What kind of welder do you use?

how did you like the Chicago Electric unit?
They have a dual gas/gasless model thats pretty resionable, and one I was looking at.

Lord knows, I'd love a Miller, or a Lincoln, or a Hobart, but they are some kinda pricey for the amount of work I'm likely to do on them.

So if the cheapy from HF is likely to live for a good while, it might be the way to go.

Thanks again for all the help guys.
Jon
 
One of the problems with the cheaper MIGs is that often the drive parts for the wire feed are made of plastic. If they break, one has to hope the supplier stocks spare parts, or your investment is now a boat anchor.

I have a Miller 135 110V MIG. In retrospect, I wish I had spent a bit more time in research. While it welds billets and the mower deck fine, if one wants to weld something odd, having all those different spools is a lot more expensive than a variety of fluxed sticks.

Now I sorta wish I had bought a 240V stick welder that I could later upgrade with a TIG gun. It would have been cheaper all told, offer a lot more power, and with the TIG more versatile.
 
Does anyone know if HF carries parts, or can get them for those Chicago Electrics?

And an odd question, a guy who welds alot said that you can get a stick welding elctrode holder for Mig setups, just uses the voltage while ignoring the wire feed.
Said he hasn't used one but has seen them. I've never seen anything about it, and electrically not sure if it even makes sence, wondering if he's pulling my leg. If it is available, it might make it a little more versatile, at least for short/small jobs. Dunno

Thanks again folks
Jon

PS. New forge is heatin up as I type
 
A good MIG is nice but a good stick welder really will do just about anything you want in terms of general fabrication, and will come in about the same price as a cheapo. Big projects are a little slower with a stick, and you can't do sheet metal, but they'll weld carbon or stainless steel as thick as you want.
I'd really recommend you look at something like the lincoln AC 225C, before an offbrand MIG. It will last forever. You can get one here: http://www.weldingmart.com/Qstore/p000012.htm
$277, and they say shipping is free :D

A little bigger version (higher duty cycle) here:
http://www.weldingmart.com/Qstore/p000013.htm
 
Find an old cracker box/tombstone Lincoln ,good all round medium to light duty machine
 
I'm leaning toward a wire feed machine, just for ease of use, and not having to change rods, but we'll see. I'm also looking around at surplus, etc sites, so we'll see what turns up. Luckily, I'm not in a big hurry.

I lit up the new forge, and only 1 of 2 burners was doing anything. hehehe, seems I got a little Satanite in one of the jets, oops. :rolleyes:
Cleaned it out and re-lit. Had good forging temps in about 5 minutes at about 5lbs pressure. :D
Nice little forge, freon bottle forge by the by. Banged on a little of the 52100 round that Tony has been selling on the forums.
Didn't do much, I'm still getting the shop re-arrainged, but I'll post some pics when something comes out. I'm relatively new at this, so it may be a while before something "comes out". :p
Again, thanks for the pointers, keep them coming if you think of anything.
Jon
 
It's funny to see this thread when I just came in from the shop after practicing some welding.

It got this exact 'no name' from eBay awhile back Speedway 220v but I didn't pay that much for shipping. I paid about $40.00 total for mine. I was going for the cheapest I could get.

Yeah, I had to wire 220v to the shop but since I had to wire my grinder with 220v it was no problem.

I've never used any type of welding equipment other that the oxygen/MAPP setup from Bernzomatic. I asked around, both here and at work and I was told to start with an arc (stick) welder. It is less expensive than other set ups and I didn't have to really clean up the metal before welding.

I just made my first real weld that held through some destructive testing and the two pieces of metal were 3/16" and 1/4" thick and really rusty. I practiced running beads for about 10 minutes a day for two days and welded the angle iron to sheet on my second try using two sticks. Now I feel ready to weld on legs to the forge that I am building.

IMHO, if I am going to spend alot of time fabricating equipment, then I might have saved abit more $$$ for the better welders. Since I am only making a couple of things around the shop, my arc welder will do.

