Tool Reviews

Burnback happens when the wire melts back and fuses to the contact tip instead of feeding smoothly into the weld pool. The usual causes are a wire-feed pause, too much…

Start with a sensible flow rate For short-circuit MIG welding with a conventional nozzle and a 75% argon/25% CO₂ shielding-gas mix, start around 20 cubic feet per hour (CFH). A…

A butt joint puts two sheet edges in the same plane, so there is little metal available to absorb heat. On thin mild steel, the main challenge is getting enough…

Before you start A horizontal fillet weld joins two surfaces that meet at roughly 90 degrees, with the weld face running horizontally and the joint sitting on its side. On…

Choosing a MIG Welder for Construction Equipment Attachments Repairing buckets, forks, grapples, brackets, guards, and other construction attachments is harder on a welder than ordinary shop fabrication. The steel may…

MIG polarity is not a setting to guess at: the wrong connection can make an otherwise sound setup sputter, spatter, and leave a poor bead. For solid wire, the usual…

What makes mesh and grating different Welding steel mesh or grating is less about laying down a long, tidy bead and more about making reliable joints without burning through thin…

Aluminum is where an ordinary MIG setup can turn frustrating. Soft aluminum wire can buckle in a long gun liner, feed unevenly, and burn back into the contact tip. A…

Choosing a MIG Welder for a Shop Bench A MIG welder is usually the most practical choice for fabricating metal shop benches. It is faster to learn than TIG, cleaner…

Fabricating steel machine stands calls for a MIG welder that can make consistent fillet welds on square tube, angle iron, plate, and mounting tabs without making the job unnecessarily slow.…