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  •  » Harbor freight Tig welder or?

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    6/06/2026 5:02 AM  #51

    TKOPerformance
    Hyper FYIFORD ADDICT

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    From: Newark, DE
    Registered: 12/15/2014
    Posts: 7,987

    Re: Harbor freight Tig welder or?

    I see your point, but to circle back to my point, think about it like this: if the weld is too built up the cause and solution could be several things.  If you aren't getting enough penetration, I would agree that you aren't using enough heat.  However, you can get good penetration (using enough heat), and still create ugly built up welds because you are feeding the filler in too quickly, or using the wrong size filler.  Those wold/could be technique issues.  

    Appearance in terms of the weld being straight, the circles being different sizes, etc. are a combination of not being able to properly see what you are doing and/or technique, which comes from practice.  

    I use additional light now when I weld, because my eyes just aren't what they used to be (just normal presbyopia from getting older).  

     

    6/07/2026 5:51 AM  #52

    Greg B
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    Registered: 4/01/2013
    Posts: 1,800

    Re: Harbor freight Tig welder or?

    Good rule to remember:   Ugly welds will hold up just as well as pretty fancy welds.  Probably.  

    If multiple things can go wrong, the one that will go wrong will be the one that causes the most damage.
     

    6/07/2026 7:03 AM  #53

    RTM
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    From: Cape Coral FL
    Registered: 5/22/2019
    Posts: 2,110

    Re: Harbor freight Tig welder or?

    I follow you TKO.  I'll see what I can do with a better helmet.

       •Thread Starter
     

    6/08/2026 4:52 AM  #54

    TKOPerformance
    Hyper FYIFORD ADDICT

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    From: Newark, DE
    Registered: 12/15/2014
    Posts: 7,987

    Re: Harbor freight Tig welder or?

    Greg B wrote:

    Good rule to remember:   Ugly welds will hold up just as well as pretty fancy welds.  Probably.  

    Sometimes better in fact.  Appearance is a bad metric for weld strength.  I just found a weld in the exhaust on my FJ Cruiser that is broken completely around the pipe where it goes into the muffler.  It looks beautiful, yet clearly enough penetration wasn't achieved into the metal of the muffler.  The weld was weak, and after 5 years failed.  By contrast I had to modify the rear section of the exhaust to clear the ARB bumper and my welds don't look nearly as nice, but they are air tight and doubtful they will ever fail.  I did my best using a MIG on 304 stainless.  

     

    6/08/2026 11:49 AM  #55

    rpm
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    From: Bakersfield, Ca
    Registered: 9/17/2013
    Posts: 3,948

    Re: Harbor freight Tig welder or?

    It's fairly easy to lay down a good looking mig bead with poor penetration. But I've never seen I good looking tig bead fail.

    Bob. 21.5 freeway MPG 69 Mach 1, 5.0 GT40P heads, SMOD Toploader, Armstrong  steering, factory AC
     

    6/10/2026 10:55 AM  #56

    6sally6
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    From: Surfside Beach,SC
    Registered: 4/02/2013
    Posts: 7,014

    Re: Harbor freight Tig welder or?

    Yep....the TIG torch puts A LOT of heat in a very concentrated spot. (Just look at the sharp point of the Tungsten!)
    By dipping the filler rod in the puddle you are momentarily cooling the puddle...then it mixes with the puddle and the puddle heats back up again. Thin metal and SMALL diameter filler rod and lower heat/amps = good penetration with out 'blow-thru'.
    Thicker metal can take more heat/amps and larger filler rod (or more layers of small diameter filler rod).
    Get 'propped-up' and comfortable...plenty of light/magnification lens..CLEAN metal..NO moving air..take your time..move your wrist/fangerz..make short runs of welds.. If it was EZ...yada-yada-yada !
    6sal6

    Get busy Liv'in or get busy Die'n....Host of the 2020 Bash at the Beach/The only Bash that got cancelled  )8
     

    6/12/2026 8:11 AM  #57

    RTM
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    From: Cape Coral FL
    Registered: 5/22/2019
    Posts: 2,110

    Re: Harbor freight Tig welder or?

    If I had the time I would like to take a Tig welding class.

       •Thread Starter
     

     

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