Novice with questions

[Hhino]

I am very very new to welding, trying to teach myself and know absolutely nothing about working with metal. Kinda like playing with an angle grinder. 4.5 inch discs. Use one for cutting and one for grinding. How do I know when it’s time to change discs? Likewise, how will I know when my mig welder is out of CO2/argon gas? Thanks.

 

[socapots]

Im sure you will get some more knowledgeable answers. But i use the cutoffs until they are to small for me to hold the grinder at the proper angle to cut ( always keep the guard on). And the welder will start spitting and popping when you run out of gas. Turn it off. See what happens.
Also. I watched a ton of youtube on different welding techniques when i started.

 

[Musicinabottle]

Just watch your gauges and when you get close to zero, change out your bottle. If you have no breeze in your shop, you can run down to 15 lbs regulated pressure.

 

[Blazinzuk]

What type of regulator do you have? Typically there is a flow and a pressure. Pressure is what is left in the bottle. Flow is what is going to your weld.

Cut off wheels you use till you can't anymore, those are obvious. Abrasive wheels wear out in a similar fashion. Flap discs lose cutting ability as do resin fiber discs.

Quality abrasives can be had at less expensive prices on the internet. I just spent some quality time with some less than quality resin fiber discs. It sucked although when the wear out that fast the metal gets a very very smooth finish

 

[Blazinzuk]

http://www.lehighvalleyabrasives.com/?

I get stuff from here often. It pays to look around a site like this to see what they offer