Well here go's the questions start

[dusty019]

First off to Welder---guy,thank you for your honesty and humility.Your values proceed you.
To Dustyhaze75,I am just taking a cub cadet lawn tractor and rearranging afew things,but am mostly going to use whats there.
I used to race Dwarf cars which are 1/5 scale of old roadsters (ledgen cars with no fenders),so I have some knowlage of frame work.
1) gases=what pressures should I set them at?
2) anyone know where I can pickup a wisconsin VG4D engine? Can't start any fun prodjects untill I finish my skidsteer.
3) my biggest problem right now is keeping a straight bead.I seem to lose the edge and vear off to side.When I look at what I just did and sometimes I am not even close to where I started. any tips here?
Thats enough for now more to come,thanx Dusty

[EdZep]

My first MIG bead was 3 inches long and ran almost 1/2 inch off target. But, I wasn't using any "reading glasses" type lenses. Maybe this applies for you, as well. You can wear reading glasses or bifocal safety glasses under your helmet. Better, I'd say, is a corrective "cheater" lens that fits semi-permanently in the helmet.

Cheater lenses are available at welding supply stores. There are standard ones for most helmets. But, some helmets require non-standard cheaters that might have to be ordered. Bifocal safety glasses have been pretty hard to find; I have ordered several at a time from a vendor on Ebay. But, really, the viewing angle is not optimal for under helmet use; they're great, though for general shop use.

I got through a semester of classes with a #10 filter, but now believe it was too dark for me. I now have a Miller Pro-hobby auto-darkening helmet that I have adjusted to 10, and it's a lot better to view the bead with, and makes welding much more pleasant.

[Mxtweeker]

3) my biggest problem right now is keeping a straight bead.I seem to lose the edge and vear off to side.When I look at what I just did and sometimes I am not even close to where I started. any tips here?
Thats enough for now more to come,thanx Dusty

Try making a line to follow.. I will use a cutting wheel and lightly scratch either a center line or 2 outer lines to help keep my bead width even.. Try changing where you are looking..

[fun4now]

1) gases=what pressures should I set them at?

what welder are you using and what are you using it on ?? steel SS , aluminum ?? MIG,TIG??
need more info here.

[dusty019]

<Welding mostly cold roll right now for practice
Mig
75/25=argon
oxy/acc=oxygen and accedline

[fun4now]

15-25 on the gas then.

[Dustyhaze75]

try to get some pictures of the cub cadet when you do the project. sounds interesting. racing dwarf cars must of been a blast. how long did you race for? got any pictures? lol, ya we're all picture junkies here. have you checked out the weld calculator? it's under industries and interests. go into fabrication and scroll down to the bottom of the page. you will see the link for welding calculators under the title, tools. not sure where a guy can get a decent deal on a VG4D. ebay has a couple sketchy rebuilds running around $3000. Have you thought about getting a rebuild kit? sorry I'm not more help. I wish I could afford a skid steer. what are you working on, a bobcat or a holland? like edzep said, I would try using a cheater lens(magnifying lens) and mabey a lighter shade lens. you could also try angling your work piece a bit, like people do when writing on paper to achive a slant. make your self comfortable. you could also bevel your edges like mxtweeker said. yesterday I tore my shop inside and out, cleaning and organizing. today I'll cut some material, run some practice beads and start making a jig. I'm still waiting for parts on order, as usual. I should be starting a project sometime this weekend. I can learn alot from a guy with your experience. I look forward to your posts.......................................good luck with the hunt. I'll do a little poking around.