Topic: Welders

[aw12345]

about the same, then added extra tips and a large spool of 0.030 wire. It comes with the regulator etc. all you need is to buy a welding gas bottle. As far as I am concerned it's a biatchin little welder, works very well

[BigCountry]

No one has made this suggestion so I will throw it out there. 

I recommend all beginners start with an DC arc welder.  Look for an old 230V Dialarc 250(miller) or IdealArc 250.  These machines are indestructible, and weld very well, and are available used for cheaper prices than many AC only buzz boxes.  There is nothing these brute cant do except maybe thin body panels.  Thats what an oxy/fuel torch is good for, the thin stuff and cutting metal.  A good man running a decent torch and deliver quality cuts near that of a plasma, and an oxy/fuel set up can weld thin steel, aluminum, cast iron, stainless steel, and cast aluminum with the proper consumables

DC 7018 is absolutely beautiful to weld with and in 10 hours of concentrated practice you can have it down pretty well if you have a decent instructor. 

Why I don't recommend Mig.  Its been said that mig is the easiest to learn and the hardest to master.  The reason is that you have a hard time seeing the puddle, and most beginners don't know what they are looking at to begin with.  I have seen to many mig welds that look good in appearance visually fail because they were cold or contaminated.  When I was getting my welders certifications I was welding with a industrial Mig machine and the welds were going in hot and looked gorgeous, but keep failing in the bend test do to porosity.  Tried again with the instructor looking over my shoulder, said I did a perfect job, failed again.  Instructor tried, it failed as well.  Ended up being some slight contamination in the cable liner which when replaced fixed the problem, but the point is that even a professional welding instructor was getting visually appealing welds that were not up to certification.  Now take a beginner and he doesn't even know what he is looking at. 

With arc welding, if the weld looks good 99 percent of the time it is.  Crappy weld appear crappy, there is no getting around it. 

would a dc arc welder do the job for fabricating my own roll cage, soa conversion and making my own beadlocks? 

want to get a welder and so far those are things i'll wanna do myself in a build i'm planning

[FourbangerYJ]

would a dc arc welder do the job for fabricating my own roll cage, soa conversion and making my own beadlocks? 

want to get a welder and so far those are things i'll wanna do myself in a build i'm planning

You can do those projects with a stick welder. Just like any other type of welding process make sure you get a fair amount of practice in before starting a project, if ARC welding is new to you. ARC welding produces some very strong welds! It's just a slower process than MIG/flux core. Just make sure it's a big enough machine to give you the amps needed to get good penitration.

[Jeffy]

From what I understand, stick welding is cheaper to get into then MIG or TIG.  The welds aren't as nice as MIG/TIG and need clean-up but are strong.  My D30 was welded with a arc.

[st.chevrolet]

When referring to ARC welding  state the process, ARC welding is not just Stick- SMAW shielded metal arc welding, MIG- GMAW gas metal arc welding, Flux Core- FCAW flux core arc welding, TIG- GTAW gas tungsten arc welding are all ARC welding processes.

[aw12345]

Acr welding is a good option, but takes more skill, is a lot harder to use on 0.120 wall tubing for a roll cage. I would use a good arc welder for stuf like welding material 1/4" and up and on cast iron. Welding sheetmetal and thin tubing with an arc welder can be done but is a major pain and takes a lot of skill. If you intend to weld a cage, get a mig welder that is rated for up to 1/4 material or better preferably one that will run 0.030 wire makes cage welding a lot more fun

[firebrick43]

First, the most important part of any welding system is the man controlling it.  There has been an amazing amount of stuff welded together with an oxy/fuel torch or even carbon arc torches. 

The only thing I wouldn't recommend a stick welder for is sheet metal.  .120 roll bar is fine with an stick welder, I do that .125(1/16") all the time with no issues, the key is tight fitting.  I don't use it on .065 chromemoly tubing, that I use my oxy/fuel torch or my TIG welder, normally the torch if its steel and the TIG if aluminum or stainless.  I really recommend a DC stick welder as they are very smooth and striking the arc is much easier for a beginner.  With some practice and some 7018 DC you will come very close to the appearance of Mig welding in smoothness. 
A used Dialarc or Idealarc machine will do any thickness steel without issue for a price cheaper much cheaper than any decent MIG machine. 

