Oh God, another welder thread....

[Revhendo]

Okay, so I didn't want to hijack someone else's thread.
Here's my thing. I have been looking at mig welders for some time now. We have a couple in the shop that I can and have used, but I am by no means a great welder. I was trained on Oxy/Acetalyne decades ago, so I have some understanding of it all. But, my skills are needing improvement. Everytime I try to do some practicing at the shop on sheetmetal, our "fabricator" comes over, offers his input and readjusts the machine without telling me what the hell he is doing. I go and try it his way and what were getting to be decent beads are turned into holes. I've got fabrication experience, so I am looking at doing my own sheetmetal work on my own stuff. At this point, I won't trust our "fabricator" if he tells me the sky is blue.
So, this is what I am looking for. A decent mig welding machine that's realitively inexpensive, that works on 110v. for home. (Garage ain't set up for 220v). This way, I can practice and hone my skill without "professional" interference. It will also allow me to do my home projects without having to hang way late at the shop. What do ya'll think? Welder? Methods? Best beer to go with burnt garage?

 

[1wild&crazyguy]

Are you looking for gas type?

I have been having really great success with my Lincoln wire feed 125, and it's ability to convert to gas use.
I have been weld body panels, brackets, frame connectors, sway bar tabs, you name it..

Check it out and tell me what you think.

http://www.lincolnelectric.com/assets/en_US/Products/K2513-1/e738.pdf

 

[1wild&crazyguy]

http://www.lincolnelectric.com/assets/en_US/Products/K2513-1/e738.pdf

I have had great luck with this unit, I weld frame connectors,body pannels,sway bar tabs, suspension, you name it.

And it will convert to gas as well.

 

[Revhendo]

Hey man, welcome to the B site. I was kinda flipping between that and 140. (It doesn't help having a Home Depot around the corner).

 

[1wild&crazyguy]

Hey man, welcome to the B site. I was kinda flipping between that and 140. (It doesn't help having a Home Depot around the corner).

That makes it easy....to spend $$$lol

I have one up the road from me too.

I like the 140 too, it's around 5-600 bucks, but better than the 125, I scored the 125 weld pack for 400'ish $, I'm glad that I skipped the harbor freight stuff, thats fo sho!

btw, nice to see a familiar screen name, socal!!!!!

 

[Revhendo]

Yeah, the Depot had the 140 on sale around Christmas for something like 419. Any other time of the year, it probably would've ended up in my garage. But, c'mon, Christmas? There is an evil conspiracy going on there.
What's wrong with Whorebor Frieght? Where else you gonna find a thousand zip ties for a buck?

Spring Flinging it this year?

 

[MoparBill]

The Lincoln SP140 is a great machine, I have used it a lot. I have been a sheet metal worker since 1987, and have welded a lot of light gauge metal in those years. I have used 110 volt Lincolns, Millers, Hobarts, and even a few cheapos. My advice is to buy the best machine you can afford; avoid the HF specials and any machine than doesn't have a shielding gas connection. Try to take a welding class if there's an adult education program nearby, you can learn a lot about machine setup and basic theory. Practice as much as you can on scrap.

 

[Revhendo]

The Lincoln SP140 is a great machine, I have used it a lot. I have been a sheet metal worker since 1987, and have welded a lot of light gauge metal in those years. I have used 110 volt Lincolns, Millers, Hobarts, and even a few cheapos. My advice is to buy the best machine you can afford; avoid the HF specials and any machine than doesn't have a shielding gas connection. Try to take a welding class if there's an adult education program nearby, you can learn a lot about machine setup and basic theory. Practice as much as you can on scrap.

Referencing our "fabricator", we got lots of scrap for practicing. lol.
Good point on the class. I think OCC offers a class. I eventually want to be up to welding aluminum.

 

[detmatt1]

My Miller 140 has the auto set which is handy for the beginner and it also came with a spool gun for aluminum, which I have not used yet, but I'm looking forward to trying it out. I have a couple of projects in my head out of aluminum but first I would really like to get one of my cars done. I got an instructional DVD off the Miller website that was excellent and I would highly recommend it, I'll see if I can find it to tell you who did it. Anyway, I'd highly recomend the Miller.

