What do you use for a welder?

[CaveCreekRay]

Gorgeous welder restoration. That thing could go in a museum. Glad you rescued it.

Yeah, I originally wanted a polished/stained floor, polished like Homie 'Po and maybe stained a little tan. The only contractor that called me back realized I was not a corporate entity and said he does not do residences. While I had him on the phone, I got a quote out of him: $9 a sqft! YIKES. I did the tile myself for $3 sqft. Imagine what Home Depot pays for their whole store floor polishing!

 

[Ike]

I have a 200 amp lincoln buzz box which I have owned for at least 40 years. When I retired the company bought me a Lincoln 200 amp wire welder and tank setup. When they asked what I wanted I said a helmit and I got that also and I bought the auto darking lens from the weld shop for it. I have torches and a plasma cutter. I use to make a lot of things and one thing I would suggest for you is to take pictures of all you make. I have remodeled all my neighbors pull type attachments for his tractor so he can use on the 3 pt. I have built a couple outdoor wood furnaces and so far I have built a wood processor. I don't know how many log splitters I built for people over the years. I have also built several trailers. I alway would build what I needed instead of buying it

 

[Tooljunkie]

John T,scratch tig. Interesting. My new esab doesent do a/c but it comes with a tig setup. So attatching it to my a/c welder and i can make a mess with aluminum too?
I get myself into enough trouble buying tools,so this may be a way i can save a little not having to buy a spool gun for mig/aluminum.

Nice job on welder restoration.

Ran a few mig beads again, really impressed with the machine.

 

[John T]

My new esab doesent do a/c but it comes with a tig setup. So attatching it to my a/c welder and i can make a mess with aluminum too?
I get myself into enough trouble buying tools,so this may be a way i can save a little not having to buy a spool gun for mig/aluminum.

You really need ac/High freq to weld aluminum.

 

[CaveCreekRay]

Frank,

A few years back, a buddy bought and Eastwood MIG with a spool gun and he said he has had no luck with it to date. He said it "makes a big mess that doesn't look like welds." I think he thought it would weld like a TIG on aluminum. Maybe its practice or maybe the technology of the new ones are better. These multi-purpose machines look pretty sweet if they will do multi-process well. Curious to see how yours will.

I was thinking of a spool gun some day but, based on his experience, I am not sure if I would like the results. My Lincoln 180 doesn't have a switch on it to adjust the frequency. Lincoln has a bunch of different wire for aluminum so maybe I am out to lunch... I need to get better at mild steel first. Think I am gonna take some classes this fall. I'll ask the guys at the local welding shop next time I am in getting more gas.

 

[RCW]

Frank- Glad you like your new machine!

You got me thinking, seems like the stick reviews were pretty good on the Lincoln 210 MP I got last year.

I've only used MIG so far. Might have to try stick sometime on heavier stuff. As much as I'd like to try it, TIG is probably out of my league.


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[Tooljunkie]

Frank,

A few years back, a buddy bought and Eastwood MIG with a spool gun and he said he has had no luck with it to date. He said it "makes a big mess that doesn't look like welds." I think he thought it would weld like a TIG on aluminum. Maybe its practice or maybe the technology of the new ones are better. These multi-purpose machines look pretty sweet if they will do multi-process well. Curious to see how yours will.

I was thinking of a spool gun some day but, based on his experience, I am not sure if I would like the results. My Lincoln 180 doesn't have a switch on it to adjust the frequency. Lincoln has a bunch of different wire for aluminum so maybe I am out to lunch... I need to get better at mild steel first. Think I am gonna take some classes this fall. I'll ask the guys at the local welding shop next time I am in getting more gas.

Reverse polarity and appropriate gas. I converted a lincoln mig to weld aluminum and it welded, but its nothing like tig. Basically crank up the heat and keep moving to prevent meltdown.

 

[Tooljunkie]

Frank- Glad you like your new machine!

You got me thinking, seems like the stick reviews were pretty good on the Lincoln 210 MP I got last year.