BTW, the reason why I bought a welder was that I was going to bring my forge to a professional welder to have the legs welded on. He was going to charge $40.00 just for the legs and $60.00 for the stand (that all the pieces are cut to size for already!) This saved me about $50.00 so far.

Not only am I cheap, but stubborn as well. :D
 
I'm not that familiar with oxy-acetylene welding (only did it a few times), but I can offer some response to the arc welding methods:

SMAW (aka "stick" welding): Easy to change different filler materials (electrodes) but some are difficult to learn without training (for example - welding nickel based alloys on cast iron). This process is better for welding thicker metals together (over 1/8") and has the lowest initial setup cost.

GMAW (aka "Mig" welding): Used frequently for welding sheet metal with a wide variety of filler metals (wire) and shielding available. Unfortunately, you need to match the filler wire and shielding gas type by switching spools and tanks. Considering the maintenance items (tips, liners, wire feed rolls) it's comparatively expensive to run compared to SMAW (above).

GTAW (aka "Tig" welding): Like SMAW, changing filler materials is easy. You might also need to change shielding gas (and use a diffuser for carbon steel processes), depending on the application. This is one of the most versatile arc welding processes and can be used on very thin materials. Since the filler and torch are usually held in separate hands, it's a bit more of an "art form" to produce really good welds. This is the most expensive of the three processes, and requires maintenance items like tungsten electrodes, collets, diffusers, and gas cups. There are also items like high frequency start pedals/switches and water coolers that can be added to increase precision and longevity of the torch.

--------------------

I'm currently using an old Lincoln "225 amp red barn" AC (stick) machine. It has definite limitations - especially on thin materials. But, I've built a lot of work tables, brackets, jigs, and other tools with it.

I'd love to get one of the new "Tig" inverter type machines, but that's still pretty far down on my list of "Gotta Haves". :)
 
fitzo said:
One of the problems with the cheaper MIGs is that often the drive parts for the wire feed are made of plastic. If they break, one has to hope the supplier stocks spare parts, or your investment is now a boat anchor.
Click to expand...

Do you (or anyone) have any experience with the Clarke MIGs, from what I can see they seem to be in sort of a middle ground. They're evidently Italian -- the basic 220V one (180EN) is about $400 on the web as opposed to $650 for Hobart or over $700 for a Miller or Lincoln. Friends who are welders strongly recommend a 220V unit, but the new Miller, etc. are really expensive for just knife making and a little shop equipment.

I do plan to look around for used machines at local dealers before deciding on anything else.

Dan Pierson
 
Some one here is going to get a stick welder and go at it, which is great, that's how I learned -- but a word of warning. The worst sunburn I ever got was from welding 3/4 of one stick with out covering up. Arc welders throw off UV something fierce, cover everything up when using one and don't forget around your neck.
 
Dan, I am sorry but I don't know about those.

Personally, I don't think there's anything specifically wrong with buying an economy welder provided parts are available. Knifemaking use just isn't heavy duty work. The Hobarts or Lincolns at Home Depot or whatever can easily be tracked through a call to the manufacturer to find out if parts are always available for that model. My concern for parts is about brands made offshore. Again, a call to the sellor or supplier should clarify that info.

The thing I like about my (overpriced) Miller is that a week into owning it I (DOH!) kinked the feed cable. 30 minutes later I was running again after a quick trip crosstown and a new hole in my pocketbook. When I had questions about how the regulator was functioning, I called Miller to ask questions and they just sent me a new regulator free, overnite. Can't beat that kind of service. And, my God, the person who answered even spoke the same language as me!

Butthead Buxton has been using one of the non-gas fluxcore-only 110V MIGs he bought at Lowes (?) with zero problems for several years so they aren't bad at all. I believe it was an American brand but I'm not sure.

Sorry I can't be of much use answering your question.
 
I know I've gotten alot of good advice, so I hope it helps out other new to welding guys(or girls, guess I should be politically correct).

After a little reseach, it seems parts shouldn't be a problem for even the cheapie, no brand stuff on ebay, but initial quality may be, no call there yet.