 

[Meep-Meep]

I have a Miller Dynasty TIG and a Hobart MIG that runs on 120V. I'd say you can't go wrong with either the Miller or Hobart, and parts are available at welding supply stores. I got my MIG from Northern Tool and they didn't charge extra for shipping. It was like $450.00 to my door.

I'm no pro welder but can get by pretty well in most cases. One thing to keep in mind is the material mass and the ability it has to suck up heat. Welding thin sheet metal will tend to start out fine but soon enough you will have a hot spot that the surrounding material can't suck up so you end up with a hole. Best thing I can say is to make short bursts, let it cool for a second or three and start again. Wire speed is the equivalent to amperage adjustment, where the higher speed is more amps, but you still need the voltage to back it up. Getting the voltage setting and wire speed correct it should like bacon frying.

One note about welding aluminum with a MIG. Because of the excellent thermal conductivity of the material you probably can't weld anything too thick. The bead will tend to start out cold and produce a bad weld in that area - at least until the surrounding material gets up to temp. With the TIG you heat up the area before you stuff the rod so the weld works right away. Oxide is another issue that has to be dealt with, so prep the weld area by scrubbing with an aluminum brush or file to expose fresh material.

 

[Propwash]

Like the previous familiar thread, The Millermatic 140 or Lincoln. Like Matt, I have the Millermatic 140 as well. As far as the autoset, it's a pretty generic/vague feature. I fiddled with the feature a couple times and I guess it would get the ball rolling initially on getting to know your machine. One thing autoset does not account for is welding postion. Inverted vs. horizontal..ect.. will definitly affect how you need to munipulate your settings. So don't have no false pretense's that you pick up your machine, plug it in, hit autoset and start rolling out aircraft quality welds. Grab some scrap metal and strike an arc. Play with the amps and speed for a couple hours and you'll generally get a basic understanding of your welder pretty quick.

Sounds like you'll be utilizing a welder for pretty much sheetmetal applications. There really is no need to go blow a couple grand on a big bertha proffesional type unit. That's like buying a yacht to go bass fishing. The Miller and Lincoln are both more the perfectly capable of providing you with quality welds in that arena. I actually see them quite a bit in the industrial field being used at a professional level in fab shops, plants and mills and ship yards.. As long as your typically looking at 1/8"-3/16" thickness or less, you're golden.

As far as training.......Ask-look-listen. There really is no need to go digging up the dead sea scrolls of welding and acquiring a doctrine for home hobby welding. A book, video or class will get the ball rolling. Like was previously said, welding is an "art". You'll need to develop your own technique/skill set off some key welding principles.

Good luck!

 

[Revhendo]

Like the previous familiar thread, The Millermatic 140 or Lincoln. Like Matt, I have the Millermatic 140 as well. As far as the autoset, it's a pretty generic/vague feature. I fiddled with the feature a couple times and I guess it would get the ball rolling initially on getting to know your machine. One thing autoset does not account for is welding postion. Inverted vs. horizontal..ect.. will definitly affect how you need to munipulate your settings. So don't have no false pretense's that you pick up your machine, plug it in, hit autoset and start rolling out aircraft quality welds. Grab some scrap metal and strike an arc. Play with the amps and speed for a couple hours and you'll generally get a basic understanding of your welder pretty quick.

Sounds like you'll be utilizing a welder for pretty much sheetmetal applications. There really is no need to go blow a couple grand on a big bertha proffesional type unit. That's like buying a yacht to go bass fishing. The Miller and Lincoln are both more the perfectly capable of providing you with quality welds in that arena. I actually see them quite a bit in the industrial field being used at a professional level in fab shops, plants and mills and ship yards.. As long as your typically looking at 1/8"-3/16" thickness or less, you're golden.

As far as training.......Ask-look-listen. There really is no need to go digging up the dead sea scrolls of welding and acquiring a doctrine for home hobby welding. A book, video or class will get the ball rolling. Like was previously said, welding is an "art". You'll need to develop your own technique/skill set off some key welding principles.

Good luck!

I know, sorry about running such a familiar topic right next to someone else's. I just had to dial in info I was looking for without hijacking a thread. (It's a habit I'm trying to break). I learned oxy welding when I was in the service. Since then, I have used the mig at the shop a couple of times, but left the real welding jobs to our fabricator. I've even made parts and had the guy stitch them together for me so I could go on and do what I am really good at (wiring, fuel and brake systems, suspension, fixing other's f ups). So this year I'm adding welding and carb rebuilding to my skill set.

