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Time to melt metal...

Avery4jc

Avery4jc

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Fresno, Ca.
I've always taken projects to work or my friend's house when I had to weld something which was starting to become a big PITA. I have a bunch of stuff I want to get done on the k10 now that I don't have a truck payment and almost all of it requires a bit of welding so I pulled the trigger and got the house setup to weld.
The welding supply house that we get our stuff from for work helped me out on the price. I got the Hobart Handler 187, a spool of .030 wire and a Q size tank (bought it, not renting) for $950 OTD so I was happy with that.

I have to make a cart then I can get to work. :thumb:

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I did a lot of research and this was in my price range and had great reviews EVERYWHERE I looked. Lots of guys on Pirate have the 187 or 210 and they all seem to be happy.
The 210 has the option of a spool gun for aluminum but we have a nice tig at work if I need to do aluminum so I opted for the 187. It'll do 5/16" single pass which is more than enough for stuff here at the house.
 
Thats a damn good price for everything. I was looking at the reconditioned ones but I think I may step up to a miller for the voltage adjustments. Granted I have no issues with my hobart but for some stuff it would be nice to fine tune the heat rather then wire speed.
 
I got rid of my trusty old wood work bench I've been using for the past 8+ years and replaced it with this...

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I've been cruising craigslist looking for some type of cabinet I could use to store a bunch of junk and ditch my wood bench and haven't had very good luck. Then last night my mom calls me and says there's something at the end of the street that looks like it might work for you in the garage. I cruise down there and this was sitting on the corner with a free sign! So I scooped it up and brought it home. It's obviously not as heavy duty as a steel unit but heck it's thick and for free it'll do the job! I made the base it's sitting on this afternoon to get it up off the ground and it fits two milk crates underneath. :)

So now with a little more re-arranging I should have the space to start building a good welding table.
 
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Nice. Not to go off topic, but what are you driving w/o the k3500?
 
I can always drive the k10 as it's still street legal and registered but with 35" bias TSL's, a welded rear end and no defroster it gets hairy on cold wet mornings. :)
I've been driving my dad's '75 F250 Highboy. 390/np435/205/10.25/hp44
It doesn't get very good mileage (actually it's funny, it gets about 1-2mpg better than my k3500 did) BUT having no truck payment and no big insurance payment each month rocks so for now it's what I'm going to do while I get stuff done.
Crappy cell phone/tree pic
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My brother both has the same welder and loves it, My Dad has the older Handler 175 and he still likes his too, I think you will get a lot done with that thing.
 
Well I started working on a cart for it tonight. I had to go to a party so I didn't get much done but got some stuff tacked together.
I ran some test beads on some spare tubing that's the same wall thickness as the cart to get it dialed in and couldn't get it spot on. I got it to the point that it was laying down some good beads but it doesn't sound quite right and seems like the wire is burning back (like too much heat or not enough wire feed speed) and it has excessive amounts of spatter. I checked my flow on the shielding gas and it seemed good. I'll mess with the tension on the wire tomorrow afternoon, maybe it's not tight enough and it's pushing the wire out inconsistently. Anywhoo here's what I'm working on.

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It looks good! The only problem is there is no welder on it.:popcorn:
 
imiceman44 said:
Looks like a Harbor freight item.
Click to expand...

That's a low blow :flipoff7:

:D


imiceman44 said:
Why orange?
I like he fact my HTP welder came as a cart, no need to make one.
It has a spot for the Gas and has a handle and casters.
Click to expand...

It matches the Hobart Orange. Making a cart is a good way to get everything dialed in on something that doesn't really matter. Big welders with integrated running gear are cool but I had no need for something that big and expensive at the house.


I got it mounted tonight. I also added a little toolbox to the bottom that holds all my welding/torching stuff.

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It looks like it will provide years of service, good job.
 
looks great! The orange goes well with the hobart. Don't look harbor frieght to me at all. :thumb:
 
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