whats a good inexpensive welder?

Actually you can make your own acetelene with calcium carbide It used to be the norm. You can also use propane or natural gas. Oxygen is another matter but get the biggest bottle you can as the cost of a refilled large bottle is not that much more than a small. Also if you can get in with a welding shop or the people at the welding supply there are very large discounts avalible for perfered customers or bulk. I ran a pipe shop and did the ordering for the company and they treat me very well when I purchase my personal supplies.
 
I've tried propane in a pinch. It works fine if you just need heat and if you have a propane tip to do cutting with. The times I have tried propane to weld with the welds haven't been very strong.
 
I would go with the tig that I could stick weld with for knives.
Could use the tig for blades and the stick to build shop equipment.
I have mig/tig/stick/oxy.act .. for this type of work
I feel it is the best.
If you pick a mig get a name brand. The wire feeder part is important
If you you don't get one that runs smooth .. Well things won't be good.
With the tig I recommend a foot control (control the heat)
Bottom line you have to learn how to use each of them. get some
scrap steel and start running beads.
You may get a pretty bead but it might not xray. Takes practice

P.s be sure you get a good helmet with the proper shade of lense
there is a difference in how intense of light they each put off.
plus get gloves and a welding jacket..

Tim
 
I agree a mig welder that keeps messing up wire is a horrible thing.

I also love a good automatic hood. The ability to see before you strike is the greatest thing since sliced bread, especially if you fabricate or work small areas. I usually run a top of the line Hornell speedglas (varible shades, more sensors and time adjustments) but I have a cheapo of theirs that I use in the crud that works fine. If not a auto I would buy a high quality lens. There is a huge diffence in lenses, and the bigger the better too. You can also get cheaters to add to you helmet which are like bifocals for us older guys, but I actully use a pair of reading glasses under my hood for close work.
 
Raymond Richard said:
...I had before the fire an HF wire feed but felt like spit would hold things together as well if not better....
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This brings up a good point. I'd rather have a good-quality stick-only welder than a really cheap MIG or Tig/stick. I used one of those HF auto-feeding MIGs at a friends once. It really was unusable. He just thought it was him, but it wasn't. For him it would be like trying to learn guitar on an unplayable instrument. If you use a nice Miller with argon or even flux-core you can weld very tidy, clean welds all day.

If you're going to buy a Tig/stick machine I'd look for a used Miller or Lincoln. With Tig it's much, much easier to do challenging welds with a bigger machine because the arc control is just much better. For instance. I've got a Lincoln Squarewave 180 sitting around. It can do nice Tig welding to a point, but is just not as easy to use as a much bigger/more expensive machine--even an older one that isn't so expensive anymore. I can Tig the ends of pencil together or soda cans with a nice larger, older Tig, but not with the 180. It is very good for stick, and the occasional Tig job, which is why I keep it around.
A mechanic friend bought an old Miller 350 (pre Syncrowave) for about $800 and has made a lot of money with it. I've used it, and it Tig welds much better than my later, smaller unit -- Especially noticeable on aluminum.
You should be able to score a nice older Tig machine for less than $1K, but if it's your first machine, be sure to see it in action to make sure it's not going to require major service right away. If you don't know how to use it, you might get a free lesson (there are videos available anyway). Just be sure you see it work and weld smoothly.
 
Since you have experience with the gas torch, you might think about staying with your strong suit and get your self an oxy/act gas rig. Because it will give you the most for the buck when using it around the shop because it will have the most versatility for you. There are several methods of tang extension and guard/bolster attachment that will prove to be as effective as any welded procedure you would use with welding. That being said, if you are going to be using stainless steels as your main steel than get a TIG welder and spend the next 20 yrs getting good at using it or if you are thinking carbon steel is where your blades are going to be, my first statement stands. I say this with 30 yrs of metal fabrication and welding in at least 3 trades, not including knife making.

P.S. There is NO single welding method that is going to cover it all for you and I hate aluminum welding with a passion.
 
Buying a tig welder is getting into a real can of worms. There are inverter based and rectifier, DC only, AC-DC and on and on.
DC is fairly straight forward, but AC gets into square wave, adjustable square wave, and lots of other stuff. You will have to buy a bottle for shield gas, and the type of gas will be dependend on the material you're welding.

When you start researching them you're going to have folks that pick a machine for its reliability, folks that pick a machine for its arc quality, and folks that pick a machine because its cheap. Do the research before hand and buy a machine that will do what you want, not something someone else thinks you need.

You should also know that even a mid sized TIG/stick machine will require a lot of power. The syncrowave 250, which is a very popular TIG for home use needs a 220V 100amp service. If you're working out of your garage you probably don't have that much juice available.
 
I use my Lincoln 175 MIG for welding up damascus billets before I forge. This way there's no flux in the steel. I have the squarewave tig also, but use it for ornamental welds, leaves, flowers etc. TIG is very slow, for me anyway. I really like the MIG, I guess I just always loved the sound of frying bacon.
 
What would you guys use if the only thing you were using it for was to tack handles onto damascus billets and spot welding the corners or side of the billet?
 
I think stick is the most versatile for the kind of work I do. It's easy to get good, dependable welds on heavy steel and you can go pretty fine too. I like Tig a lot too. Definitely one and two in my book (which is convenient considering you can get both processes from one machine.)
I have a Syncrowave 350 on my to-get list--hopefully this year sometime.
If I end up doing more ornamental iron, I'll spring for a GOOD Mig too.
 
Hmmm, this is one of those areas where personal experience is a big factor as is you willingness to learn a talent. For welding most metals and welds you do not need a fancy tig rig. A dry torch with the correct tungsten and cup and a solid dc power source will work fine for almost any knife work as will stick with the correct rod, settings and procedure. To me a tig torch is very much like oxy act welding in that you are using a heat source and adding filler. Nice thing about the tig is the source is very very hot and can be directed to a very small area. I have attached tangs with both tig and stick and wouldn't worry about either any more than I would a tang I drew out from the parent stock. One thing I will say is cheap equipment is just that. I won't use a junk grinder and I won't use a junk welder.
 
PimpinSquee said:
IG if you did that you would blow it up. it would be equivalent to an atomic bomb.
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Jacob, you will see what I mean after you get my sample.:eek:
I have in my shop a old Lincoln Tombstone welder ac/dc and oxyacetylene outfit. I can do just about everything you need to do in the knifemaking arena with them.:D The Lincoln I pickup used for $100.:thumbup:
 
indian george said:
Jacob, you will see what I mean after you get my sample.:eek:
I have in my shop a old Lincoln Tombstone welder ac/dc and oxyacetylene outfit. I can do just about everything you need to do in the knifemaking arena with them.:D The Lincoln I pickup used for $100.:thumbup:
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IG, I was at an auction a while back and there was this monster 3-phase Miller, looked like a meduim sized ice box! Had huge cables. I bid $200 because I knew I couldn't win it. I was helping get the auction going. I won it. It now resides at the back of my shop, outside, a torn tarp it's only cover.
I think it's the one heaviest piece of equipment I have. Luckily I have 3-phase in my shop, however I never use this thing.
 
rhrocker said:
IG, I was at an auction a while back and there was this monster 3-phase Miller, looked like a meduim sized ice box! Had huge cables. I bid $200 because I knew I couldn't win it. I was helping get the auction going. I won it. It now resides at the back of my shop, outside, a torn tarp it's only cover.
I think it's the one heaviest piece of equipment I have. Luckily I have 3-phase in my shop, however I never use this thing.
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Robert!!! Don't tell me you are going to start collecting welders TOO??????:confused: :eek: ;) :D I bet you still have the anchor chain intact.:D
 
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