Bigblue&Goldie
Well-known member
Killer job on the bumper!
Killer job on the bumper!

BigNuge
Awesome job on the Jeep![]()
Definitely! Bug whose product did you use for the bedliner I like the satin finish. The Jeep stuff I built and coated turned out a bit too shiny for my liking and I ended up painting it all with flat then a satin clear to get what you got.
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=395090&page=17
Fire ring season is coming. . . . .
sstec

Fire ring season is coming. . . . .
sstec
Damn man, that is a nice piece!!
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I’ll give all you pros a bit of a giggle. I did my first stick welding yesterday, probably didn’t have to mention that it was my first try.
I enrolled in a 2 Saturday class on welding. The OA cutting was just brutal, but did learn an invaluable lesson. I tried to clean up my straight and bevel cuts by trying a second and third time. Then I would do another cut on clean metal, not bad but not great , so again retried and just got po’ed. By the time the instructor got to me my fresh cut had improved, he said not bad. He never seen me trying to recut the slag. Finally realized you can’t clean up slag after the OA lesson was over. Lesson learned. Didn’t save that one, was going to recover it but to late scrap was in the bottom of a deep barrel.
The pic of the stick test piece also leaves something to be desired. Have a tough time doing a straight line How do you guys do it.
Now for that laugh I promised.
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. Will keep praying practicing. Thanks


Miss the Pontiacs, I have two helmets. One is a Harbor Freight $49 model and it worked fine for MIG. When I tried TIG the arc was much brighter and with my pupil permanently dilated I had to find something better. Bought a Jackson Safety SmarTIGer with Balder technology and it worked great. You may be able to find it cheaper but Cyberweld has it for less than $150 US.Bears Fan Yikes I checked out the helmet. $$
That is a Cadillac of a helmet, oh I mean Lincoln.![]()
Miss the Pontiacs, I have two helmets. One is a Harbor Freight $49 model and it worked fine for MIG. When I tried TIG the arc was much brighter and with my pupil permanently dilated I had to find something better. Bought a Jackson Safety SmarTIGer with Balder technology and it worked great. You may be able to find it cheaper but Cyberweld has it for less than $150 US.
https://store.cyberweld.com/jabasaa...OTZeQOcXK8V7yV9rT34pz54XOVUD3xMEaApIUEALw_wcB
Jalexl, I was looking at top of the line helmet specifications and ratings. The Jackson Safety SmarTIGer wasn't the top rated but it was pretty close. It was half the price of the higher rated ones and its main weakness was use as a grinding or gas welding helmet, neither of which was important to me. The HF helmet gave me snow blindness when I tried TIG but with the Jackson SmarTIGer it was like watching a movie. I was prepared to upgrade to the best rated helmet if the Jackson helmet didn't do the job. So far it does everything I wanted it to do.Bob, how did you come about choosing that particular helmet? I have an older Miller Elite that I might want to upgrade.
thanks
Pontiac,
I took vocational Welding in school back in 1981, we were required to do a pad weld, the same thing your doing, its a great way to practice. Find the straightest weld on your pad and follow that, remember to watch your puddle and keep it consistent.
One thing to look at is can you actually see that good threw your current helmet, maybe your using to dark of a lens, its worth every penny to invest in a really good helmet, if your planning to keep on welding. You would be amazed at how well you can see with the new technology of today's helmets.
I use a Viking model 3350 from Lincoln. Great helmet!
KEEP ON PRACTICING!!!
BN. Well I’ve learned a couple of new terms. Coupon and stacking dimes, who knows it time I’ll even know the lingo.. Will keep praying practicing. Thanks
Bears Fan Yikes I checked out the helmet. $$
That is a Cadillac of a helmet, oh I mean Lincoln.
GMWelder Good points. The instructor did his best but one on one time was limited. I do appreciate your insight and will try your suggestions.![]()
Jalexl, I was looking at top of the line helmet specifications and ratings. The Jackson Safety SmarTIGer wasn't the top rated but it was pretty close. It was half the price of the higher rated ones and its main weakness was use as a grinding or gas welding helmet, neither of which was important to me. The HF helmet gave me snow blindness when I tried TIG but with the Jackson SmarTIGer it was like watching a movie. I was prepared to upgrade to the best rated helmet if the Jackson helmet didn't do the job. So far it does everything I wanted it to do.
Jalexl, I bought the helmet in 2013 and I think I googled "Best Welding Helmet for TIG" because that was what I was interested in at the time. There were a bunch of biased ad-based posts but also several seemingly unbiased ones. Nearly all the posts had the Jackson Safety SmarTIGer helmet pretty high on the list. In the past seven years you would expect a dramatic change but that helmet still shows up with pretty positive reviews. My wallet advises me to look beyond the brand-name top of the line stuff.Thank you Bob for your insight. May I ask what resources you used for ratings?
Jalexl, I bought the helmet in 2013 and I think I googled "Best Welding Helmet for TIG" because that was what I was interested in at the time. There were a bunch of biased ad-based posts but also several seemingly unbiased ones. Nearly all the posts had the Jackson Safety SmarTIGer helmet pretty high on the list. In the past seven years you would expect a dramatic change but that helmet still shows up with pretty positive reviews. My wallet advises me to look beyond the brand-name top of the line stuff.

Not a project yet, but want to make this year. Square tubing and some wire, and scaled up.
![]()
Not a project yet, but want to make this year. Square tubing and some wire, and scaled up.
![]()