On Mon, 11 Apr 2011 20:58:42 -0700, "Steve B"
wrote:


Get a new one. And the new Lincoln's aren't so good with all the plastic.
I like Tweco, but it has been a looooooooong time since I've bought one.

Steve

I second the Tweco. They are very nicely designed (read: easy to
maintain....the consumables [tips, wire feed liners, gas diffusers,
and nozzles, etc.] fit together in a well designed fashion) and are
comfortable (they don't weigh as much as a boat anchor like some other
guns) to weld with for long periods of time. They're widely available
at any welding supply store.

You can blow the liners out with an air hose when they eventually
collect some metal dust in them. DONOT screw the retention hex head
screw on the wire feed liner down too tightly. This will crush your
liner and result in feed problems. But, it also must be tight enough
to keep the liner in place.

I usually take a hack saw and cut the gas nozzle into quarters at its
base where it fits on the grommet? that holds the gas nozzle on the
gun and then put a screw type hose clamp around the base where it is
sawn to hold the nozzle on the grommet. You then unscrew this two
piece assembly to wire brush the spatter off of the gas diffuser and
tip and to use a spay anti-splatter on the diffuser/tip assembly to
prevent spatter sticking to these parts. This also keeps the nozzle
from slipping due to normal banging around while working and changing
the distance between the tip, wire stick out, and the work
piece.....which changes the arc length and, consequently, the welding
heat.

Another tip: I am sort of fanatical about clipping the welding wire
off at the tip between each weld. This promotes smooth arc starts and
mostly prevents "backfires" which sometimes can weld the wire into the
tip......necessitating a whole series of actions to reset the gun back
to a normal state.

The Tweco's are very nice welding guns which, when properly used with
a few tricks acquired through use, work better then most of the other
guns out there.
Dave