Sometimes I have issues remembering to turn on the argon. Try to weld for a few minutes and cant figure out why everything is so crappy.
My friends do that to me haha. ill be welding then.... DEAR MOTHER OF GOD spatter everywhere!!!!
CK5
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CHEAP welder. - now with welding advice!
- Thread starter ashman
- Start date
My friends do that to me haha. ill be welding then.... DEAR MOTHER OF GOD spatter everywhere!!!!
Jester1
1/2 ton status
I always hang my welding mask from my bottle when I finish for the day. Pick up helmet turn on gas, put back helmet turn off gas.
My routines I have to have them to stay organized. My wife thinks its hilarious.
My routines I have to have them to stay organized. My wife thinks its hilarious.
Whatever works! Routines are great for things you don't do all the time, and may forget steps.
that's actually a good idea. I think I'll do the same. routine works wonders for me as well.
This is what I have started doing as well. I also hang my ear plugs and safety glass from the bottle under the helmet as well and put them on when the helmet goes on. Trying to keep my eyes and ears in good shape and since welding usually involves grinding this helps me keep up with everything.
K5_CO_Dave
Registered Member
Just don't hang stuff on the regulator those are spendy and easy to F up. I took some 1/4" round stock and bent some hooks that hang around the valve 1 for faceshield and hood and another for leathers.
finally got the chance to try and build something. decided to build my torch cart before doing the welding cart since I had a little hand truck to use as a starting point.
I still keep forgetting to push rather than pull, but I'm learning. oh, and I did forget to turn the gas on for a few welds so I got to see just how crappy the welds go without it.
I still keep forgetting to push rather than pull, but I'm learning. oh, and I did forget to turn the gas on for a few welds so I got to see just how crappy the welds go without it.
finally got the chance to try and build something. decided to build my torch cart before doing the welding cart since I had a little hand truck to use as a starting point.
I still keep forgetting to push rather than pull, but I'm learning. oh, and I did forget to turn the gas on for a few welds so I got to see just how crappy the welds go without it.
Good work now run to harbor freight and pick some of these up
these work great for my oxy/acy setup
yeah, the wheels I have on there are a little small. next time I'm at HF I'll be looking at some bigger wheels.
Thought I would chime in with some info about Eastwood since you bought the welder I recommended.
First off Eastwood does not tell you the manufacturer of their welders nor do they offer replacement internal parts because of liability issues. I found all this out because mine crapped out a couple weeks ago.
First problem was the gas flow valve. No big deal. There is a welding shop where I work and the welding instructor got me a new valve for a different brand. The eastwood valve operated on 110v while the miller valve operates on 24v. No big deal there either. Just hooked up a 110-24v transformer that cost me $10. Back in business.
Welded for about 10 minutes and let of the trigger, electrically hot wire continued to feed. Shut off the unit, unplugged the mig torch and turned it back on, gas and wire continued to feed. Let it cool down for a bit and tried again, same thing.
So I began looking at new Lincoln and Hobarts in the 180-200 amp range. I originally bought my 135 because I had no access to 220v power but do now. My welder was no longer under warranty (warranty is 3 yrs) so I figured to keep this from happening again I would buy a name brand that I could get replacement parts for.
Decided just on a whim to contact Eastwood and see if anything could be done. Described my problem to a tech who informed me it was the mother board (which I knew already) and he would contact customer service and write up a tech sheet for me. I told him I was also wanting to step up to a bigger unit now that I had 220v power and he said he would see what he could do. A very nice lady called me today with an order number and shipping instructions. FedEx will be here Friday to pick up my 135 which Eastwood is giving me a full refund for that they will put towards the 175 amp model that they offer and covering all shipping charges even though my warranty ended a year ago. So I am getting an Eastwood 175 mig unit for $300 shipped to my door.
First off Eastwood does not tell you the manufacturer of their welders nor do they offer replacement internal parts because of liability issues. I found all this out because mine crapped out a couple weeks ago.
First problem was the gas flow valve. No big deal. There is a welding shop where I work and the welding instructor got me a new valve for a different brand. The eastwood valve operated on 110v while the miller valve operates on 24v. No big deal there either. Just hooked up a 110-24v transformer that cost me $10. Back in business.
Welded for about 10 minutes and let of the trigger, electrically hot wire continued to feed. Shut off the unit, unplugged the mig torch and turned it back on, gas and wire continued to feed. Let it cool down for a bit and tried again, same thing.
So I began looking at new Lincoln and Hobarts in the 180-200 amp range. I originally bought my 135 because I had no access to 220v power but do now. My welder was no longer under warranty (warranty is 3 yrs) so I figured to keep this from happening again I would buy a name brand that I could get replacement parts for.
Decided just on a whim to contact Eastwood and see if anything could be done. Described my problem to a tech who informed me it was the mother board (which I knew already) and he would contact customer service and write up a tech sheet for me. I told him I was also wanting to step up to a bigger unit now that I had 220v power and he said he would see what he could do. A very nice lady called me today with an order number and shipping instructions. FedEx will be here Friday to pick up my 135 which Eastwood is giving me a full refund for that they will put towards the 175 amp model that they offer and covering all shipping charges even though my warranty ended a year ago. So I am getting an Eastwood 175 mig unit for $300 shipped to my door.
^^^^
HOLY CRAP
That is awesome!!!!
HOLY CRAP
That is awesome!!!!
A1971Blazer
1/2 ton status
Just buy a cylinder, if you lease you can only get it filled where you leased it, Federal Law.
Go with 75/25 CO2/Argon mix and for thin sheet metal .024 diameter wire. That thing ain't gonna melt anything much more than 3/16" at the most, so anything larger and the weld will not hold for long. Not enough heat for good penetration.
just now noticed this thread got revived.
Awesome to hear that Eastwoods customer service is good. I haven't had any problems with mine so far but I don't use it super often either.
I did end up buying a bottle and filling it with 75/25. I've welded plenty of small stuff with decent results I think. I have welded a few 1/4 plates here and there being careful to go super slow. I know the welder is undersized for stuff like that and my skill level is still beginner so I haven't done anything that is going to be under stress that might get someone hurt (like suspension or cage work). If I do get into that at some point I'll upgrade to a bigger welder.
Awesome to hear that Eastwoods customer service is good. I haven't had any problems with mine so far but I don't use it super often either.
I did end up buying a bottle and filling it with 75/25. I've welded plenty of small stuff with decent results I think. I have welded a few 1/4 plates here and there being careful to go super slow. I know the welder is undersized for stuff like that and my skill level is still beginner so I haven't done anything that is going to be under stress that might get someone hurt (like suspension or cage work). If I do get into that at some point I'll upgrade to a bigger welder.
I think welding the bigger stuff is ultimately what killed mine which is why I wanted to upgrade to the bigger unit. I started out just welding sheetmetal-1/8" then I figured out how to make it burn heavier stuff. I imagine I overheated it a couple times. In the 4 or 5 years Ive had it Ive probably ran 100 lbs of .030 solid wire plus the 10 or so lbs of flux wire I ran through it when I first bought it.
Ultimately I don't blame eastwood, it was probably more of my abuse. The fact that eastwood stepped up and warrantied it amazed me.
Ultimately I don't blame eastwood, it was probably more of my abuse. The fact that eastwood stepped up and warrantied it amazed me.