It's looking like the Lincoln 140 from the price point. I've been looking on CL but all I see in my area is some guys selling some questionable odd brand new units.

 

[Propwash]

I know, sorry about running such a familiar topic right next to someone else's. I just had to dial in info I was looking for without hijacking a thread. (It's a habit I'm trying to break). I learned oxy welding when I was in the service. Since then, I have used the mig at the shop a couple of times, but left the real welding jobs to our fabricator. I've even made parts and had the guy stitch them together for me so I could go on and do what I am really good at (wiring, fuel and brake systems, suspension, fixing other's f ups). So this year I'm adding welding and carb rebuilding to my skill set.

It's looking like the Lincoln 140 from the price point. I've been looking on CL but all I see in my area is some guys selling some questionable odd brand new units.

No need for sorries......I totally see your point on creating your own thread. I know a lot of happy Lincoln owners. Most that have them, swear by them. Most are guys that do it for a living as well. That's gotta say something good about them. Pretty obvious reason you see "Off Brands" and not Lincoln or Miller on craigslist for sale. Thought they were getting a smokin deal on SleezeBay and ended up with a Jalopy machine that looks like their welding with a coat hanger and a car battery. After taking a 50% hit on a crap welder, now they're looking to invest in a decent one.

I'm guessing most people that can't weld are pretty intimidated by it. Sometimes you get folks preaching you need a 6 year degree in metallurgy and were proctored by Jesus to be able to strike an arc, but in all honesty all you need to get started is take the leap. Hearing that "rain on your parade" senario does often drive people the other way. Roll up your sleeves, grab a brew or 4 and get your hands dirty. Some common sense, plenty of imput from every angle and a healthy dose of hands on practice will get you rolling. Most Auto Body shop tech's are not AWS Certified and Trained welders and by no means need to weld to some ASME standard to toss on a fender patch. They're like the common Tool Time Joe bag of donuts Hobbyist. Get the basics, start small and work your way up as your knowledge/experience base grows.

Good luck on your purchase Rev.

 

[Revhendo]

No need for sorries......I totally see your point on creating your own thread. I know a lot of happy Lincoln owners. Most that have them, swear by them. Most are guys that do it for a living as well. That's gotta say something good about them. Pretty obvious reason you see "Off Brands" and not Lincoln or Miller on craigslist for sale. Thought they were getting a smokin deal on SleezeBay and ended up with a Jalopy machine that looks like their welding with a coat hanger and a car battery. After taking a 50% hit on a crap welder, now they're looking to invest in a decent one.

I'm guessing most people that can't weld are pretty intimidated by it. Sometimes you get folks preaching you need a 6 year degree in metallurgy and were proctored by Jesus to be able to strike an arc, but in all honesty all you need to get started is take the leap. Hearing that "rain on your parade" senario does often drive people the other way. Roll up your sleeves, grab a brew or 4 and get your hands dirty. Some common sense, plenty of imput from every angle and a healthy dose of hands on practice will get you rolling. Most Auto Body shop tech's are not AWS Certified and Trained welders and by no means need to weld to some ASME standard to toss on a fender patch. They're like the common Tool Time Joe bag of donuts Hobbyist. Get the basics, start small and work your way up as your knowledge/experience base grows.

Good luck on your purchase Rev.

Thanks Prop.
For the record, I have welded with a coat hanger and a car battery. Once was even on purpose.

 

[Propwash]

LOL........ I imagine that looked pretty snazy

 

[Revhendo]

LOL........ I imagine that looked pretty snazy

Bwa ha ha ha. No and hell no. Looked like bubble gum on a baboon's ***. It did however get Top's Jeep out of the field and back to the motorpool. Come to think of it, it got me out of the field. So yeah, it was a thing of beauty.

 

[Propwash]

Outstanding! Who cares if she's pretty as long as it work's (friday night modo).

Were you guys on your way to MacGyver's house to whip up some heat seeking missles out of dog **** and banana peels?

Honestly never tried it out myself, interesting to know it works.. Hmmmm, strikes up some new ideas!!

 

[Revhendo]

Had a battalion motor sergeant make a stick welder out of a cannabalized 30kw trailer mounted generator and spare parts. That was amazing and slightly scary. He'ld fire that mutha up and you could feel the hair on your arms stand up.