Noob searches for and buys a welder (1 Viewer)

[TYM4FUN]

Agreed! After laying down a few respectable beads on scrap metal, mandatory project #1 is supposed to be a welding cart.

Nice work. Definitely beefier than my erector set Miller cart.

 

[BadReligion]

Nice work. Definitely beefier than my erector set Miller cart.

Thanks. After buying like 40' of 0.120 rectangular tubing, I quickly realized it was slight overkill for the job.

 

[LINUS]

Thanks. After buying like 40' of 0.120 rectangular tubing, I quickly realized it was slight overkill for the job.

I’m glad you mentioned it, because that thing looks stout enough to be a jackstand for the space shuttle

But seriously, the design looks smart for your bottle size - I run the ~4’6” bottles with the bumpcap over the valve (forget cu ft) - so I have all-thread & a nut that I drilled and added a swivel handle to (hard to describe, I’ll take a pic).

Also Rustoleum industrial bombcan works killer on bare clean steel, no primer needed. Holds a shine like crazy & near chip-proof. If you haven’t painted yet - it comes in the taller than normal cans at Lowes, etc.

 

[Josey1972]

Agreed! After laying down a few respectable beads on scrap metal, mandatory project #1 is supposed to be a welding cart.

Well done. I like the way you have everything rolled up on the front of the cart.

 

[BadReligion]

I’m glad you mentioned it, because that thing looks stout enough to be a jackstand for the space shuttle

But seriously, the design looks smart for your bottle size - I run the ~4’6” bottles with the bumpcap over the valve (forget cu ft) - so I have all-thread & a nut that I drilled and added a swivel handle to (hard to describe, I’ll take a pic).

Also Rustoleum industrial bombcan works killer on bare clean steel, no primer needed. Holds a shine like crazy & near chip-proof. If you haven’t painted yet - it comes in the taller than normal cans at Lowes, etc.

Ha. It must weigh close to 100# without the welder or bottles. I did size the square openings for the bottles to accommodate one additional size up. I seem to be going through the C25 quite a bit quicker than the argon. I think that means I need to do more TIG welding.

I was going to paint it but kind of dig the bare steel look. I'll look into that rustoleum product, good to know. I made the cart in spring of 2020 and surprisingly there is still no flash rust on it, but I'm sure that is only a matter of time.

 

[mdawg]

I'm a little late to the "noob gets a welder" party, but I picked up a new Miller 215. My goals are to learn and maybe build my own BBQ equipment someday. I know I over-bought, but I liked the flexibility of learning the different processes. Now, I gotta buy all the other stuff like safety gear, cart, cylinder, etc. To the OPs original point, I could have gotten everything I needed from Hobart for the price of the 215. But, I had my heart set on the 215, so...

 

[firestopper]

Fabricate stuff like your welding cart. Don’t buy anything you can build yourself. You’ve made an investment in welding equipment. Start learning and practice all you can with small project that lead to bigger and better.
True Blue….

 

[Green Bean]

Picking up on an old thread... Need some help from the guru's:
Very recently, I purchased a new Millermatic 211 120/240v. I have zero prior welding experience. But hey, I watched a bunch of YouTube tutorials and thought that I would give it a shot. I practiced running beads on various thicknesses of flat, sheet and angle. Drilled some 1/4" holes in 18 ga sheet and practiced plugging & grinding smooth. Then the big test, one of the motivating factors for deciding to teach myself MIG was to plug several 8 mm holes in the rear fender wells of our 40 series. Boy, was there a world of difference between the workbench practice and going live on the vehicle. I did use a copper backing plate and was able to eventually plug the holes. However, when I applied the slap disc grinder, I discovered several pin holes where daylight came through. It was a back and forth effort: MIG the holes, grind, discover more holes, weld more, grind, etc. It really felt like it was a vicious circle. I was finally was acle to get the holes mostly plugged. But as you can see, there are still pin holes Probably not a very good project for a total noob to try and tackle. But I'd sure appreciate any helpful suggestions.

Thanks.

Before:

After welds:

After grinding:

 

[SNLC]

I'm a little late to the "noob gets a welder" party, but I picked up a new Miller 215. My goals are to learn and maybe build my own BBQ equipment someday. I know I over-bought, but I liked the flexibility of learning the different processes. Now, I gotta buy all the other stuff like safety gear, cart, cylinder, etc. To the OPs original point, I could have gotten everything I needed from Hobart for the price of the 215. But, I had my heart set on the 215, so...

Can’t go wrong with Miller, I been using them going on 20yrs with not much if any complaints. That’s a great machine, you won’t be disappointed.

I need to upgrade the mig in a year or two. We been running the same Miller 211 since 2018. I used to have a 212 when they still made them and love the bigger machine. Probably replace the 211 with two machines as well.

I try and buy a new expensive tool like these every time we finish a big job or project. I am a buy as we go and earn it kind of guy. Hypertherm plasma up soon as well as a vertical band saw and a real good drill press. Going to have to make some room to expand our fab area in the shop but it is needed.

Cheers