On 6 May 2005 02:15:55 GMT, Akron wrote:

When welding, say, a strap across a variety of thicknesses, for example a
tube, then a weld then a cluster wiht a lot of welds, I find it neccesary
to stop the weld and change tips.
is this acceptable practice?

Yes, it's what you are supposed to do. Different thicknesses of metal
require different amounts of heat concentration. Thick metal requires
a LOT more heat than thin metal.

When I welded the wing mounting brackets to my Christavia, the bracket
was made of eigth inch steel. I also had to weld inside corners,
which takes a LOT more heat than welding outside corners. I ended up
using the cutting tip to get enough heat to make the puddle work
properly. The cutting tip without pushing the oxygen lever of course.

Hint from EAA's welding video: "if you adjust your flame properly and
hold it the correct distance from the material and cannot create a
puddle within 10 seconds, you don't have enough heat."

Corky Scott