Topic: Welders

[Jeffy]

welding shock mounts on the axle ? what about spring mounting plates with shock mounts made together ?? like what is used by the MJ ??

Shouldn't be a problem.  My Currie can accept studs for shocks.  I know some people use the stock YJ plates for shock mounts as well.  Shock mounts are usually less then $30 a pair though.

When I welded my shock mounts, I rotated mine up so they're not hanging any locker then the spring plate.

[jfrabat]

Well, I finally decided to buy myself a welder.  I went Chinese, since all the branded stuff here is over $600 (WAAAAAAYYY too much to learn with!).  So I got me a 105A MIG welder that can use both flux chore or gas.  It's 220V (not an issue for me), and has 4 power settings.  I have not yet tried it out, but plan to do so sometime this week (time permiting).  By the way, it was a bit under $200, which for Costa Rica is DIRT CHEAP (that means in the US it would be around $75; probably wont last all that long, but I dont intend to use it all that much either, so I guess it's OK to learn with).

[Jeffy]

Congrats!  I'm not sure if I'll ever get a welder. 

I'm looking at maybe getting another guitar..   

[FourbangerYJ]

Congrats!  I'm not sure if I'll ever get a welder. 

I'm looking at maybe getting another guitar..   

Congrats on the new purchase jf.

[Jeffy]

Congrats on the new purchase jf.

Shhhhh!  They're pretty.

[jfrabat]

Congrats!  I'm not sure if I'll ever get a welder. 

I'm looking at maybe getting another guitar..   

Well, I already got 2 guitars, so that's enough for me...

[Jeffy]

Well, I already got 2 guitars, so that's enough for me...

I have two but one's a crappy beginner.   I'm looking at getting a Gibson Traditional.  Enough to buy two welders if I was going to do so.   

Although if I downgrade my Jeep enough I won't have to ever buy a welder.   

[jramey]

I think one important thing to remember also when out buying these welders is whats called the duty cycles on them which i havnt seen mentioned much in here. The duty cycle on a welder indicates how much time it can run at full power in an hours time. Some expensive ones have 100% duty cycles which basicly means you should be able to run it constantly without ever burning it up, while cheaper ones have lets say a 20% duty cycle which means u can only run it full power for 20% or an hour which is 12 minutes before having to let it cool down. Knowing this can save you from messing your welders up

[chasmosis1]

Thought I might chime in here. Having a lot of experience welding I can tell you that I have owned Lincolns, but I prefer Miller. My stable contains a Miller 140 Auto-set mig, Miller 212 mig, Miller Synchrowave 180SD tig, Miller Bobcat 250 engine-driven welder, Thermal Dynamics CutMaster 82 plasma cutter with manual & machine torches, and a Torchmate TM2 4X4 CNC plasma table with AVHC, not to mention numerous sets of Victor torches and a Premier Power welder set up on my truck. I am open to offer information to anybody here requiring it.

Chas

[370]

miller 212 w/auto set here and a powermax PM45 plasma..    oh and an OLD OLD OLD lincoln buzz box stick welder

[FourbangerYJ]

Sharp, what kind of TIG welder are you using?
I am thinking of one of these. https://www.longevity-inc.com/productcategory_38/Welders/TIG-Welders.php   The 200D.

[sharpxmen]

Sharp, what kind of TIG welder are you using?
I am thinking of one of these. https://www.longevity-inc.com/productcategory_38/Welders/TIG-Welders.php   The 200D.

mine is a Riland 200AC/DC very similar to the one in the site you posted called ArcMate LW-200ACDC (including the stick welder output) - just like this one it has Toshiba Mosfets. Mine has pre-flow, post-low, downslope, clean/penetrate settings, amps and couple more that i set at the beginning and never touched since. Once you plug in the pedal on the one i have the amp setting on the panel has no effect, i read of some that do set the max current when the pedal is plugged but the one i have does not work that way.

i'm using a Riland foot pedal. The pedal it's kinda lame so i recommend getting a quality one if available (mine was really cheap, works fine for high amps from about 35 to 200 but i can only do low amps on the trigger with the front panel pot so i have no control there, i have a mod in mind for the pedal to limit the top current  so i get better accuracy on low amps but didn't get around to do it).

You might want to look also at the ones that are IGBT based, apparently they are more robust although i put mine thru hours of continuous welding and didn't have an issue but you never know - and also, i don't weld every day. Check out Everlast as well, these 2 guys were partners at some point (and they are brothers in law) but got some beef going and split up - if you send one an email that the other offered you some deal you'll get a good discount (if they didn't yet reconcile).

[sharpxmen]

Also, would be nice if you can find one with adjustable AC frequency, most are working at a fixed 60Hz like the utility power

EDIT: the Everlast and Longevity newer ones have adjustable AC frequency, i was looking at PowerTig 200DX, it's cheaper than the similar Longevity one which i assume it's basically the same thing with a different case (the name of that is TigWeld 200DX) by about $100, and you can make an offer on them as well. both have 5 year warranty which is pretty decent imo, got my Riland with DOA return policy but i was lucky (it was brand new but you never know).

[FourbangerYJ]

mine is a Riland 200AC/DC very similar to the one in the site you posted called ArcMate LW-200ACDC (including the stick welder output) - just like this one it has Toshiba Mosfets. Mine has pre-flow, post-low, downslope, clean/penetrate settings, amps and couple more that i set at the beginning and never touched since. Once you plug in the pedal on the one i have the amp setting on the panel has no effect, i read of some that do set the max current when the pedal is plugged but the one i have does not work that way.

i'm using a Riland foot pedal. The pedal it's kinda lame so i recommend getting a quality one if available (mine was really cheap, works fine for high amps from about 35 to 200 but i can only do low amps on the trigger with the front panel pot so i have no control there, i have a mod in mind for the pedal to limit the top current  so i get better accuracy on low amps but didn't get around to do it).

You might want to look also at the ones that are IGBT based, apparently they are more robust although i put mine thru hours of continuous welding and didn't have an issue but you never know - and also, i don't weld every day. Check out Everlast as well, these 2 guys were partners at some point (and they are brothers in law) but got some beef going and split up - if you send one an email that the other offered you some deal you'll get a good discount (if they didn't yet reconcile).

The 200D is IGBT based. It's not a AC unit but I don't plan on doing alum. Have not done any so far.
The 160SX is AC/DC for about the same price. But again I don't see any alum in the future.
Is yours wired for 220v and 110v?

[sharpxmen]

The 200D is IGBT based. It's not a AC unit but I don't plan on doing alum. Have not done any so far.
The 160SX is AC/DC for about the same price. But again I don't see any alum in the future.
Is yours wired for 220v and 110v?

120/240v, but at 120v it only does (if i remember correctly) about 100 or 120Amps, i use mine at 240, only difference is the plug, no rewiring involved, it's autoswitching.

i still think you should go with an AC/DC unit, make an offer and see how it goes. I didn't think i'll do aluminum either but i found uses for that from random brackets, the radiator mount, piping and even a baffle tube on my t-case so solve my oil out the vent problem. My only issue is the lack of adjustment on the AC frequency - you'll end up thinking why you didn't get it the first time you'll need to weld some aluminum for some random thing that didn't cross your mind - most likely be right after it arrived