Topic: How Many of you have a welder?

[Kong]

Do you have a welder at home or elsewhere that you can use?  A small MiG can be had for not too much money*, runs on household current, and is easy to learn to use.  There are few tools that are more useful, or it would seem less understood.

*I've seen decent machines sell at auctions for less than $50.

[Cqyqte]

I have a small Lincoln Arc Welder that I added a TIG wand to.  Runs on 120v 20A circuit and does up to 1/4" plate, excellent for anything I need.  If it is a structural piece, I tack it in place and then farm the job out to a certified welder around the corner.  But if it is cosmetic then I will do the whole job.  I can't do Aluminium but steel and stainless are a breeze.

[Brown Bomber]

     I have a Lincoln Weld Pak 100 with the MIG conversion kit. Suits my needs, but I'm tired of fooling with the gas and not too crazy about having something around the house that could leak and blow up the place. Since the tank is empty, I'll switch back to flux core wire.

[lordmoonpie]

I have a medium SIP MIG and it does most stuff I need. Problem is it's not very neat MIG welding (Or I'm not LOL) so I'd love to get a TIG welder for aluminium and bigger welds etc...one day!

[Loki047]

I have (2) one set up for flixcore and (1) set up for mig.  One is 220v one is 120v.  Both clarkes - best bang for the buck.                                                                 

[Markcb750]

I have a Lincoln wire welder.  My welds look like dog crap, but they work.  Someday I will add some gas and I am sure they will improve.

[strynboen]

have an megatronic 180 its made in denmark...made  an nev house number vith it

[Kong]

    I have a Lincoln Weld Pak 100 with the MIG conversion kit. Suits my needs, but I'm tired of fooling with the gas and not too crazy about having something around the house that could leak and blow up the place. Since the tank is empty, I'll switch back to flux core wire.

Bomber,

The gas that is used with a welder is an inert gas, it not only will not blow up but in fact if it leaked heavy enough it would stop any common explosion.

One of the key's to good welds is to use the right gas and the right pressure.  After that the next thing is to learn to get the feed rate and amperage set correctly for the material.  There should be a chart that gives you initial settings, if your machine allows them, and they are a good starting point.  Once you get a feel for it then you can fine tune the adjustments.  What you are looking for is the sound of sizzling bacon, but not cracking popping bacon; if that makes any sense.  My own welder is a Miller, Millermatic 140 with Autoset.  Like other small, 110 volt, welders its good up to about a quarter inch but at its best with the lighter materials.  The Miller also has a gun available for it that you can use to weld aluminum.  The problem with a normal MIG and aluminum is feeding the wire through the cable and gun, so the special gun is one that holds the wire spool right there at the gun so it doesn't hang up.  Other than that you have to reverse the polarity and use whatever gas is required.  I have so little need to weld aluminum that I've never bothered to buy the gun, which I believe can be had for about $300.  As for gas, I keep a 50 pound bottle* of CO2 and other tanks of CO2/Argon mix depending on what is being worked on.  You can get an ugly but deeper weld in steel with straight CO2.  The only time I use fluxed wire is if I'm forced to work outdoors and its windy; repairs on farm equipment and that sort of thing.  Anything that can be carried indoors gets gas.

* Because I refill at least 1 bottle of something every year my supplier waves the annual demurrage (rental) charge for my 50-pound (large) CO2 tank.  So after putting out the initial deposit all I pay is the refilling price when I take tank in for exchange.  The CO2 tank has a different hose from the Argon mix tank.  With the Argon tank I had to buy my own, I think its a 25~40 pound tank and I believe I paid $140 for it, I also have a small 5 pound bottle that I can carry to remote sites.  The cost to refill either tank is about the same, somewhere around $35 from my guy (AmeriGas).

[strynboen]

hey in denmark you can rent co2  tanks for beer fillings automat ..its kosts almost nothing..and aere easy to get
insted to bay an expensive tank..dont nov how it works in others contrys

[Legin]

I junked all my stick , mig and oxy welders and spent out 9 years ago on a Air Liquide TIG with hf start and Argon bottle. Wished I done it sooner and does Ali as well. Made allsorts 

[Brown Bomber]

    I have a Lincoln Weld Pak 100 with the MIG conversion kit. Suits my needs, but I'm tired of fooling with the gas and not too crazy about having something around the house that could leak and blow up the place. Since the tank is empty, I'll switch back to flux core wire.

Bomber,

The gas that is used with a welder is an inert gas, it not only will not blow up but in fact if it leaked heavy enough it would stop any common explosion.

Thanks, I knew MIG stood for Mixed Inert Gas, but didn't anything else about it. Good to know. I'll reconsider staying with MIG.

There should be a chart that gives you initial settings, if your machine allows them, and they are a good starting point.  Once you get a feel for it then you can fine tune the adjustments.

Yeah, there is a chart inside the door of my welder, which I refer to before starting something. The Lincoln Weld Pak 100 has settings for wire speed, and amps.

     I actually did quite a bit of welding back in 1978 at a factory. It was a pretty shabby operation and just a few days after I told the boss I wanted to weld, both welders quit and walked out. The boss came to me and barked, "You wanna Weld?, Come on!".

     He showed me how to lay a bead, and that was about all the training I got. We made industrial and residential exhaust fans, and I got pretty good at it, but without any training, it was just an experience.

     I learned several years later when I got my welder, that it's not something you just pick back up.  I've let people try it, and they just don't understand why they can't keep from burning holes in everything.

[simon#42]

i have a british made oxford mig  and a finnish kemppi tig . the mig is great for heavy gauge stuff but not really sensitive enough for thin gauge . the tig is one of the best bits of kit i have ever bought , will weld anything and has been 100% reliable for the last 20 years , still weld cars with gas though its much easier to heat up and bend plates with gas

[Alan F.]

Can anyone who knows Tig welding give an opinion on this unit?

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/tig/diversion_165/

[Don R]

Flux core is for welding fence posts and mail boxes. Just my opinion.

[Stev-o]

I have a welder, his name is Edgar!

[Raef]

I have a certified in several stick applications mostly structural steel and stainless related to hanging limestone and precast for masonry construction.

I have a Lincoln stick a couple miller Migs I don't do much TIG

the current project I am building will be welded mostly with a oxy/acl torch using 3/32 mild steel rod
tig weld tends to harden the weld area making the metal harder to work

you can put down a pretty bead with flux core but it has no strength.

Mark

 anything miller is most likely trustworthy

[Legin]

Can anyone who knows Tig welding give an opinion on this unit?

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/tig/diversion_165/

Pretty good I would say and does all you reasonably need for home has the HF start and a/c for ali. Only comment is I cant see if it will take MMA leads for stick but no big deal.

[Alan F.]

Can anyone who knows Tig welding give an opinion on this unit?

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/tig/diversion_165/

There are a few other recent offerings from other manufacturers in this price range, not sure what else is in the box with the welder though, this miller seems to be a fairly complete setup.


Is there a difference between a TIG welder and an Inverter? Or is it just a matter of terminology? I have lots of reading to do...