Welders Unite
- Thread starter Xtant12
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Call up AirGas. There's one off Rakow and I think Virginia. Not sure what they charge but had to go there for a few tanks many years ago when I worked at a striping company.
I used to use EWS in Elk Grove. They have a tank exchange program that makes it very convenient, and the prices are good.
On small "hobby" welders you are limited to about 1/8-3/16" with gas. I can get good welds on 1/4-5/16 on innershield. Only difference is the splatter...cleans up with a wire brush.
Ether way, get a smooth bore/feed kit for your feeder. Even if you don't use gas or aluminum.
Yeah, mine will be just sheet metal realistically, just couldn’t pass up the $200 price tag at Eastwood’s deal day.... Got the last one they had there and arrived 2 minutes after they opened.
Still planning on having the new sub frames and parts like that subbed out to someone with a much larger welder.
Still planning on having the new sub frames and parts like that subbed out to someone with a much larger welder.
This was my practice beads piece. My first try was on the left, top second, right third, bottom 4th.
It's hard to see where your going when the helmet gets dark. I can basically only see the spark glow.
I know I need to get my hand movement better but was good for a first try.
I think I need to lighten the helmet so maybe I can also sed the piece, what do you think??
Looks to me like you need to slow down. Your beads are way too thin. You may need more heat for better penetration too....probably more wire as well.
I would definitely ditch the wire your machine came with. The wire that came with my eastwood 135 was terrible. I bought some Hobart .030" wire and it works so much better.
I'm also going to disagree with these guys...flux core sucks. Get your gas setup. These were the first welds I ever mig welded when I received my 135. If I want the spatter, might as well just arc weld it.
I would definitely ditch the wire your machine came with. The wire that came with my eastwood 135 was terrible. I bought some Hobart .030" wire and it works so much better.
I'm also going to disagree with these guys...flux core sucks. Get your gas setup. These were the first welds I ever mig welded when I received my 135. If I want the spatter, might as well just arc weld it.
Woah woah woah. Lets slow down and talk safety first
Are you welding on a 1900 box cover? If so STOP
Don't weld anything plated, coated and especially galvanized.
Galvanized fumes can kill you. No BS. Google phosgene and welding
here is one of the many articles you will find
https://www.finishing.com/164/33.shtml
Get a grinder and a flap disc. Yes it's for grinding down welds but it's also used for prepping your material. You should be welding on clean metal. If you have some rough mill scale to remove soak the steel in white vinegar overnight.
Wire:
.023 is great for thin stuff. Think auto body panels like 14/16g. It can't carry a shit load of amps so anything you do over 110v input you will want to step your game up to .030 wire
.030 wire IMO the best all around size. Not too small, handles upwards of 200amps (IIRC)
.035 solid wire. Great if you are welding thick plate. Too heavy to feed through a 110v welder
.030 flux wire - don't waste your money
.035 flux wire - it's flux, it works, it's smokey as fuck and it burns hotter. I don't care for flux but it has it's place. Get a tank of c25 gas (argon/c02) and your welds will look much cleaner, no slag to chip off and less smoke.
The reason people tell you not to use the wire in the box is because it's crap. It's not wound up correctly and layers overlap others so it will just pinch itself while feeding and cause headaches. Get some 10lb spools, it's cheaper than the over priced 1 or 2 pound spools
Helmet:
I can't stress this enough. Get a GOOD helmet. And no a $50 helmet isn't good. It's the difference of having a light on or off in comparison. Set your shade to a lighter number like 10 or 11 and adjust it while welding to find a setting you like. If you still can't see at all its most likely that there is a clear film on the inside clear cover of the helmet that you didn't remove. Some places tint that film green so it's easy to notice but usually the other side is clear and you don't notice it's there. But once it's removed you will notice a huge difference in clarity.
Metal:
Get a big long piece 1/8" thick from lowes,homedepot etc and cut it into 4" sections.
