Really helpful video. Thanks, Jody. It’s also prompted me to refresh my memory of the classification system ie breaking down the numbers and lettering in, for example, ER70S-6. I think you touched on it quite a few years ago on one of the Weldingtipsandtricks videos. But if you ever feel like making a video but can’t think of a topic, perhaps you could delve into that again?

Thanks, Jody.

Martin

Yes, please, Brad, and when you do, perhaps you can tell us where such a tank is used, I mean is really for collecting people’s puke? Or perhaps puke means something different in the US than it does in the UK? 😀

Welcome to the club! One’s welding hood is the most important tool in the toolkit. I know the feeling you describe. For years, I’d decided that autodarkening helmets would never surpass the clarity of smoked glass. The gold standard was my Accustrike helmet with high quality German smoked-glass filters with a slight blue tint and a gold film on the front. Then 2 years ago I read how good modern ADF hoods are, especially Optrel Crystal 2.0. So I got an air-fed one, because I feel it’s essential for comfort and to prevent misting. And like you, I was blown away, another universe, indeed. I never thought such a helmet could be invented! There is a downside, though: it’s too good to be used on dirty processes eg MIG or stick - TIG only for me. I can’t say I’m aware of the blue tint; maybe that’s because I’ve always tried to create a blue tint, anyway. And with a minor modification to take my Optivisor magnification lenses, I’m in seventh heaven.

It’s great to see that I’m not the only one!

Very interesting Zoom conversation which anyone, not just the welding community, would find enlightening. Interesting also how it gradually became a conversation on leadership, too.

As a UK resident, I was also interested to hear how involved OSHA is in the safe operation of industry.

My eyes were opened to all the difficulties small-business owners constantly face and how quickly things could go badly wrong, even though they may well be adhering to all rules and regulations.

Thanks Aren and Sam for such a fascinating discussion.

JD,

Did you watch the WS podcast a couple of months ago with Brad and Jody on running a welding business? Eight minutes in, Brad mentions his son Cody made a spreadsheet that helps him account for everything when pricing his jobs

https://welderskills.com/programs/dad-and-brad-running-a-welding-business-3f7cc7

When you said you’re forever forgetting to include one of the taxes in your quotations, that’s exactly why Brad got his son to make the spreadsheet.

Definitely worth listening to, and I’m sure you’ll be able to contact Brad if you want further information.

Martin

Thank you, Jody.   Just watched it.   I must admit I’d forgotten about that video, and I was even there in the live call.    I reckon it was about a year ago.   I even asked about the pulse frequency, thinking it was under the operator’s direct control.   (The answer suggested pulse frequency is indirectly affected via the trim setting.)  It was really good to watch it again.    And it’s left me wondering if pulsed MIG might one day render short-circuit MIG, with its potential for cold-lap welds, obsolete.     It seems the development of pulsed MIG is definitely something to watch out for in the future.   Thanks again.   I do hope we can see more of it in future in WelderSkills.

Jody,

Could we possibly have a webcast (or 2) on pulsed MIG? I’m hearing more and more about it (from you and the other instructors). It’s been around for a long time but perhaps not very long in terms of equipment at an accessible price. I’m getting the feeling it is going to become more and more popular and will be increasingly used where other forms of MIG/MAG are now used, but I may well be wrong. So what is it, where is it going, what are its limitations, how do parameters and techniques make it different from other forms of MIG. And what are the things to watch out for?

Many thanks

Really great bit of experimentation, JD.    I love it when the received wisdom, passed down for decades, gets challenged and when we find things aren’t as the textbooks kept telling us!     If you get the opportunity (and inclination), it’d be interesting to see what happens with the same setup but ~20%-25% less gas flow, and then a clear cup but at the same gas flow as you previously used.

Excellent. Great commentary explaining what and why. I would have asked how you made your choice of filler wire, but you explained all that perfectly. And a great reminder that we’re still dealing with potentially lethal voltages. You could easily have edited that out, but we would have missed a valuable reminder had you done so.

Thanks, Brad. Excellent video.

Wow! That is excellent. I love it when one of the instructors does back-to-basics research like this. The thing is, because of the instructor’s experience we can rule out any variables such as poor technique, in general anyway. Now, it strikes me that the difference between flush and 1/32” isn’t much at all, although the puddle is probably much easier to see at 1/32”. So the first thought I had is: it must be more difficult to see the arc and the puddle when flush than at 1/32”. So is it a real effect, or, with practice, would you produce just as good a weld when flush?

So, assuming you used a ceramic cup, would you get a better result with a clear cup?

Next thought, with the diameter at the tip of the cup being slightly constricted (I’m presuming), the gas speeds up a lot right at the end of the cup, which is where the tip is when it’s flush, and then slows down after it’s exited. Whereas, at 1/32”, the tungsten tip is in the slowed-down gas region. So could it be a gas flow effect; you could test that theory by, say, reducing the argon flow rate on the flush setup by, let’s say, 25%, and see if that improves things.