What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

To all you welders out there

U

us74k5

1/2 ton status
Joined
Feb 28, 2006
Posts
689
Reaction score
0
Location
oregon
Well I decided to take the welding on my rig into my own hands. I have experience with a mig welder, and I used a tig quite a bit to fix my broken humvee in Iraq. However, I am quite sure that I never did it properly, lol. But now I want to learn to weld, for real. So I can start doing the cutting and welding on my blazer. My question is this, for the kind of work we do on our trucks, what would be the best option for me? I was thinking about an older arc welder, I have found bunches of them on craigslist for $75-350. Also do any of you recommend any materiel for teaching yourself to weld? Thanks guys.

-Matt
 
also interested.

as for material, ive thought about hitting up a junkyard for random stuff, and practiing welding on that.
 
How much do you plan on doing?

If you check the tool forum, there is a post on there from a vendor for the plasma/arc/tig combo Chinese welders.

It *seems* like they are up to the task of personal, light duty use, and give you three pretty useful tools in one package.

Just an idea. TIG sounds pretty handy to have, and plasma just sounds like fun. :)
 
If you plan on doing any sheet metal work I would say get a MIG/Fluxcore.

Invest the money in the bottle of gas too. I've had personal experiences with the fact that it is easier to lay a nice bead with shielding gas vs fluxcore.

Also you need to consider the fact that a 140amp 110v MIG that you can plug into any socket will get anything done you could possibly need on your truck. Welding brackets, floors, bumpers, even light cage work (although you'll have to move slow it will get it done no prob).

My welding style is contradictory to the above recommendation though. I find that when welding things my machine cant breeze through I go way to fast and dont penetrate as much. Its something I'm trying to work on and completely my fault but I wouldnt need to adapt if I had a 180amp....
 
140 amp 120v Hobart Handler is what i use. With .035 wire it will do up to 5/16 plate. The key is, like stated, go slow and make sure you get good penetration.
 
well as far as the chinese ones go.... I do not care so much for supporting the chinars:-( Call me a right wing, or whatever, but I just feel they are undermining our economy... Anywho, I from what you guys are saying, go with a nice mig, right? Also, I may pick up a plasma cutter, any suggestions there?
 
us74k5 said:
well as far as the chinese ones go.... I do not care so much for supporting the chinars:-( Call me a right wing, or whatever, but I just feel they are undermining our economy... Anywho, I from what you guys are saying, go with a nice mig, right? Also, I may pick up a plasma cutter, any suggestions there?
Click to expand...


As someone who owns both a decent MIG welder and a plasma cutter, I can tell you that the welder is about 20X more useful than the plasma cutter is... spend some extra money on a nice MIG (with gas) and don't worry about the plasma yet. It's a luxury item which is nice for speedy cuts, but you can accomplish the same things with a regular old 4-1/2" grinder and some cutoff wheels and flap discs.

Some of the new Miller welders have two sets of plugs, you can run them as 110V units if that's all you have, but they will run as 220V units also if you're in a shop that has the power. That's a nice feature to have, and something my old Lincoln welder didn't offer.


:usaflag:
 
Mig is the obvious choice but arc is another good option because you basically get an arc welder and a tig welder in one.... just need to buy tig setup for it. If it's AC/DC you'll also have aluminum capabilities. Arc is the budget way to go and tigs definetly come in handy for the finer stuff and aluminum.

If you've got the money get a nice mig. Hobart, and other cheapo brands will get the job done just fine if you don't but they don't run as nice as the millers and lincoln's.

Like said above if you're gonna be doing any body work, then mig is a must.
 
Fabrimacator21 said:
Mig is the obvious choice but arc is another good option because you basically get an arc welder and a tig welder in one.... just need to buy tig setup for it. If it's AC/DC you'll also have aluminum capabilities. Arc is the budget way to go and tigs definetly come in handy for the finer stuff and aluminum.

If you've got the money get a nice mig. Hobart, and other cheapo brands will get the job done just fine if you don't but they don't run as nice as the millers and lincoln's.

Like said above if you're gonna be doing any body work, then mig is a must.
Click to expand...

I would say that my hobart runs the same as any store model lincoln.
 
i use an OLD forney crackerjack arc...you change amps by moving cable on front, it is full of holes, & it has a battery charger in it also....welds good!
 
Home Depot has a couple of models of MiG welder that work just fine. You could possibly save a lil money and try to catch a sale. Could also hedge your bet and ask one of the workers in that section if a sale is coming up. A buddy just purchased one for around $300. Think it was a Lincoln.

One thing not mentioned- Get the biggest bottle you can afford. I went with the baby bottle, thinking I wouldn't weld enough to justify a bigger bottle. Well, after 3 refills in less than six months, I'm eyeballing an upgrade...
 
RudyO said:
Home Depot has a couple of models of MiG welder that work just fine. You could possibly save a lil money and try to catch a sale. Could also hedge your bet and ask one of the workers in that section if a sale is coming up. A buddy just purchased one for around $300. Think it was a Lincoln.

One thing not mentioned- Get the biggest bottle you can afford. I went with the baby bottle, thinking I wouldn't weld enough to justify a bigger bottle. Well, after 3 refills in less than six months, I'm eyeballing an upgrade...
Click to expand...

Ughh a decent mig from lowes/home depot/sears (hobart) will put you in the $450 range. Anything less than a 140 isnt really big enough for fab work on trucks like ours.
 
Stomis said:
Ughh a decent mig from lowes/home depot/sears (hobart) will put you in the $450 range. Anything less than a 140 isnt really big enough for fab work on trucks like ours.
Click to expand...


140 is the smallest I would get...

I'm using a Lincoln 175 on 75/25 mix bottle and a Millermatic 170 on a straight c02 bottle...

Also have a 100 amp HF mig running fluxcore and a couple of stick machines...


The mix bottle has been hooked up to both the Lincoln and the Miller and makes a much nicer weld than the co2...

And yes, get the biggest bottle you can afford... My mix bottle is a 155 and the co2 is a 50, I can use up the little bottle pretty quick...


Once you get a machine and your ready to start welding, mess around with some black pipe from Home Depot... Cut it at different angles and weld it together... Then try welding some sheet metal to some thick stuff, that's gonna give you some real life situations, then you're ready to start hitting an arc on your truck...


One more thing, a lot of old school guys don't like them, but I'd get an auto darkening mask... I love mine and will only go back to the old mask when burning rod...
 
just to reaffirm whats already been mentioned...

not only go as big as you can on the bottle, go as big as you can afford on the welder.... the general price range of 110 mig's are usually in $350 to 550 range.. if at all possible, cough up the extra 2, $300 to go to a 220 machine... YOU WONT REGRET IT!

Hobart handler 175, or I think the new version is the 187 are about the cheapest in the 220 machines.... I'm running a Millermatic 180 and love it... paid $800 with a cart.. with a 80 cubic foot bottle of 75/25 mix...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom