you considered the effect that any welding process would have on your eyesight if you didn’t have a pair of welding goggles? Or even a mask?

This guide will introduce you to the factors that should be considered when you begin your search for welding gear.

What factors go into buying welding accesories?

Where are you going to be welding?

A factor that many simply don’t take into consideration when they begin searching for welding gear is the actual place where the welding will be done. The gear you bring when you’re in a welding shop is completely different from the gear you’ll need if you’re doing the welding outside surrounded by other individuals. What do we mean? Well, if you’re in an actual welding shop, then they will likely have the necessary equipment to keep others safe from the hazards accompanied by welding – there will also very likely not be as many people in the surrounding areas.

If you’re outside you’ll likely need to buy your own welding curtain or something of the like to keep others safe from your welding.

Video credits to Howcast. It goes over a way to set up an indoor workshop to weld in.

What welding process will you use?

There are various different methods involved in welding, each of which involves different types of accessories. For this guide though, we will stick with gas welding – an activity that requires ventilation masks so the wearer doesn’t deal excess damage to their lungs.

Size of the item / welding space

As a prerequisite one should always consider the size of the item they are considering purchasing. If it doesn’t fit, then you will likely not be able to enjoy the benefits that it’s meant to provide. Outside of the wearable products one should consider the space they have available for the item – this is another major consideration to keep in mind when it comes to the size of the item. If you purchase an item that it is too large for the available space then you will have to go through the process of switching it out and returning – it’s probably best that you measure the space you have available before you decide to purchase anything.

Durability

Of course, you’ll want to make sure that whatever you’re purchasing is going to be able to stand the tests of time (and excessive use). The best way to do this is to pay a great deal of attention to the type of materials that the equipment is made of. Another easy way would be to look at comparison reviews of the item you have in mind – this is an easy way to gauge the longevity of an item in comparison to another equally valuable item.

Budget

Regardless of your income you want to make sure that the item you purchase will be able to fit inline with your budget. For the majority of welding accessories (unless you purchase the best items available, in which case you have to expect to spend a pretty penny) you won’t have to spend a ton of money. In fact, on most of the items you can expect to spend surprisingly small sums of money.

What type of Welding Accessories

Facial Protection

If you don’t have facial protection, then you likely don’t understand how dangerous welding can seriously be. Despite the exposure to harmful gases and bright lights, you have to worry about a whole plethora of other potential hazards (hazards that we will discuss in another post). Now, to avoid these hazards it’s probably best that you purchase equipment to keep you out of harm’s way.

Safety Goggles

There are various names for them but, for the most part they are known as welding goggles. These handy little tools are the key to making sure that your eyes are safe from sparks and any debris that your face may come into contact with during the process. These tools are also very good for keeping gasses out of your eyes during the weld as well.

Welding Helmets

Some people think that getting a pair of welding glasses is all that you need in order to stay safe – we’re here to say that there is literally no truth in that. A pair of welding goggles will keep your eyes safe but, a welding helmet will keep your entire face safe.Welding helmets keep the skin on your face safe from shrapnel and from the possible damage the gases can have on your face.

*the above photos gives examples of injuries that when the body is unprotected near a blast site / combustible objects / flying objects and welder’s flash.

Hand Protection

While all welding gloves are simply called “Welding Gloves”, they are all made with different purposes in mind. There are gloves made specifically for TIG, MIG, and Stick welding. Each of which will be broken down in subsections.

• MIG: MIG welding is a process that is known for producing a fair amount of splatter as well as for generating a decent level of heat. Aside from this, MIG welding is also known for giving operators more dexterity since users are able to operate a welding gun equipped with a trigger that ca activate / deactivate the process. For this reason, many MIG welding gloves are made of denser leathers that are capable of handling more heat.
• TIG: TIG welding has been said to produce much less heat than MIG which implies that one should be able to use much thinner gloves.
• Stick: Much like MIG welding stick welding is an activity that is known for producing a high level of heat – which means that the gloves one uses must be relatively thick and capable of preventing your hands from being burned.

Protecting the torso

Aside from welding gloves other parts of the body, mainly the torso, will need to be protected. The common accessories made to protect an individual’s torso are aprons and jackets, as these are the objects that will provide the most protection for this part of your body. When purchasing either of these accessories it’s important to pay attention to the materials that they are made of. Much like the MIG welding gloves that we discussed in the above section, you’ll want to make sure the welding gloves you choose are designed from a thick leather – otherwise they will get burned through and won’t help much (since they’ll expose your hands).

Ventilation

When you’re TIG welding, you want to make sure that you have respiratory equipment, aka breathing masks and things of that nature. If there isn’t proper ventilation in the area that you weld in then you will likely inflict permanent damage on your lungs (something that no one wants to happen).

There are various different pieces of equipment designed specifically to provide respiration while welding – each of which will be covered in a later review by us.

Welding Shield

As we mentioned earlier in the review, it’s imperative that you make sure to purchase a welding curtain of some sort if you weld in a completely open space. This will make sure that your welds aren’t causing immense damage to those around you.

The purpose of this guide is to inform you of the specific materials that you’ll need (and are commonly used) to continue to weld efficiently. Depending on the type of welding you’ll be engaging in you’ll need different things – but that’s what we’re here for, to make sure you make the most informed purchasing decisions.