welder question..

[tahoehtp]

well I finally decided to get welder.
and was just looking at this one
http://store.weldingdepot.com/cgi/weldingdepot/500487.html?id=fCZsHIk9
is this good enough to start learn how to weld and maybe use it to work with frame work some welding on and off etc?

I done tig but only done mig once and want to practice etc.

will be kinda nice if I can afford the miller atic 140 with autosense.... but that's 809 bit out of my current budget.

[Drisco Z71]

we've got a millermatic 210 and its a great machine. Never used Hobart before though.

[TITANIUM]

Save your money for a bigger machine. That welder has a 20% duty cycle which means that it will want to cutoff a lot to allow it to cool down. And if you can, get one that is 220v. Don't even think about getting a junky Clarke.

[ChopandDrop]

Hobart is made my Miller, it just has some plastic parts where miller has metal parts. Miller is the heavy-duty version, and hobart is considered the light duty.

If you're going to get a 120 volt welder, you should at least shoot for 135 to 140 amps, so you can weld 1/4" with fluxcore. I got a lot of use out of my old Lincoln 140 before I sold it, and it always stepped up to the plate when I needed it to.

[tahoehtp]

hmmm thanks for the info. I like miller a lot my buddy uses lincoln that's what I used otherday. but I like the miller's autosense feature. so I guess will save up the $ to get one. I'm no hurry to cut my truck more til later this year but just got free truck that I can start learing weld and build with my son. (so he can learn to weld also)

[03z71ext]

I got a miller-matic 140 and so far its been perfect for everything that i needed it for. Granted mine doesn't have the autoset feature but its not really needed, just a creature comfort. I've used just about every machine manufacturer out there since I'm going to school for welding and I'd have to say miller is one of the best.

The Miller-matic 140 would be perfect to learn on and some of the features others will be a downfall its not really that big of a deal.

The way duty cycle works is out of a 10 minute period, you can weld continuously for a percentage of time. 20% duty cycle, you can weld for 2 minutes and have to wait 8 minutes. Most of the time when welding, especially at home you will rarely weld for 2 minutes straight. Usually its a couple quick little passes and then your done. The time in between welds is usually enough to keep it from needing to sit for a couple minutes.

The higher power welders are aimed more for industrial shops that way you can weld for longer periods of time because the more wire you burn, the more money you earn.:rocking:

Another thing to remember is when a welder can weld up to a certain thickness, that is in one pass. As long as their is good tie in, theres nothing wrong with running more than one pass.

[ChopandDrop]

auto set is the ****

[tahoehtp]

yeah I was comparing and did like miller 140 a lot.
thought about 210 but after thinking and reading, it's not like I'm going to open the shop. just for me to use and play with... so yeah miller 140 is the choice for me look like. if had bought the right offset rim to begin with! I would have it in my garage right now lol.

[03z71ext]

The nice thing i like about the little 140's is its great for body work and dumb little stuff. As well as big stuff but if need be you can always preheat the material to get a better weld. And easily being portable is really nice as well.

[rebelbowtie]

i have a miller matic 251, with the spool matic 50A spool gun for aluminum and stainless and silica bronze if i ever need it. plus i upgraded to the XR-edge push pull system paid $2000 for the whole set up thats a steal the machine cost that much by itself let alone the spoolgun and the XR-edge system or looking at another 1500-2000. and thats the spoolmatic not the crap spoolmate. i also have a miller maxstar 150 for tig welding sheet metal. it will run 100% duty cycle on 220v and i think 30-60% on 110v depending on the ampres your welding. it will also stick weld pretty good too i have welded up to 3/8 with some low high rod just need to do a stringer bead though its not hot enough for one pass. i picked up my miller matic from the local college they had a sponsorship with i-car through toyota and had all these new machines bought with the money they gave them and then didnt fill the class so there was extra machines being un used. i was in the welding program at the school at the time so when they sold off the machines i got one that i knew had never been used for a used price. pretty good deal if you ask me. maybe you can find something like that. sorry for the long post

**edit** 3/32 stick rod is the largest you can run on the maxstar 150. i have run up to 5/32 on the maxstar 200 before but thats pushing it. just a heads up

btw the maxstar 135 is also a good machine and is portable too. as is the dynasty 200 and it can weld aluminum

[tahoehtp]

well I ended up bought lincoln pro-core 125 at lowes. and start practicing my welding... also bought Husky 3-IN-1 HI-Speed Pressure Washer to clean out my orange driveway lol.

[tahoehtp]

so for the update.. finally had time to take pic and tried it last week. and started shaving door too.
welder
http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/4/web/2140000-2140999/2140931_238_full.jpg?293208-255
first practice.
http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/4/web/2140000-2140999/2140931_239_full.jpg?293208-255
door
http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/4/web/2140000-2140999/2140931_237_full.jpg?011906-255

[03z71ext]

What kind of setup were you running? Looks like flux-core without gas. Pick up a spool of .035 or smaller mig wire and some 75% argon - 25%co2 also known as 75/25. Everything will look alot better and you wont have to deal with any slag. Should also help keep warp-age down as well. Not to shabby though.

[rebelbowtie]

What kind of setup were you running? Looks like flux-core without gas. Pick up a spool of .035 or smaller mig wire and some 75% argon - 25%co2 also known as 75/25. Everything will look alot better and you wont have to deal with any slag. Should also help keep warp-age down as well. Not to shabby though.
i dont think that machine supports gas

[03z71ext]

i dont think that machine supports gas

It does. Its a mig/flux core welder and you have to run mig with a gas. Out of the box its set up to run flux-core, you just have to get a spool of mig wire and a 75/25 bottle and your golden.