On Jun 14, 5:21*pm, Jim Wilkins wrote:
Tim Wescott wrote:

If you have a community college system where you live, take advantage
of
it. *You won't be sorry, except for the desire for better equipment at
home.

HA!
I brought my own machines to class. Theirs were much better but mine
still worked.

On Jun 14, 1:00*pm, "SteveB" wrote:

You have received some good advice here to find someone who knows how, and
can SHOW you in a short time. *"Stacked dimes" welds are over rated. *They
are pretty, but, as the rod has to be whipped in and out of the pool, fusion
and penetration suffers.

After learning how to weld them I tried it with solder, on the RF
filter cans for a satellite terminal. There wasn't much difference in
technique and results, though I could cheat and lift the iron out of
the pool. Maybe solder is a good reuseable substitute to practiced on.

...

Ah, 7018. *As Iggy can attest, it is frustrating at first. *...
As stated, someone can show you all this in a session, whereas thousands of
words here might not convey the "aha" moments....
Steve

I learned 7018 from an expert, and it went well right from the start.
The highly stressed and oil-tight tubular support frame for my
hydraulic bucket loader was the first project.

jsw

One thing I noticed.....

My dad just bought a new gooseneck trailer. Looking at the welds, they
were uggly! No fishscales and irregular welds everywhere. I guess a
weld does nto need to be pretty to be strong.

One thing I wanted to ask. Your comment on moisture and 7018 got me
thinking. I dont have an oven to put my electrodes in. They are in one
of those screw on tubes you buy from the store. Could I by a cheap
toaster oven. ( I think that is what they are called). nd bake them in
that? It would take up a minimal amount of room. Can you make them
more than once?