Onlinemetals.com
Alro Steel
Gas:
EWS in Elk Grove Village or Terrace supply in Itasca, wheeling or Villa Park. Airgas is a rip off
Links:
weldingweb.com
weldingtipsandtricks.com
welding:
you do not touch the contact tip to the work piece. The wire will touch it or appear to at least but under a microscope it really doesn't. The contact tip needs to match the diameter of the wire also. And they do wear out so every few pounds or less change the tip. The tip has a hole that is .005 oversized from the stated size to allow the wire to pass through. The contact tip transfers the current from the tip to the wire to make the circuit complete. Over time it wears out and can cause the wire to sputter or just not weld as smooth.
Polarity:
this is a big thing that new guys usually miss. Welding with gas vs flux uses a different welding polarity. You open the door and switch the leads (turn the welder OFF) when you change them
Wire tension:
Less is more. Do not overtighten the pressure on the drive roll. It will pinch the wire and then you will not have a good time welding. You want just enough tension to move the wire. Hit the button and the top drive roll SHOULD slip just a bit before pushing the wire
Do not over tighten the spool that the wire sits on. That can cause issues with feeding too. Do not let go of the mig wire unless it has tension on it through the wire feed assembly or unless you bend the end of the wire, pass it through the hole on the spool. It's tension wound so if you let go it will unwind itself and you may as well just throw the wire away at that point
Fire extinguisher. Get one
Cover up all tanks, bottles and flammable shit. I don't even own tanks of oxygen or acetylene.
Magnets:
Work great, don't weld too close to them. You will crack them but more importantly they will 'pull' on your arc
Know your limits:
I used to tell all my customers that 110v welders are good for 1/8" thickness and don't weld anything load bearing beyond 1/8". Can it be done? Yep there are tons of tips and tricks but lets just keep it at that. I had some kids come in one day trying to weld a 1/4" thick steel trailer with a 110v mig and some .023 wire. And anyone that knows me knows I do not drive behind trailers for that very reason.
Practice:
Some people push and some pull. The saying is if there is slag drag. So you pull when doing flux. For mig there are a lot of debates on if you should push or pull but do what is comfortable for you and play with manipulating the torch during your weld.
Can you weld aluminum?
Seems everyone with a mig has this question. Short answer is yes. Long answer...you need aluminum wire most likely 5356 as 4043 is generally too soft to push up a 10' gun but it can work. You use an oversized tip "generally", you need 100% argon and it takes a lot of skill. Or use 4043 wire and a spoolgun. You will not be stacking dimes or anything close to it. Maybe stacking bird shit, but yes you can do it.
I've been welding for 8 ish years now. Bought a mig and taught myself and then onto tig. I sell welders, plasma cutters. I used to work for another company doing the same and giving tig lessons and doing repairs and things like that. Hit me up if you have any questions, not sure what to buy or whatever, happy to help.
Attached two pics of some of my tig work and if you want to see more check out my IG
https://www.instagram.com/gamblegarage/
Attachments
Thank you for the info, I was practicing beads on the welding table from harbor freight.
Do you think it would be possible to weld AN fittings onto the ends of a heater core? I've been looking at ways people have done them in fox bodies when doing 351w swaps and I think braided lines might look good instead of long pieces of heater hoses....
Do you want to die? NEVER weld galvanized steel unless you have some sort of respirator on. The fumes are extremely toxic
Do you think it would be possible to weld AN fittings onto the ends of a heater core? I've been looking at ways people have done them in fox bodies when doing 351w swaps and I think braided lines might look good instead of long pieces of heater hoses....
I wouldn’t with a mig
It’s filthy with the fluid that ran through it, and when you mig aluminum it starts out cold and then heats up very quick. So you would be either too hot or too cold and have a high chance of leaking.
If you have a pulse mig for aluminum you can probably do it easier
If you need someone to tig it for you, I can. I have a few hundred aluminum AN fittings sitting here
Sorry, that was more my question.... I wasnt going to try it, just curious if it was possible...
How much would something like that cost including AN fittings?
I've welded plenty of galvanized, but I wouldn't recommend it either. Either way, best practice is to have a fan at your back...just enough to get a steady air change rate...but not enough to compromise weld shielding. Metal fever is kind of like the Flu, but only lasts a few hours to a day.
