Get the right gear for the job with our expert advice on welding tools and equipment. This category covers everything from welders, grinders, and clamps to safety gear, measuring tools, and workshop essentials. Whether you’re setting up a new shop or upgrading your toolkit, you’ll find honest reviews, buying guides, and usage tips to help you choose reliable equipment that meets your needs and budget.
One of my early shop days took a sharp turn when I nearly tripped over a poorly stored oxygen cylinder while moving my MIG rig across the floor. At the time, my head was buried in figuring out arc control,…
I tried to run a bead on a thick steel plate using an old stick welder in the shop — the arc kept sputtering, the rod stuck, and the weld looked nothing like the smooth joints I wanted. That’s when…
When I first started welding thicker metal, one of the biggest headaches I ran into was figuring out what size welder I actually needed for 1/4″ steel. I had a small 110V MIG that worked fine for sheet metal and…
One of the first real challenges I faced in the shop was patching up a mild steel frame and realizing the biggest issue wasn’t the joint prep, metal thickness, or even keeping the arc steady—it was figuring out what shielding…
When I first got my hands on a Lincoln MIG welder, I quickly realized it wasn’t just about plugging in the machine and pulling the trigger. Using a MIG setup the right way makes all the difference between clean, strong…
Struggling with arc stability on stainless sheet metal can be incredibly frustrating — no matter how careful you are with joint prep or filler rods, the welds can wander and overheat. Often, the culprit is the tungsten electrode. Choosing the…
When I first got my hands on a Lincoln welder, I thought dialing in the right settings would be straightforward—but I quickly realized that voltage, amperage, wire feed speed, and metal thickness don’t always play nice together.…
Whether you’re a DIYer in your garage, a hobbyist building custom projects, a pro on a job site, or a student learning the craft, knowing how to set up a Lincoln stick welder is a game-changer. I’ve spent years striking…
Running out of shielding gas halfway through a stainless weld is every welder’s headache — one second the bead is smooth, the next it’s spattering and full of porosity. In MIG welding, especially when switching between mild steel and stainless…