I've only used MIG so far. Might have to try stick sometime on heavier stuff. As much as I'd like to try it, TIG is probably out of my league.


.

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At least burn a couple rods,if you like mig, then arc will be almost as easy.

 

[RCW]

At least burn a couple rods,if you like mig, then arc will be almost as easy.

While it's been almost 40 years, I did use a Lincoln tombstone often on the farm. Ag Shop class in high school too. Made a 3ph wood splitter for a buddy.

Might be kinda cool to try it again!


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[John T]

While it's been almost 40 years, I did use a Lincoln tombstone often on the farm. Ag Shop class in high school too. Made a 3ph wood splitter for a buddy.

Might be kinda cool to try it again!


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I'm not the best at stick But I gotta say, Using Lincoln Excaliber 7018 rod makes it a walk in the park.......

almost makes it look like I know what I'm doing....

 

[Tooljunkie]

You really need ac/High freq to weld aluminum.

High frequency is harmful to automotive electronics,scratch start is less harmful.

Will be ordering a pedal for the tig in june as well as setting up for argon. Then i should be able to at least run a bead.

Maybe a spool gun next year.

 

[John T]

High frequency is harmful to automotive electronics,scratch start is less harmful.

There are plenty of ways to weld aluminum... but HF AC tig is about the best there is. Unfortunately, your Esab machine will not do that. Even with the foot pedal.... the pedal only allows amp adjustment on DC

Also your machine is Lift start, not scratch start.
Which is actually better in a way.... you don't contaminate the tungsten as much.

High Frequency AC tig welding is used in bodyshops and garages every day...
if your worried about it, disconnect the battery.

HF does more than just initiate the arc.

but all this is a moot point.......

if you were looking to tig weld aluminum, you bought the wrong machine.

I say buy the foot pedal, practice tig welding steel on DC ..... if you want to weld aluminum, buy the Esab spool gun OR buy a small inverter AC /HF machine.

 

[asgard]

I am in awe of the quality and variety of welding equipment, skill, and knowledge.

I only have a Harbor Freight 170 amp 220v mig welder, it was on special $139 and thought it would be a good starter.

I changed the tip to Lincoln .35, use a gasless nozzle by Lincoln and .35 gasless Lincoln wire.
It has served me well and done what I needed, I would like a plasma, metal cutting saw by Evolution and a high-end welder, but maybe one day.

 

[CaveCreekRay]

asgard,

I have no idea what I am doing but, I am having fun doing it. Good to hear your HF machine is doing the job for you. I have been using my Lincoln 180 on the second lowest power setting and 2.5 on a ten scale for wire feed. If I go any higher on power, I burn holes through the square tubing, at least when my machine is on... LOL!

170 amps seems to be plenty of power for most applications. Does HF offer a gas set-up for your machine? I found the gas welds are so much cleaner but, that may not matter for what you are doing.

I am amazed I went through a 60 cu/ft tank (2 hours of trigger time) in only a couple of weeks. I swapped up to the 120 cu/ft and its taller so the gauges can face me on the cart.

Having the ability to stick metal bits together is a really nice ability to have. I have long wanted to get into this process and am coming up with little projects almost daily.

I came up with a corollary for Frank's maxim: "If you can't weld good, weld lots!"

If you can't weld good, make up for it with your grinder.

 

[Tooljunkie]

John T, you are absolutely right, i really have no interest in welding aluminum. Hi frequency can damage ecm's and nowadays there are as many as 18 modules on a controller bus network. Disconnecting battery means nothing to systems that incorporate grounds in their controls and reference voltages.

 

[Yooper]

I'll also add that tig welding aluminum requires lots of amps. If you're feeding you're machine with 50 amps or less, you might be able to weld 1/8" thick if you duty cycle the machine to keep it cool.

 

[asgard]

170 amps seems to be plenty of power for most applications. Does HF offer a gas set-up for your machine? I found the gas welds are so much cleaner but, that may not matter for what you are doing.

