Welder questions

[rckcrwlrwi]

Not sure if I should post this here or not sorry if in the wrong place.Looking to buy my first welder for work on a 40 my question is stick vs. wire feed which is better? I am looking at a lincoln weld pac wire feed is this good or bad any info. will help thanks

 

[Leaping Deer]

For a first time welder you are better off with a wirefeed/Mig. How thick is the material are you looking weld? A 110 machine will be best with sheet metal. I have a Lincoln Weld Pack HD and wish that I had something a little more heavy duty. I will probably end upgrading at some point. Like when I get 220 in the garage.

 

[atoyot]

Wire feed. I have a stick and it is a pain to learn with. Especially when your teaching yourself. I've heard that a mig wire feed with a Gas set up is nice.

 

[rckcrwlrwi]

Thanks for the feedback this is weld pac 100 I think I can get for about $125-150 with a bunch of wire inc.I thought for the price it may be something good to learn on may need new wire terminals though anyway thanks a bunch any other feedback would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Jetboy]

IMO if your doing anything more than sheet metal I'd find a small 220 mig. The problem is that they are not cheep, however if you go with a 110 welder you will quickly be wishing for more power. A lot of people get by with a stick for heavier stuff and a small mig for lighter jobs.

IMO the best welder for the average home owner is something like a 180 amp suitcase style mig. smallest 220, and usually has enough power for most projects. It's small in size and wont take up lots fo space. In addition you wont feel the need for a huge argon or co2 bottle to fit the cart, and most of them iwll run fine on a 30 amp outlet, so your dryer outlet would probably work with an extention cord if you have to.

Also if you decide to upgrade the 30 amp outlet makes a good place to put your air compressor when you upgrade to a 50 amp service for your 250-300 amp welder.

Good luck.

BTW you might just gind a local highschool shop and ask the teacher to either show you or let you do a little welding with a couple different sized machines to get a feel for what would work for you. Also you may want to take a continuing ed class at a local tech school. They are often very informative on more than just the baiscs of running a welder. It's amazing how many "welders" couldnt grind on a piece of cast iron and tell the difference from cast steel.

edit: for $150 the little wire feed migh be just what you need. The price is defnately right. Hope it works for you!

 

[Micah]

IMO and all the classes that i have taken to get my Certification in welding if yuo have never done any stick welding then you woukd be best learning with the GMAW (mig) or the FCAW (flux core) welders. The Motion that you do with them to get the bead strong and able to hold anything can be learned very quickly. I would also say to not get a 110 welder, the variation on the settings are never what you want, you will want something that you can really dial in to what you want.

just to let you know if you get a mig welder you can run the Flux Core in it and not have to worrie about having gas to run. It can do just as nice of a bead and be just as strong as with gas.

 

[Leaping Deer]

For that price buy it and when you are ready to trade up you can sell it for the same amount or more.

 

[F-junker]

The price is right! As many have stated this is a good welder for sheet metal and thinner materails. I wouldn't recommend using it for heavy load-bearing structural componets, unless you know what your doing.

There are many many books on welding available and plenty of stuff online. I recommend using gas verses fluxed wire. You get much better welds but have to deal with keeping your tanks full.

I would recommend to someone who is looking to buy a welder for mulitple uses other than just sheet metal to buy a 220V machine that is ac/dc with wire feed capability (mig) and stick ablity for heavier guage metal. Some units can even be used for Tig welding

 

[Mace]

The little 110 V welders are more of a pain on sheet metal (not enough "touch")

But, they will build sliders, rollcages and amost anything you would want on a 40..

Teh bigger machines are considerably nicer. But it is amazing how far you can go with a small 110V welder.

Get it and make some sliders... Bang on them a lot to see how good your welds are.

If you learn on Stick.. You will be a better welder all around than if you learn with a wirefeed welder.

It is kinda like motorcycles.. I know a bunch guys that started on dirt bikes then went street. Made them awesome riders.. Sliding was a non issue..
Then I know a couple that went the other way.. Street to Dirt.. they were lousy dirt riders...

 

[Pin_Head]

Take a class, but if you can't buy a book and practice, practice practice.