I found out that the cheapies are made by the same factory as the chicago electric stuff, and those also have no parts issues, but no one has given them a clean bill of health as to quality, as far as I've seen.

I'm now looking at a Lincoln, Mig/no gas setup. A little expensive, but looks good. 110 or 240(I have both available, bgut it would be nice out of the shop)
and either gas/or gasless. Sounds good, but I'll be saving for a few. Unfortunately I don't have any knifemaking income, so this is household expense at this point, which makes it wife unfriendly. oh well, in time and all that.

Jon
 
Dan Gray said:
..and a plasma cuter..:)
Click to expand...


What man in his right mind does not want a plasma cutter? Its about as close as you can get to having a lightsabre and still be awake :D :D
 
tmickley said:
Some one here is going to get a stick welder and go at it, which is great, that's how I learned -- but a word of warning. The worst sunburn I ever got was from welding 3/4 of one stick with out covering up. Arc welders throw off UV something fierce, cover everything up when using one and don't forget around your neck.
Click to expand...

That, and the fumes can be toxic - especially when welding things like galvanized steel or using nickel bearing filler materials. Wear a respirator under your helmet. ;)
 
Tom Anderson said:
That, and the fumes can be toxic - especially when welding things like galvanized steel or using nickel bearing filler materials. Wear a respirator under your helmet. ;)
Click to expand...


some guys don't know that the reflection of the arc (light) off walls can hurt your eye too.. I guess UV rays bounce.. :confused: :)

tmickley said:
Some one here is going to get a stick welder and go at it, which is great, that's how I learned -- but a word of warning. The worst sunburn I ever got was from welding 3/4 of one stick with out covering up. Arc welders throw off UV something fierce, cover everything up when using one and don't forget around your neck.
Click to expand...


Tracy,, I can do a whole stick :confused: :D
 
word of warning. The worst sunburn I ever got was from welding 3/4 of one stick with out covering up. Arc welders throw off UV something fierce, cover everything up when using one and don't forget around your neck.
Click to expand...

HEHE. I set up a Black kid welding one time, I warned him about wearing some long sleeves. He said Black guys don't get sunburn!
OK. Says I.
Two days later he was wondering what why his arms hurt and what was that stringy white stuff on his arms.

It was Skin. :rolleyes: :p :rolleyes: :p :rolleyes: I laughed for a week. He looked like he had leprosy or something.

try welding inside a SS tank sometimes, everything that's not covered up gets burnt, including the eyes. Black side shields are a must.
 
Not only that, if you ever get "arc flash" you'll never forget it - just like someone is rubbing hot sand in your eyes.

Cover up and be safe, guys!
 
Burnt eyesremedies from old weldors. These work. Put grated or peeled potaoes on your eyelids while you TRY to sleep.This will draw the heat.

Carefully and I do mean real carefully put mentolatum on the eyelids, just a touch and nowhere near the edge of the eyelid. Believe me you do not want this in your eye.:eek: Don't ask how I know,ok!

Carefully wash off either remedy first thing in the morning. The potaoe will trun black as boogers.
 
Tom Anderson said:
Not only that, if you ever get "arc flash" you'll never forget it - just like someone is rubbing hot sand in your eyes.

Cover up and be safe, guys!
Click to expand...

Guys, , I cannot stress enough, Tom's warning. As a young welder in SoCal I was working on a construction project. We were outside and it was very hot, so I decided to shed the leathers and work in a white T-shirt. :eek: I ended up with one of the worst sunburns I ever had and "arc flash" that was extremely unpleasant. Yes, like Dan says, the UV light reflected off of the T-shirt and into my helmet and I did not even notice it at the time. Ever since then it is leathers, hat, boots, gloves and even a bandana around the neck. Trust me on this, do not fall into the thinking that "this will only take a minute" and ignore safety when arc welding.
 
dark blue cotton shirt, Carharts are best or the green canvas welding shirts are more comfortable than all that leather. Put some borax in the wash it makes the cotton more flame resistant, the green shirts are already flame retardent. But it don't hurt nothing, smells better too.
 
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