The unit has an intake on the back and had a length of pipe with the unit but no regulator. HF sell the regulator, but, I only intended to use gasless wire so the fact it was optional was no big issue. I bought a replacement warranty for $30 for 3 years - swap out at the store. I thought if I got that out of it I was happy. So far it has welded thin wall pipe and thick plate and heavy square section without issue.
The weld penetration looks good, aesthetically often not that great.

 

[CaveCreekRay]

"...aesthetically often not that great"

That is what a cheapo HF grinder is for! I spent two hours grinding down the welds on my second gate and grinding sure cleans them up.

Stuff I learned about grinding on this project...

1. HF grinding/cutting media is very good but unbeatable for the price. I tried two different brands from HD and they cut slightly better but chuck tons of media bits and wear out way faster. HF 1/8" wheels are $.80 apiece. One of the HD brands is three times that price.
2. Having three grinders handy make a world of difference in speeding up the process. A 1/4" thick grinding wheel does great in trimming tubing and rolling edges after welding or beveling edges prior to welding. A 1/8 cutting wheel not only cuts sections but it feathers welds nicely by "pushing" or "wiping" the weld gently. And, a 80 grit flap sander finishes off the welds and blends them nicely after grinding with the 1/8" cutting wheel. The sandpaper also cleans up joints prior to welding and makes a great spot to ground your work to without taking off much metal.
3. Having all three grinders plugged into one of those green after Christmas sale heavy-duty three-way extension cords makes the job much easier.

Another thing I learned: "Welding" cast iron detail pieces on my tubes is a misnomer. My local pro showed me you actually try to avoid arcing against the cast iron and focus the bead like a filler pass until you get the upper gaps full. On the bottom he only passes on two sides to let any rain out -the uppers will eventually crack no matter what you do. Use a good thick primer and paint and it shouldn't rust for years. I tried to weld directly on a scrap piece of cast iron and the gas weld looked like I had the gas turned off. Not pretty.

 

[Tooljunkie]

"...aesthetically often not that great"

That is what a cheapo HF grinder is for! I spent two hours grinding down the welds on my second gate and grinding sure cleans them up.

Stuff I learned about grinding on this project...

1. HF grinding/cutting media is very good but unbeatable for the price. I tried two different brands from HD and they cut slightly better but chuck tons of media bits and wear out way faster. HF 1/8" wheels are $.80 apiece. One of the HD brands is three times that price.
2. Having three grinders handy make a world of difference in speeding up the process. A 1/4" thick grinding wheel does great in trimming tubing and rolling edges after welding or beveling edges prior to welding. A 1/8 cutting wheel not only cuts sections but it feathers welds nicely by "pushing" or "wiping" the weld gently. And, a 80 grit flap sander finishes off the welds and blends them nicely after grinding with the 1/8" cutting wheel. The sandpaper also cleans up joints prior to welding and makes a great spot to ground your work to without taking off much metal.
3. Having all three grinders plugged into one of those green after Christmas sale heavy-duty three-way extension cords makes the job much easier.

Another thing I learned: "Welding" cast iron detail pieces on my tubes is a misnomer. My local pro showed me you actually try to avoid arcing against the cast iron and focus the bead like a filler pass until you get the upper gaps full. On the bottom he only passes on two sides to let any rain out -the uppers will eventually crack no matter what you do. Use a good thick primer and paint and it shouldn't rust for years. I tried to weld directly on a scrap piece of cast iron and the gas weld looked like I had the gas turned off. Not pretty.

Nice looking gates.
If you ever come across walter brand grinding wheels, grab a few. Pricey but well worth the money. They have everything to cut grind and finish. Great products.
My professional welder buddy mentioned welding cast,it isnt what it used to be.more steel content and less carbon. Filling in to the cast is like preheating,a method commonly used.

 

[CaveCreekRay]

Thanks Frank. I might order some Walter cutoff wheels. I think I'll hold off on the Walter 8" grinder wheels at $250 per!!! I have a couple of grinders that like to wander around the counter thanks to out of balance wheels and I am looking for replacement wheels.