I always call my welds "sh*t for looks, hell for strong"!

Good idea on the sawmill carriage modification and congratulations on your first time welding project. I am not a pro, but have been welding for a while, so here are a few tips. 1. Try to use as short of an AC cord as possible between the generator and the welder. You will have significant voltage drop over a 100' cord. If you can, try out the welder on 240(it is much better) 2. Adjust your current a little higher. If "C", try "D". This will give you better penetration as you were welding on fairly thick steel. If you burn a hole, turn it down. 3. Play with the wire feed speed to achieve a consistent weld without the start / stop. You want a constant frying bacon sizzle sound. 4. Try holding the tip a little closer to the weld pieces. This will produce a hotter spark. 5. When you start the welding puddle, tilt the handle back a little and move it in small circles while advancing forward a smidgen on each circle. This keeps the puddle molten and and heats both parts of the steel evenly (in theory). Your mileage may vary. 6. Make sure Meg has some goggles as well while she is filming. You only get one set of eyes and flash burn is no joke (don't let the dogs look at the arc either). 7. While you are at the store pick up some of those 90 degree magnets. They are great at holding the pieces until you tack them. 8. If you are welding a long run (several inches), first place a tack or spot weld every inch or so to prevent the heat from warping the steel and getting things out of alignment. 9. Tell Meg you need 3 more 41/2 angle grinders (Flap Disk, Grinder, Cut Off Wheel, Wire Brush, etc.) because it slows you down changing these all the time. 10. Remember: "the grinder and paint, make us all the welders we ain't". Best Wishes, RM

I was yelling at my TV again! Now that you have a welder you can get some acme threaded rod and an acme nut. Not like the Roadrunner acme, but a course thread that will hold a decent load. Usually what is used for scissor jacks, trailer stabilizer jacks, etc. I wish I could come and hang out with you for a while. 😂

If you are going to be welding a lot, Consider getting a welding jacket to protect your arms and back from splatter and "Weld burn" (its like sun burn on your skin) Hold your tip closer to your work will help keep the heat where you need it. Up the feed rate to reduce the skipping when you are welding, a pair of wire cutters will come in handy with this welder. all the spatter comes from the flux core, non shielded mig welders. the Gas shield would help prevent this. Not an expert, but what I found that works, every time you weld you will find what works for you.

Nice work John!! Your improvements are awesome!! Keep up the good work!!

I saw a rainbow and lots of sparks - as far as understanding what you did, nah! Glad it worked out.

Great job John

yep that is a great starter welder. I have it and have done a lot of projects and nothing has broken yet. The HF wire is very poor, check your local metal supply for some good stuff. And it is so light I have had it up on a scaffold welding,

It was awfully nice of them to name the welder Tuesday so you don't have to think about it like the you did for Ricky 😆😆😆. Meg it's ok to get ret from the rater you just need to get a rowel 😂😆😂 JK. As always good luck and God Bless.

Good job John. I am a HarborFreight fan too. Sure DeWalt and Milwaukee are better tools. But you can buy five or six tools for the price of one DeWalt. I would just toss that grinder and spend the fourteen bucks for a new one HarborFreight. I didn’t see all that sand you showed close to the mill. If you make a big pile of it. The rain will was it for you. If you mix concrete, just use off the top. Love watching you with the patience of Job figuring those things out. How many acres do you have? Later my friends

That's called gubber welding .... but that's how you learn .... been there done that!

That is the exact smae welder I got, I think. I love it! I've used it for a 100 things so far!! If found the wire included isn't that great. You'll think your welds are not very good but then you switch wire and they get much better.

Ya think a little grease would make your screw bolt you put on your saw mill lift mechanism might make it last a while longer . By the way that was a really good idea the way you fixed the lift mechanism .

When I first started welding I would throw the pieces that I welded up in the air and let them hit the ground and if they stayed together regardless of how they looked it was good enough. Miraculously not one of them ever failed. It's all about the penetration of the well, not how it looks. Just take a close look at some of the welds on the things that we all buy from Harbor Freight. 😂🤣👍😁

I like that girl. She just told you to get a welder.

Nice upgrade too. I've had my share of trials and tribulations, you did well. If you're welding and it feels like you're running a sewing machine, then clean your welding surfaces better, paint, rust and pretty much any impurities. You'll get a much better weld, too. Keep up the good work, I'm happy I found your channel !! Cheers !!

I'm a member/customer and a big fan of Harbor Freight. They have decent tools at a budget friendly price. I've been thinking of getting me a wire welder. I have a 240 v Lincoln stick welder and I'm a bubble gum amateur to say the least. I considering a welder like you got. I can definitely see they have their place in different projects on the farm.

You doubled the value of the sawmill! Strust you know that. :). I finally got to comeback and finish watching. With the welder you can easily make a handle or weld on a impact wrench socket 3/8 adapter.

Hello John, I'm afraid you have damage your ball-bearing screw by putting your grounding clamp too far away from your welding point. The intensity of the current is going on every metallic path he will find and specially when there is a very thin contact between 2 parts, the current will create and arc and destroy the bearing.

Not bad for a beginner welder. As long as it holds it doesn’t matter what it looks like. At least that’s my thought. I noticed something in this video. You look and sound a lot like David Duchovny. Is the truth out there?

how did your arms feel the next day after welding with no sleeves to protect them from the arc flash lol

Sua Sawmill precisa de uma Cobertura e proteção contra chuvas e geadas senão em breve estara enferrujada!

Seria mais prático instalar uma manivela para rodar isso para cima e para baixo!

Ain’t harbor freight great?!, they also have a stick welder that works good also. I use both depending upon the weld and material.

I'd do the same thing if it didn't work. Time to think.

Just cut off the threads and weld the studs right to the tubes.

Couldn’t have just screwed it in flush on the inside and then back the nut off to lock it in

CO2 is cheaper to buy and welds just as well as Argon on mild steel. No reason to use Argon unless you plan on welding stainless and aluminium.

I'd wager any weld coming from me would stand for much criticism.

One more comment . Instant sun burn if you weld very much with tank top on ... One more comment . Flux core welding leaves a residue that has to be removed before applying more weld . but not with gas mig welding . Also you didn't put the nozzle on the end of your welder . Not sure if it's needed on a flux core welder ... Also welding on paint makes for an ugly weld ...

Us CO2 it is cheper