Welding Wire

[CaveCreekRay]

I have been welding all Spring, trying to beat summer and I have burned through quite a few spools of wire.

Somebody on Orange recommended an Italian welding wire for my MIG. I finally burned through another spool of Lincoln wire and swapped to this stuff and -Wow! This wire is GREAT! I ordered a couple extra spools before it goes away or doubles in price. The ratings on Amazon speak for themselves.

On medium power (Lincoln 180) welding 1/2" solid material it flows very nicely and the welds look much better than the Lincoln wire I had just run out of. I use .030 mostly but, it's available in other gauge. Grab it if you want a great wire for a great price. Get two while you are at it! And thanks to whomever recommended it!!!

https://amazon.com/gp/product/B003XKH71O/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[ipz2222]

Thanks, I just cked mine today, allmost out.

 

[RCW]

They just sold another spool....be here Wednesday.

I only had one small one left...

Thanks, Ray!

 

[SidecarFlip]

I have been welding all Spring, trying to beat summer and I have burned through quite a few spools of wire.

Somebody on Orange recommended an Italian welding wire for my MIG. I finally burned through another spool of Lincoln wire and swapped to this stuff and -Wow! This wire is GREAT! I ordered a couple extra spools before it goes away or doubles in price. The ratings on Amazon speak for themselves.

On medium power (Lincoln 180) welding 1/2" solid material it flows very nicely and the welds look much better than the Lincoln wire I had just run out of. I use .030 mostly but, it's available in other gauge. Grab it if you want a great wire for a great price. Get two while you are at it! And thanks to whomever recommended it!!!

https://amazon.com/gp/product/B003XKH71O/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'm one of the reviewers on Amazon. Been using INE wire for years now. I usually buy 4 spools 10 pound spools at a time but I wish it came in 50 pound spools as my machine will take 50's.

great wire, good wet out, minimal spatter ad nice looking beads on fitted up parts, You can get a nice bead either pushing or pulling. I use 75-25 gas or straight argon.

Has to be the best wire I've ever run and I run a ton of wire.

 

[hodge]

Thanks for the heads-up. I'm going to try some, too.

 

[CaveCreekRay]

SCF,

It may have been you who responded to my post with the recommendation... THANKS!

Everyone else, chime in with your experience after you try a few feet of the stuff...

 

[sdk1968]

great tip & thank you!

im just a gobstopper most of the time... but do use .030 wire in my mig & 80/20 argon set up.. so will get a spool of this & try it.

 

[SidecarFlip]

I think (think) that INE also offers flux core wire for machines without shielding gas capability.

Never bought any because all I use is shelding gas. best filler rod I've found for TIG aluminum and stainless is Air Products filler rod. I do a lot of TIG welding too, mostly stainless.

Both my TIG welders are Lincoln Invertigs and the wire machines are Hobart and ESAB. Been my experience that the Hobart lays down a nicer weld that the ESAB does and it was less expensive to boot. Think I paid a grand for the Hobart and 1500 for the ESAB. really want to buy a pulsed MIG. With a pulsed MIG, you get the weld appearance if TIG but with the speed of a MIG.

The Invertigs were very expensive as was the Hyper Therm plasma cutter but I rarely use a gas axe now that I have the plasma. The Hyper Therm will sever 1 1/2" thick plate and clean cut 1".

Only money I don't have anymore.

 

[Ping]

Thanks for the tip, Ray. I'll keep it in mind next time I need to feed my MIG welder.
Regards,

 

[Holleyman]

Wow, $30 US and Canadian Amazon it's $140

 

[SidecarFlip]

Wow, $30 US and Canadian Amazon it's $140

Wow, that is a helluva markup.

 

[dlsmith]

The Invertigs were very expensive as was the Hyper Therm plasma cutter but I rarely use a gas axe now that I have the plasma. The Hyper Therm will sever 1 1/2" thick plate and clean cut 1".

Which Hyper Therm do you have?

I have a Hyper Therm 1000 I bought from my brother-in-law and I love it. They cut so fast and so smooth. I only use the gas torch on a few things on the trucks and such and for heating and bending.

 

[Lil Foot]

Ray, I just received a 10lb roll of this wire you recommended. Nearly finished with the crappy HF wire my FIL had purchased, so I'm looking forward to trying this stuff out.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Good stuff for 'Made in Italy' wire.

 

[Johnacman]

Thanks for the link. I ordered a 10lb roll to try out.

 

[lugbolt]

Been using it for years. Got a ton of it dirt cheap a while back. They're all 2 lb spools, I don't do a lot of welding but when I do I'm picky.

When you run out of wire, and pull the remainder through the liner, there's about 6 foot of wire you throw out.....or do you?

I fold it in half, clamp one end in the vise, chuck the other end in the cordless drill, twist it up and voila. Nice TIG filler for small projects. And this stuff welds GREAT as a TIG filler. Actually just used a little to weld in a couple of O2 sensor bungs for a friend's car. He was amazed how well it "looks"-and it does, but it flows out better than the cheap stuff I normally get-which is .062" ER70S-6. I think it flows better than -2 does but that may just be my imagination. Several "professional" TIG'gers say that -2 and -6 really don't have much difference in how they flow out, most just use the -2 because it's a little bit cheaper.

 

[skeets]

Wish I could weld

 

[SidecarFlip]

Wish I could weld

Anyone that can see relatively well can weld with MIG. It's the 'glue gun' of welding...... Stick and TIG are another story, especially TIG which is like playing a piano. each hand is doing something different but must still coordinate with the other.

I think the best primer into TIG is gas welding and I do that as well. Used to weld with coat hangers back in the day.

With gas welding, you have the 2 hand different actions but unlike TIG, it's not mandatory to keep the filler rod in the gas envelope.

 

[CaveCreekRay]

Wish I could weld

Meetoo! Man-o-man my first attempts looked like CRAPPOLLA!!!

I watched Chucky2009 over again and realized I had my polarity wrong for gas welding and later I realized gas welding works best if you remember to turn the gas tank on. (That is a pro tip I offer for free...)

As woodworker all my life, I had always wanted to get into welding and this massive dump of a house remodel offered just the opportunity. What I would have paid the local shop to re-do just one of the first pair of gates I did paid for all the equipment and material. All the stuff I did this Spring would have cost me $3500 easy and I ended up spending $300 in materials. I have actually had suggestions from people in town to start up a gate remodel business. Not sure if I am up for that but it's out there if I chose too.

A buddy has wanted to get into welding for years and I found him a 120v Eastwood 135 that was broken for $50! I fixed the part that broke and it will be a good "starter" machine he can trade up from when he finds a good used deal. All the accessory stuff like "hemmets" and tools will work with his new machine when the time comes.

Give it a try. It's a blast.

 

[Yooper]

Ray, if you lived closer I could have you welding beautiful beads in one afternoon. You are closer than you think.