I second the thought to run 10# spools. My welder is designed for 2#, but 10# fit just fine with an adapter...IIRC I just cut up a 2# spool to make mine.
I second the thought to run 10# spools. My welder is designed for 2#, but 10# fit just fine with an adapter...IIRC I just cut up a 2# spool to make mine.
Phosgene is actually from brake cleaner if I remember right. NEVER use brake cleaner on parts before you weld. period. Says right on the can not to heat the stuff up.
I finally seem to have gotten somewhere with my welder. I have a blue HF MIG (DUAL MIG 171) that was actually a pretty decent welder when running right. I've made more than a few mods to it incl an aggressive blower, but have never gotten it hot enough to cause the duty cycle shutoff to trip.
I had some roller issues and couldn't get rollers so I tried to bodge something together that didn't work worth a damn. I got the right mechanism off Ebay finally and seem to be ready to get back on track after a bit more cleanup. I may add the capacitor bank back in but it seems to have a ton of firepower right now. Long term parts availability is IMO a big down side of some of these budget welders.
Besides that I have a Clarke as well. It's Italian made (not sure about the newer ones or other models, but this is a 140 EN) and the quality is pretty decent. I've been using it on exhaust pipe with good results, but certainly too small for actual chassis type work. As of now I am running .035 flux wire in it but probably am going to convert it back to .023 and straight CO2. The tanks stock-t-bird has are a bargain, I paid what he's selling a whole tank for just to get a refill. Add about $7-10 for the fittings to connect the tank to your C25 regulator and you're welding pretty darn cheap. It's better than Flux Core but not quite as good as C25. It also runs a bit hotter from my understanding but that can go either way truthfully.
Gas will clean up your welds a lot IME, although you can make decent welds with Flux if you're careful. I'll probably actually use flux for the trans cross member I'm putting in because:
1-it runs hotter which I am going to want I think in this particular case.
2-I'm pretty sure my positioning is going to be crap
Actually looking to add a buzz box to my setups. I am wondering if I can get to 125A or so on a 30A line. The are rated 50A input at 225A though so we'll have to see I guess. I'm going to look for one to add if I can get the price right. The other option is I may just set up the MIG welder to export raw AC via a couple studs and connect an electrode holder that way. I certainly need to get a better ground clamp for it and a better ground line regardless.
I finally seem to have gotten somewhere with my welder. I have a blue HF MIG (DUAL MIG 171) that was actually a pretty decent welder when running right. I've made more than a few mods to it incl an aggressive blower, but have never gotten it hot enough to cause the duty cycle shutoff to trip.
I had some roller issues and couldn't get rollers so I tried to bodge something together that didn't work worth a damn. I got the right mechanism off Ebay finally and seem to be ready to get back on track after a bit more cleanup. I may add the capacitor bank back in but it seems to have a ton of firepower right now. Long term parts availability is IMO a big down side of some of these budget welders.
Besides that I have a Clarke as well. It's Italian made (not sure about the newer ones or other models, but this is a 140 EN) and the quality is pretty decent. I've been using it on exhaust pipe with good results, but certainly too small for actual chassis type work. As of now I am running .035 flux wire in it but probably am going to convert it back to .023 and straight CO2. The tanks stock-t-bird has are a bargain, I paid what he's selling a whole tank for just to get a refill. Add about $7-10 for the fittings to connect the tank to your C25 regulator and you're welding pretty darn cheap. It's better than Flux Core but not quite as good as C25. It also runs a bit hotter from my understanding but that can go either way truthfully.
Gas will clean up your welds a lot IME, although you can make decent welds with Flux if you're careful. I'll probably actually use flux for the trans cross member I'm putting in because:
1-it runs hotter which I am going to want I think in this particular case.
2-I'm pretty sure my positioning is going to be crap
Actually looking to add a buzz box to my setups. I am wondering if I can get to 125A or so on a 30A line. The are rated 50A input at 225A though so we'll have to see I guess. I'm going to look for one to add if I can get the price right. The other option is I may just set up the MIG welder to export raw AC via a couple studs and connect an electrode holder that way. I certainly need to get a better ground clamp for it and a better ground line regardless.
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