New toy--did I make a good choice?

[tclark]

Never welded a single stitch in my life, yet have needed to countless times. Finally decided what the heck and bought me a little 110v mig welder, a Hobart Handler 140. Did I make a good choice? They seem to get pretty good reviews from what I've seen.
Any pointers for a welding virgin?

 

[tonyota]

Looks like a good choice.

pointers, there's a million of them...Heat settings; if your not getting a good "puddle" heat is too low, if it's burning through, heat is too high

Wire speed; if the arc is "climbing" up the wire, the speed is too slow. If the wire feels like it is pushing the nozzle away from the project, the speed is too fast.

If you cannot get steady weld (ie. crackeling & popping) check ground, clean surfaces better, check speed & heat.

Wire speed & heat settings are half the battle.

Now, go get some wire & gas, & some scrap metal & have fun.

 

[Cruisified]

X2 what he said

Prep. Clean steel. Push your welds. Gun at forty five. Tiny circles (stack dimes). Practice, practice, practice.

 

[tclark]

So apparently I should practice?
Plan on doing that a lot; may even take a class at the local technical college. I'd like to at least have an idea of what the hell I'm doing.
Now I gotta round up some scrap metal and get some shielding gas. It came with some flux-cored wire, reckon I'll play around with that for a while. Might as well waste that first.

 

[ElliottB]

Practice is key. MIG is easily self-taught. Pick up a book or read some intro articles on the internet. You can go to your local steel shop and they will usually have a pile of scrap pieces that they will give you to practice on.

Master vertical-up motions with TIG and then I'll be impressed.

 

[northwest]

That machine is really easy to use. Try the flux cored wire, but it is an expensive way to weld. The gas is great inside the shop where you do not have wind. The flux wire is good for outside in windy conditions. Rent a bottle if it is too expensive to but one. I would recommend a mix of argon and CO2. I would go with the practice, practice, practice method. I started with a welding class at the community college, but it mostly dealt with stick welding. Just go and get bent over at Home Depot and but virgin steel and set the machine according to the directions and pull the trigger. Welding is really fun.

 

[CruisinFJ60]

i have the hobart handler 187 and like it very much. it is a 220V unit.

 

[Cruzerman]

Asking after you already made the purchase? In that case, great choice and enjoy!

 

[chandler583]

From my experience, Flux Core wire is no way to go if you're looking for a good weld. Every time I've used it, it seems to pop and not act the same as gas shield wire. Anyway, you made a good buy, I love Miller over Lincoln any day. It is really easy to make a pretty weld with a mig, not so much as penetration, but pretty. I started welding I high school and pretty much the whole first couple months was practice with stick welding and after that, go to the mig. We would do butt welds and then take them over to the press to see if the metal bends in half before the welds break.

 

[tclark]

Asking after you already made the purchase? In that case, great choice and enjoy!

Haha, yeah I know--I did do a little research and Hobart seemed to be a decent machine by most. Would have liked a 220 unit but I don't have the wiring for it, plus I figured the portability would be nice. Decided to start with this and work my way up if need be; not planning on anything big anyhow, just random odds-n-ends around the house. Of course now that I have one I'm sure I won't need it!

 

[PPFJ60]

Gas is much cleaner and generates less smoke. Auto darkening welding helmets are very nice as well. Find the local welding supply store and tell them your just getting started in welding, if the welding supply store is any good they will be more than willing to help you get setup and make recommendations for things like wire diameters, wire spool size, gas bottle size ect.

 

[ntsqd]

When you get it right it sounds like you're cooking bacon.

ummmmm......., bacon............

 

[pillguy]

I have the same welder. Practice as much as you can. I am use 0.035 wire and mostly working on 3/16 and some 1/4 plate for a bumper build. see https://forum.ih8mud.com/ga-georgia-cruisers/274928-pillguys-4runner-build-pics-3.html (start at post 72)
Big stuff done at a friends house, yes I have some undercutting on my welds.
Penetration with 140 at 1/4 seems to be good, but I am working on my technique to get the best I can. One weakness with a 110v welder.
Vgroove your welds, clean surface and keep the gun ahead of the puddle seem to help a lot.

Also, search this subforum for tips as there several out there, just jumbled around.

So apparently I should practice?
Plan on doing that a lot; may even take a class at the local technical college. I'd like to at least have an idea of what the hell I'm doing.
Now I gotta round up some s**** metal and get some shielding gas. It came with some flux-cored wire, reckon I'll play around with that for a while. Might as well waste that first.

 

[Gappy]

Your welder will lead to the want of many other large power tools, band saw, drill press, plasma etc. and a larger shop.
You will love it.

 

[tclark]

Yeah I drooled pretty good over the plasma cutter sitting next to the welder--one day! Actually thought about buying first because it seems like it would be awful handy for all kinds of stuff.
Want a drill press pretty bad too; it just never seems to end!

 

[fj40charles]

Use .023 and .030 wire with this little welder. .035 is too thick of wire for this welder. .023 for thin sheet metal. .030 for everything else.