A MIG machine is the easiest to learn and the hardest to master.  You can have wonderfull looking welds with it but they are little better than glue as they have no penetration if done incorrectly.  I will not trust my life in a vehicle welded together by a beginner welder with mig as you don't know.  I will with an stick welded cage as just looking at them you can tell if they penetrated or not. 

I think evey shop needs an good smith or victor midgrade oxy/fuel torch. You can cut steel, weld any metal(with proper fluxes) in thin sections, braze, and strink/stretch body panels with ease. Welding steel with good fitting joints is obtainable with some practice up to .25".   A good stick welder takes care of the heavy stuff, ie 1/16  and up.

No matter if you pick a MIG set up or A stick set up, get a 180+ amp machine, a 250 can handle any thickness with multiple passes.  This means 230volts.  Any thing less than 180 does not have the heat to weld .125 thickness metal and up.  The MIG manufactures "welds up to ..." should be halved.  A 110volt machine is good only for sheet metal.  I know that some will disagree but I have fixed to many broken welds made with machines of this size. 

[97 TJ - I dont wave]

   Sorry guys I broke down today and made the purchase. Miller 180 with autoset... The shop I bought it from hooked it up and let me take it for a test weld.... Holy smokes, my first time welding and this welder made it rrreal easy. The weld turned out better than average. I need to wire my outlet and weld on a few more scraps to really get it down and then I think I will be ready for some real welding... Miller 180, definately  the way to go...

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[Jeffy]

   Sorry guys I broke down today and made the purchase. Miller 180 with autoset... The shop I bought it from hooked it up and let me take it for a test weld.... Holy smokes, my first time welding and this welder made it rrreal easy. The weld turned out better than average. I need to wire my outlet and weld on a few more scraps to really get it down and then I think I will be ready for some real welding... Miller 180, definately  the way to go...

Damn, everyone's buying a Miller 180 but me!     I've got to wait a bit but I'll be buying one as well.

[Torch_Ind]

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/6/Tools/WeldingSoldering/Welders/PRD~0588041P/Lincoln%252BElectric%252BMIG-Pak%2525AE%252B180%252BWire%252BFeed%252BWelder.jsp?locale=en


Lincoln Electric MIG-Pak® 180 Wire Feed Welder

this a decent welder?

I can get one locally here for 599cad. on sale

what do you think?

[Torch_Ind]

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/6/Tools/WeldingSoldering/Welders/PRD~0588041P/Lincoln%252BElectric%252BMIG-Pak%2525AE%252B180%252BWire%252BFeed%252BWelder.jsp?locale=en


Lincoln Electric MIG-Pak® 180 Wire Feed Welder

this a decent welder?

I can get one locally here for 599cad. on sale

what do you think?

No one has any input on this?

[97 TJ - I dont wave]

Yeah,
Another reason I went with a Miller 180 with autoset is because Miller has one version of the 180.
I found in other forums that Lincoln makes several versions of their 180. They have a 180 version you see at Lowe's, another 180 version for light industrial, etc... You would not know the difference just looking at them. That is all I can recall on that matter. Keep searching, you will find more on the Lincoln's. I have not been disappointed with my Miller at all. It is rreaal easy to use and makes my welds look like I almost know what I am doing. Miller, money well spent.

[Jeffy]

No one has any input on this?

That looks like a SP-180.  The better welders don't come with cheap masks and more settings.

[Torch_Ind]

That looks like a SP-180.  The better welders don't come with cheap masks and more settings.

is it any good?

[Jeffy]

Preset setting are not as good as indefinite control.  The mask is laughable and if you want to do any real welding you'll want a flip-up helmet so you don't have to hold it.  The internals are made a bit cheaper as well.

I also said I think it's a SP-180.  Lincoln doesn't seem to have the part number that they are using.  Maybe it's an older model.  The ones with the cheap makes are the lowest models they sell and are usually sold in big box stores. ie. not as good as the Power-MIG models.