No matter what you buy, practice a lot and practice includes destructive testing of your welds to make sure that they are right. Put it in a vise and bend it back 180 degrees. If it bends without breaking or tearing it is a decent weld. You can make a s***ty weld that looks visually pleasing, expecially with MIG.

A good rule of thumb is burn off 50 lbs of filler wire or electrode practicing and you will just be getting the hang of it.

Any time you have to do a different type of weld (different thickness, position or geometry) mock it up and test it to make sure that your procedure is good.

 

[rckcrwlrwi]

Thanks for all the feedback it is all very helpful now I gotta buy one and start practicing Im sure there will be alot of and but what the hell ya gotta start somewhere

 

[Micah]

Take a class, but if you can't buy a book and practice, practice practice.

No matter what you buy, practice a lot and practice includes destructive testing of your welds to make sure that they are right. Put it in a vise and bend it back 180 degrees. If it bends without breaking or tearing it is a decent weld. You can make a ****ty weld that looks visually pleasing, expecially with MIG.

A good rule of thumb is burn off 50 lbs of filler wire or electrode practicing and you will just be getting the hang of it.

Any time you have to do a different type of weld (different thickness, position or geometry) mock it up and test it to make sure that your procedure is good.

Very very good points.

 

[fj40charles]

Great advice from Pinhead.... Get some scrap metal and weld way.

If you do get a 110v volt welder, you might consider running flux core wire since it will penetrate better than gas. I believe the Weldpak 100 is rated for around 85 amps.

 

[chicago]

The little 110 V welders are more of a pain on sheet metal (not enough "touch")

But, they will build sliders, rollcages and amost anything you would want on a 40..

Teh bigger machines are considerably nicer. But it is amazing how far you can go with a small 110V welder.

Get it and make some sliders... Bang on them a lot to see how good your welds are.

If you learn on Stick.. You will be a better welder all around than if you learn with a wirefeed welder.

It is kinda like motorcycles.. I know a bunch guys that started on dirt bikes then went street. Made them awesome riders.. Sliding was a non issue..
Then I know a couple that went the other way.. Street to Dirt.. they were lousy dirt riders...

Ive been using a lil 110 for a bit now, and Mace is right...They will do some great things, but with greater effort.
For the price you can get that unit for, its a great deal. Like what everyone else is saying, you will most likely want more power not too far down the road.
If you go to www.northerntool.com they have the Hobart 185 ( a 220 unit) for like 650.00 with shipping included. They are a division of Miller electric, and carry the same warranty and apparently weld about the same as the actual Millers do. The also have 12 mos no interest financing. This price, BTW, is the cheapest ive seen on this unit. If you havent guessed, this is the route Im going
My SOA has got me so broke right now, I can hardly afford a stick of gum....So it will have to wait a bit.

Good luck and post up your welds.

Chicago

 

[fj40charles]

Ive been using a lil 110 for a bit now, and Mace is right...They will do some great things, but with greater effort.
For the price you can get that unit for, its a great deal. Like what everyone else is saying, you will most likely want more power not too far down the road.
If you go to www.northerntool.com they have the Hobart 185 ( a 220 unit) for like 650.00 with shipping included. They are a division of Miller electric, and carry the same warranty and apparently weld about the same as the actual Millers do. The also have 12 mos no interest financing. This price, BTW, is the cheapest ive seen on this unit. If you havent guessed, this is the route Im going
My SOA has got me so broke right now, I can hardly afford a stick of gum....So it will have to wait a bit.

Good luck and post up your welds.

Chicago

Northern tools has a 20% coupon right now.. I got mine in the mail.

 

[camcruiser13]

The little 110 V welders are more of a pain on sheet metal (not enough "touch")

But, they will build sliders, rollcages and amost anything you would want on a 40..

Teh bigger machines are considerably nicer. But it is amazing how far you can go with a small 110V welder.

Get it and make some sliders... Bang on them a lot to see how good your welds are.

If you learn on Stick.. You will be a better welder all around than if you learn with a wirefeed welder.

It is kinda like motorcycles.. I know a bunch guys that started on dirt bikes then went street. Made them awesome riders.. Sliding was a non issue..
Then I know a couple that went the other way.. Street to Dirt.. they were lousy dirt riders...

i agrre, pull the trigger and get it.

have used mine way more than i thought.